pmmg
Myth Weaver
Hmmmm...40k is a little shy of Nano... Do not think you can fluff it up a little?
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NaNoWriMo 2023 Wordcounts
- Thread starter A. E. Lowan
- Start date
No, it's a complete work. I'm not adding needless words. I declare my NaNo a success. Editing will follow, plus in all likelihood a Dutch translation before I think about sending out manuscripts.
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pmmg
Myth Weaver
Well, congrats to you then. Another in the bank. 
Chapter 12 - Bao - is done at 1840 words, which is about four hundred words longer than I thought it would be - and those last four hundred words or so were rough...despite that being the only part of the chapter I was certain about prior to starting writing. The whole 'muddy middle' thing. My strategy here is to just plow ahead with writing the stuff I know happens and try not to wince too much.
That said, the total NaNo word count now sits at 36580.
Next up, I guess is another 'Chimp' chapter, but I only have two hazy notions for this one and connecting the pieces could be difficult.
Then....'Carina,' maybe? Another short one, something that needs to happen, but not much beyond that.
That said, the total NaNo word count now sits at 36580.
Next up, I guess is another 'Chimp' chapter, but I only have two hazy notions for this one and connecting the pieces could be difficult.
Then....'Carina,' maybe? Another short one, something that needs to happen, but not much beyond that.
- Thread starter
- #105
Plus side, it's been a good word day and - so far - nothing's gone too dramatically wrong. But I have a habit of going back and tweaking things while I work. It's just part of my process and I call it the 'Accordion Method' because I go back and reread the last few chapters before I launch into drafting for the day and I usually edit as I go. I can't not. 
So, I know it's at least 500 words because I cleared two pages and a page is 250 words on average, but I also added so much new material that I am now totally lost in the wordcount, but the writing is taking off.
So, I know it's at least 500 words because I cleared two pages and a page is 250 words on average, but I also added so much new material that I am now totally lost in the wordcount, but the writing is taking off.
Finchbearer
Istar
2138 today, need to up my word counts to stay on track.
Plus side, it's been a good word day and - so far - nothing's gone too dramatically wrong. But I have a habit of going back and tweaking things while I work. It's just part of my process and I call it the 'Accordion Method' because I go back and reread the last few chapters before I launch into drafting for the day and I usually edit as I go. I can't not.
I have revisited earlier chapters of 'Defender' more than once, adding and deleting stuff to the point to where my total wordcount could be off by as much as a couple of hundred words - the one chapter, one POV, one file thing.
- Thread starter
- #108
Oh yes, we definitely do the one document per chapter thing. I can't imagine trying to bring up an entire manuscript every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and for hours and hours at a stretch. It's no wonder Word crashes. Note: I've never had Word crash. But keeping the chapters apart during drafting keeps the shenanigans limited. And then when I've gotten to the point where my edits consist of moving words back and forth, my wife locks me out of the entire project and leaves posties on my monitor that say, "Leave It Alone." And then she compiles and edits everything better than I can and turns it into a beautiful book.
We do matte covers on our paperbacks. Everyone who stops at our table at cons pets them while they talk to us.
Also cranked out another page. My brain feels rung out. Time to refill the well.
Finchbearer
Istar
*coughs* Pages doesn’t crash or lose formatting
And Chapter 13 is a wrap at 1900 words...again, several hundred words longer than anticipated. Integrating the two sections went much easier than I'd feared. Total NaNo wordcount now sits at 38480.
Chapter 14 will have to be Octavos, I think. Another necessary bit that I have only a couple of not-so-clear notions.
That means Carina gets Chapter 15 - hopefully short and easy, followed by Git-Vik for Chapter 16. Past that we start getting into the giant mess of the climax...I know how things turn out, but getting there without major plot holes could be tricky.
Chapter 14 will have to be Octavos, I think. Another necessary bit that I have only a couple of not-so-clear notions.
That means Carina gets Chapter 15 - hopefully short and easy, followed by Git-Vik for Chapter 16. Past that we start getting into the giant mess of the climax...I know how things turn out, but getting there without major plot holes could be tricky.
I don't know what's causing it - maybe a memory issue, or maybe some weird MS Word bug - but the paragraph indents go away when I do a cut/paste on anything over about 12,000-14,000 words. I have to go back and add them in manually, which was a pain in the butt during the summer rewrites (but it also let me spot a bunch of issues I'd have otherwise missed.)
