If you’re still writing, give yourself a pat on the back because you’ve already made it halfway. This is no small feat and you should be proud of yourself!
It’s about this point in the month when things get tricky. The initial enthusiasm for your project has probably worn off, and coming up with new words is increasingly difficult. Plus, for Americans, we have Thanksgiving to tango with.
Let us know how things are going. Let us know if you’re stuck or struggling to keep writing. If you’re stuck in the “Muddy Middle” of the story, you’re not alone! And if you’re still sailing along, maybe you can share some encouragement for your fellow authors who have fallen into writer quicksand. Did you have a major breakthrough or have a character do something entirely unexpected?
And definitely share your word count so we can cheer you on!
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
Hi everyone!
Thanksgiving is definitely the make or break point of NaNo for me. If you're behind, it's harder to catch up. And if you're ahead, it's easy to fall behind. And it's harder to write when you're sleepy with a full stomach.
I'm a bit behind on this year's NaNo project which is a new fantasy story. Part of the problem is I'm just not in love with the story the way I was in love with The Dreamwalker (which I won NaNo with in 2019 and is now complete at 114,000 words and currently in querying stage). Another problem is I've become more excited about posting episodes of Adventure Story here on Substack than I am about writing anything else. Adventure Story is fantasy but it's comedy - and I think I've been missing some "lightness" after spending almost 4 years with The Dreamwalker which I would classify as "dark fantasy."
What I would say at this stage to new writers or those trying to meet the 50,000 word goal for the first time is this:
-It doesn't have to be good, it just has to exist. You can mold it into something better later. Right now, it's word-vomit time.
-If you are really struggling for motivation/energy, think in terms of sacrificing hours for your future self. Your future self will feel so accomplished to be sitting on a full (albeit rough) draft of your story come December 1. Then you can put it away and sail into the holidays and feel like you really accomplished something. Give yourself that gift - it starts with an hour of suffering today.
Those are two mind tricks that worked for me in 2019 and now I have a completed manuscript that I feel confident will make it onto the shelves. Have had a few agents ask for the first 50 pages already. And it started as an absolute chaotic word-dump disaster on a cold November four years ago.
So wonderful to hear this story. I definitely have focused on just getting the story down. And on occasion I skip from one part to another to suit my energy or interests of the day. On occasion my writing for the day has been a series of what if threads to help work out which direction to go next. I know loosely where I'm headed which helps. I look forward to hearing more about your project!
“It doesn't have to be good, it just has to exist.”
Excellent perspective on this. We are very focused on the look of things even in beginning stages and might be tempted to revise or trash whole paragraphs because it’s not good enough. That’s not the point. Developing good habits and getting to work written is. Thanks for this.
Exactly! “It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to exist.” I call it regurgitation mode, and it took some mental training to get over how a polished, edited work read vs the train wreck of a rough draft. I had to learn to get comfy in the squarshy, icky mud. To play and splash in the dookie like a big kid. It can always be edited later. And if I ever get all bummed about what I’ve written I STOP going back to read it and only let myself barf new words. Even if they’re out of order. Even if I can’t remember where I left off. Blah. Whatever. Whatever comes out today is what I’m inspired to play with and that’s that.
What you’re talking about with the light vs dark, this may be why I always have multiple projects going at once. Because then there’s something to play with no matter my mood. Congrats and pompoms for the Thanksgiving bog!
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
So my private little NaNo has rolled into the wretched “muddy middle”. Last week was great, but the story took an unexpected turn and now I’m stuck. I need an alpha reader or a beta reader, or a cup of tea, or a hug, I don’t know what I need...😭 it’s currently 37k, but I didn’t start from scratch in November. My goal is 60k by the end of the month...
I can offer a virtual hug! I'm writing snippets of my story that I'm interested in writing. I gave myself permission to skip around to write the parts of my story that fits the mood of the day. You got this! And I'm curious to know what and alpha or beta reader are and who such people are. I know nothing about what happens or could happen after I finish.
