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[dollyt8]

So, because I'm apparently crazy and also because I can't breathe very well when I'm lying down anyway thanks to Covid, I decided to stay up late last night and write. The brain fog cleared for a while and I got in a couple good solid hours. Thanks to that, I've now officially "won" NaNo for the first time. 51,384 words! I'm very happy, and my goal is to just go ahead and finish the entire first draft of the novel in the remainder of the month. I'm guessing it will clock at around 80,000 words, but we'll see.

My entire log for the month so far:

Date	Words	Total
2024-11-14	2,353 words	51,384 words
2024-11-13	2,676 words	49,031 words
2024-11-12	4,194 words	46,355 words
2024-11-11	1,836 words	42,161 words
2024-11-10	9,528 words	40,325 words
2024-11-09	0 words	30,797 words
2024-11-08	4,063 words	30,797 words
2024-11-07	3,474 words	26,734 words
2024-11-06	1,840 words	23,260 words
2024-11-05	4,165 words	21,420 words
2024-11-04	4,211 words	17,255 words
2024-11-03	5,538 words	13,044 words
2024-11-02	2,802 words	7,506 words
2024-11-01	4,704 words	4,704 words

 

[Avery Moore]

So, because I'm apparently crazy and also because I can't breathe very well when I'm lying down anyway thanks to Covid, I decided to stay up late last night and write. The brain fog cleared for a while and I got in a couple good solid hours. Thanks to that, I've now officially "won" NaNo for the first time. 51,384 words! I'm very happy, and my goal is to just go ahead and finish the entire first draft of the novel in the remainder of the month. I'm guessing it will clock at around 80,000 words, but we'll see.

Woo!!! Go Dolly! Can't believe you beat the 50K and we're not even half way through the month yet. That's amazing!

 

[dollyt8]

Woo!!! Go Dolly! Can't believe you beat the 50K and we're not even half way through the month yet. That's amazing!

Thank you so much! You've been a big encouragement along the way

 

[Avery Moore]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 14: What to Write When You're Not Sure What to Write?

TLDW:

So right now I'm not sure which direction to take my novel in after finishing my most recent chapter, so I decided to skip forward to a dream sequence instead. My protagonist is what is known as a "Dream Weaver" which means the in his dreams, he can see the memories of the people he knows. I have found these dream sequences particularly fun to write, as it gives me a really interesting way of exploring all of the characters backstories and uncovering all of their deep, dark secrets.

Daily Word Count: 664
Total Word Count: 25,543

That's half way towards my goal for the end of the month. Go me!

 

[dollyt8]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 14: What to Write When You're Not Sure What to Write?

TLDW:

So right now I'm not sure which direction to take my novel in after finishing my most recent chapter, so I decided to skip forward to a dream sequence instead. My protagonist is what is known as a "Dream Weaver" which means the in his dreams, he can see the memories of the people he knows. I have found these dream sequences particularly fun to write, as it gives me a really interesting way of exploring all of the characters backstories and uncovering all of their deep, dark secrets.

Daily Word Count: 664
Total Word Count: 25,543

That's half way towards my goal for the end of the month. Go me!

Oh, that sounds super interesting as a literary device! And great job on reaching the halfway mark!

 

[Diana Silver]

dollyt8 that is amazing! Congratulations How are you inspiration-wize? Are you going to go on with this spree, or time for a break? I hope you will also rest and get well soon ^.^

Avery Moore On schedule, whooo! Nice going. Around the half-way mark is usually where it gets tough... Also take some time to reflect on where the story should be headed, that's important too :O

Me, I'm also still on track for my (much less ambitious goal than you guys') 10k words, which I think I can beat. Now at 6628

 

[dollyt8]

dollyt8 that is amazing! Congratulations How are you inspiration-wize? Are you going to go on with this spree, or time for a break? I hope you will also rest and get well soon ^.^

Thank you so much! I'm still struggling with my prison escape chapter at the moment; you'd think it would be the most exciting, but it's going really slowly. However, I'm going to continue the spree until the end of the month if I can, as I really want to finish the entire first draft. Thank you; resting isn't working for me as I can't breathe well when I lie down and I get dizzy when I stand up but sitting and writing works for me, so I think I'll be able to get extra done, though we'll have to see with the Covid brain fog.

Me, I'm also still on track for my (much less ambitious goal than you guys') 10k words, which I think I can beat. Now at 6628

Less ambitious goals are still awesome! You're very well on your way to meeting yours, so congratulations!

 

[Avery Moore]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 15: We're Already Half Way Through!

TLDW:

So after a few days of being a sickly Victorian child on her death bed, I have managed to get back on track and written a decent amount of words today.

Daily Word Count: 3,348

Total Word Count: 28,891

DollyT8, your mention is at 5:40. Huge congrats on passing 50K already! You are doing absolutely amazing! So looking forward to checking out Loyalty Fallen when NaNo is finished.

