tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58822222008-12-01T22:07:48.576-05:00Writing SyaUpdate weblog for Nanowrimo and Script FrenzySyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.comBlogger402125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-71818990597872373022008-12-01T22:07:00.001-05:002008-12-01T22:07:48.590-05:00And the End of Another
Congratulations are in order for everyone who attempted Nanowrimo this year. Whether you've written one word or one hundred thousand, you're all winners because you've tried. Most people who claim they want to write a novel one day don't even do that.
For those of you who want to keep on doing writing challenges throughout the rest of the year, I compiled a list last Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-24870203489731137852008-11-30T16:48:00.002-05:002008-11-30T16:52:04.327-05:00It's Done, Sort Of
Well, I got a bit past 50k. Yay!
The story itself, however, isn't done. Obvious since I left a cliffhanger. At the moment, I'm feeling a little burned out. If I'm going to finish the story, I need a little time away from it. The thing is, I had no problem writing the story out once I seriously got down to actually writing. I just had a hard time forcing myself to get Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-90530989630389383212008-11-27T00:57:00.001-05:002008-11-27T00:57:54.498-05:00And the Coffee Got Cold
Well, it's been obvious that I've been writing in spurts the past two weeks. However, this doesn't mean that I'm that behind. I think with three or four more hours of solid writing, I'd be able to get to 50k easily. The story won't be finished at that point, though. So that's why I'm planning for lots of manic writing the next two days--two days in which I'm not Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-85545341427627666622008-11-22T20:04:00.000-05:002008-11-22T20:05:01.764-05:00And the Saturday Report
Actually, there's nothing much to report. I haven't really been writing much during the week due to a bunch of other things I needed to get done. I did go to the write-in today and wrote about 5k and passed the 40k mark, so that was productive.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-44351497835936166672008-11-19T23:46:00.000-05:002008-11-20T00:00:12.963-05:00Optimism?
Wow, after having no people show up in the last two Wednesday write-ins, I got enough people to fill up half a meeting room today. I guess as an ML, all you can really do is to help organize things. Whether or not people show up is really up to them. But I gotta tell ya', it does feel good for people to actually find the time to meet-up. It's not so much meeting people as actually Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-68078228455393980202008-11-17T21:33:00.001-05:002008-11-17T21:33:37.780-05:00Zzzzz
Good grief. I'm exhausted. So I have been writing today--but just not on the story. I was working on a paper instead. So no increase in word count today, I'm afraid. However, the paper topic is somewhat tangentially related to the themes of my novel, so I guess one could say that it's just one more thing brewing in my unconscious. Unfortunately, I haven't been unconscious for a whileSyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-6726255110664947982008-11-16T15:39:00.002-05:002008-11-16T15:40:40.924-05:00Music et al.
So, what music have I been listening to this year? Surprisingly, I've managed to stick to the music that I've meant to listen to. This includes the soundtracks for The Rundown, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Atonement (typewriter sounds!), and Planet Earth. Electronica includes stuff by Tiesto. Anything else I've tried throws me off. I think it's the sci-fi setting this year that Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-4758497112350588072008-11-15T15:09:00.001-05:002008-11-15T15:09:51.871-05:00In the Wee Hours
How much sleep since Friday? Probably a little less than four hours. Reason? I went to a write-in, expecting to stay for about two hours and ended up staying overnight. I actually didn't get all that much done, but I did pass the 25k milestone. And now, I'm headed to an afternoon write-in, where, if I'm lucky, I might pass the 30k line. Then I'm going to relax for the nextSyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-83829084693973003792008-11-13T00:43:00.000-05:002008-11-13T00:44:12.680-05:00Blah, Blah, Blah
Wednesday write-in: no one else showed up. I'm sensing a theme here. Maybe the middle of the week write-ins are useless. But, well, I did end up writing quite a bit with no one, except those people speaking French loudly, bothering me. And it was a good thing I left when I did because some band was starting up in the cafe. Loud music not coming from my earphones equals not Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-41373933059470329832008-11-12T01:34:00.002-05:002008-11-12T01:37:42.129-05:00Grr
I don't know what the heck is up with my story this year (it's careening out of control!), but no matter how much I've got written down, Chris Baty is still ahead of me. As of this writing, by four frickin' words.
Baty, you're going down.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-79434691986763401632008-11-11T17:57:00.001-05:002008-11-11T17:57:54.643-05:00Progress, Sort of
So word count-wise, I'm getting there. Plot-wise, I'm making every damn word up. And my initial time line is pretty much screwed. I have no idea where exactly my characters are going--except they've discovered that there's something strange going on at the vacation house. There have been numerous mentions of explosions (my backup plan for making things exciting), but only Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-51749195680640327932008-11-10T18:09:00.001-05:002008-11-10T18:09:38.681-05:00Tap, Tap, Tap
So, Chris Baty sent out this e-mail challenging everyone to get at least to 15k by the end of today. And he's still ahead of me. Well, we'll see. (As of this writing, I have finished Chapter 9 and have yet to update my word count. But, I have to head to class now...)Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-63734222065982740982008-11-09T22:10:00.000-05:002008-11-09T22:11:21.851-05:00Arg
I had intended on using today to get caught up, but I ended up getting distracted with other stuff. I don't know what it is about this year--I have all this stuff demanding my attention and there's only so much of it that I have.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-92095458867704797162008-11-08T21:26:00.000-05:002008-11-08T21:27:09.126-05:00Slowly Catching Up
Yep, I'm trying to play catch up today (and tomorrow). I wrote quite a bit at the write-in today before people tried to kick me out of the room that I had reserved about twenty to fifteen minutes before I was supposed to leave. I met another new Nanowrimo participant who mentioned that the experience was quite different because in order to write fast and fearlessly, he had Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-64037903369708273462008-11-07T22:36:00.001-05:002008-11-07T22:36:55.674-05:00No Show?
