Waitangi Weekend Word Wace

Hey guys,

I was noticing that wwwW was quite a struggle. Much more so than Nano. To be fair, there is a lot of play in 30 days, so if you miss a day, you've got another 29 to spread the writing over. Four days is another story however, and I really noticed it.

Writing 7500 words is hardly the goal of these writing competitions and I think the general theme is 'some writing is better than no writing'.

That being said, I have some questions:

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
3. Did you manage to finish your story?
4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?
5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
6. What were your major obstacles to writing?

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
Surprisingly, yes.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
That I can write 6000 words in one day! That 15 minute sprints every hour is a very effective and painless way to get a couple thousand words comfortably written. It started hurting after about 3000.

3. Did you manage to finish your story?
Yes! I didn't expect to and I didn't make the idea into a novel. I made it less about plot, more about character and I liked my ending.

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?
I liked the amount of conflict between characters that I threw in in such an ad hoc manner. I had myself laughing in surprise at one point!

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
Harder, oh so harder! I wasn't even sure I was going to do it. Then I got really determined on Tuesday. But it was hard.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?
I think a lot of writing obstacles are mental. You think that you can write so many words in a day and when you get way passed that point your body starts objecting. In my case it was a headache, in others I think it's lack of concentration, etc.

No Excuses. Just Write.

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
In the end yes - once I figure the story in my head I can then write it. Tricky bit is the first part. I enjoyed writing the ending once I thought of it.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
laptop is necessary for me. I couldnt do it at a desktop. Found it easier to write in the evening while daughter was in bed and hubby outside at telescope.

biggest hint - KNOW your main character, if you get dug into a hole, think how they would get themselves out. if that fails - delve into magic or supernatural.

3. Did you manage to finish your story?
Yes- but still needed 300 words so I went back and filled in a bit.

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?
Yes - kept it simple and based it here at Massey and around Palmy. Made it easier to describe the location because I know it. Makes it quicker to sort out and write that way.
I end up loving all my characters - even the dead ones (ok, especially the dead ones). Gets fun when you write what the bad dude is thinking, oh you can become positively evil (evil chuckles)

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
Harder - I started a day late and panicked sunday evening which actually put me ahead. Without panic - no way I could have finished it.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?
Having to work on Monday and finish some work monday night, hence the references to finishing a manuscript in my story.

Also - not seeing in my head what happens. At that point the best thing was to move away from the computer and do something else. Then I could come back and say "ok what could they do now"

---------------------------------
NaNo winner 2006, 2007
SocNoc winner 2007,
WWWwace 2007, 2008!!!
Easter challenge winner 2007
Body count: 1 Institute heads, 4 professors, 2 postdocs, 2 PhD students, 2 sequencing technicians and numerous bad guys...
Oh I wish I could put that on my CV.

------------------------------------

Kerryn, how do you do the bold? Html? <b>...tries</b>.

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
I was happy with the actual prose, except plot-wise, my character was diverting from the idea I really wanted to write about. So I felt like I was writing a completely different story to the one I wanted to write.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
Know your character. =_= Because if you don't know him/her, the story isn't happening. Also.... set a short but regular time to write rather than write randomly for long periods of time. I had too much time on the computer where I just lost focus.

3. Did you manage to finish your story?
Nope. Then again, it was originally going to be a novel anyway. ^^;;

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?
Um. I did like my two attempts at beginnings... but it just wasn't the right scenes for the story. I was aiming for medieval-witty-fairy-tale-like: Scene1 was too... harsh and realistic. Scene2 was the complete opposite -it didn't seem realistic/credible enough.

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
Hm. Harder. 1. It was right before school started, so I didn't really put priority on it as much as preparing for school. 2. I didn't prepare enough beforehand. 3. With Nano, you produce writing in such huge chunks it's easier to forget about editing. With wwwW, it was easier to just go over the 7500 words (or less) over and over again. 4. Because Nano wordcount is so huge, you can easily write away thousands of words of random events but still have enough space for plot. WIth wwwW, it's harder to adjust to the fact that writing crap is okay. 5. Nano is longer, so at some point you'll get into it and write madly, while wwwW is so short I never got around to adjusting.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?
I had two directions for my story idea -one where the MC is a modern character who travels to a fantasy world, two where the MC is just an ordinary citizen of the fantasy world. I decided on one, but the critic in me just kept telling me it's too weird to write, and I keep on going back and rethinking my decisions, getting nowhere with writing. And since this choices would influence the MC so hugely, her personality, her life, the whole plot, couldn't be settled until I make a decision.

Angeldreams, it's BBCode. Text here(minus spaces)

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
Yep! The idea worked, but I didn't have enough time to reach the word target since I started a day late.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
I'll have to turn off the Internet! XD Other than that, write what you know, and if you don't know something you need to, do the research or you'll get someone complaining about inaccuracy somewhere down the track.

3. Did you manage to finish your story?
Nope, but I think I have the beginnings for a longer story based on this.

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?
I liked the King, his sister-in-law, and the Countess, though the Countess needs to learn what amount of perfume is acceptable. -_-
Desmond & Rose: *nodding furiously in agreement*

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
It was harder, largely because there was less time to write, and also because I couldn't get into a rhythm. Too many distractions called family got in the way. ¬¬

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?
Starting a day late, and having to work on Monday were the main ones. Also, a shopping trip plus movie on Tuesday didn't help. ^_^;;

�First notebooks, now scythes, what else do humans think Death Gods use, toilet brushes? You haven’t even transformed! OK. Repeat after me, ‘Death God Power, Make Up!’” - Oliver.

