Hit a breakthrough point and got 700! :D (Plus went over by 2-3 minutes so that helps too). Glad you're working your way through that tough spot! Sounds like you're getting some good momentum going in it. :)

Oh WOW! Excellent job! You're seriously on a roll tonight!!

I managed to finish my chapter ^^ It's a little short (about 2300 words) but if I have to add anything more to that scene I'm going to scream. Let's just say it's going to need a lot of revision during the edit period.

I'm not exactly sure what happened there but I'm pretty sure it set a new personal best for me. xD Think I've got to head off for now though. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the momentum tomorrow!

That's great you got that chapter done! And by the time you get around to the revisions you may find it's not as bad as you thought - not always true, but sometimes difficult scenes surprise you when you look back at them later. ;)

I tried NaNo exactly once and it was a dismal failure. I'm just not that kind of writer. But to everyone participating this year: GOOD LUCK!

Yeah, I know XD For now though it's just the "ugh, that sucked"

Everyone's different :) Thanks for the encouragement! Good luck in your own writing.

Edit: anyone up for a last minute Sunday or two?

- you came online the other day right as I turned my computer off to go to bed! (I'm in a different time zone right now!). I managed to actually catch back up on saturday, but couldn't write at all yesterday. :( so I'm back to being a day behind.

Whoops! Yeah I sorta had a feeling nobody would be on. I managed to find something to write about and ended up well over par by the end.

Is the new time zone a permanent thing for you or just a visit? :)

Been lurking here watching the blue word count boxes. For all of you meeting your goals, congratulations! For those of you who trying but life keeps getting in the way, congrats to you as well! As long as you keep working on your novel, you are worthy of praise in my eyes. It is very easy to just give up, much harder to keep going if you feel like you aren't getting as far as you'd like.

I am working on my novel this month, but I am not participating in the official NaNoWriMo since it's a story I've been working on for years with some ideas already written down. Been working on the story writing process since November 8th, and I'm about 3000 words in. (Did have about 1500 applicable words from previous attempts at the story.) I need to go back and elaborate on some points and figure out where I am going next. I am hoping to have the story completed by next November (i.e. completely 100% finished) but I've got at least one other story I feel like I really need to work on in the mean time. I'm excited now though to see how well I am progressing (both in the actual story and the solidifying of my plot), and I think a lot of it was just a matter of using the right tools. -dances around-

NaNo isn't something that works for everyone, for sure. That's awesome that you've set yourself that goal! And congrats for sitting down and working on getting it going :3 One of the hardest parts of writing, I've found, is just starting the process. Especially if it's something you've had in your head for a while, it can be hard just to put things down on paper/in electronic form.

As for tools, I feel like I still want to try the demo of Scrivener. My gf really enjoyed it when she tried it out last year, and it really would be nice to have all my notes in one place. The like corkboard/post-it board function for re-arranging plot points it has looked pretty sweet.

Really tight deadlines just make freeze up, so I don't think I'll ever do NaNo officially.

I have been writing for years now and have all kinds of stories started but have yet to complete a single one. Since the idea I am working on was basically my start point for my preferred genre, it would be great to have it be the first one finished... I guess I feel like it deserves the honor of being first again. XD

Anyway, Scrivener is awesome! I downloaded the trial on the the 7th and within 24 hours I was convinced I should have downloaded it years ago. It can be a little tricky to figure out the features at first I guess, but I am finding it to be super handy for my working style. I have a few different folders, one just with general help stuff (including a make-shift thesaurus for my most commonly used words and ideas) and a text area just for snippets of text that don't have a place to go yet. Excellent for my working habits! If you are anything like me, with an abundance of random notes tucked away in different places, you should definitely consider giving it a try. I watched this Youtube video (CLICK!) while I was trying to figure out if I wanted to download it and I think it helped me figure it out quicker than I would have with just the tutorial.

Also, a while back, I came across Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet and will forever more be using beat sheets as a plotting tool.

Lastly, I've got several helpful e-books on my Kindle. My current favorite is a 3-part how-to-write-descriptions "series" by Val Kovalin, which I've "checked out" using Amazon's Kindle Unlimited feature. (Another new thing for me... I love being able to read "help" books before buying since reviews can't tell me if they will actually help me.) I use my Kindle as a multi-faceted reference book more than anything really. LOL

There are some other resources I use, but those are the big three that have really helped me get more organized so I can start making real progress.

I feel like I need the deadline to kick my butt into gear to actually just WRITE. Otherwise I put it off and put it off and never actually write anything down. With NaNo? I'm a full day ahead of the par. My story is... okay, so it's a LONG way to go, still, but it's significantly further along than if I hadn't chosen to do NaNo.

Thing is, as long as it's in my head, stories remain that 'perfect idea'. As soon as I try to write it, that's when I have to logic out all the things and find the words to properly express what I can visualize in my head. It's especially difficult for me because my current novel series deals with both magic and technology (steampunk fantasy ftw) and I'm not terribly tech-inclined... plus developing an entire style of magic on top of it and giving it rules and function.

when I'm home later tonight I'll probably go get the program. I tend to jot down notes at any time of the day so I always have a notebook with me (there are... 8... notebooks in my bag right now. 8. All with at least 2 story prompts in them; one starting from the front and one from the back. And then following the prompts, pages of notes and a few paragraphs of actual writing.) It would be weird to have to always go to the computer to put my notes in, but if I transcribe some of the things I write down it might not be a bad idea to have it all in a more legible format. Admittedly, my handwriting is less than stellar - particularly when I'm excited and writing quickly.

