October 17, 2012

Chocolate Fixes: ROW80 Update

As part of my NaNoWriMo conditioning, I'm going to work on keeping my blog posts short and sweet.

Let's take a look at the new A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) goals I set on Sunday.
  1. Start outlining Chasing Memories, my NaNo piece -- would like to be halfway by Wednesday's check-in ----> Here's what I quickly realized as I stared at a blank page with the intention of outlining... I'm a full blown pantser. Now I'm even more terrified of NaNo. I'm going to keep this goal until Sunday and hope I can force some general ideas on the page, even if it's not a full blown outline.
  2. Make a character list for Chasing Memories ----> A good start to this. But knowing my characters is dependent on that silly outline thingie. *head smack*
  3. Prewrite two blog posts for November ----> Were you laughing when I set this goal? I can barely get my normal blog posts done. I did prewrite this Friday's post. Does that count? I am, however, going to keep this goal for Sunday's check-in.
  4. Edit three chapters on BT, to get ahead on my editing schedule ----> Halfway. Will finish and send to client by Friday.
  5. Look at November review schedule and plan a schedule to get ahead on commitments ----> Done. But I realize I have a lot of reading to do by 10/31. That's okay, sleep is overrated.
  6. Spend 30-45 minutes each day exploring the NaNo site ----> Great, another site to completely suck away chunks of time. Although I am finding it quite fascinating.
Now for a light-hearted moment...

I have a candy corn obsession. I eat them until I feel sick. There, I said it. On a recent trip to Target, I discovered what possibly could be the best invention ever...


Is there anything chocolate can't make better?

I hope the idea of this brightens your day as much as it brightened mine. Now I'm off to edit.

10 comments:

Fallon said...

I plot out my novels, but I don't do an exact outline. I start with a one line summary and expand out on that and from there, figure out my scenes(which usually end up changing a bit as I write). Something like that might work, and if not, there's really nothing wrong with being a pantser. ;)

And, yes, chocolate fixes just about anything. :)

Anonymous said...

There's absolutely nothing wrong being a pantser. Most pantsers can't do full blown outlines. You know what they can do? They can write a 1 sentence log line for the story. Or maybe even write a paragraph summary of the story is about. How does it start and where does it end up. You may not know exactly how you get from the start to the end you stated but that's the thing about pantsing it, you always figure it out along the way.

I for one don't think you need to finish the outline to know more about your characters. Start with those main ones you have to have to tell the story. If you need more, then you do. Get to know the main ones though. Remember, your characters are only reacting to the plot points. They have their own goals and motivations. The outline only gives you things to throw them against to see how they react.

Hehe. Have you tried the pumpkins that come with candy corn?

Julie Glover said...

Have you read Jami Gold's recent pantser/plotter post? She's tried plotting, but apparently she's a pantser, period. So there you go. Whatever works for you.

Best wishes with NaNoWriMo! You may be more ready than you think. ;)

Jo Michaels said...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh candy corn and CHOCOLATE!!! hehehhehehhehehehhehehhehe *giddy*

I never plot or outline. I write chapter headings and tell myself what I want to see happen in the chapter via notes underneath. I oftentimes end up going a totally different direction but I get from point A to point B eventually :)

WRITE ON!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh have fun on the NaNo site. I'm not participating this year, but I did last year and there's some fun resources on the site, and you might find a write in in your area. Good luck! Sounds like your doing lots of preparation, so I know you'll be successful. And you've got candy corn to fuel those late night write fests. ;)

Tia Bach said...

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I'm going to be trying some out in the few days we have until NaNo. I really appreciate it.

D. Ann said...

I have to review my November review dates as well, thanks for reminding me. I know I have to read and review at least 5 books so I need to get on that before Nov. 1st.

I used to be a panster but for this NaNo I have to plot it out. It helps that I'm going to have people looking over my synopsis and outline to help me with the story.

Juliana Haygert said...

Chocolate can fix anything! lol
It's okay being a pantser. I am a little of both, pantser and plotter, and I find the use of the beatsheet (Save the Cat by Blake Snyder) to be a good thing when I don't want to plot, but want to have some direction.
You're doing great! Hope you can keep that up!
Have a great week!

bookworm said...

If I was a novelist, I would be a pantser. Have to be true to myself. I'm a nonfiction gal, I'm a pantser, and there is nothing wrong with that. Also, I love chocolate. But I have detested candy corn since I was a kid (yup, they had candy corn in the early 1960's) and there is nothing that can make candy corn edible. Not even chocolate.

Tia Bach said...

Most of us agree... chocolate truly helps! I've been behind on social media partying, but now that I conquered NaNo, I look forward to talking with everyone!