Novel in 90

Holy crap! Has it finally happened? Am I for once the first? Must be a time zone thing.

Anyway,

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

In that vein, a question: how autobiographical is your fiction?

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"Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio." -Wikipedia

What, to you, is writing?

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“Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance.” -Dan Greenburg

Okay, let's admit 'um - what are your main procrastination methods?

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"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."  -- E. L. Doctorow

This quote may have been used already, but it is especially apt for me now as I'm struggling with the story and my lack of knowledge about certain particulars. Perhaps it will help some of you as well to be reminded that we don't have to know everything before getting on with the writing. Let the exploration be, if not the whole, then a goodly sum of the fun.

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For those who started on July 1st, you've now finished week three, and should have 15,750 shiney words in all! No matter when you started, though, have you written your 5,250 words this week?

Wow, I can't believe I'm first today. Well, here's a nice quote for you: 

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make."  ~Truman Capote, McCall's, November 1967

So, what kind of music did you make today? Did you like the way your music sounded? And how much music did you make? Did you make your 750? Sound off!

Hi there. MY name is Mud and I'm a serial non-finisher of stories. At least, lately I have been. I used to finish things, but Evil Writer's Doubt hit me in the middle of the last round of novel-in-90, and I haven't been able to write much of anything - and certainly not finish it - ever since.

I'm creeping back to the fold deflated, chagrined, and determined this time around to have only one goal - to learn, above all else, to write a Shitty First Draft. That's all. I'm going write it, no matter how crappy, and to finish it, and maybe, MAYBE that will clear the pipes so I get get back to the story I loved and left.

So that's what I'm doing here. Writing a SFD. That's all. New story. New start. Far, far lower self-imposed stakes.

I come to you with 4,485 words exactly so far.

Heh - I wonder, are there twelve steps for the self-flagellating? If there were, this would surely be one of them...

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."

That means I'm not off for vacation, because I have a lot of writing to do, but, oh-yeah, I will have all day to do it. Or, well, most of the day. Or at least maybe two hours daily, because there are some other vacation-y obligations. But who cares. Don't know if I'll have the internet access where I'm going so this may be a "see-you-in-a-week-with-INCREDIBLE-wordcount" post.

And how are you faring today? 750+ anyone?

How lovely are the wiles of Words--Emily Dickinson

Did the words work their wiles on you today? How many were you lured into writing?

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In case anyone is interested, http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ has Liquid Story Binder XE for free if you download it today. This is a program that helps writers plan as well as write their novels, short stories, etc.

THE FIRST DRAFT
I love this book. And it loves me. I never want to be without this book. Never, ever. What? Were you saying something? I'm sorry I can't hear you because my book just said the best thing ever. Wait--just listen to this sentence. I know! Isn't my book so dreamy? I love you, book. Do you love me? Of course you do. OMG--we said that at the SAME TIME! WE ARE SO IN TUNE! This is going to be the best book ever written. Oh, whisper that again. I Pulitzer you too, honey. Sigh."   - Libba Bray, on the drafting and revision process.

Are you in love with your book?  And how many words did you write today?"

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” -Zora Neale Hurston

So who other than me and o_yannik are doing a project with research involved? What are you researching?

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No quote from me, just a desire to know--did you get 'em, huh huh, did ya?

Sound off about that 750!

Unless I'm mistaken, we need a count for Week Two of this Ni90 round, so come forth one and all, and tell us those grand grand totals. 

If you're...

One week in:      5,250
Two weeks in: 10,500

What, me first again? It must be the time-zones.

"The house of fiction has in short not one window, but a million": Henry James.

What windows are you looking through today?

I made a post earlier today on my LJ to mumble about the writing process and review two word processors I've been playing with, and a friend mentioned being a member of this community. I immediately had to pop over and found that this group is exactly what I need.

I'm Mala, and I'm a baby novelist with aspirations of being published, though I've been writing (mostly short) fiction for years. I've tried my hand at nano and hated the time constraints-- nevermind juggling end of term work. While I set myself with a goal of 500 words a day, I'm not very good at making myself stick to them without someone shaking a finger at me. I'm currently in the early-middle stages writing a first draft of a novel, hopefully the first I'll actually manage to finish. I've got a lot of other books floating around in my head trying to distract me, but I vowed to just sit down and finish one.

I have no idea what my word count is since half of what I have is handwritten, but I promise all my word counts here will be fresh for this round. I just wish I'd known about this group when I was starting out!

Oh, and just for fun, but if anyone knows about a spreadhsheet like The Nanowrimo Report Card (links to an Excel Spreadsheet) or a way to edit it, I'd really appreciate it! I've been playing with it but I can't get the sums to come out right. It's not too important, but I always did like having that pretty little graph showing my progress.

No time to get a quote, sorry guys.

Sound off!

"Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience." - Henry David Thoreau

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Wow, I wasn't expecting to be first!

"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium." ~Norbet Platt

How goes the quest for equilibrium?

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Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum. ~Graycie Harmon

This quotation has probably appeared before, but it feels particularly appropriate to me today. My heroine has wound up trying to explain capitalism to one of the secondary characters (who is neither human, nor sane).
What I am thinking? This is a fantasy novel, blast it!
So that's 1219 crazed words today. How are you all doing?