Thank you!☺️ I’ve been hanging around some writer’s groups on FB for a while, there I found out - an alpha reader is like a test reader who reads a very rough and unfinished parts of the story, gives feedback and advice if needed. A beta reader is a test reader who gets to read a finished (and somewhat edited) draft of the story, and gives feedback about the whole thing. I had beta readers, now we’re also writing buddies, but they’re reading my other stuff, I don’t want to dump this story on them.🤷♀️
Try writing a scene where something completely unexpected and unplanned happens to your characters. What is something they could never see coming (good or bad)? Maybe they meet a new character, they get news about their goal, a storm hits, someone has an accident (I once had a character cut himself badly just to break up the action, and it worked so well!) or something similar?
Thank you, but that’s what got me in trouble in the first place - one of my characters did something I didn’t plan (I have a rough outline of the story with plenty of room for variations), I did not expect that. I don’t know where it came from when I wrote it. Now it has changed the plot...🤷♀️
Doh! Those trixxy characters!!! Because you’re so close, do you still know how you want it to end? If so, can you write, “and then some random, unknown shenaniganry happens,” and pick it up after the mess, drafting in the hopes that back-plotting will show you how to get there?
I also do literal reverse engineered plotting. “If I need to get from F to Z, then Y, X and W need to happen. But in order for W to happen, M, N, O and P needs to be resolved. In order for X to happen, K needs to be resolved but K can’t be resolved unless GHIJ happen.” 🤪🙃🤓
If this monkey wrench has made your ending unclear, can you do sketches of possibles? (All these words count!!!) Like dialogue pinging and ponging (not fleshed out prose) and blow-by-blow scenes just to feel into an If This Then That scenario... and then sketch it in a completely different direction to see how they feel?
Hopefully any of your monkeying around with the wrench will get you over the hump for the final NaNo push. And if not...dooood, there’s always snark poetry about what a plot-wrecker your monkey characters are. There’s always filking to Christmas carols about the Bog of Eternal Stench (the messy middle). There’s always an AU short story to use as a palate cleanser where some random and diabolical act offs this meddling character. (Threatening them with extinction sometimes gets them to play nice, or at least provides entertainment for you.) And there’s always a completely Rebel-some deviation of telling this project “bite me” and plotting a new story for a few days. Hugs & pompoms!!!!!
Thank you.❤️ I’m sketching all kind of possible scenarious in my head, but I cant... simply put it all boils down to a decision between 2 guys. My MC has to choose at some point. It’s what I call “the Twilight trap”. Yes, yes this project started out as a joke, but now it’s spiraled into dead-serious-how-do-I-make-this-work story. Yes, the good ol’ “the girl, the vampire and the werewolf love triangle”. In a magical circus. Whatever. The problem - I wanted the MC to chose the werewolf. BUT the vampire (he’s not your ordinary vampire, but an energy-sucking vampire) did something... the MC’s powers (telekinesis and converting electricity into human energy) complement his powers perfectly. Ah... I love both of the guys. I don’t know.😭
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
I'm at just over 40k. I have twekaed my story line a few times so I know that I'll have to go back with a cleanup crew to reconcile some of the threads. My novel has a mystery. And it was a mystery to me as well until recently. I just kept writing 'whaf if' threads until I felt comfortable with one.
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
It could be going better, but of course we had to go visit the in-laws for a week. Thus, I will not make it to the end this year. That said, I have a great novel outline for the first time, and I really like how my story is going. No complaints. This story is book four of my mystery novel series that I've yet to publish, but writing this far ahead has really helped me figure out my overarching plan and understand my character. I love the NaNo model as a period of intense focus, even if I don't make to 50k this year.
Right?! It just gives an extra little umph at least once a year. And yessss I actually love having a series written well into its later phases because so many cool things happen that can change earlier stuff. Or needs to be set up. Congrats on still plinking along even with November family doings.
I never outline or plan. I just write usually. This year I've decided to lean on my outline. Writing a book in a series feels different, like I need to have more care.
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
I'm staying on track with the daily word count for NaNoWriMo, hitting 32k yesterday. I got very stuck on one plot point last week, but decided to write past it and let it figure itself out later, so that I could keep my forward momentum. I still have plenty of outlined scenes to get me to 50k, but I plan for this novel to be 100k when finished. So my only worry is that I'll lose momentum and motivation after I reach the midpoint at 50k, and after the communal cheerleading aspect of NaNo is over!
