Writing Sya

Updates

12.02.2006

And Finally

So, this is the last Nano post of the year. However, I'm still blogging over on my main blog which isn't about Nano, but it's a mix of links, commentary, book reviews, science articles, and memes. This blog will be reborn sometime around October 2007 at a similar address (just change the 2006 to 2007).

And some final thoughts: This year's writing process has been a bit different than previous years. For one thing, part of the novel was purposely done in longhand. And second, I had written a timeline of the story on a whiteboard in my living room which I stared at every day. Towards the end, it was the visible timeline which had me writing like crazy. I wasn't going to leave out any planned scenes--that just didn't seem right.

But now that November is over, I'm taking a picture of that timeline and erasing the whiteboard. And I'll start brainstorming new ideas.

Because, you see, I have a new challenge for myself. I saw something on a Nanowrimo forum that I usually don't frequent and I thought, "Hey, I can probably do better than that hack." So this time, I'll be doing some kamikaze writing in December and maybe part of January as well with the goal of an actual novel instead of just fifty-thousand words.

[ posted by sya on 11:46 AM : (1) comments ]

12.01.2006

Game Over

Ah, the first of December. And you know what that means, it's the end of Nanowrimo. Congratulations are in order for everyone--whether you've finished or not. Writing 50k in a month is a big challenge, and even trying is a lot more than what most people probably do in their whole lives.

Now for some participant stats. This is the percentage of winners divided up by genre.

[Genre: (Winners)/(Total Participants) = (Percentage Won)]

Religious, Spiritual & New Age: 121/539 = 22%
Erotic Fiction: 163/620 = 26%
Historical: 306/1172 = 26%
Humor & Satire: 439/1820 = 24%
Chick Lit: 431/1909 = 23%
Horror & Thriller: 500/2033 = 25%
Romance: 582/2262 = 26%
Mystery & Suspense: 788/2813 = 28%
Young Adult & Youth: 768/3429 = 22%
Science Fiction: 1174/4556 = 26%
Literary Fiction: 1592/7332 = 22%
Other Genres: 1701/7780 = 22%
Fantasy: 2874/10860 = 26%

No Genre: 1313/32687 = 4%
Total: 12941/79812 = 16%

Well, the trend looks pretty clear: if you take the time to choose a genre in your profile, you have a higher chance of winning.

[ posted by sya on 10:57 AM : (0) comments ]

11.29.2006

Pumping Fists In The Air

November 28, 2006 at 8:30 PM. It's Over! Take that, you crazy 67k piece of unending drivel!

Okay, so this year, I'm feeling a bit more relief than usual. This story has been hard. For some reason, it's been a pain trying to pry it out of my head and putting it into words. There have been points where I could have seriously been driven to drink, just like my main character.

Anyways, if you feel like reading a first draft about a burned out actress in late 18th century France trying to solve the magical murders of a bunch of astronomers, go to this page. You can read it in either installments or you can download the entire thing.

[ posted by sya on 1:00 AM : (2) comments ]

11.28.2006

The Wandering Ear

Right now, I'm sort of eavesdropping on some nearby students complaining about a creative writing class that they're taking. They feel so self-conscious about the whole course that they're telling each other how relieved they are that their class was canceled due to weather (it has been snowing quite hard the past couple of days).

Of course, my first thought was--dang it, why weren't my classes canceled? But of course, science classes are never canceled. It's like being in lab--to be a good lab rat, you're there morning, noon, and night. And don't forget the holidays.

Anyways, as for my progress: the ending has been trickling in. I'm going to finish this sucker tonight no matter what.

Then I'll start craming for final exams.

[ posted by sya on 6:02 PM : (0) comments ]

11.27.2006

Dig Me Out of the Electronic Graveyard

Someone actually bothered to interview me. See my Q & A session with Sean Lindsay on Nanowrimo here.

[ posted by sya on 11:42 AM : (0) comments ]

11.26.2006

Still Going

I passed 50k on the evening of the 24th. I just went to bed after that. Saturday was somewhat uninspiring. Today, I'm just chugging along. I have other things to do, and well, I'm really hoping I can finish before the 29th. As for the story itself, I estimate I have about 5k to go. Maybe a little more. But it still won't be the whopper I wrote last year.

I just want this story to end. I have another story dying to get out of my head, but I won't start outlining that one until this one is finished.

[ posted by sya on 6:12 PM : (1) comments ]

11.24.2006

Dang It, A Mirage

I just realized that there is no way this story is going to be finished by 50k. Oh, joy.*

*That was sarcasm, by the way.