NaNoWriMo: D-U-N. Done.

[dawn_felagund]

Since a picture is worth a thousand words ...



So clearly, I finished NaNoWriMo today ... well, at least in terms of word count. The story is naturally nowhere near being finished, although I think it might actually be about as close to being finished as the Midhavens story that I work on for two NaNos in a row. But anyway.

That said, I would like to point out that muses are ridiculous, stupid, and annoying bastards. Sound harsh? Damn right it is. For three weeks now, working on my NaNo has been a trial. This wasn't an easy year. The story did not want to be written, and I had to force out every word. I've been pushing myself because I got so many awesome prompts for my thanksgiving/holiday stories, so I wanted to be done with the NaNo to get started on those. After that, I will (hopefully) be finishing the Midhavens novel that's now been in the works for more than two years now.

So it figures that over the past couple of days, the story has started to work for me. Not really a dilemma, you think? Yeah, but why couldn't it have worked when I had time set aside to write five- or six-thousand-word days? Now that I have other projects that I need to work on, the stupid muses decide, "Yeah, we'd like to continue with this one, if you don't mind, Author."

Well, I hate to be blunt, muses. Too fucking bad. Starting tomorrow, you are writing your thanksgiving/holiday prompts, and you're going to like it.

(Actually, even as the NaNo started to really work for me, I am still looking forward to this project even an eensy bit more. The novel will be around come January and February when I'm depressed and usually unproductive and would like to accomplish something this year aside from much LJ whining.)

Sometime in the next few days, I'll try to make a graph and do my NaNo conclusions.

Comments

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

Pesky muses! If they aren't swamping you with ideas you absolutely have to write because it makes sense to them, they can also be like: forget about it, do it yourself!

Anyway, congrats Dawn! I saw this morning you were very close at the nano-site so yay!!!

[dawn_felagund]

Yep, we both did it! *high fives and back slaps all around* :^D

Creativity (i.e., muses, the fickle bastids) is such a funny thing. Being a student of human behavior, once upon a time, I like to try to analyze my own creativity. Unfortunately, the muses also defy any progress on that venture ... ;)

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

Congrats! Makes it even better that you finished early when the muses were being so stubborn. :)

And oooooo, you're doing holiday stories? I must've missed that post.

[dawn_felagund]

Being a masochist practical person, I try every year to write 2500 words per day rather than the minimum 1667. This allows me to take days off for RL stuff without worrying about catching up later. This was really helpful last year, when Alex was a (really difficult) baby still. Or, if I don't need a lot of time off, it lets me finish early.

Holiday stories ... yes. Always. :) I look forward to that more than any of my other annual writing projects. But I see you found the request post, so I don't need to say anything further on that. ;)

[trekqueen.livejournal.com]

woohooo congrats!!!!

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you! *happy dances*

And your icon? Cracks me up. :^D

[trekqueen.livejournal.com]

hehe can never have too much captain picard/patrick stewart. :D

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Oooh, congratulations on finishing - and with some days to spare, too!

Ah, those pesky muses... they always leave me alone towards the end of NaNo, only to return in February when I have to write papers...

[dawn_felagund]

Ai ... ick. Muses. I suppose I "cured" mine in that I didn't let them write creatively while I was in university. Not surprisingly, I had an awful lot of insomnia while I was in university that has amazingly gone away now that I write regularly. Muses are cruel little beasties.

And thank you too! I aim for 2500 words per day (rather than 1667) in order to give myself days off or finish early (with a few days off at the end of the month) as a reward. :)

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Congratulations. I'm awed! Finished early and I still haven't finished the two little projects I have due the end of this month. (Haven't finished is a euphemism for haven't started!)

[dawn_felagund]

Oh, I think that you have a good excuse for not having finished ... or started. ;) (Though I know you've started and finished at least one by now!)

But like we've said in email, you and I write in pretty much exactly opposite ways. I am definitely a high-volume writer; my first year in NaNo (with very few RL distractions and very little work at work too), I finished in two weeks, which one house, two active dogs, and a now-busy job later seems pretty incredible, even to me.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, with a lot of help from you, I finished one of them. The other is on track, due to massive incompetence on my part. I thought it was due this past weekend, when actually it’s due the end of this week and, therefore, I'm OK. It is 3/4 written. (Reminds me of how I always used to tell my father-in-law, who drove us to airport when we lived in Mexico, that our flight left an hour earlier than it really did--that way we had a real chance of making it! Wish I could that with myself more often.) Thanks again for doing even more extensive copy checking than usual on my piece for the SWG today.

[miss-nightowl.livejournal.com]

Forgive an ignorant blonde but... did you win...something? :o/
In that case LIEK OMG YAY!!! :o)

[dawn_felagund]

Yep. :) I "won" National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). "Won" is in quotes because all it takes to win is writing a 50K-word novel (or start of a novel, in my case) over the month of November. This is my third year, actually, so the thrill has worn off a bit, but it's still a really good excuse to get lots of writing done in relatively little time.