I took the trouble to drive to the next town over for the write-in there and no one showed up. Not even that town's ML. So I went back home. I'm going to try to work on my story a bit tonight before turning in. I might not post anything until tomorrow or even Sunday.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-86892928364668120962008-11-06T00:36:00.001-05:002008-11-06T00:36:36.365-05:00Dragging Along
Yep, it's going slowly. I know I'm way behind. There was a write-in, but no one came (except me). I tried writing and got interrupted in the middle by someone I know. The perils of writing on campus in a public space, I suppose. My schedule this week has been non-stop stuff. Lab work, classes, meetings, seminars. I haven't had very much sleep. But Thursday, I've carved outSyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-50776799952784437472008-11-04T12:15:00.001-05:002008-11-04T12:15:20.414-05:00Currently Very Slow
Or more like, no time. Yesterday, I stayed in lab late and did some last minute election-related research so I had little time to write. Today's schedule is similarly full. And about two minutes ago, somebody asked me a grammar question--which unfortunately piqued the interest of my formerly sleeping inner editor.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-15600857791041930772008-11-03T11:04:00.000-05:002008-11-03T11:05:41.755-05:00Damn, My MP3 Player Ran Out of Juice
On Sunday, I drove up to Spokane to go to a write-in at a coffee shop called the Empyrean. Initially, I got turned around a bit before I really found my destination--but it's really my fault though. I have a terrible sense of direction and the numerous one way streets in downtown Spokane didn't help matters. I'm sure the group of old men loitering at this Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-68010734032635005402008-11-02T12:36:00.000-05:002008-11-02T12:37:34.783-05:00Learning from Your Fellow Wrimos
Judging from the attendance of the previous local events, I had been all set to consider that no one new in town had heard about Nano and that everyone else was just returning participants. So I was really excited that not one, but three first year participants dropped in at the write-in on Saturday. I ended up answering questions rather than writing, but Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-70974433875406401882008-11-01T13:49:00.000-04:002008-11-01T13:50:09.544-04:00A Link
Missing the Mark. (via Dear Author) You know, quotation marks are there for a reason. You can't just do away with it because it's contrary to your aesthetic tastes. It's like people who never capitalize their correspondence or who only write in all caps. Then again, maybe that's the conceit of literary fiction--to make things more difficult for the reader.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-43510207412410943522008-11-01T13:02:00.000-04:002008-11-01T13:08:01.968-04:00Can We Write Now?
The midnight write-in was a small, quiet affair. I probably wrote more words at this early time point than I have before. The only problem was the clocks. Everybody's clock on their laptops were set at different times. The online clock that some professors use for their exams was at yet another time. And the clock at the library was the slowest of all. In the end, we Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-70107173654389271892008-10-31T02:21:00.001-04:002008-10-31T02:21:24.328-04:00And Before You Know It
Oh, crap. Now the panic sets in. It's not so much the lack of preparedness. I already knew I would be going into this with an outline that had more holes than substance. But time. For some reason, my brain was thinking that I had an extra day. Apparently not.Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-66366655948261515032008-10-30T00:42:00.001-04:002008-10-30T00:42:47.238-04:00Random Stuff on the Boards
Characters for an Epic Tale. (via this thread) Let's see. I'm not sure if I have any of these in my story. I don't really consider my main character a hero since he's more concerned about his own psychoses than saving anybody else.
MC name meanings and significance to story? I didn't really look for any meaning in my character names. They just sounded Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-82969804113543430262008-10-29T00:52:00.000-04:002008-10-29T00:53:25.618-04:00An Unoriginal Reoccurring Theme
It's actually not even a theme. It's just something that shows up in all of my previous Nano novels--cats. And I've never even owned one. Let's see:
2001: A kitten named Fizz that one of the main characters couldn't give away.
2002: A stray called Tuesday.
2003: Mention of Gohaven, the cat avatar of an otherwise unnamed deity.
2004: A horde of cat-spirits Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882222.post-76701408261264812222008-10-28T01:10:00.001-04:002008-10-28T01:13:27.441-04:00Underwhelmed!
Everyone seems to speculate that Nanowrimo is overrun by teenagers due to the massive amount of posting that they do. Except no one really looks at the actual numbers. Well, exactly two years ago I nutty enough to look at the actual numbers and posted them in the forums, but no one paid any attention. Probably because the results surprised no one.
Well, here's this year's age Syahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16756204083212894711noreply@blogger.com0