ALREADY A WINNER

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

My word count isn't where I was hoping it would be, but the book I am writing is a delight to me.  I am doing all sorts of little things that cause me joy as a  result of this adventure.

I have been using my laptop for months, and rarely used my desktop computer at all, since it's not hooked up to the Internet. Today I saved things to a flash drive and transferred them to the desktop computer, and sat there for a time adding to my novel. I like this novel so much I have saved it to the flash drive, in email and on both computer hard drives.

My word count is behind, but not so much so that I can't catch up. I would really like to "win" nano, but if I don't, I have won already!

There are people around me now who, having seen what I have written, take me more seriously as a writer.
I have met many new younger people and enjoyed sharing energy with them.
I appreciate my time more, and see how much  actually do in a day.
My emotions are freeing up as I go from one character to another.
I am putting even more order and respect into my personal life. (There was a lot there already, so this is an added bonus that I am thrilled about.)

I am wondering....are others experiencing positive things as a result of entering this shared experience?
What's it doing for you?

Comments

[storywriter84.livejournal.com]

What a great way to look at it! Good luck this year! And it's like you said, even if you don't hit your word goal, you technically already WON. :)

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Same to you! I was told years ago to stick with the winners and at that time had no idea what that meant. Now I see winners all over the place. Those who go forward against all odds....those who smile in the middle of chaos...ANYONE who tries the NANO challenge.

Chris Baty has to become ecstatic each year as he sees so many of us decide it's fine to be nuts.

Freedom is a GOOD thing!

[deadendsongs.livejournal.com]

I'm behind, too. I have a degree in English and it's my dream to write, but since college I've been caught up in the day to day and a lot of family issues. I'd kind of given up on the dream. Also, I've never been someone who could sit down and just write. If the idea didn't come, then I didn't try.

NaNo was shown me that I can do it. I got a lot of compliments on my excerpt yesterday and, not going to lie here, I teared up. I'd really given up. And seeing others' work, it reminds me that there are great, undiscovered talents in the world and it makes me happy to know I'll read some of their work on the shelves someday, I really believe that.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

'Seems to me this is a great opportunity to find others like ourselves who really love writing and want to keep one another going. I try to explain to people that I write the way they breathe, but most don't "get" it. They aren't supposed to. They aren't writers. I am. You are. We are!

Tears...yup. I hear you.
The stuff I read here blows my mind! Depth! Talent! Originality! It's amazing stuff. The people I meet are as important to me as the words I type. It's all about connection; isn't it?

I'm so glad your hope is back!!

[starre257.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't have a shared experience.

AIM keeps crashing for me, so I can't talk to people that way, and the write-ins near me have a complete silence rule. I'm not even joking.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

I haven't used AIM, nor have I been to a write in, but you and I are sharing right now! Thanks for adding to this thread! Write it out! Start your own thread! WE can do this thing!

*hugs*

from the parallel world

[solarbird]

I hadn't written much music in the last couple of months, so I'm really happy to discover that I can in fact pick up and start writing again (NaNoteWriMo: 50 minutes of performable music^* in 30 days) with intent. It's kind of neat because I never could do this when I was writing fiction, or more accurately, failing to write fiction most of the time. I really like that I can do this. It makes me feel like I might actually be a musician. ^_^

Plus writing a huge screaming fit of rant last night helped me deal with some rage, which is always good p >_< q

---

^*: refers to completeness of song - i.e., has to be a coherent piece, and not a bunch of fragments. Does not refer to quality thereof. Everything I'm writing now I consider first-draft.

Re: from the parallel world

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

NaNoteWriMo? It sounds fascinating! I bought a used keyboard last month. I don't officially play, but I have written a couple of songs and I can pluck them out on the keyboard and them write out the music. ME? I play the flute. figure its in the same key as the keyboard, so it will all work out. Besides it's neat to be able to add beats behind the music! LOL!

Rants are great things! After I blow everything around me seems to change a little. My mother used to clap when I blew up and would say, "When you get angry, everything changes!" But then I am a redhead. LOL!

[blueveinwrists.livejournal.com]

I'm jealous.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Jealous? Hmmm. What can I do then to infect you with this attitude, so you can have it? Work with me here...I'm willing!

[forever-alone.livejournal.com]

After the rather terrible experience I had with NaNo last year, this year has reminded me why I keep coming back to churn out 50k words of annual crap. This is the first year I've ever stayed consistently ahead of my daily goals, and I'm having more fun writing this novel than I've had writing anything in years. I can't explain why, but I feel so in tune with myself and the writing process, and I'm so proud of myself for being AHEAD since I usually procrastinate quite severely. Even though this has been the worst year of my life, so far it's turning out to be the best NaNo. Creating art from pain I suppose. Or at least something that will be art after it's edited. :]

Good luck and happy NaNoing. You have a wonderful outlook on the whole thing!