My advice to you is to make a plan for what you're going to do starting Dec. 1 and stick to it. Maybe it's taking a break until January, maybe it's keeping up the pace, or maybe something else entirely, but don't just leave it to "whatever happens." You've got this!
It wouldn’t let me tag you in my musings about continuing WordCount Wednesdays somewhere. 👇 (or is it 👆?) heeee. Anyway...do you think a post? A thread? Dunno how to drive the chat around here yet but...whatcha think?
That’s what I was wondering is what’s the best platform. Notes...thread...post and comments... I am discussing with Fearless Leader but input is valuable data. 🤔🤔🤔🧐
Do you mean, have a weekly post here on Fictionistas after NaNoWriMo? If so and if you are willing to set it up (you can schedule a bunch in advance) we can do it! Shoot me an email at jackie@jackiedana.com if you want to discuss it.
That's great advice, thanks! I think I'm going to take December off and then start again in January. The 1667 words per day pace is a lot for me, which is why I'll need the break. I think I'll plan on 1000 words per weekday starting in January.
Woot! Mine won’t be done at 50K either. Maybe we should start a post-NaNo cheer thread somewhere. 🤩 Word Count Wednesdays that just sorta...exists somewhere always for anybody trying to keep motivated about writing new words.
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Jackie Dana, Chevanne Scordinsky, Alexx Hart
congrats to all who have stayed the course this long. I left a week or so ago, just too much interfering from life's other commitments. As I say every year: maybe next year.
Sometimes when Life Happens in November, I do LoNoWriSea. (Localized Novel Writing Season.) 😈 Or LoNoWriYear. 🤓 It will always be there whenever you’re inspired to tinker with it.
I gave up tracking last week. I am still writing here and there but life has given me a few left turns. It’s all ok. And turns out the section I have been working on doesn’t fit at all, and I have to scrap it. It needs to be its own thing. Oh well. Not a lost cause but it belongs somewhere else.
Oooooh nommmmm! That’ll be fun!! There was talk about a Continuing Pompom Thread above. I find that having my accountability buddy for keeping up with physical therapy has made a world of difference. Maybe we can start some sort of continuous thread where we can all come celebrate wins, grumble about getting stuck, cheer for slow, steady-eddy progress, throw issues on the drawing board....FiNoWriYea. (Pronounced like “yay”) Fictionistas Novel Writing Year.
Or on a grumpy day: FiNoWriThrrrr. Fictionistas Novel Writing Thread. 🤪
Because some people are sprinters. Some people are marathon runners. Some people are power walkers or mountain hikers. And some people prefer to meander the woods at a lovely stroll. (For me, it totally depends on the year and the season. This year I’m on a rocket launcher with my hair on fire.)
Um...hi. My name is Alexx. I have a problem this year. The hyperfixation is strong with this one. I hit 51K last night and I’m still on Rabid Rabbit mode. (Fire. Fire! FIRE! I need TP for my bunghole!!!!bonus points if you know that reference.) I keep having to bribe myself. “If you eat all your vegetables and finish all your homework and chores, you’re allowed to go puke more words.” This is usually a winter or spring phenomenon, so it’s been nice to have an easy NaNo for once. 🥰
If you’re stuck, I’ve left some bread crumbs above for ways I try to get unstuck. Same with if Life Happening has gotten in the way. And there are lots of other juicy tidbits by the Crew for what is often the hardest NaNo week of all. Since I’m just on gravy mode now, feel free to ping me if you need pompoms or a hand out of the mud. Go! Go! Go!
I was so enthusiastic at the start of November. Then life sidetracked me (not American so not Thanksgiving). Rather a new part time job and trying to get my new fledgling creative business to off the ground ...
I'm still writing but will never hit 50k unless a miracle happens! But it'll be interesting to see where I am at the end of the month. I was looking forward to my 3rd NaNo win 🙄
Hi everyone!
Thanksgiving is definitely the make or break point of NaNo for me. If you're behind, it's harder to catch up. And if you're ahead, it's easy to fall behind. And it's harder to write when you're sleepy with a full stomach.