And thank you! :)

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

*thwacks muses on their collective noses with rolled-up newspaper*

I know exactly what you mean about that frustration. This is exactly why I tend not to write for challenges, fic exchanges, gift ficlets, etc.: my muses are anything but disciplined. And I don't think this is a problem limited to me; I'm certain that the official muse beverage is absinthe, and that they have a personality that would make them right at home with that crowd.

PS - Congrats on finishing NaNo. I am officially impressed by anyone who writes so much in such a short span.

[dawn_felagund]

It's funny because my muses are exactly the opposite. They cannot be disciplined unless they are writing for something, which is why I end up creating so many little writing events for myself throughout the year, and also part of the reason why I jump at the chance to write stories for friends. If I have a focused prompt and a deadline and the expectation that someone will be disappointed if I don't finish, then I usually can get it done. Otherwise ...?

And thank you! I know that I'm lucky to be good at writing many words per day ... well, muses permitting. ;)

[greenknight33.livejournal.com]

Congrats babe! I don't think mine will reach the Nano winner threshold, but hey, at least I got a start on something :)

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you, sweetie! :)

And for a new writer, being able to sit down almost every day and work on a project is a tremendous accomplishment. Even to have that much stamina is not something that many/most people can manage. If you keep at it, you might surprise yourself and end up standing in the winners' circle with the rest of us. :)

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

Bad muses!! You should be ashamed of yourselves...No cookie.

Congrats on finishing though! As always, I am impressed. I might've gotten 50K words in this year...on essays and projects, not on anything interesting. :-\

Muses can be very cruel. (I'll try not to complain too much about mine for right now, because I did figure out the ending - sort of - for an experimental piece I might or might not be working on.)

Now for Tarion's Idiotic Question of the Day: Erm...what was your NaNo project this year? _{I forgot...>_< Oops.}

[dawn_felagund]

No problem, since I can barely keep track of Dawn's Project du Jour meself. ;)

It was an original fantasy novel along the lines of "an Elf falls into Modern-earth," although my characters are never actually identified as Elves. (I think everyone who has mentioned the project to me, though, has called them Elves! Am I that transparent?!) Anyway, William is a modern man who long ago started--and never finished--a fantasy novel. Now, he finds himself with two unexpected guests: two of the characters from his novel have come alive in the real world.

Their realm has been threatened, and using an arcane clue left by their late mother, they have come to our world seeking help. As William struggles to find a solution to their problem, they encounter the problems we live with in our daily lives.

It's something of a comparison of conflict: the tidy conflicts we think up for stories and the messier conflicts that afflict us in the real world. And what people accustomed to one type of conflict learn when they have to fight the other.

That probably sounds dreadfully dull, but that's the best I can do without giving too much away. :) (So there is hope yet that I might finish the darned thing!)

Also, thank you! :)

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, that's right!

I can't write modern day without getting into crack. However, I am a crack genius! (A term Alina coined, and which I like very much!) ;)

[dawn_felagund]

*random usage of Finrod's icon*

The modern-day half of the story was what made it so tedious. It did, however, remind me of why I quit writing mainstream in favor of fantasy. I spend quite enough time in this big, messy, annoying modern world, thankeeverymuch!

[sinneahtes.livejournal.com]

Yay! Congratulations! :D

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you! :^D *happy dances*

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

So clearly, I finished NaNoWriMo today ... well, at least in terms of word count.

Excellent! Congrats on completion of a November masterwork!

So, bar or line graph? ;^)

[dawn_felagund]

Definitely line graph. Since my word count fluctuates so wildly by day, I find that line graphs allow me to easily include a line for the daily minimum and the daily average as well. ;)

(And ... thank you!)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I'm in awe of those of you who manages to pull this off.

And I'm laughing at you bossing your muses around! :D

[dawn_felagund]

Unfortunately, bossing the muses around rarely works, anarchists that muses tend to be. ;)

And thank you! :^D

[fanged-geranium.livejournal.com]

Well done!

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you! The same to you ... you really achieved an impressive word count this year!

[evils-hero.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

I passed the line myself a few minutes ago - isn't it a great feeling!? :)

Everyone doing NaNo this year has done good! And now I can go tell teh doubters that, yes, it can be done!

*Cookies and ice cream for all!*

XD

[dawn_felagund]

It was an especially great feeling this year as my story was being a real pain in the ass; I was glad to be rid of it for a while, honestly. :^D

It can certainly be done. I've done it three years in a row now. \0/ (Only two years--2005 and 2007--officially, however.)

Congrats again to you as well!

*breaks out the homemade ice cream and joins the party*

[noliel.livejournal.com]

YAY! Congratulations! *high fives*

[dawn_felagund]

*high fives all around* Thank you! Congrats again to you too! (I think this may have been the biggest NaNo year for my flist, at least since I've been doing it.)