gran rey de los mono |
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Noveling status: eating ice cream straight from the carton. Gotta get another thousand words tonight. So tired. But I can't put it off. I'm already 2k words down and need to try and get 4k words tomorrow to make it up. NaNo woes. >.<
gran rey's advice on how to pad your word count:
1) Introduce new character.
2) Spend 5 pages on new character's history.
3) Kill character.
4) Repeat until needed words achieved.
lynora |
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lynora wrote:Noveling status: eating ice cream straight from the carton. Gotta get another thousand words tonight. So tired. But I can't put it off. I'm already 2k words down and need to try and get 4k words tomorrow to make it up. NaNo woes. >.<
gran rey's advice on how to pad your word count:
1) Introduce new character.
2) Spend 5 pages on new character's history.
3) Kill character.
4) Repeat until needed words achieved.
This is...surprisingly good advice. And my main characters just got separated, giving me an excellent opportunity to carry out this plan. Excellent! :P
Sissyl |
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I am a fan of the classics: Suddenly, someone kicks in the door with a drawn gun!
Also, remember that ANYTHING that has the teensiest bit to do with the plot is fine. Your goal is 50K words in a month - not 50K EDITED words in a month. Blathering about the setting, the characters or the plot is just fine.
lynora |
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I am a fan of the classics: Suddenly, someone kicks in the door with a drawn gun!
Also, remember that ANYTHING that has the teensiest bit to do with the plot is fine. Your goal is 50K words in a month - not 50K EDITED words in a month. Blathering about the setting, the characters or the plot is just fine.
Also good advice. I don't spend nearly enough time describing the scenery. It's a real weakness in my writing and this is an excellent opportunity to work on that. :)
Meanwhile, I got my thousand words for tonight and it's time to go fall into bed. I'll need my rest since I'm trying to double my normal daily word count tomorrow to catch up to where I wanted to be at this point in the month.
gran rey de los mono |
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I tried NaNo once, about 7 or 8 years ago I think. I got all the way through my story by day 20 or 21, and realized I'd only used about 35k words. I spent the rest of the month trying to do more than my earlier advice, and got to about 38k. Then I wasted 12k words on random killings just to reach the goal. I didn't submit that version for verification because I felt it was a bit too much. Every year I say I'm going to try again, and I never do. Except this year. This year I've been busy and didn't even think about it.
gran rey de los mono |
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This man has clearly spent many years fingering in the dark.
What? No!! Not like that! He does finger shadows! Get your minds out of the gutter, you perverts.
thegreenteagamer |
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gran rey de los mono wrote:This is...surprisingly good advice. And my main characters just got separated, giving me an excellent opportunity to carry out this plan. Excellent! :Plynora wrote:Noveling status: eating ice cream straight from the carton. Gotta get another thousand words tonight. So tired. But I can't put it off. I'm already 2k words down and need to try and get 4k words tomorrow to make it up. NaNo woes. >.<
gran rey's advice on how to pad your word count:
1) Introduce new character.
2) Spend 5 pages on new character's history.
3) Kill character.
4) Repeat until needed words achieved.
It works for GRRM...
Sharoth |
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Two weeks till new job. All night shift.
Wonder how I can prepare to adjust my sleep cycle...
I am on the night s+*@, errr, shift at my job. Here are a few tips.
Pick a sleep schedule and STICK TO IT even during the weekend or any off days. If you have a spare room, convert that to your sleep area with a good single bed that is comfortable to you. Blackout curtains and a radio or some soft music. If you have someone that can take your calls, then turn off your cell phone or just mute it. No caffeine or large amounts of sugar or energy drinks at the tail end of your shift (i.e. last two to three hours). I suggest sleeping during the day and then taking an hour or two nap before your shift. Get all chores done during your off days because the night shift dominates your week. Know that any overtime will screw up your sleep schedule, so adjust for that. Warn all family and friends to NOT CALL during your sleep time. Be rude if you have to. Your sleep is VERY important on that shift because you will never get enough due to constant interruptions that you can't avoid. If you can, kick all your pets out of your room if there is someone who can take care of them while you sleep. Pick a day during the week and make that your "errand day". I work Monday through Friday, so my errand day is Friday after work. Just know that the first few months will be very rough, so start preparing your sleep schedule NOW! Your health is probably going to suffer due to the shift so try to keep an exercise routine up and try to eat as healthy as you can. Get out of the house and walk around your area at least a few times during the week. Use any dogs for that since they would love the walks. You will find yourself our of "phase" with life after a while so try to set up daily, weekly, and monthly get togethers with family and friends. Dinner, movies, going to the park, game "night", ect. If you are married or have a S.O. get them involved in your life even more because they will be affected by this too. A schedule is crucial to keep your from unraveling. If this shift is not your choice, then use the time to go back to school for a degree or trade so you can get off the night shift. It will take a few years but the end results will be worth it. Try to plan things in advance as much as possible because too many things occur to screw you up on this shift.
