Twenty-Five Thousand Words and Counting

So, I'm writing this darn novel for NaNoWriMo right?  And I'm thinking to myself - you know what, it doesn't matter what you end up with - in fact, although it would be pretty cool to hit the 50k word target,  that really doesn't matter either, not in the grand scheme of things.  I heard here and there that a few people thought this NaNoWriMo idea was really very stupid and it didn't mean a thing as the point is "just to write - edit later" (if you want), but one thing it has allowed me to prove to myself is given a deadline, I can write to it.

Somewhere in my brain, there is a tiny cluster of cells that disagree heavily at the fact this is a waste of time.  These cells have driven me round the bend, making me type faster and faster, and weaving themselves in and out of characters and experiences like a demented spider, the more I move on in the story.

I no longer own this story, as it now owns me and I am firmly stuck in the world with HotCeleb magazine and all the people who feature in it.  Especially Jardin Moist (that's just to make Stevyn laugh again ;)

The mind is a crazy thing (well, mine is).  I was really worried I would run out of steam the further I moved on in the story, but the damn thing is writing as if I had planned it.  Great stuff, but most unnerving as I don't know where it's all coming from.  MacBook is possessed.

Well, regardless who's possessing what and when, I have just tipped the scales over the half way mark.  Wow, can't believe I've got to write all that again, word count wise!  

So here's to the 25k word benchmark!  Not too bad a feat thus far.  I doubt very much I'll be keeping up this pace for the other 25k, but you never do know.  Perhaps I'l just finish it in time to hear good news from Screen East. Here's hoping. 

x

Life Mirrors Art in NaNoWriMo?

Remember, remember the 5th of November!  Oooooh, hello all!

I've been having loads of fun writing my novel for NaNoWriMo and am now totally obsessed with word counts.  The little word count widget I have on the blog sidebar doesn't seem to be working very well for me - it seems a little erratic - so I'll have to keep a note of my word counts as I go.

As I have already bemoaned, my weekend attempt was pretty crud. Having not actually started writing until the 2nd anyway, I did manage to get my fingers going and the word count has become as follows:

03/11/08: 4032

04/11/08: 8049

Obviously I am still going today, but I have just cranked over 9k so now I am fully committed and have to keep going! In addition to all that heart-stopping news I also now have a title - "Taking the Fast Lane".

I was quite interested to work out how many words per minute I am writing at the moment as this whole process is so totally different to screenwriting.  Bearing in mind I am 'making it up as I go along': I had no outline, no characters, no plot - in fact I had nothing until I sat down to start writing on Sunday - my average 'creation speed'* is 500 words an hour or 8.33 words per minute. However, this obviously varies greatly, as I know I managed to write 500 words in 15 minutes yesterday. It amazes me how hard it can be to think up many different ways to depict bad language, smut and loose morals without sounding repetitive. ;) Ho hum.

I must admit, I have never actually checked to see how many words made up any of my screenplays, so I set about looking at them as a little bit of procrastination and an excuse to spend ten minutes away from the ridiculously crass life my novel characters are leading. Needless to say,  I was quite shocked when I picked a random short and realised it was only made up of 2,245 words. How very funny.

Anyway, I really should get off and dedicate a  couple of hours to 'real' life now, before I re-embark on more 'Novel Hammering' (it's a new game, don'tcha know?) again this evening.  All I can say is I am so glad my life isn't as complicated and/or sordid as my 'Novel Lot".  *shudder*  

Sometimes my brain scares me with it's contents, you know.

;0)

Onwards.

*please note this is "raw creation speed" - not typing speed.  If it was typing speed I would indeed be looking for another vocation in life.