A Scenic Route
  • Welcome Back
  • Blog
  • About
  • Other Projects
    • Feathers In A Blender
    • From My Drawing Board
    • Backstage At The Blog
  • Privacy Policy

Fifty Thousand Words and What Exactly is a NaNo String?

  • Dragon's Milk
  • NaNoWriMo
  • Scrivener

It feels as if I just woke up from a long and exciting dream. I look around bleary-eyed and confused. Wait, what just happened? Where was I?

Oh, yes. I was writing. And writing. Until I forgot who I was and why I’m here. This is what I love about NaNoWriMo.

But yesterday I finished my fifty thousand words, and am trying to take a breather. Not that fifty thousand words does a novel make, and there’s plenty of revision coming up before it’s fit for anyone to see. (And, who are we kidding, no one sees my work anyway!) But I did get the words, and actually wrote most of them according to plan.

Yes, I had a plan. I’ve won this challenge this twice before, and while I had lot of fun writing my story and exploring my characters, I pretty much ended up crash landing the stories on or around November 30. I think my prospects of ending gracefully this year are much better, thanks to my outline on Scrivener. Here it is, in all its blue, lilac and cork board glory:

See the pretty colored index cards? I have them sorted by point of view, and I’ve done my best to include the conflict and the twist on each, along with the setting. All of these are happily subject to change should something better come along, but if not, at least I have something I can write that takes me on the path to my ending.

Lastly, I bet everyone’s wondering, “Just what is a NaNo string?” It’s something cooked up by my brilliant regional ML’s and here is what it looks like, when it’s done.

For each day one completes their 1667 words one ties a knot in the string, until the string has thirty knots in it and the fifty thousand words are completed. I will be proudly displaying it at the write-in today!

Why, you ask, am I going to a write-in, when I’ve completed my fifty thousand words? I reply; for the companionship, to cheer on my fellow writers, and…to write a few thousand words more.

Because I don’t want to stop. Ever.

November 19, 2011 Kirsten

Post navigation

Written? Kitten! → ← Hitting the Spot: For Music Lovers

Calendar

February 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
« Mar    

Recent Posts

Dearest Novel

Dearest Novel

Hopping on board the blog again, and look! It’s like riding a bicycle … just gotta get the rust out of my fingers. Not that I’ve been neglecting my writing, […]

More Info
IWSG: Fear, Love, and Writing

IWSG: Fear, Love, and Writing

It’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group, again. I know, don’t remind me– I was insecure two months ago, and haven’t been here since! But it’s the first Wednesday of the month […]

More Info
IWSG: Why Can't I Write Like Everyone Else?

IWSG: Why Can't I Write Like Everyone Else?

Welcome to this month’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post, which you’ll notice is the only post on this blog since last month’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. I know. I […]

More Info
IWSG: The Siren Call of NaNoWriMo

IWSG: The Siren Call of NaNoWriMo

Wait. IWSG? And NaNoWriMo? I know you’re staring at your screen thinking, “What’s with all the acronyms? She’s really lost it now. Things haven’t been the same at A Scenic Route […]

More Info
Stories and Trees

Stories and Trees

The arrival of fall got me thinking … Since I love walking in the woods, I find it often feels as if my Muse is wandering in a forest full […]

More Info
Infinity Edge

Infinity Edge

Since when do Muses need vacations? Apparently mine does, which is why he’s been suspiciously absent from the blog. Oh, wait, here he is … I brush aside the palmetto […]

More Info
IWSG: Enjoying the View

IWSG: Enjoying the View

Warning: This will not be the usual Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. Believe it or not, this month I’m actually a secure writer. Shocking, I know, but it’s true! I’ll […]

More Info
The Meet My Character Blog Hop-Nick Moore

The Meet My Character Blog Hop-Nick Moore

The cold wind gives me goose bumps as climb the front steps to Nick Moore’s beach house, gripping my laptop to my chest like a lover. I knock on the […]

More Info
Powered by WordPress theme Stained Glass