Dang it, the BBCode example didn't work. >_< Basically you use [ around the formatting changes you want instead of <>.

�First notebooks, now scythes, what else do humans think Death Gods use, toilet brushes? You haven’t even transformed! OK. Repeat after me, ‘Death God Power, Make Up!’” - Oliver.

Check out the FAQ under the Home tab. We use BBCode in the forums and Wikipedia has a good article.

No Excuses. Just Write.

Answers to my own questions:

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)
I liked some of it, but didn't like how I wasn't able to follow the plot outline I was using. I went way over on all the sections I wrote. Found it annoying how I kept going back to past tense and had to correct.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)
4 days is almost too short, and makes finishing really hard. Missing a day is almost suicide unless you are writing regularly.

It's a good idea to outline more, and have an ending if you can. The middle is much easier that way. Just letting the ending happen is asking for a bad story. All the power to people who can pull it off.


3. Did you manage to finish your story?
No. 7500 words and I'm mid-way through the 3rd of 4 parts. So, I'm probably looking at 10k-12k words, but will most likely edit down to 7.5k. I just thought of an interesting ending that I will probably do! :)

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?

I did like some of the fighting under a spewing volcano scenes. There was lots of danger all the time. The other stuff was only ok. I like the villianess, she is really, really mean and a psycho killer who looks mostly harmless. The main character is changing a lot, but not due to anything he's doing. He's somewhat helpless actually, but interesting anyway.

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?
Much harder. Nano is easier to get into a groove, and once you get ahead, it's quite easy. With 4 days to work with, you can't do any of that.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?

A combination. 1. Weather was gorgeous for the first time this summer. Golf was calling, and I actually did a round on Sunday. 2. I played with person and tense and it complicated things and meant more editing on the spot. The really bogged me down. 3. For some reason, the scenes weren't coming to a close, and I felt they weren't progressing the way I'd like.

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)

Generally yes. My new genre seemed much easer to write to me. Although what I managed to produce was extremely rough due to rushing so much.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)

Writing a 'short' story with such a relatively large word limit felt really easy to me because i could just write all the fun exciting bits of the story. Background was only needed as required, and leaving out as much as possible added to the mystery of my plot and made it more fun to write!

3. Did you manage to finish your story?

Heck no! What do you think I am, super woman? I'll explain in the last question.

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?

I loved it all, as a beginning idea. I could finish it as is or even develop it into a fully blown story. perhaps this could be a precursor to my socnoc story?

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?

Harder to finish, but in general the words came easier.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?

Being at home to write. I got home really late on Friday after a long week of 5.30am starts, so i slept in Sat morning, caught up on some desparate housework, started my story (500 words) then had to go to work again from 1.30 to midnight. Sunday was when I planned to get most of my writing down, but Chris wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to go out with him because the day was so nice, so we went to Raumati beach and didn't get home until 10pm. Monday I had to go in to work again, and I got home early at 2pm, but had to do the grocery shopping then go to a bbq which I got home from at 9.30pm, wrote some more story (about another 500 words) before passing out, exhausted. Got up at 5.30am again Tues, went to work. Got home at 4pm, went to another bbq for two hours, left early so I could get some more writing done, power wrote until House started, then gave up at 4022 words. Had to go to bed straight after boston legal as working again at 7am the next morning.

I didn't really get a "long weekend", as such. So I feel I was at a distinct disadvantage, and feel generally proud that I got as far as I did.

Trying to find the time (as usual)!

1. Were you happy with your writing (7500 words aside)

Not really since I started the wrong story. I have learnt something about what I like and what I don't like. It's a good job I didn't start NaNoWriMo or SoCNoC with that story. On the other hand, the second story I did was much better.

2. Did you learn anything interesting that you can share? (about writing, or about your environment, or about interruptions etc...)

Yes. TV is the work of the devil. Kids have too much money these days. Chocolate always helps.

3. Did you manage to finish your story?

Yes, but that's because I killed it. To be honest, if I'd carried on, it would have been about 7,500 words, but I stopped at 6002. The second story of 1600ish words was just a scene or two to try it out.

4. Did you like any of your scenes, characters, settings etc?

I won't mention my first story...

The second story made me laugh. I had all the Star Wards figures talking to each other, but Han, Leia, Luke, Darth Vader, Jabba the Hut and Boba Fett were all the good guys. The StormTroopers were the bad guys (who I called the duplicates, get it? hahaha, well, it made me laugh). *andy gets his coat*

5. Was this harder or easier than Nano?

Probably not since NaNoWriMo was a major achievement for me. It was harder in other ways. It's hard getting into the habit of sitting down to write when there is only 4 days.

6. What were your major obstacles to writing?

Writing about something I don't like. Otherwise, I would have been fine. The first story was laboured however my 2nd story of 1,600 words, I did in just over an hour.

Andrew Chilton - http://kapiti.geek.nz/