The next buddy update video will be on the 22nd. If anybody would like to be mentioned in that video, please let me know and I will be sure to include you! ^_^

 

[pmmg]

Wow, 15 days already. Half done.

I am at 14,530

About where I thought I'd be.

 

[pmmg]

So, because I'm apparently crazy and also because I can't breathe very well when I'm lying down anyway thanks to Covid, I decided to stay up late last night and write. The brain fog cleared for a while and I got in a couple good solid hours. Thanks to that, I've now officially "won" NaNo for the first time. 51,384 words! I'm very happy, and my goal is to just go ahead and finish the entire first draft of the novel in the remainder of the month. I'm guessing it will clock at around 80,000 words, but we'll see.

My entire log for the month so far:

Date	Words	Total
2024-11-14	2,353 words	51,384 words
2024-11-13	2,676 words	49,031 words
2024-11-12	4,194 words	46,355 words
2024-11-11	1,836 words	42,161 words
2024-11-10	9,528 words	40,325 words
2024-11-09	0 words	30,797 words
2024-11-08	4,063 words	30,797 words
2024-11-07	3,474 words	26,734 words
2024-11-06	1,840 words	23,260 words
2024-11-05	4,165 words	21,420 words
2024-11-04	4,211 words	17,255 words
2024-11-03	5,538 words	13,044 words
2024-11-02	2,802 words	7,506 words
2024-11-01	4,704 words	4,704 words

Seems like you will make it. Congrats.

 

[JBCrowson]

In fact, I think I've decided I'm going to significantly change the scenario 2 escape. You're absolutely right; I think having both of these escapes occur basically around the same time in the book just doesn't work. Instead I think I'll have him released but because of a serious disagreement among his captors he ends up having to fight anyway right after his release, which will let me accomplish the main purpose of the original scene I planned (a really cool fight scene with some innovative methods of self-defense and important character moments) without stretching credulity quite so much. So again, thanks for your input!

If you have the escapes linked, then the one that fails can be set up as the decoy for the one that succeeds, ie the team planning escape A (will succeed) set up attempt B(planned to fail) to distract all the attention, and while all the elite guards rush to recapture / react to that incident, the real escape happens elsewhere. If you foreshadowed the set up you could then twist it by having the wrong one succeed.

 

[Dankolisic]

1. Title: Erah - The secret of Ridgepeak
2. Genre: Dark middle fantasy
3. Blurb: Aeliz is a young clan descendant who finds a mysterious and terrifying truth about his land and history, from his bloodline to the core of their faith. After attending the first year of the Path, his life, his mindset and his mental strength are put to the test. Will his adventure shape a new world or will he fall and be forgotten like most of his ancestors?
4. Status: 105k words, 20 chapters, 345 pages, Times New Roman 12
5. Sharing: Except for some chapters of brief synopsis, will not be available till finished, expanded, shortened, edited and then published. Also, written in Croatian, so even if published, it could still take a while for translation.

Update: 106.015 words and still writing, 349 pages(+4).
Nearing the end, can't wait to see how it resolves.
Disclaimer: my style of writing is that i have a general storyline, but even I don't know how everything will end...I like to think of it when I write, it is like a textual game of multiple choices; what the character do affects the storyline.

 

[Diana Silver]

Update: 106.015 words and still writing, 349 pages(+4).
Nearing the end, can't wait to see how it resolves.
Disclaimer: my style of writing is that i have a general storyline, but even I don't know how everything will end...I like to think of it when I write, it is like a textual game of multiple choices; what the character do affects the storyline.

Wow, great going :O

Well, that's a hard act to follow, but I am beating my own daily goal so far ^.^ Currently at 8970 words total. Two tough chapters are done, so after this it will probably be easier.

 

[Avery Moore]

I am at 14,530

Woo! That's awesome!

Update: 106.015 words and still writing, 349 pages(+4).

... I really want to assume that those 106K words haven't all been this month, but with some of the word counts I've seen this month, I wouldn't be surprised.
Best of luck with the ending and I hope you have loads of fun figuring out how your story is going to resolve.

Currently at 8970 words total.

Wahoo! I bet you beat that 10K goal tomorrow!

 

[Avery Moore]

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 16: Opening my 30K Reward!

TLDW:

So I got a decent amount of words done today. I have beaten my daily word par and earned my daily chocolate, but more importantly, I have reached a very important milestone today!

Daily Word Count: 2,628
Total Word Count: 31,519

I have just passed 30K and now I get to open up my 30K reward! It is a book... It is a fantasy... It is the first book in a series that is considered by many to be the greatest fantasy series of all time... See if you can guess what it is! ^_^

 

[dollyt8]

If you have the escapes linked, then the one that fails can be set up as the decoy for the one that succeeds, ie the team planning escape A (will succeed) set up attempt B(planned to fail) to distract all the attention, and while all the elite guards rush to recapture / react to that incident, the real escape happens elsewhere. If you foreshadowed the set up you could then twist it by having the wrong one succeed.