I'm a bit behind on this year's NaNo project which is a new fantasy story. Part of the problem is I'm just not in love with the story the way I was in love with The Dreamwalker (which I won NaNo with in 2019 and is now complete at 114,000 words and currently in querying stage). Another problem is I've become more excited about posting episodes of Adventure Story here on Substack than I am about writing anything else. Adventure Story is fantasy but it's comedy - and I think I've been missing some "lightness" after spending almost 4 years with The Dreamwalker which I would classify as "dark fantasy."
What I would say at this stage to new writers or those trying to meet the 50,000 word goal for the first time is this:
-It doesn't have to be good, it just has to exist. You can mold it into something better later. Right now, it's word-vomit time.
-If you are really struggling for motivation/energy, think in terms of sacrificing hours for your future self. Your future self will feel so accomplished to be sitting on a full (albeit rough) draft of your story come December 1. Then you can put it away and sail into the holidays and feel like you really accomplished something. Give yourself that gift - it starts with an hour of suffering today.
Those are two mind tricks that worked for me in 2019 and now I have a completed manuscript that I feel confident will make it onto the shelves. Have had a few agents ask for the first 50 pages already. And it started as an absolute chaotic word-dump disaster on a cold November four years ago.
You got this!
So wonderful to hear this story. I definitely have focused on just getting the story down. And on occasion I skip from one part to another to suit my energy or interests of the day. On occasion my writing for the day has been a series of what if threads to help work out which direction to go next. I know loosely where I'm headed which helps. I look forward to hearing more about your project!
“It doesn't have to be good, it just has to exist.”
Excellent perspective on this. We are very focused on the look of things even in beginning stages and might be tempted to revise or trash whole paragraphs because it’s not good enough. That’s not the point. Developing good habits and getting to work written is. Thanks for this.
Thank you for sharing. Your advice is fantastic. And hang in there!
Exactly! “It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to exist.” I call it regurgitation mode, and it took some mental training to get over how a polished, edited work read vs the train wreck of a rough draft. I had to learn to get comfy in the squarshy, icky mud. To play and splash in the dookie like a big kid. It can always be edited later. And if I ever get all bummed about what I’ve written I STOP going back to read it and only let myself barf new words. Even if they’re out of order. Even if I can’t remember where I left off. Blah. Whatever. Whatever comes out today is what I’m inspired to play with and that’s that.
What you’re talking about with the light vs dark, this may be why I always have multiple projects going at once. Because then there’s something to play with no matter my mood. Congrats and pompoms for the Thanksgiving bog!
So my private little NaNo has rolled into the wretched “muddy middle”. Last week was great, but the story took an unexpected turn and now I’m stuck. I need an alpha reader or a beta reader, or a cup of tea, or a hug, I don’t know what I need...😭 it’s currently 37k, but I didn’t start from scratch in November. My goal is 60k by the end of the month...
I can offer a virtual hug! I'm writing snippets of my story that I'm interested in writing. I gave myself permission to skip around to write the parts of my story that fits the mood of the day. You got this! And I'm curious to know what and alpha or beta reader are and who such people are. I know nothing about what happens or could happen after I finish.
Thank you!☺️ I’ve been hanging around some writer’s groups on FB for a while, there I found out - an alpha reader is like a test reader who reads a very rough and unfinished parts of the story, gives feedback and advice if needed. A beta reader is a test reader who gets to read a finished (and somewhat edited) draft of the story, and gives feedback about the whole thing. I had beta readers, now we’re also writing buddies, but they’re reading my other stuff, I don’t want to dump this story on them.🤷♀️
Thank you for the explanation!
Try writing a scene where something completely unexpected and unplanned happens to your characters. What is something they could never see coming (good or bad)? Maybe they meet a new character, they get news about their goal, a storm hits, someone has an accident (I once had a character cut himself badly just to break up the action, and it worked so well!) or something similar?
Thank you, but that’s what got me in trouble in the first place - one of my characters did something I didn’t plan (I have a rough outline of the story with plenty of room for variations), I did not expect that. I don’t know where it came from when I wrote it. Now it has changed the plot...🤷♀️
Ah but that's what I love the most about writing fiction! Just keep going and see where it takes you!
