After my post on Monday about the enthusiastic first weekend, Second Week hit me. Literally.
I was exhausted on Tuesday and had lots of classes (not that that kept me from writing last week, but now I couldn't fight), then Wednesday, I planned to write a lot, after all, I only had one lesson in the morning, then another in the evening, so all should be alright, right?
Not really. The weather was depressing and I felt as if I'd been plunged into the deepest, darkest, blackest waters of self-pity. I had hit a wall - I only had 3 sentences in my outline about what was supposed to happen now in my Novel and I needed at least 3-5 scenes written from them. I couldn't find Inspiration anymore. And my idea which sounded so fantastic earlier, now seemed hollow. I couldn't even get into my characters' head! Ugh.
Then came Thursday, my mood wasn't any better, but I went to all my classes at least. For the record, my last class was Creative Writing. You know, the one that gave me the idea to start this blog.
And we had a special lecture that day - we didn't sit in the classroom, but rather, went to a discussion and book introduction at a bookshop, called 'Írók Boltja' which means 'Writers' Shop' in Hungarian. The event was both in English and in Hungarian. I loved hearing the Irishmen speak and although it was late and I was a bit tired, I was really content.
I even joked with my classmates that this will be a research for me; so when I'll have my booklaunch for my bestseller, I'll already have experiences about these things.
Oh, and I just bought a new mobile phone which I am absolutely in love with! I've wanted this phone for at least 2 months now.
After I got home, tired, but content, I got to know my new cell phone. I knew I wouldn't be writing, no matter how much I planned to, because I still didn't have Inspiration AND I know myself enough to realize I wouldn't be satisfied until I got acquainted with my new gadget. So I did just that.
But you know what happened on Friday? I was still in bed, and the Sun, which has been hiding over the last few days, was now annoyingly bright and shining straight into my eyes from behind the blinds, when inspiration suddenly hit me. It seemed I really only needed to let go of the guilt and quit stressing myself over my wordcount and have my Novel rest a few days. I remember I had a rough second week last year, as well.
I still have a few details to shape (like the very next scene, again! argh!), but my faith returned. I remembered how enthusiastic I was on the last week of October to finally start my story, and how much I loved writing the first few thousand words last week. And I caught up with my wordcount, I wrote more than 4000 words yesterday and I only need about 400 today to reach the official NaNoWriMo wordcount. Which will be a little tricky, since I'm invited to a birthday celebration, but who knows?
Well, I won't stress myself over it, I'll just have to write more words tomorrow, right?
How do you fight SWD (Second Week Depression)? What do you do to get over it? Or you don't even notice, just write, write, write?
November 13, 2010
November 08, 2010
NaNoWriMo Day #6-7 A. K. A. 1st weekend
On Saturday, I went to the hairdresser, so I can write my NaNoWriMo looking great.* While there, I read the book I had to for my class on Wednesday. I threw it on the seat next to me after I reached about 30 pages. Yes, it was that bad.
After I got home, I wrote. Then watched a few episodes. Then did this and that and went to the chatroom of our region. Several of my fellow Hungarian Wrimos were participating a weekend-long ww marathon! It was like: 20 mins ww, 10 mins break, 20 mins www, 10 mins break, and so on. I got distracted when I searched the dictionary and eventually gave up participating. I was counting the minutes in the end.
Then realized I wanted to reach 12k by the end of the day and I was getting nowhere. So I logged off the chat and refreshened myself (washing face in cold water, running and skipping around the apartment thrice) and bargained with myself (I wouldn't get to eat dinner, go to the bathroom or watch another episode till I reach 12k) AND began writing again.
And I finally reached 12k (appr. 12,5k)! I was so glad! Then I went back to the chat to cheer the others and make use of my stopwatch, again. I was up till midnight, ready to nod off, but stayed with the others for the last ww for the day :) By the end of the day, I wrote about 2900 words. Woo-hoo!
