National Novel Writing Month
November, 2006
11/25/07
George has reached 58,078 words today and submitted his manuscript for his
official word count for NaNoWriMo 2007. He has a couple of more chapters to go
so will keep writing but he is well over the 50,000 words necessary to be
declared a winner. Anyone with that discipline is a winner anyway!
National Novel Writing Month takes place each November. The goal
it to write 50,000 words in one month. To do this, you need to write 1,667 words
per day on average.
I put my name in for this year knowing I would not reach 50,000.
Instead, my goal has been to write a short article or blog entry each day. I've
written a little over 10,000 words. I missed a week while on a business trip.
Mainly my count is low because I'm only writing articles between 350 and 800
words each day. Still, I'm happy. I've written several articles that wouldn't
have been written.
12/1/07 George finished off his novel at 72,700! He was
among 15,327 winners - those who wrote 50,000 words or more during the month of
November. A total of 1,098,496,066 words were written and reported this year
101,303 participants. Great job, George!
Next summer, if you are interested, you can go to the NaNoWriMo
website and sign up for a
reminder for National Novel Writing Month in November.
You can do some planning ahead of time like George does, or just write. The idea
is to write a rough draft, not a finished novel. Turn off the editor and get it
down on paper or the computer. You can edit later. The main thing that stops
most of us from writing is trying to get it perfect the first time. That isn't
going to happen!
If you'd like to know more about writing, check out our ebook/CD Taking
the Mystery out of RV Writing. You'll find tips on getting started and
overcoming writer's block. And, if you might want to publish an article or even
write a book, you'll find out how to do that.
Congratulations, George!
Jaimie
(George pictured with his NaNoWriMo certificates from 2006, 2007 and from
ScriptFrenzy 2007.)
Script Frenzy
June, 2007
George
was the only one of us to participate in Script Frenzy month, sponsored by the
same folks who sponsor National Novel Writing
Month. A script must follow a rigid format so George tried out Celtx,
a free script writing program. One you sign up you can participate in the groups
and get help.
For Script Frenzy, the requirement was 20,000 words, which
translates to 120 pages of script in standard format. George made a script out
of a previously written story, taking the idea and translating that into a movie
script.
Besides encouraging writing, NaNoWriMo solicates donations. In
2006, donors contributed enough to cover the expenses for NaNoWriMo, our Young
Writers Program, and endow seven libraries for children in Vietnam.
George wrote more than 20,000 by mid-month and got his
certificate. Congratulations, George!
National Novel Writing Month
November, 2006
Jaimi
e Hall, Alice Zyetz and George
Bruzenak are participating in National Novel Writing Month. Sam Penny and Sue
Otto, RV friends and members of the Escapees RV Club's Penwheels BOF group, are
also participating. We are joining 76,805 other registered writers in penning at least 50,000 words in 30 days. You can
check us out at the NaNoWriMo Web site
and we'll keep you posted here. A writer must average 1667 words per day to
reach the goal by November 30. Among the hints are to turn off the spell check
and don't go back and make corrections! The purpose is to write a rough draft.
We've heard February is national editing month.
Several of
us have the novel writing kit, No Plot, No Problem, which is filled with helpful
tools to make this happen. We have charts where you can fill in your progress, calendars
to list your day's writing goal and a supply of gold stars for
when you make it happen. There is a card for each day with an encouraging quote.
Day One's quote is below. And- heaven forbid - if you decide to drop out, there is a
special envelop to open before you do. We are prepared!
Day 14: George has more than 50,000 words!
Our daily card suggests you make and post a sign that will help you remember
that things are going to work out great in the end. Even if what you are writing
seems confusing at the moment, its point will become clear if you keep writing.
It always does.
George: This morning George wrote another 2,178 words and passed the
50,000 mark. He now has 50,516 but has two more chapters to go. He also has some
scenes to add to existing ones. You can't put in your official count until the
26th (so you get your certificate), but now George can coast. Way to go, George!
George pictured with his completed chart on the left. A closeup of the chart
shows the bar you fill in, the calendar with daily writing goals and totals and
the Noveling affidavit we each signed. Among other things, the affidavit
indicates the participant will get out of some household chores, which is one of
the reasons why I decided to participate too! You can see the cluster of stars
for today as he achieves the goal.
Jaimie: After finishing Frank McCourt's inspiring book, Teacher Man,
I decided to write today about the beginning of my 13 year teaching career. I
wrote 2,302 for a total of 31,499 words.
Day 15: We are halfway through the month! To date the total
word count for 2006 is 463,734,414 words.
Today's card mentions how artists work. Periodically they step back and
squint at their work. Squinting allows you to capture the basic structure of
what you are creating, rather than the distractions of the details. Use a mental
squint while writing. Create broad strokes without fretting over the fine print.
You can fill in the details later.
Day 21: George finishes!
Today's card recounts Chris' experience when his rearview mirror dropped off.
Once he got used to its absence, he started loving life without it. The view
ahead was much broader, he savored the forward-focused feel of driving without
looking behind all the time. "Only 10 days to go - stomp that foot down on
the accelerator and don't look back."
George: George finished at 65,899 words. "'The Jade Earrings' is
finished in first draft form and I intend to let it sit at that point. I'll be
looking at creating another outline but won't include those words in the NaNo."
Jaimie: I must have caught a bug so skipped writing today.
Day 22: Jaimie reaches 50,000! Total word count now at 645,208,267
words.
Did you know the Post-It® Note evolved out of failure? It
took the company four years to get past their preconceived notions about the
glue they were trying to develop rather th
an look at the potential in what they
had. "As your book begins to become something different from what you'd
originally intended, keep 3M's sticky situation in mind."
Jaimie: I wrote enough to get just beyond 50,000 words at 50,162.
Celebratory photos tomorrow!
Day 25: Official reporting begins for authors. George and
Jaimie are winners!
Today, if you have reached or exceeded the 50,000 word goal, you can submit
your manuscript to the official counter as a text file, scrambled if you like,
and download your winner's certificate. Your photo at your author's page at
NaNoWriMo now is framed with "2006 Winner."
Jaimie: The word counter was generous. After writing 1,736 words on
"The Shadow Revisited," my official word count stood at 55,815.
George: George's count gave him two more official words for 68,582.
George and Jaimie with their "Winner" certificates!
December 1: 12,941 writers have validated their writing for
November and written at least 50,000 words. The total words reported for
NaNoWriMo 2006 was 982,496,939.
If you'd like to be reminded of NaNo next October so you can participate, go
to the home page of their Web site and
enter your e-mail address.