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Pain does make great art. I laughed as I wrote that, because it's a sad statement to make...but when we write well because of it the pain passes.

Ahead? Grand! Keep at it!
That you came back after a poor experience says something really wonderful about you. I love courage! I betcha' whatever you are writing is really kick a$$! (Are we allowed to use such phasing here?) Ah...well...surely you know what I mean. When you come back from something negative and beat it...how else do you define it strongly? (Please God, grant me fun loving censors.)

[dfotw.livejournal.com]

I'm so exhausted today, between work, other engagements and trying to keep up with NaNo, that I'd forgotten that it really is a delicious adventure. Thank you, irish_injun, for reminding me.

Of course I'm experiencing positive things! Like, for example...

I've got to share my ideas with my flatmate and a friend, and got a few laughs and a couple of new plot points out of the deal.

My dad is happy and proud to see that I'm still writing, even though work takes (or seems to take) most of my time.

I've roped a few friends into the experience, and I'm almost prouder to see their word-count rise than I am to see mine; hearing about their characters and ideas is really exciting, too!

I've proved to myself (if only for five days so far) that I have the discipline to stick to a project of this magnitude.

I've discovered great ideas, resources and people orbiting around NaNo.


I hope everyone else is also getting good things out of NaNo (asides from a novel)... good luck!

:)

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Trust me, there are moments in the morning when I ask myself WTF? am I doing! Then I put one foot in front of the other and along the way something gets written and I fall in love with the characters again and a rosy glow falls around me.

What does it for me is knowing the rest of you are struggling as I am...and then it all feels like a team effort and I get back in line and begin feeling grateful.

WE CAN DO THIS. (I surely can't do it alone)

[hooves.livejournal.com]

I'm a little jealous, myself, but I just wanted to say that this topic really made me smile, and also gave me a bit of hope, too.

I think anyone who even tries NaNoWriMo and sticks with it to the end-- 50k accomplished or not-- is a winner in their own right. It's not easy to sit down and write on demand. It's a real challenge to force words out of you when they don't want to come, y'know? And harder, still, to love what you're writing as you write it.

I'm really glad to see someone who is loving the story they're writing. And you know what the best part is? If you are having fun writing it, and you love writing it? It'll probably turn out to be a wonderful, enjoyable story.

As far as positive things go, I've learned that I can get up before or around noon (I work second shift and oftentimes sleep until around 1:00pm, leave for work at 4:00pm, and get home only to goof off/fall asleep/eat). I've realized I can work, write my required words, and do other things-- like vacuum, watch a movie, do research-- and still have enough time to breathe.

My story's coming along slowly, and it's discouraging to me. I'm not loving things like I hoped I would. But at the same time, I'm getting my word count. Blank pages can't get edited, but my story can. At any rate, this is the most original fiction I've ever written in my life, and that, I can be immeasurably proud of! (I'm a fanfiction writer, primarily, so this is new to me.)

[ivy-poet.livejournal.com]

I love this: Blank pages can't get edited.

Like many of you, I've wanted to be an author my whole life, literally. The past couple years I've psyched myself out, gotten overwhelmed and stopped. But this year, 50k or not, I'm going to KEEP WRITING. I know I have a depth of untapped discipline...in there...somewhere.

:)

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

I'm willing to bet if this is an original piece, that it's going to get better as you go along. It's like raising a child. During the terrible twos when they are stubborn you wish you could put them in a freezer and defrost them when they are three.
My word count is down...yours is up!! Yup. Once you dig through the sludge, I am betting there is gold to pan...and lots of it.

Second shift...ARGH! I used to hate it. Heck! I am proud of you for doing this, and I don't even know who you are!

[cyndi-lauper.livejournal.com]

What I am writing about is my religion. I find that writing about my journey and experiences lets me express all emotions past, present, and future and liberates me from feeling so constricted as if I have been bottling them up all this time. As I write, I feel more connected and secure in my faith which I haven't felt in a long while.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Bonding is sweet; isn't it? Faith is the glue that holds us together when all looks like it might fall apart around us. (What's funny is the world has always looked like everything was falling apart, but it's still here. There's faith holding it together.)

It's wonderful you are having such a positive experience!

[pr1nce55k1tcat.livejournal.com]

Mine is keeping me sane, literally. Currently homeless and at uni, so things are bit stressful at the moment especially with our living arrangements and stuff.

Am planning on taking most, maybe all of Saturday and some of Sunday to sit down and type what I have written so far. Will hopefully be writing more of mine tonight or maybe tomorrow it depends on things.
Not sure what the word count is as yet but I think it's about 7000 (at present) could be more.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

I've done homeless in the past. I live in one room now. Email me any time.
I have written my way to sanity often in my life. It's the gifts we are given that are meant to guide us in this life. I just tell myself as rough things have happened: this is great material!

