NWT Post-Challenge Discussion

[Tallyfire]

Congratulations to everyone who reached their goals! And to everyone who took part I really enjoyed following everyone’s progress throughout November.

Here’s the place to talk about how it went, what you did/didn’t like about the format, how/if you want to do it again next year, and so on.

 

[Luxuria]

I thought it was well done. The only thing is that I ended up keeping track of my words in the wordcount thread and my progress journal. Because there were so many wordcount posts.

 

[Tallyfire]

Because there were so many wordcount posts.

I liked that part! It was nice to see other peoples wins/struggles as we went. Plus the external accountability part really kept me writing regularly. I just copied my updates into a document outside so I have an overview of my own stuff.

Otherwise, I really liked the 25K goal. 50K can be so punishing if you’re otherwise busy, but 25K was a fitting challenge (for me, anyway).

I’d like to do it again next year! Not sure if I’d change much, although more “other topic” threads would have been fun — but if people didn’t make them then maybe they also weren’t wanted.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I liked keeping track in two places. The word count thread was for sharing and encouragement. The running list of daily counts in my notebook was for charting my progress. This was my third successful 50,000 word project for November, spaced over about ten years.

Doing NWT in the company of online people I am familiar with was a pleasure. After the publisher offered me a second two book deal, some discussion ensued about which book should come next. I was already well into research on a Civil War era novel, but ultimately agreed to write the WWI era book first. That meant starting from a two page synopsis, which is essentially Ground Zero of writing for me. Doing NWT encouraged me to write without spending enormous amounts of time thinking and piddling around. Now I have 50,000 words of concepts and scenes, maybe half to two-thirds of which will find their way (one way or the other) into Book III. The contract is expected to hit my desk sometime this month, and I'll have eighteen months after that to produce the final product for submission. Having a 170 page synopsis is a much better start than a few ideas scribbled in my notebook.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

As many of you may have guessed, I plowed under on my 25,000 word challenge. Only got to 14,954, and a lot of that was red-line rumination on my antagonist's activities, which won't appear in the finished work.

I have to face it: November, or this particular November, just wasn't good for concentrated daily writing. Breaking in a new-used car that started out with some issues: Distraction. Sudden major increase to my evening work schedule: Distraction. Having to work Saturday and Sunday for three of the five weekends: Distraction. Pickling and canning and other food preservation needing done: Distraction. Being too mentally tired to think of anything and playing online solitaire when I wasn't otherwise engaged: A really big distraction.

And the biggest distraction of all? I'm not that much into the story yet. Not that there's anything wrong with the basic idea, it's just that I never, ever write a first draft all the way through without revising. My method is to cycle back every chapter or two, clarifying things, making connections, and solidifying the story's reality in my mind. Trying to shove though, most of the time I couldn't remember on one day what I'd written the day before.

The effort wasn't wasted, however. I've got a better grasp on how the conflict will work itself out. And I've "discovered" some things about the overall timeline and setting that will mean minor revisions to the concurrent novel. Better to know that now, than after it's published.

I think I'll make more progress on the novella when I can walk around thinking about it with no pressure.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Only got to 14,954,

Only, the woman says. That's a respectable 500 words a day.

I've got a better grasp on how the conflict will work itself out. And I've "discovered" some things about the overall timeline and setting that will mean minor revisions to the concurrent novel. Better to know that now, than after it's published.

Recognizing and addressing timeline issues and conflict resolution issues are probably the most valuable things I got out of the experience. Being a little slow on the uptake, I did not figure those things out in only 15,000 words, so I am in awe of your accument.

I'm another solitaire player. If I'm not feeling completely braindead and/or exhausted, I turn to cryptograms to rethread my head.

 

[defaux]

This was an amazing experience for me.

I could leave that statement stand on it's own, and it would not be inaccurate. I enjoyed immensely feeling like we were all striving towards the same goals together. Even through many of the same struggles. I even delved into some of the progress journals folks were keeping following the project. It's fascinating for me to witness in near-real-time the internal processes of story development, and to compare it to my own. So a big thank you to everybody who participated, and shared so openly. It really helped.

I'm also glad I was able to participate with a lower target. 50k still feels out of reach for me, at least in such a short timeframe. As it turned out, the 15k was just right - challenging but ultimately attainable. Even that was 2 or 3 times my typical months output, and still an unsustainable rate with work and family requiring as much time as they currently do. But, I have proven to myself that I can find more time to write, and can produce without dithering around too much.

I also finally got this novel project off the ground, again proving to myself that I can put it to the page, elaborate on the ideas that had been percolating there for months, and find the characters voice that I was struggling with. Even if it requires a significant amount of editing. I usually do a second pass through and adjust a lot of the language anyway, on my short stories. I imagine this will take a lot of effort, but my motivation is now incredibly high, thanks to this challenge and you all.

If anything, I'm finding it hard to shift gears out of novel mode now. I am trying to step back a little, refocus, come up with some short fiction ideas - and all I can think about is where the next chapter is headed. Still a balance I must find.

I would like to do this again. The format feels solid. I kept a spreadsheet of my daily counts, because I too am a graph-nerd. We may be able to organinse something purely for cleaner presentation - I saw over in dotcom land they had a table of just wordcounts up front, then the thread of comments. Though, honestly, the near-daily constant push of everyone throwing their current thoughts and feelings along with progress updates was a huge part of the charm and motivation I found in this event. Everyone pushing together, helping each other to push.

 

[Madman Starryteller]

I did not hit my 15k goal, but I wrote more than I have in months, so I'm still a happy boy. Very good and motivating challenge, would love to participate again next year.

 

[Tallyfire]

I approached this month quite differently from past years I did NaNoWriMo, where I just had a starting idea and ploughed forward, no matter what (and both times ended up with something I never used again). I did a lot more reflection mid-challenge, which was good. This time I also did a lot of planning for the first half, and I'm really happy with how that turned out. All of the first part needs to be rewritten, but writing it out scene-for-scene helped me find gaps and things that didn't quite work, so I can definitely go into the second draft with a much better idea of the tone and story development.

I purposefully left the second half of my story/words fairly open, which was good because I didn't enjoy what I had initially planned for Part 2. It didn't fit. I dropped that idea and went wild with whatever came to mind, which was much more fun in the end and really helped me refine what I want the novel to look like. Outside of this kind of challenge, when I sit down to write I often feel like sticking to whatever I have planned before because time is short and that feels like the best use of it. But with words needing to come out whatever they were, my imagination felt freed up and I just explored. I got far more useful text than I thought I would -- and, aside from their possible use in the novel, I think there are two, possible three, short stories in what I wrote. I'm very happy with that development. Didn't expect that at all.

I imagine this will take a lot of effort, but my motivation is now incredibly high, thanks to this challenge and you all.

Yay! What a win for the NWT.

I'm another solitaire player. If I'm not feeling completely braindead and/or exhausted, I turn to cryptograms to rethread my head.

Oh, these are fun!