Thursday, October 10, 2013

It's Alive.....Alive!!



In our last episode....er, I mean, in my last post...I mentioned the fact that my writing pace has slowed and I needed more rigidity in my schedule, where writing is concerned.

Since then, I've been wondering if I haven't really, subliminally, been holding back so I can unleash a flurry of 'literary abandon' during November and National Novel Writing Month?

Nah, I'm not buying it either.

Regardless, I'm going to be spending the next three weeks roughing out an outline as well as tidying up a few of my character backgrounds. My plan is to bring Last Chance fully to life during November.

I managed to "win" my very first Nano, back in 2011, but fell short (by quite a bit) last year. I "pantsed" it those two years and would like to see 'how the other half lives', so I've decided to put some planning into my pantsing.

Not sure if that makes me a "planster", or what.

Anyway, I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo this year....how about you?

Oh, by the way, if you need a buddy over on the NaNo site, my handle is Mmeans68. It looks like you can, now, update some of your novel information, as well, so look me up while you're over there. :)


33 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I planned for both of mine (one was actually BuNo) and won the first time and came very close the second time. The manuscripts did not take that long to edit, either. Very clean. Highly recommend the planning!
Not doing it this year but will be here to encourage you to 50,000 words.

Mark Means said...

Thank you, Alex! Any plans for your past stories or are you still polishing them? :)

Andrew Leon said...

No NaNo for me.

Anonymous said...

I am saying, yes to Nano, right now. Hopefully that won't change.

Maurice Mitchell said...

Nano is a great concept and congratulations for winning in 2011. I'm sure the process is more important than winning anyway.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I've never participated before. Seems I am always swamped with "stuff" in November.

mshatch said...

I have plenty of projects to work on so no NaNo for me but good luck!

Robin said...

I have read other comments about NaNoWriMo, but had NO IDEA what people were talking about. So, I clicked on the link you provided and created an account. However, I still have NO IDEA what NaNoWriMo actually is...

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm not doing NaNo but I'll cheer the rest of you brave souls onward.

Christine Rains said...

Good luck with NaNo! I added you as a buddy. My name is Kalligenia on there. I have ten days of time taken away from me for family visits next month, but I still want to try to see how much I can write next month. I've been doing it for years. It doesn't feel right missing it.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Totally skipping NaNo. I've failed enough times to know it's not for me. A outlining panster? Hmm, would that be a knickerer?

Mark Koopmans said...

Good luck... you namo-ohno people are nuts - and I mean that in a nice way :)

I wish I had the energy, but no, that ain't going to happen!!

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Haven't won Nano yet but I still want to try again. Glad you're moving forward Mark.

S.P. Bowers said...

Wow, NaNo already? Good luck. I look forward to finding out if outlining made a difference.

Jennifer said...

I'm not doing NaNo next month. I'm going to use the time to work on my Camp NaNo WIP from last July.

Melissa said...

NaNo's not my thing, but to each his own. Good luck! :)

Arlee Bird said...

I'm not planning to do NaNo this year but that could certainly change. The two years that I won (2009 & 2010) I really pantsed it. I made the event a real challenge by deciding on an idea on the first day and no planning prior to the start of the event. It worked well for me except I've still not completely finished either yet. Someday I hope.

Good luck to you.

Lee
A Faraway View

klahanie said...

Hey Mark,

Mark, old buddy, old pal. I reckon you should do some of your literary abandon. In my case, I'm thinking of abandoning literature :)

I wish you all the best with that writing challenge. Me participate in a Mork from Ork challenge? Um...no thanks!

Have fun and enjoy your weekend, good sir.

Gary :)

Mark Means said...

@Andrew: Understandable...it's not for everyone, for sure.

@Sydney: Yay, misery loves company...er, I mean... :)

@Maurice: Thank you and, yes, you're absolutely correct...for me, at least, it's all about the journey.

@Diane: Same here, I'm really going to have to buckle down this year.

@mshatch: Thanks and I can empathize!

@Robin: NaNo is a pretty simple concept...you writhe a 50,000 word 'novel' (or novella, however you want to term it) in 30 days. You accomplish this by writing 1,667 words each day. It concentrates more on just getting the words down than editing. The NaNo site give you tracking tools as well as means of getting in touch with others in your area that are participating, too. I hope you have fun!

@Susan: Thank you and I'll take support you're willing to give :)

@Christine: Thanks and I added you back. I wish I would have tried harder, last year, but I gave up too easily for various reasons. This year, though, I -do- plan on finishing!

@Elizabeth: Totally understand but, you never know, this could be your year! :)

@Mark: Hey, if I had to wrangle three young 'ens, I'd probably be out of energy too! Thanks for the support :)

@Sheena: I think it's awesome that you're still trying....don't give up!

@S.P: Yeah, it kind of snuck up on me, too. I'll let you know, thanks :)

@Jennifer: See, you're ahead of me....I've never tried Camp NaNo. Good luck :)

@Melissa: Understandable and thank you!

@Lee: Thanks and let me know if you change your mind...I'd sure be rooting for you :)

@Gary: LOL...'Mork from Ork' challenge. You're just lucky I'm (barely) old enough to catch that reference :D Stay well, my friend and have a great weekend, too!

cleemckenzie said...

I'm not a NA NO person, but I wish you all kinds of luck. Great that you're giving both the pansters and planners strategies a go. You can tell us what you think.

Empty Nest Insider said...

It's great that you've turned into a "planster!" Best of luck with NaNo Mark!

Julie

Shell Flower said...

Plantser--yes, that is so what I am, too. I can totally relate. And, I have barely written for a while so I am hoping to unleash some serious writing in November. I have "won" 3 in a row, so I hope to be able to pull it off one more time. This is the first year I have an outline. Good luck!

Julie Flanders said...

I loved NaNo last year and managed to get my novel done because of it. Can't decide whether to do it again but I'm leaning towards it. I've been totally stuck in a rut.

Good luck with it!!

Jessie Humphries said...

I haven't officially signed up but I am 99% sure I'm resolved to do it. Must. Do. It!

LD Masterson said...

No NaNo for me. I just won't give up a month of Christmas planning and preparation for anything. But I wish you luck.

Unknown said...

I will participate in the nonfiction version of NaNo with a few smaller goals (one essay/submission per week). We'll see how that goes.

Unknown said...

Hey Mark! I can't wait for NaNo. I've done it before, but this is the first year I'm taking it seriously.

jaybird said...

Hey Mark!! Sorry, no NaNo for me. I know better than to try and commit to that this year. I am swamped. I will count it a coup if I can sit down for more than five minutes and have one coherent thought right now I am so busy. Maybe next year!! I wish you the best of luck with it though.

Robin said...

This was the challenge at Matthew MacNish's site:

List one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on those blogs.

I nominated you. I really enjoy this blog and hope that you get back to blogging more often.

Tara Tyler said...

awright! go for it mark!!
and ive been working on my comic for you... will send soon!

Al Diaz said...

Best of lucks with Nano, Mark.
I hope you get a minute and drop by the cave. There is an important invitation for you to pick up, for you are in my Guests of Honor list. I really hope you can make it. :D

Carol Kilgore said...

Good luck with NaNo! I've never participated, but I know many who do.

Lisa said...

I too, am participating in NaNoWriMo, for real this time. I tried a few years ago and didn't follow through. This time I'm ready. I've done my outline, I've counted how many words/pages I need to get done every day (thanks to the website's counter) and I have the will, (YES I DO!) to get this done. I can't wait to see how it works out. I figure if I can do the A to Z challenge in April, I can do this, right? Yeah. Cool. I'm looking you up over on NNWM because I need a buddy!

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