Doh! Those trixxy characters!!! Because you’re so close, do you still know how you want it to end? If so, can you write, “and then some random, unknown shenaniganry happens,” and pick it up after the mess, drafting in the hopes that back-plotting will show you how to get there?
I also do literal reverse engineered plotting. “If I need to get from F to Z, then Y, X and W need to happen. But in order for W to happen, M, N, O and P needs to be resolved. In order for X to happen, K needs to be resolved but K can’t be resolved unless GHIJ happen.” 🤪🙃🤓
If this monkey wrench has made your ending unclear, can you do sketches of possibles? (All these words count!!!) Like dialogue pinging and ponging (not fleshed out prose) and blow-by-blow scenes just to feel into an If This Then That scenario... and then sketch it in a completely different direction to see how they feel?
Hopefully any of your monkeying around with the wrench will get you over the hump for the final NaNo push. And if not...dooood, there’s always snark poetry about what a plot-wrecker your monkey characters are. There’s always filking to Christmas carols about the Bog of Eternal Stench (the messy middle). There’s always an AU short story to use as a palate cleanser where some random and diabolical act offs this meddling character. (Threatening them with extinction sometimes gets them to play nice, or at least provides entertainment for you.) And there’s always a completely Rebel-some deviation of telling this project “bite me” and plotting a new story for a few days. Hugs & pompoms!!!!!
Thank you.❤️ I’m sketching all kind of possible scenarious in my head, but I cant... simply put it all boils down to a decision between 2 guys. My MC has to choose at some point. It’s what I call “the Twilight trap”. Yes, yes this project started out as a joke, but now it’s spiraled into dead-serious-how-do-I-make-this-work story. Yes, the good ol’ “the girl, the vampire and the werewolf love triangle”. In a magical circus. Whatever. The problem - I wanted the MC to chose the werewolf. BUT the vampire (he’s not your ordinary vampire, but an energy-sucking vampire) did something... the MC’s powers (telekinesis and converting electricity into human energy) complement his powers perfectly. Ah... I love both of the guys. I don’t know.😭
I'm at just over 40k. I have twekaed my story line a few times so I know that I'll have to go back with a cleanup crew to reconcile some of the threads. My novel has a mystery. And it was a mystery to me as well until recently. I just kept writing 'whaf if' threads until I felt comfortable with one.
That's exactly what I do. What if this, what if that, until I get somewhere.
And count all those words!
Oh nice!!! That’s always fun then the story delivers surprises for the us to enjoy too, while we’re writing it. 🤓
It could be going better, but of course we had to go visit the in-laws for a week. Thus, I will not make it to the end this year. That said, I have a great novel outline for the first time, and I really like how my story is going. No complaints. This story is book four of my mystery novel series that I've yet to publish, but writing this far ahead has really helped me figure out my overarching plan and understand my character. I love the NaNo model as a period of intense focus, even if I don't make to 50k this year.
It sounds like you've made great progress even if you don't hit the 50K, so celebrate your wins anyway!
Right?! It just gives an extra little umph at least once a year. And yessss I actually love having a series written well into its later phases because so many cool things happen that can change earlier stuff. Or needs to be set up. Congrats on still plinking along even with November family doings.
I never outline or plan. I just write usually. This year I've decided to lean on my outline. Writing a book in a series feels different, like I need to have more care.
I go back and forth on if I plot or pants. I do better when I plot. And then pants off in wild directions within it. 🤣
I'm staying on track with the daily word count for NaNoWriMo, hitting 32k yesterday. I got very stuck on one plot point last week, but decided to write past it and let it figure itself out later, so that I could keep my forward momentum. I still have plenty of outlined scenes to get me to 50k, but I plan for this novel to be 100k when finished. So my only worry is that I'll lose momentum and motivation after I reach the midpoint at 50k, and after the communal cheerleading aspect of NaNo is over!
My advice to you is to make a plan for what you're going to do starting Dec. 1 and stick to it. Maybe it's taking a break until January, maybe it's keeping up the pace, or maybe something else entirely, but don't just leave it to "whatever happens." You've got this!