Your words count is greater than my own. Go for it!
When all else fails chant "This too will pass," because it will.

***HUGS***

I copied and pasted this because for some reason the last reply didn't indent and I am wondering whether you received it or not.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

I've done homeless in the past. I live in one room now. Email me any time.
I have written my way to sanity often in my life. It's the gifts we are given that are meant to guide us in this life. I just tell myself as rough things have happened: this is great material!

Your words count is greater than my own. Go for it!
When all else fails chant "This too will pass," because it will.

***HUGS***

[fairytaleaddict.livejournal.com]

You just made my day. ♥

This is the third year I'm doing NaNo. The first year I struggled like mad and managed to crawl over the finish line covered in ink and sweat. Last year I had gotten a whole lot better at managing my time and effort and planning out my story. I just didn't like the story.

This year however I decided to write exactly what I wanted to. Not try and make a statement, not try to write a brilliant novel, just write because it's fun. And I'm loving every minute of it. I adore my characters, my settings and my story and when I'm not writing it I'm imagining different scenarios to stick my poor unsuspecting characters into.

I've learned so much about myself and my writing through throwing myself into this 30-day madness with a bunch of equally mad and terribly brilliant people. It's great practice, it's lots of fun and like you say, it certainly adds an extra bit of self-respect and order into your life. :) That, and you always remember those moments in your life when you did something insane.

Thanks for posting this and best of luck with your novel!

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

You certainly just did as much for me as I did for you! What a trip! :D
Thanks for sharing! (Gotta find a better way to say that...LOL...it sounds trite!)

[morlockiness.livejournal.com]

It's surprisingly made me more organized. To make time for writing, I plan out the things I'm going to do on a daily basis and my life feels enriched because of it.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Plans never seem to work for me, but I do prioritize my time better. I chuckle about procrastinating. Other things that I delayed doing don't look as bad and I do them when I am stalling about writing! LOL!! Hey! Whatever works. I don't care what my motive is when I get something done that I have been really wanting to do.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

It really helps, doesn't it? What I like is I know I am not the only one going through this now. There are over 100,000 other people wanting to get some words out daily. I tend to be a sociable loner, but I think a lot of us are like that. How else would we get a chance to write? Nano, though, fills up any lonely place. I feel more content and then consider the work others are doing. If I want to be one with them, I have to also produce. It's great the way it works.

Like you, I don't know if I will make the 50,000 word goal, but I do know I have something worthwhile here that didn't exist a week ago. It feels like magic.

[ivor-severs.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this post!
Your attitude is very touching and inspiring.

I am learning to make writing a priority, and not just squeeze it in between more pressing engagements. I hope that by the end of November, I will acquire the habit of writing regularly.

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Do you keep a daily journal? I kept one for years. It kept me writing. It became so much a part of me, I didn't know how to get through a day without it! Now, I don't keep one daily, but I blog and write so much email, it amounts to the same thing. I count all forms of writing as writing. I've written some of my very best stuff in letters to friends. Copy and paste is wonderful; isn't it?
I am SO glad you are going to make writing a priority. Our gits are ours for a reason. Using them is what life is about. When we are fortunate enough to work at what we are gifted at; it's great....but no matter what else we do, using out gifts is important. That rest is just stuff we do.

[norikoandshuya.livejournal.com]

I am glad the NaNoWriMo is having such a positive effect on you. I have my reasons for doing it as well but have not allowed anyone to read my work because I'm not sure where is a good place to get genuine feedback. I was feeling a little down about this whole thing but after reading your comment here, I feel a little better and will try to continue. Thanks for the inspiration :)

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

The whole experience becomes intensely personal; doesn't it? There are moments I want to holler out, "Someone love me...quick!" There isn't anyone around to love me, so I have to think of something to do for myself. This writing raises a myriad of emotions! NAWEGOLOCO

I wasn't planning on sharing anything of what I wrote until after nano was over. No one is more surprised than I that I sent out work to some people I know. I was simply infatuated with my characters. It's like falling in love. I wanted to remain intimate, yet also wanted to tell the world.

Any insecurity I ever had is visiting me. But there is peace, too...a most profound sense of gentleness. There are moments I think I am undergoing spiritual brain surgery, and it won't hurt as much if I just sit still and cooperate. LOL

Then there are moments I sit here and laugh...such humor! So much joy! I figured this whole thing would be one near death experience because it would change me, and to change I have to let go of my old self to make room for the new me.

Since I am heavier than I want to be, I think it would be fantastic if that would happen in a physical sense! LOL! "I lost 50 pounds in 30 days!"
NaWeLoMo (National Weight Loss Month).

Ah, yes! fiction! What a place!

If all else fails I will start NAWEGOLOCO in December. That appeals to the Native American in me.

