Comments on: The Hardest 10,000 Words: A NaNoWriMo Profile

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:10:38 +0000

Here’s how I do it: When I have a story to write, I map it out and write it. When I don’t have a story to write, I don’t waste a whole bloody month freewriting in order to “feel like a writer.” Let it kill you, you yobs. What a self-indulgent, stupid waste of time. Let’s see: should I go out and buy a trombone and blast away on it willy-nilly for a month in order to “feel like a trombonist”…? Or– here’s another one– maybe I could gun my Mini up and down I-94 at a hundred and forty miles an hour for a month in order to “feel like a NASCAR driver.” Or I could order in a couple one-ton blocks of Italian marble and a hammer and chisel and, for one blessed month, “feel like a sculptor.” Gosh golly, now that I think of it, the self-indulgent, undisciplined, time-wasting possibilities are endless….

By: Katherine Skipper

Katherine Skipper — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:26:43 +0000

Thanks for the support! I just hit 33k about twenty minutes ago. And stopped. Here I am, not noveling! But you have convinced me to go back and forge ahead. I WILL reach 50k if it kills me.

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:44:33 +0000

@Dan You are so welcome! It was my pleasure to put this one up. This is one on my favorite bits:

But there will also be times when you write a sentence or two, or even a paragraph, which you are genuinely pleased with. Remember these moments, rather than the hiccups you may have also had. And I assure you, your writing is never as bad as you think it is.

By: Dan Barrett

Dan Barrett — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:09:47 +0000

Thank you to Jamie for letting me write for this great site, also to CJ and Karen for your supportive comments! It’s great to hear that this is been of some help and encouragement to some people, that definitely makes it totally worth my while! I wish you all the best of luck, now get to 50k!

Also, writing this was a great distraction from actually working on my novel… Opps…

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:23:27 +0000

Jamie, thank you for finding Dan! Dan, I laughed through this entire piece! You NaNo vets have really made this process so much fun for me. As a first timer, first time novelist, first time NaNo, I was CLUELESS. Everything you wrote is so true. I'm just shy of 30,000 which I will pass today (yes my writing time has magically moved from first thing in the morning to sometime before midnight). Yesterday I thought my god what is the deal with stairs, I seem to have people always coming up or down them or turning toward windows! I locked my Inner Editor out of the house, banished until December 2nd (hey, gotta have 1 day to party!). Thank you so much for this joyous post. When I write today, I will laugh my way past 30,000 and not feel guilty if one of my characters feels the need to sing the national anthem while descending stairs. Karen Swim´s last blog post..What you Talking ‘bout Willis?

By: C.J. Harley

C.J. Harley — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:51:47 +0000

I am almost at 30K right now. I should be at about 31K by the end of the day. That's my goal anyway. I am a first time NaNo'er and must say this challenge is harder than I thought. I have always loved to write, but actually finishing a WIP is something foreign to me. Thanks for the inspiration! C.J. Harley´s last blog post..NaNoWriMo Update - Moving into Week 3