Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Writer Wednesday: How Do You NaNo?


We are officially two days into NaNoWriMo, so I thought I'd share how it's going and why I decided to finally participate. I wanted to try NaNo as a way to convince myself that I don't have to fast draft like a crazy person in between client edits and do nothing but edit when I have editing jobs on my schedule. I guess I take things to extremes, doing one or the other like a mad woman. I need to stop this. I know it, and I keep saying I'm going to, but it hasn't happened yet. So NaNo is about forcing myself to split my days between editing in the morning and writing in the afternoons. So far, I'm doing it.

The odd thing is that most people do NaNo to get a book drafted quicker than they normally would. For me, it's the opposite. When I draft, I usually hit anywhere between 10,000 and 18,000 words a day. (Yes, you read that correctly!) But splitting my days and committing to NaNo while I have edits on my plate, means I have to aim much lower, like 3,000 to 5,000 words a day. So I feel like NaNo is very different for me than most people. It's forcing me to slow down. Will I like this? It's too soon to tell.

How about you? Are you NaNoing? How do you approach it? (And feel free to buddy me. I'm khashway.)

*If you have a question you'd like me to answer from the other side of the editor's desk, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll schedule it for a future post.

25 comments:

  1. I'm finishing a freelance project so my word count was under for day one. But I'll catch up since I'm nearly done. Exhaustion on Monday threw my finishing schedule for the job off but I'm rising to the challenge. Using the Jedi Motto as back up. How Do I Nano? Whenever I'm ready which is mostly in the afternoons or evenings. But I'm trying to gear more afternoon to keep an eye on my energy level. Best of luck with Nano Kelly. Just do it!

    Anyway I also have a question. What do you do when a freelancer (whether cover artist, editor, etc.) suddenly up and cancels on you or what advice would you give to someone else in that position?

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    1. I'm ahead at the moment (word count wise), but my daughter's field trip and the upcoming weekend will soon change that.

      I put your question on my list to tackle next Wednesday.

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  2. I'm not NaNo-ing this November. I have in past years but I've too much on at the moment to commit that kind of time to it this time round. In the past, I've used it to work on a first draft and also to continue a draft I'd already started on. I normally manage between 30-38,000 words during NaNo. I've never reached the full 50k yet.

    Good luck with it.

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    1. I think as long as it gets you writing, you win no matter what your word count is.

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  3. I remember reading about your fast drafting, Kelly, and have always been amazed. You are a well-tuned writing machine. I bet you're going to kill it for NaNo!

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  4. 10,000 to 18,000 words a day? Wow! How do you manage it? It's amazing!

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    1. My family laughs at me because I start to talk funny after writing that much. It's like I use up all my words and then I'm just done. ;)

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  5. As you manage to draft at a slower pace, observe if it changes the writing. I've heard writers who say they write longhand for this reason, because they think they writing is stronger. I have no idea, but I wonder about this.
    I'm slow, and a good productive day for me never exceeds two thousand words. A steady pace I can keep up for the long-haul is closer to one thousand new words per day.
    At eighteen thousand words a day-- your NanNoWriMo novel could be done in four days. Sheesh.

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    1. I actually find that my writing is better when I write faster. I sort of get into a zone and I'm not even consciously aware of the words that are being typed onto my screen. I often surprise myself that I do my best writing that way.

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  6. I am always amazed by how fast you can draft, Kelly! I'll be curious how the whole "slowing down" process works for you. Whether you end up liking it or not. Keep us posted!

    No, I'm not doing NaNo this year. I tend to become hyper-focused on things, so when I'm drafting, I'm focused on drafting, but since I have a release coming soon, I'm focused on that. I didn't think I could do both!

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    1. I'm the same way, so this is actually tough for me. Trying to split my days is almost like splitting my brain and half. ;)

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  7. No NaNo for me. It doesn't work, and that's okay. We all have to find what works for us, eh?

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  8. HOLY COW!!! One of my Piper Morgan books is 8,000 words--so you could write a chapter book a day! When I was younger, I remember writing 40 pages a day. I set a goal for four pages an hour and at the top of every hour, I had to sit down and write until I got to the fourth page. Then I could get up and move around. I could only write on Saturdays and Sundays, so I'd do ten hours each day and get 80 pages done a week!

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    1. I've written novellas in a just a day or two. ;) I'm a crazy drafter. This slower pace isn't easy for me. I'm forcing myself to do it though. I think it's good to learn to draft under different circumstances.

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  9. It's my first time doing NaNoWriMo. I'm not writing as often as I'd like to. Hopefully, this will get me back into the writing habit. Good luck!

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  10. I'm so envious of your word counts. When I can spend a straight 6 hours writing, I get maybe 3500 words in. I am Nano-ing this year and I do it to re-instill discipline into my writing life. I'm over there under my other pen name LexaD. I buddied you. Now off to write! Good luck.

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