Thanks for your input! I think I've got the escapes pretty well figured out finally and I feel like they ended up feeling pretty realistic, so I really appreciate everyone's suggestions and help.

NaNoWriMo Vlog Day 16: Opening my 30K Reward!

TLDW:

So I got a decent amount of words done today. I have beaten my daily word par and earned my daily chocolate, but more importantly, I have reached a very important milestone today!

Daily Word Count: 2,628
Total Word Count: 31,519

I have just passed 30K and now I get to open up my 30K reward! It is a book... It is a fantasy... It is the first book in a series that is considered by many to be the greatest fantasy series of all time... See if you can guess what it is! ^_^

Yay, go you! Many congratulations!

Here's my Saturday word count update: I just got to 62,071. I'm still managing a pretty good momentum though I'm sick, and I think I shouldn't have too much trouble wrapping up the first draft of my novel this month. That said, this latter part has proved to be more difficult mostly because there are a lot more emotional moments, and I feel like I struggle to write those scenes in a way that seems genuine.

Now, I'd like to hear from everyone who's been writing a novel this month: What's the top thing you think you've learned so far in November, or what's the most fun/interesting thing you've experienced during the challenge?

In my case, I think I've really enjoyed writing in a limited third person POV for the first time. Normally, I write in what's called a third-person omniscient point of view, so I jump between various characters and what they see/think. In this story, I'm only showing the perspective of two characters except in one or two chapters where I show the perspective of a third character.

It's very new to me and requires me to think a little harder about showing and not telling. For example, I can't just say what the villain is thinking. The character facing the villain has to interpret from body language and words what the villain is thinking. This has drastically changed the way some scenes are written compared to how I would normally write them. As another example, one character recently had his face badly scarred. He can't stand to see himself in the mirror and hasn't actually seen his own scars, but when he is confronting one of the people responsible, he removes the bandage, revealing the wound. Normally, I would describe the scar in that scene and say how the person being confronted felt. Instead, in Ashbranded, I just write how the other person turned pale and covered her mouth in horror. Personally, I've had a lot of fun doing this, as it really forces me to think much more critically about how I write scenes! It also gets rid of any confusion where the reader can't tell whose thoughts you are following, since I only follow those two characters.

The only thing I miss is that sense of suspense when you as the reader can see a danger coming that the character can't. Since everything is only from the POV of those two characters, the reader isn't allowed to see anything they don't, and I feel like that cuts the tension somewhat. And I can't use my favorite phrase: "But what [character] didn't realize was..."

 

[Dankolisic]

Woo! That's awesome!

... I really want to assume that those 106K words haven't all been this month, but with some of the word counts I've seen this month, I wouldn't be surprised.
Best of luck with the ending and I hope you have loads of fun figuring out how your story is going to resolve.

Wahoo! I bet you beat that 10K goal tomorrow!

oh gosh no, 105k words throughout the year, i think i has been exactly one year or more since the start

 

[Dankolisic]

Wow, great going :O

Well, that's a hard act to follow, but I am beating my own daily goal so far ^.^ Currently at 8970 words total. Two tough chapters are done, so after this it will probably be easier.

i hate that i can't fullfill my daily goal all the time sometimes even if im home and do nothing, even if i try, i just cant write...it usually depends on the mood, but this challenge is cool, started doing the daily word count of minimum 500

 

[Daan Doornbos]

Ah, missed out on the prison escape conversation. I would have added an outlining tool: '(winning party) escapes the prison because they are more (key trait)' And the answer then should not be 'lucky'.

I have just passed 30K and now I get to open up my 30K reward! It is a book... It is a fantasy... It is the first book in a series that is considered by many to be the greatest fantasy series of all time... See if you can guess what it is! ^_^

That's a tough one! Can you give us another hint, for example a first letter ?

Now, I'd like to hear from everyone who's been writing a novel this month: What's the top thing you think you've learned so far in November, or what's the most fun/interesting thing you've experienced during the challenge?

Something that really encouraged me was that most of what I've been learning about storybuilding and characterization so far, I was already intuitively doing.
That boosted my confidence.

And at the same time a sense of awe at how big a project writing a novel is.

But I guess you just have to start and take it one day at a time like you guys are doing. Whether that means writing 400 words a day or 10.000

Concerning my own novel: will post later today on my progress this week. And I will try to also add the list and blurb

 

[Diana Silver]

i hate that i can't fullfill my daily goal all the time sometimes even if im home and do nothing, even if i try, i just cant write...it usually depends on the mood, but this challenge is cool, started doing the daily word count of minimum 500

Aaah, that's my daily goal too! I won't say I make it every day, but I do manage to average out to just above that mark ^.^