It wouldn’t let me tag you in my musings about continuing WordCount Wednesdays somewhere. 👇 (or is it 👆?) heeee. Anyway...do you think a post? A thread? Dunno how to drive the chat around here yet but...whatcha think?
I like the idea! Maybe Substack Notes could work.
That’s what I was wondering is what’s the best platform. Notes...thread...post and comments... I am discussing with Fearless Leader but input is valuable data. 🤔🤔🤔🧐
Notes could work, but I am afraid a lot of our writers aren’t really active there (including myself), so it might not be as effective as we want.
Do you mean, have a weekly post here on Fictionistas after NaNoWriMo? If so and if you are willing to set it up (you can schedule a bunch in advance) we can do it! Shoot me an email at jackie@jackiedana.com if you want to discuss it.
That's great advice, thanks! I think I'm going to take December off and then start again in January. The 1667 words per day pace is a lot for me, which is why I'll need the break. I think I'll plan on 1000 words per weekday starting in January.
Woot! Mine won’t be done at 50K either. Maybe we should start a post-NaNo cheer thread somewhere. 🤩 Word Count Wednesdays that just sorta...exists somewhere always for anybody trying to keep motivated about writing new words.
congrats to all who have stayed the course this long. I left a week or so ago, just too much interfering from life's other commitments. As I say every year: maybe next year.
It happens. I hope you got some good work done before you set it aside, and maybe learned some things you can carry into 2024.
Sometimes when Life Happens in November, I do LoNoWriSea. (Localized Novel Writing Season.) 😈 Or LoNoWriYear. 🤓 It will always be there whenever you’re inspired to tinker with it.
I gave up tracking last week. I am still writing here and there but life has given me a few left turns. It’s all ok. And turns out the section I have been working on doesn’t fit at all, and I have to scrap it. It needs to be its own thing. Oh well. Not a lost cause but it belongs somewhere else.
Even if you aren't focusing on the goal, if you're still writing that's what counts. Keep going! :)
Yep! I have no timeline to finish this project. Slow and steady. Getting a new lovely laptop this weekend so there’s plenty of motivation!
Oooooh nommmmm! That’ll be fun!! There was talk about a Continuing Pompom Thread above. I find that having my accountability buddy for keeping up with physical therapy has made a world of difference. Maybe we can start some sort of continuous thread where we can all come celebrate wins, grumble about getting stuck, cheer for slow, steady-eddy progress, throw issues on the drawing board....FiNoWriYea. (Pronounced like “yay”) Fictionistas Novel Writing Year.
Or on a grumpy day: FiNoWriThrrrr. Fictionistas Novel Writing Thread. 🤪
Because some people are sprinters. Some people are marathon runners. Some people are power walkers or mountain hikers. And some people prefer to meander the woods at a lovely stroll. (For me, it totally depends on the year and the season. This year I’m on a rocket launcher with my hair on fire.)
I support this motion! Yeeeeeesssss!
Plotting shenanigans are afoot... 😈
Literally cannot wait to get my MacBook Air. My current beast is a MacBook Pro from 2015!
Dooood. I have that exact beast!!!! It...limps along like a champ. 🙃
Um...hi. My name is Alexx. I have a problem this year. The hyperfixation is strong with this one. I hit 51K last night and I’m still on Rabid Rabbit mode. (Fire. Fire! FIRE! I need TP for my bunghole!!!!bonus points if you know that reference.) I keep having to bribe myself. “If you eat all your vegetables and finish all your homework and chores, you’re allowed to go puke more words.” This is usually a winter or spring phenomenon, so it’s been nice to have an easy NaNo for once. 🥰
If you’re stuck, I’ve left some bread crumbs above for ways I try to get unstuck. Same with if Life Happening has gotten in the way. And there are lots of other juicy tidbits by the Crew for what is often the hardest NaNo week of all. Since I’m just on gravy mode now, feel free to ping me if you need pompoms or a hand out of the mud. Go! Go! Go!
I was so enthusiastic at the start of November. Then life sidetracked me (not American so not Thanksgiving). Rather a new part time job and trying to get my new fledgling creative business to off the ground ...
I'm still writing but will never hit 50k unless a miracle happens! But it'll be interesting to see where I am at the end of the month. I was looking forward to my 3rd NaNo win 🙄