That's awesome that both Scrivener and Kindle work so well for you! Being able to reference things quickly sounds very useful indeed :) What sort of genre are you writing?

LOL Typically, when an unnecessary deadline tries to kick me in the butt, I sit down and stubbornly stare at it until it goes away. When I actually have do something... Then I get super anxious, put it off, and do a sub-par job which I'll finish for the most part just. in. time. Ugh. So... Yeah... Deadlines don't motivate me really.

My inspiration comes either in large bundles that are all muddled up by the time I can actually get them written down or in tiny snippets that could be great if I could just figure out something to add to them. I try to make notes on them all though. (-eyes 20 page "story starter" Word file- Yeah. I need to go through that one of these days. Sounds like fun, right?)

If you like working in notebooks, you should keep doing that. It's something I do as well, though in a less organized format. I find that transcribing notes (i.e. reviewing them as I type) helps me to clarify my concepts. Not only that, but it is much easier to make notes on your notes when they are printed out or hand-written. My notes get marked up with a brightly colored pen. "Underline this, cross out that, make a note in the margin here, question mark next to this line... What was in the world was I thinking here?" And so on... Scrivener is meant to be another tool in a writer's arsenal, not something to restrict you or completely change your method.

I write M/M romance, almost exclusively. It is very hard for me to write from a female perspective, even though I am female. (I do have quite a few traditionally "masculine" personality traits, so that's part of it.) I don't really stick to one particular sub-genre within that "umbrella" genre. I favor sci-fi and fantasy, usually mixing them both within my stories to varying degrees. I also really like to write alternate reality/universe stories based on history, which tend to have some elements of steampunk mixed in. It'd take me a while to come up with a complete list of genres that would apply to my solid concepts. One thing I definitely don't do is write stories with sad endings for my main characters. I gotta have my Happily Ever After. XD

For sure - it's a matter of finding what works for you individually :) I find that I really like writing by hand, but I don't get much done when I do my actual writing by hand. It gives me more time to think while I'm forming the letters (even if I'm writing at top speed) and I'll talk myself out of doing what first pops into my head. If I'm typing, my brain basically dumps out into word format and I've come up with some of my better ideas that way XD

Nothing wrong with romance of any orientation :) And definitely right there with you on the Happily Ever Afters. It sucks reading through a book and getting to the end and realizing that Nothing Good Happens to Anyone, Ever (looking at you, George R. R. Martin).

- Yup, different time zone is just visiting :) I got the trial of scriviner before leaving, and I started reading the tutorial on the plane. It looks like fun but it would definitely take some getting used to. I think it will actually end up being very useful when I go to actually script this 'novel' and start to put it into comic form.

Oh, that'll be awesome! :D

Are you still around? Up for a or busy/timezone conflict?

- Yeah, I can do a couple, but it's gonna be an early day tomorrow, so I can't stay up too late!

Oh, wow. My sister just snapped at me because I said "I should stay up and write, but I think I should go to bed." And she was like RAWR! You shouldn't be stressing about Nano! Because it makes me stressed, and i have BETTER things to be stressed about! You should be more stressed about the things that I'm stressed about, like the craft sale you volunteered to help run with me!"

So now I'm thinking... I should go to bed.... but I'm going to stay up and write, because it'll make my sister angry. I really shouldn't, because I don't want her to be mad at me, but srsly, just because you want to be able to do Nano and can't because you can't let yourself NOT be stressed out about other stuff, don't take it out on me. k thx.

(for the record, I'm not stressed about Nano, this WAS the first time I was keeping up, but I knew it wouldn't last because of this trip, and I've been way further behind before and won, but I would like to at least try to stay on top of my word count.)

omg I swear I replied to you what the hell where did my post go x____x I am so sorry.

Maybe it's best to just call it a night? I wouldn't want you to get too much angry sister and all.

Don't know if you've got it worked out by now or not but... It sounds like your sister is definitely feeling overwhelmed and probably tired. I know I will snap about almost anything when I get like that. -shrugs- You should take some time for yourself (writing if you like) then try to get to bed at a "reasonable" hour so you don't send your sister off the deep end. LOL

I'm about to get to work on my novel shortly. Probably just putting in more notes. Maybe working on getting set up for my other story. I'm not feeling particularly creative tonight but I am trying to be productive.

OH MY GOOOOOOOOD WHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS WAS A THING SOONER

Not NaNoWriMo. I've been participating in this craziness for years. THIS THREAD. I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE WAS A NANO COMMUNITY HERE RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE.

HELLO FELLOW NANO-ERS. In case you can't tell, I am PSYCHED to meet you all! How is everybody doing on their novels so far?! I'm only one day ahead, currently clocking in at 18,477 words. Gonna try to push myself to 21k by tomorrow night. How about you guys? <3

I'm shooting for around 19k tonight, but I just finished a chapter and am at that terrible place where I am staring at a blank page again.

Best of luck to you on your goal! :)