# National Novel Writing Month 2005--Who's In? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099 "2005-10-20T16:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/161 "2005-11-03T16:08:32Z")
C’mon, **Deadly**. It sounds like you just need a little cajoling. Give it a try, you’re still at the beginning so you can catch up easily. Two days behind is only 3334 words / 28 = 119 words a day spread out over the remaining month, added to the daily 1667 and you’ve got it made! Test yourself and take a chance! It’s just for you. Deep down you really want to try, right? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/162 "2005-11-03T16:22:44Z")
No, thank you, but thanks for the encouragement, **brightpenny**. (And a belated welcome to the boards.) I’m 2/3 of the way through my most recent book, and I’d rather concentrate on finishing and editing it at my own speed. My last novel actually got a few nibbles but no bites, and I now have one finished book to add to my writing credits, so I’m really trying hard to land an agent. (In case you’re trying to figure out how I published a book but not a novel, it’s a D&D adventure with a print publisher. Very small press run.) May we all, one day, be NYT bestsellers, if we so desire! ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/163 "2005-11-03T16:53:07Z")
11024 words now. I’m over a fifth of the way already. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to reach 50000 words until the end of the month, but I sincerely doubt that the story will be done by then… There’s a lot that still has to happen. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/164 "2005-11-03T17:31:47Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > Don’t re-read! It’s crap, you already know that, so just don’t. Never re-read more than the last couple paragraphs to get you back on track. I reread and revised quite a bit last year and it worked out. This year, I seem to be more stuck for things to say. And losing 500 words didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/165 "2005-11-03T22:02:01Z")
I’m not planning anything, but seeing how I was re-inspired to write somewhere around November of last year, I’ll probably at least try to keep a rough wordcount. (Being the rather distractible person that I am, I have a half a dozen little projects all languishing in limbo at the moment.) ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/166 "2005-11-03T22:05:03Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I reread and revised quite a bit last year and it worked out. This year, I seem to be more stuck for things to say. Last year, it seemed every word I wrote was gold. It was like the muses themselves lived in my hands. This year, every word I write is crap. But I’ve got almost 6,500 words of crap, so I’m not too upset. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/167 "2005-11-03T22:52:39Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > But I’ve got almost 6,500 words of crap, so I’m not too upset. Well, _I_ have…zilch. ☹ I discovered the first day that after all my research and outlining and such that I absolutely loathe the plot AND the characters and the thought of spending an entire month was impossible. So yesterday I deleted everything and spent the time on coming up with a new plot, and _tonight_ I’ll start again. Hey, I’m only two days behind, right? I can make that up easily, she says with blind optimism. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/168 "2005-11-03T22:56:09Z")
I’ve got 387 words, which were written on the evening of November 1. Didn’t write naything last night (Nov 2). Let’s see what tonight brings. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/169 "2005-11-03T23:55:20Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I discovered the first day that after all my research and outlining and such that I absolutely loathe the plot AND the characters and the thought of spending an entire month was impossible. So yesterday I deleted everything and spent the time on coming up with a new plot, and _tonight_ I’ll start again. You, too? I’d been hating it _all day_, but vowing to push through because I had nothing else. And then, on the way home, inspiration struck. I’m excited about this. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can’t wait to find out. 6,500 words of crap have been replaced by 764 words of slightly more golden crap. And I now feel like I can actually do this again. Which just goes to prove that I am not meant to attempt a novel that is in any way serious. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/170 "2005-11-05T04:14:37Z")
Yesterday my laptop arrived, and I spent 12 hours setting it up the way I like it. 200 words yesterday. Today I wrote 2500 words, getting me to 6000, just 600 behind where I should be right now. It felt good today, the first day I didn’t struggle with it. Ibuprofen is my friend. I hope no one’s given up yet. How’s it going for everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/171 "2005-11-05T05:37:00Z")
NaNo 2005 v. 2.0 is actually cracking me up every other paragraph. I’ve written over 8,000 words since about six o’clock last night. And tonight, I’ve had two extra-large Dunkin’ Donuts coffees. Something I wrote made me laugh so hard I had to draw a picture of it, then a picture of it as a superhero (the Tiny Jagged Eye-Mouth Avenger, if you must know), and I’m fairly confident that anything else I write tonight could go right into the Nanoism thread over there … but I’m having a blast. 🙂 Yeah … waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much coffee tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/172 "2005-11-05T05:55:27Z")
