NaNo, Quantum of Solace, Geek Nights

[holdouttrout]

I'm still doing okay with NaNo. I have over 32K words, which means I am still averaging 2K/day, which is my goal. I am starting a new section of the blasted thing today, which means new characters, new setting, and trying to remember which things I've already named. It's exhausting, this novel business.

I feel better about this year, mostly because I am 1) not sick 2) not traveling 3) feel like I've possibly learned something about writing from last year. I feel like the characters are more solid, and while the setting is suffering, the plot-ish-type-thing seems to be doing okay, except for yesterday, but that was special. One of the things that amazes me when writing original fiction is the sheer amount of characters involved. You have a protagonist or two, allies, bad guys, extras, etc...and it gets exhausting trying to create them all. I think perhaps I'm more cut out for short stories, where I can pare down the cast a bit. Right now, character seem to come from nowhere and then disappear after I'm done with them.

Setting is also proving to be one of the things I sacrifice to just. keep. moving. forward. Or I end up spending too much time describing things because I get stuck on plot.



In other words: WRITING IS HARD. Can I write fanfic now, please?

To the people who said they hate me because of my NaNo word count: Remember that last year I came withing 5,000 words of the goal...and STILL LOST. Don't give up at the end of the month.

I went and saw Quantum of Solace on Saturday for P's birthday, and...I liked it. There were explosions! The plot was predictably thin! People died! What's not to love?

Last night I got to hang with KR and M, and we watched Alias, including the Superbowl/Takedown episode (Phase One) and the German S&M Sex Club episode, which we primarily watched for the music. We're quite pathetic, but we had lots of fun, especially since it was like seeing old friends for the first time in a while--all the actors we first met there. Also we did some lesbian fangirling of Jennifer Garner.

Comments

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

this is the first year I was smart enough not to try Nano in November... I may try to do the challenge another month like in March, when I am the least busy... I usually get as far as outlining the major characters... but then again, last year was a disaster... I started out to be a romantic comedy and it became tragic really really quickly... the beginning and middle sections of the outline just didn't coincide together, and it should really have been two different stories...

At this point, I might make a fanfic series I'm working on to be my nano challenge--I've got an outline for stories to be over 77k words, and easily longer, so I might just do 50k in a month for that. The point is to get the pen to the paper, so if this is all I can take on at a time, I'll take it!

I'm really looking forward to Quantum of Solace--in addition to meeting my Bond partner half the country away (we saw Casino Royale together two years ago while visiting Chicago (I'm from DC, she's from Nebraska) I really liked Daniel Craig as the new Bond, and I always like big explosions!

and every girl is entitled to lesbian fangirling... women are things of beauty, and we're smart enough to recognize it!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I don't usually outline, but I rarely write really long stories, either--and it shows. *grins* My novel last year started as romance in spaaace and turned into a depressing political novel.

I honestly think that a lot more people would do NaNo if it were some other time of year. November is tough.

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

i should say I start outlines, and then as I'm working them they suddenly fill with dialogue and full sentences.... by the end there is little for me to edit and flush out... its a strange looking outline when I do them.

I've gotten into doing "series" rather than one long story... i prefer snippits of time rather than having to account for the boring times in people's lives... oh well!

November is harsh--I volunteer for a non-profit, who holds their big conference in November, so I spend all month preparing for it and ten days attending and running it... its just impractical to think of spending enough time to get 2k of words down on paper...

[a-loquita.livejournal.com]

OMG I loved Alias and I haven't thought about that show in soooo long. You might have just made me go watch... hee

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

It's such a fun show, although I'd forgotten how much torture there was. *grimaces*

[poetressforgod.livejournal.com]

Heh. i'm afraid that my novel is going to end up being really borring precisly because there are only 2 characters in it. I think I may have to add an extra family, but minimal human contact is crucial to my story making sense, so I can't/don't have to come up with random characters. I'm thinking my story may not have 50k worth of stuff in it, but I shall try to find *some* way to drag it out. I'm not near ready to give up yet, but i have some interesting and different problems than you. ALso, starting tomorrow I really need to write 5k words per day! Yikes!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

You can always add in flashbacks. *grins*

Yeah, it's always strange how the plot ends up working out and creating tangles around itself.