- Thread starter
- #113
It sounds like you're getting at least some benefit from it. I wonder, have you tried copy/paste with smaller chunks of text? Also, is Word not giving you the drop down mouse-over formatting menu? It should be giving you the option to merge formats, which, I think, should get it to keep your indents and carriage returns.
Also, pantsing is slow and sloppy, or it is when I do it. Throwing another 250 words at the wall to see if they stick. Best part of today; wrote a sneak for two characters who will be anchoring the second locus in the metaplot. I love it when a plan comes together.
So excited!
pmmg
Myth Weaver
I've seen plenty of Mac's that have problems.
MS Word has formatting tools, and once they get activated, its very hard to clean them up. My guess is you have sections that are formatted using MS formatting.
The easiest way I know to remove it is to copy the whole thing into a text document, and then copy that text back into a blank word document, and re-format.
There are tools to fix it in word, but its a pain.
Finchbearer
Istar
Sounds like someone’s trying to convince themselves that ‘Mac’s are bad too’
I’ve my MacBook Pro for ten years, the battery life has dwindled as per what you would expect, but I run a lot of programmes on it and have had zero issues. Currently on my Pages file for my nano project, including notes there is around 60,000 words, with absolutely no problems. Runs like a dream. In terms of practicality however I like the idea of creating separate files for each chapter - incl notes.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Sounds like someone’s trying to convince themselves that ‘Mac’s are bad too’
No, you are free to like it if you want. But its a myth that macs don't break or have problems. I've worked on plenty of them. As one who has worked on 1000's of computers, I have no love for Mac's. I hate working on them. They make everything harder.
Finchbearer
Istar
Of course Mac’s break and have problems…
I think I probably bought mine before Apple started making products that are only built to last until the next updated product.
You’re probably just used to working with Microsoft.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
I prefer Microsoft, yes, or more so, I prefer the IBM clone type hardware. But I have no special love for Microsoft, or any of them.
If you doubt my credentials, get ready to get a lot of them. And my laundry list of what I don't like about them is long. One of my permanent wish-list items, is that apple as a company would go under, and stop putting this stuff on the market. They have the same problem IBM did in the 80's. Everything is proprietary, Making the cost and difficulty of working on their stuff higher. While it is true that Mac/Apple seems to have morphed into an accessory company, I was no fan of their older stuff either.
But the comment was, my pages works great, the implication being, its problem free and word isn't. One thing word not does burden me with is having to find a way to convert .pages to .doc without having to fix the formatting. Work in a law firm with all the lawyers using macs at home and what do they send you? Pages files. What does a court accept? .Docx. What happens if they are not formatted right....rejected. How many times do I repeat this to a mac users that Pages is not acceptable, every time. How many times do they listen and not do it the next time...never. (slight exaggeration).
And who supports those machines? I do.
If you doubt my credentials, get ready to get a lot of them. And my laundry list of what I don't like about them is long. One of my permanent wish-list items, is that apple as a company would go under, and stop putting this stuff on the market. They have the same problem IBM did in the 80's. Everything is proprietary, Making the cost and difficulty of working on their stuff higher. While it is true that Mac/Apple seems to have morphed into an accessory company, I was no fan of their older stuff either.
But the comment was, my pages works great, the implication being, its problem free and word isn't. One thing word not does burden me with is having to find a way to convert .pages to .doc without having to fix the formatting. Work in a law firm with all the lawyers using macs at home and what do they send you? Pages files. What does a court accept? .Docx. What happens if they are not formatted right....rejected. How many times do I repeat this to a mac users that Pages is not acceptable, every time. How many times do they listen and not do it the next time...never. (slight exaggeration).
And who supports those machines? I do.
Finchbearer
Istar
There are sooo many ways on a Mac to covert file types to Windows / Microsoft, you just need to know what you’re doing. With a law degree and they cant figure out how to save a file type so the formatting won’t change? Funny. On Pages specifically there is an option to literally ‘covert your file to Microsoft Word’ - the problem occurs when it’s the other way around, when you can’t save the formatting to send from Microsoft > Mac. I’m not arguing one against the other that’s just my experience and knowledge from saving various different files types.
