10 replies to this topic

[Callista]

So, uh, the NaNo said NO. Not happening. Work got crazy, and now it's Thanksgiving, and my trial for Storyist ran out and and.... *sigh*

Anyone else not making it this month?


Woeful in Sacramento, Canada
- Calli

[Thoth]

Callista, on Nov 20 2007, 03:13 AM, said:

So, uh, the NaNo said NO. Not happening. Work got crazy, and now it's Thanksgiving, and my trial for Storyist ran out and and.... *sigh*

Anyone else not making it this month?
Woeful in Sacramento, Canada
- Calli

Dear Woeful in Sacramento.

I hope this doesn't mean you're giving up on writing in general, or Storyist, specifically. It's a wonderful tool and well worth the price. (And no, I'm not a shareholder in the company.)

I don't do marathons myself, Calli, but it's always worth while pushing yourself to see what you can do. Still, life always gets in the way.

Happy Thanksgiving,
-Thoth.

[Steve]

So what is your word count? There are ten whole days left!

I'm a little behind myself (23454), but I am going to finish. You can hold me to that

-Steve

[Thoth]

Steve, on Nov 20 2007, 11:55 AM, said:

I'm a little behind myself (23454), but I am going to finish. You can hold me to that

Finish by November 30, or eventually?
Still, twenty-four thousand words in 20 days isn't bad, is it? That's still over a thousand words a day, on average. A great many professional writers barely produce a book a year. so your average is certainly in the professional class.

I'm curious to know what the average for the project will be (total word submission divided by the number of submitters) and divide that by 30. I'd bet Calli isn't really doing all that badly compared to the average.

-Statistically minded,
Thoth.

[Isaac]

Thoth, on Nov 20 2007, 12:30 PM, said:

I'm curious to know what the average for the project will be (total word submission divided by the number of submitters) and divide that by 30. I'd bet Calli isn't really doing all that badly compared to the average.

-Statistically minded,

I think the median would be more interesting, statistically speaking.

IF

[Callista]

Thoth, on Nov 20 2007, 11:30 AM, said:

I'm curious to know what the average for the project will be (total word submission divided by the number of submitters) and divide that by 30. I'd bet Calli isn't really doing all that badly compared to the average.

Ooh, there's a thought. I know it's possible to do - I did it last year. Of course, last year I was still in school, and was therefore obligated to really use the time I could find to write... I think having all the time in the world to write actually hinders the writing process. Am I alone there?

- Calli

[Thoth]

Callista, on Nov 20 2007, 03:56 PM, said:

Ooh, there's a thought. I know it's possible to do - I did it last year. Of course, last year I was still in school, and was therefore obligated to really use the time I could find to write... I think having all the time in the world to write actually hinders the writing process. Am I alone there?

- Calli

Nope. You are not alone, Callista. As the old saying goes, "If you want something done, asks a busy person."

[pjl]

Callista, on Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM, said:

Ooh, there's a thought. I know it's possible to do - I did it last year. Of course, last year I was still in school, and was therefore obligated to really use the time I could find to write... I think having all the time in the world to write actually hinders the writing process. Am I alone there?

- Calli

Seems to be the opposite for me

Since I finished my job about 6 weeks ago I've done nothing but write. Having the time has been a real eye-opener into the world of the 'jobbing' or 'journeyman' writer. Full days, pulling eight hour shifts takes the sheen off any earlier 'writerly' fantasies I might have had. It's damn hard work, but it's about a billion times more rewarding than working as a technician as I used to do (no more Windows problems, hoorah!)

In any case, the happy thought is that at two thousand words a week a novel of a good size can be finished in a year. So it's not all about the word count in the end, it's about the determination. Sadly, I have a flighty mind and can't spend more than four to eight weeks on a project or I get bored

I'm reminded of Bradbury's words when they first asked him for a novel:

'I'm not a marathon runner, I'm a sprinter.'

That always cheers me up

PJ

[Thoth]

pjl, on Nov 20 2007, 06:07 PM, said:

I'm reminded of Bradbury's words when they first asked him for a novel:
'I'm not a marathon runner, I'm a sprinter.'
That always cheers me up

Cheers me up to. But I wind up with a lot of started novels (i.e., Bradbury's sprint) but grow bored with them before they're done (Thoth's sloth). I suppose we either have to sprint faster, write shorter, or wait for that perfect idea that captures our hearts and minds.

Still pluggin' away,
-Thoth.

[pjl]

I think, and maybe I'm just being starry-eyed about this, that the short-story might soon make a comeback. I've seen the online markets for short-stories increase significantly over the last few years, paying and non-paying. And if our culture is anything to go by, we're becoming less and less able to hold our own attention. Youtube clips of 3 mins are a cultural staple now. Maybe that will once again cross over into the realms of writing?

Full disclosure; I much prefer reading short stories than novels. Give me Maupassant or Bradbury any day over longer works. And Bradbury has a most artful dodge when it comes to a lot of his novels -- The Martian Chronicles, Illustrated Man, From the Dust Returned -- he just takes a load of short stories and stitches them together with a newly invented narrative thread.

Here's to a new era of short stories I say!

PJ

[Isaac]

pjl, on Nov 20 2007, 07:38 PM, said:

Full disclosure; I much prefer reading short stories than novels. Give me Maupassant or Bradbury any day over longer works. And Bradbury has a most artful dodge when it comes to a lot of his novels -- The Martian Chronicles, Illustrated Man, From the Dust Returned -- he just takes a load of short stories and stitches them together with a newly invented narrative thread.

That is an interesting perspective. When I pick up a good book, I want it to go on and on. When the book is not so good, I wish it were a short story. I have trouble not finishing books that I start, even when they're not so good (except when they're just really bad). OCD.

I do think that some full length novels I've read would have been better as short stories. I think the author had a great idea, but loused it up with too much fluff to make a full length novel. Maybe it's time to revisit short stories.

IF