As for feedback, I think in the course of this month you will have a chance to meet many people through the blogs. Hopefully, among those people, you will find some you want to share with.

Have you used your buddies? Did you get some when you joined? Feel free to add me to your list, and I will add you to mine. Use the email here at the site. Stay in touch! Please don't try to do it alone...not with over 100,000 of us going through this! I am bethnolastname at NaNo

*hugs*

[darkleporidae.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much the same. My word count isn't high enough, I have less than half the month in which to actually reach my 50, 000 words and it should be stressing me beyond all belief and yet...

I love it. I had an awkward start but I persevered and now the plot and the characters have captured my heart.

And the icing on the cake for me?

My friend, who has only read my awkward prologue, loves it. Since he is the one I am working on this story for, that means a lot to me and he gives concrit too, which is extra awesome of him.

And so many more positive things have been happening for me since I began. I never dreamed when I began writing that I would take it this far, never dreamed I would have this kind of passion for anything in my life but I am so goddamn happy about it.

Now I just gotta make this feeling last the rest of the month...

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Yup!!
I'm happy for you! I'm walking around with this inner glow for a partially written book! That causes me to laugh. Perhaps it's like a child having an imaginary friend...I don't know. It's just nice to be projecting myself on several characters and liking who they are...all but the villain, but I can at least understand what he is feeling. So far no one is nuts in this thing. I like that! A touch evil...a touch eccentric...but no out and out crazy ones.

Ah...

I hope the feeling lasts for you!

Edited: I already replied, but it didn't indent, even though I hit the reply link. It happened a couple of times on this thread...so I am simply copying and pasting what I wrote so you will receive it. :)

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Yup!!
I'm happy for you! I'm walking around with this inner glow for a partially written book! That causes me to laugh. Perhaps it's like a child having an imaginary friend...I don't know. It's just nice to be projecting myself on several characters and liking who they are...all but the villain, but I can at least understand what he is feeling. So far no one is nuts in this thing. I like that! A touch evil...a touch eccentric...but no out and out crazy ones.

Ah...

I hope the feeling lasts for you!

[elialys.livejournal.com]

Your post is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing such a positive experience with us!! I'm so happy for you!

Only 5 days into nano, and I feel GREAT too! Last month was hard in RL, it just really kicked my poor ass, and I was really down for lots of reason, not motivated to do anything. Soooo I was kinda dreading November 1st, because last year, even if I won (= I reached 50k), it was painful and hard, and not as fun as I had expected (it was my first year)...

But oh, I'M LOVING IT THIS TIME!! I'm writing a crazy number of words everyday, it is killing my brain, but I'm loooving what I'm writing even if it's gonna need TONES of editing XD This feeling is so good <3 And it's so thrilling to KNOW that we are thousands out there doing the exact same thing. I felt so disconnected a few days ago, now my loneliness is gone, nanoers are awesome *sighs*

Basically, I am loving November <3

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

The connection is something wonderful; isn't it?

It took me five (small) chapters, but I got my MC sent ahead into the future...and as the title says there is no turning back. The only ones that know that at present are the villain and me. I'm still short of the quota for five days, but not as far short as I was this morning. LOL! I'm gaining! I cut the deficit in half today. The government ought to hire me!

Where else but in daycare and at NaNo could people discuss imaginary beings with such compassion for one another?

I'm delighted that you came back to have a go at it again this year. This is my first year. I listened to others last year as they shared on their personal journals. I remember thinking at that time, "I wouldn't be able to write that many words for fiction." Yet, here I am. It's going to take at least that many words to tell this story. I'm just hoping I get them all up and out before Nov 30. I saw on the home page tonight we can get a free galley proof from one of the sponsors if we win. I'd like that.

Nanowrimo is the opposite of boredom and loneliness. It's a bit overwhelming and extremely friendly and loving. Gush!

October was a rough month for me, too. There's a lot to be said for hanging in there!

Congrats to you on last year. This year you will be a double winner!

[takatohedgehog.livejournal.com]

With all the crap that I've endured this week, I have to say I'm actually finding NaNo fun. It seems incredible to me but I have FANS, and the damn things not even published!

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

Great!! Neat; isn't it?

[uplander.livejournal.com]

Because you wrote this post, I want to friend you. Can I? Also, anyone else who is discovering they really CAN do this, and are as thrilled as I am about it...please add me. I think this is a fantastic way to meet new people. I love writers, and I have discovered in the last 5 days that I am a writer too!! This is better than having a love for a tv show (which has its place) in common with someone, right? lol

[irish-injun.livejournal.com]

It sure is more fun than TV!

Feel free to add me as a friend and I will do the same with you.
I have two live journals. My poetry journal is bethnolastname.

My nano name is bethnolastname, too.
If you love writers and have discovered that you ARE a writer, hopefully you now love yourself even more!