Oddly enough, I am up to 7,500 words, that is 28 single-spaced pages. I only regret my story is suited for the more (ahem) adult parts of the internet. I will soon need a good moniker for this tome. Maybe ‘The Ripped Bodice,’ or ‘The Ravishing Pirate.’ Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/173 "2005-11-05T06:01:03Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > I will soon need a good moniker for this tome. Maybe ‘The Ripped Bodice,’ or ‘The Ravishing Pirate.’ Or not. I’m a big fan of ravishing pirates … I say go with that one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/174 "2005-11-05T15:57:18Z")
I’m only 300 words short of my goal for the day (I figure on an average of 1667/day so I want to end up at 8335 today) and it’s not even 11am yet. I’m feeling the tiniest glimmer of hope that I might do better than I did in 2003. I’d fallen behind then by this point and never caught up again. I like this story better, though. I have a question for people who are feeling uninspired: are you a linear writer? Meaning that you write a story, scene following scene, from start to end. I know a great many people who are, but my own brain doesn’t work that way. I write whatever demands to be written at a given moment, then I go back and sew the blocks I’ve written together with some sort of conecting coherency. (at least I like to think it’s coherent). Whenever I’ve tried to write in order, I’ve given up in despair. You hit a roadblock, and don’t progress. I’ve had scenes in stories that I’d tried for weeks to work out. If I didn’t work on other scenes instead, I’d have written nothing for weeks at a time. If you get stuck, try writing something else that interests you more (just not the end of the story), it’s not cheating as long as the story gets done! ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/175 "2005-11-05T16:04:48Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I have a question for people who are feeling uninspired: are you a linear writer? Meaning that you write a story, scene following scene, from start to end. I know a great many people who are, but my own brain doesn’t work that way. I write whatever demands to be written at a given moment, then I go back and sew the blocks I’ve written together with some sort of conecting coherency. (at least I like to think it’s coherent). I’m a linear writer. Somehow I seem to keep all the ideas for future “events” in my head and they find their way into the story at the proper point. I’m a bit discouraged, though, because I’m only at just over 500 words. It’s just more difficult to write this than I had imagined. (And it’s not like I have no experience writing, I just came into this with no plot – I’m winging it.) ---
**Author:** ![misshannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@misshannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misshannah)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/176 "2005-11-05T17:22:28Z")
I hope [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343349) isn’t considered a dupe thread. If you need a break from your Nanowrimo novel (I know I do), check out National Drunken Writing Night. All the pertinent info and links are in the above thread. cheers! -hannah ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/177 "2005-11-05T17:50:33Z")
Are you kidding? Every night this week has been National Drunk Writing Night (practically). I cracked 11,000 last night. It’s going way better than 2004 did, although last year’s offering had a lot more humor in it. This time it’s like a Greek tragedy with white trash characters. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/178 "2005-11-05T18:56:48Z")
That’s the weird thing for me, I can’t write drunk. It’s not like I do a great job sober (as my current words would clearly show), but I learned last year that I get some alcohol in me, and I can’t concentrate enough to write anything. I can’t even write gibberish. The first three days went really well. Last night, not so much, and while I was going to make it up this morning, I collapsed in bed from not having slept for the first three nights in November. And I’m quite tied up today, so I’ll be up late again - tomorrow, I’m free. I’m going to have to seriously catch up. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/179 "2005-11-06T06:44:09Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I have a question for people who are feeling uninspired: are you a linear writer? Meaning that you write a story, scene following scene, from start to end. I am for the most part, but sometimes as I’m flowing along I’ll start working out future scenes or events in the back of my mind and will jot them down into a fragment file for later use. Makes it much easier to foreshadow when you know what direction you’re going to write in ahead of time. Linear is a bit of stretch to describe my writing anyway, I’ll write narrative and then jump into dialogue and first person POV, then to a 3rd person limited POV… sometimes skipping over entire things just to narrate them in the past tense later. I think I’m going to be the only person on Earth that will be able to understand it when I’m done 😛 Took a bit of time earlier to skim over some of the excerpts you all are putting in your profiles… good stuff! Seems everyone is having a good time and still managing to be on target to finish on time 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099/180 "2005-11-06T14:28:21Z")
Flu + gobs of medicines to keep most of the symptoms under control = foggy brain = zero word output. I am at a little under two thousands, exactly where what I wrote on the third, after booting my previous wordage. ☹ I’m begining to think that this year is cursed for me. OTOH, I woke up this morning with actual plot-type thoughts buzzing in my head, and was playing about with dialog mentally. So I guess I’m on the mend and…hey, there’s a good three quarters of the month left. I shall press onward. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-novel-writing-month-2005-whos-in/327099.md?page=10)