Sorry for the long post. Good luck with your night shift. Some people love it and some hate it.
Best of luck,
Sharoth
Sharoth |
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Addendum to the above post.
Unless you are one of the people that loves the night shift, your stress level will rise. A lot. The constant lack of sleep with make your attention span much shorter and will make you more prone to loosing your temper. You will constantly feel more depressed than normal. I am warning you of this so you can work on correcting that or adjusting to it. If you have a family doctor, talk to them about this. If you can, avoid sleeping pills or anything else like that, but for the first few months you may need them. Try to keep a positive attitude if you can. I know that I am still having issues with all of this even now.
Drejk |
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I had the occasional night shift as a security guard a few years back. I do recall big increases in stress levels.
And yes, thank you for all the advice. I will have to inform at least some people who like to spam me with messages to cut that out in the near future.
Turning off the sound and vibration of the phone when you go to sleep is the best solution.
lynora |
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Woo! Four thousand words completed today! And now I'm caught up to where I wanted to be at this point in the month. Plus I passed the halfway mark, which is always a good feeling. The middle might not actually last forever even though it feels like it will.
Thanks for your suggestion, gran rey. That really helped me get my words in this time and ended up being a really important event in the story. This is my third time doing NaNo, but the first time I'm working without an outline and it really is a whole different process putting the plot together on the fly. :)
Tacticslion |
Tacticslion |
I rarely do this, but now, I think it's time to take a stand on politics, here in FaWtL.
Three hours. I can't believe it's been over three hours and only one person is confirmed to have seen my important political message that the masses must know!
:O
EDIT: Oh, good! *Whew* - I was worried FaWtL was lying fallow for a minute there.
Syrus Terrigan |
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Tacticslion wrote:I rarely do this, but now, I think it's time to take a stand on politics, here in FaWtL.
Three hours. I can't believe it's been over three hours and only one person is confirmed to have seen my important political message that the masses must know!
:O
EDIT: Oh, good! *Whew* - I was worried FaWtL was lying fallow for a minute there.
I don't think I can yawn any harder, Tac. I mean, my alter ego is champing at the bit to retaliate against the "offender" in question, but just one flaming bicycle is hardly grounds for concern . . . . Even cap'n's most deadpan retorts are more exciting than that video . . . . :D
NobodysHome |
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Well, $800 has come and gone. Shiro's player didn't have a video card lying around, so I actually have to purchase one (Gaaak!), the smallest SSD I could get off-the-shelf was 240 GB instead of 100 GB (only an extra $50-$60, but still), and I decided to go for the 1000 W power supply so I could just ignore all those, "Needs at least xxx watts" warnings.
So my $800 computer is going to be closer to $1200, of course.
It's like working with a contractor. Just plan on 50% over original budget and you'll be fine...
The Doomkitten |
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Well, I'm expecting rainbows to fly outta my ass anytime soon, because BioWare has apparently granted all of my wishes.
According to this Game Informer podcast, the new team is bringing back an ME1 skill system, allowing for open progression (no more classes, and free respecs), bringing back loyalty missions (but they aren't necessary to get the good ending), and they're trying to hone to gunplay to like the ME3 multiplayer, which I loved.
Freehold DM |
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Well, I'm expecting rainbows to fly outta my ass anytime soon, because BioWare has apparently granted all of my wishes.
According to this Game Informer podcast, the new team is bringing back an ME1 skill system, allowing for open progression (no more classes, and free respecs), bringing back loyalty missions (but they aren't necessary to get the good ending), and they're trying to hone to gunplay to like the ME3 multiplayer, which I loved.
waves at rainbow propelled Doomkitten flying by