On Sunday, I wrote little during the day. Then, in the afternoon, I decided to finish that... book. I did it. But I swear it's an energy-vampire, because I was so drained after finishing it, that I didn't even have the strenght to do anything, anymore. I watched two episodes, hoping they would lift my spirits.
They did and I got down to bussiness (A. K. A. writing) in the night. I wanted to reach 15k. As you can see it on the left side, I managed to do it. No matter the cleaning or anything, I managed to get down a little more than 15k words half past 11 PM.
And that's when I remembered that I had to get up early next day! Ugh. I'm still in one piece (almost wrote that starting with capital letters o.O), though I only managed about 300 words so far. But it's still early, right? Even if the sky is already dark and I'm yawning, again. My goal for the day? 17k. 18k would be better, but I don't think I can manage it. 17,5k at the best. But we'll see.
Wish you a few thousand words today!!!
*No, this wasn't the reason, but eventually, it worked out this way, too.
After I got home, I wrote. Then watched a few episodes. Then did this and that and went to the chatroom of our region. Several of my fellow Hungarian Wrimos were participating a weekend-long ww marathon! It was like: 20 mins ww, 10 mins break, 20 mins www, 10 mins break, and so on. I got distracted when I searched the dictionary and eventually gave up participating. I was counting the minutes in the end.
Then realized I wanted to reach 12k by the end of the day and I was getting nowhere. So I logged off the chat and refreshened myself (washing face in cold water, running and skipping around the apartment thrice) and bargained with myself (I wouldn't get to eat dinner, go to the bathroom or watch another episode till I reach 12k) AND began writing again.
And I finally reached 12k (appr. 12,5k)! I was so glad! Then I went back to the chat to cheer the others and make use of my stopwatch, again. I was up till midnight, ready to nod off, but stayed with the others for the last ww for the day :) By the end of the day, I wrote about 2900 words. Woo-hoo!
On Sunday, I wrote little during the day. Then, in the afternoon, I decided to finish that... book. I did it. But I swear it's an energy-vampire, because I was so drained after finishing it, that I didn't even have the strenght to do anything, anymore. I watched two episodes, hoping they would lift my spirits.
They did and I got down to bussiness (A. K. A. writing) in the night. I wanted to reach 15k. As you can see it on the left side, I managed to do it. No matter the cleaning or anything, I managed to get down a little more than 15k words half past 11 PM.
And that's when I remembered that I had to get up early next day! Ugh. I'm still in one piece (almost wrote that starting with capital letters o.O), though I only managed about 300 words so far. But it's still early, right? Even if the sky is already dark and I'm yawning, again. My goal for the day? 17k. 18k would be better, but I don't think I can manage it. 17,5k at the best. But we'll see.
Wish you a few thousand words today!!!
*No, this wasn't the reason, but eventually, it worked out this way, too.
November 05, 2010
NaNoWriMo Day #3-4-5
I haven't written anything on the 3rd, but I blame it on the gloomy wheather and also, (un)fortunately, I found a new manga series interesting... Which is somewhat surprising, because I usually only do that when I have exams (yes, procastination has NO limits).
On the 4th, I wrote appr. 2365 words. Wow, this sounds so much! I only remember reading that manga, then before I knew it, I had only 1 hour before going to class (creative writing!) and decided to write till I need to get going and did just that. Then, after class, I had a chat with one of my classmates, with hot chocolate and even managed to convince her to sign up for NaNoWriMo! And she did! I told her I finished it on the 26th last year, so it's not too late to join us in NaNoLand. I'm so proud of her!
After I got home, I wrote some more. But it still didn't seem this much :o I'm glad, though.
Today, I wrote appr. 2500 words, so I'm at 9622 words so far. I wanted to reach 10k today, but... certain things got in the way, only half an hour ago. So my day went like this: read the manga (finally caught up with the freshest chapters!), then wrote, then I had to turn off the computer and only got back to writing around... hmm... 7 PM? And been writing since then.
I'm at a scene where I need some idea to think about how exactly should I reach the next plot point, without any plot holes to disappear into o.O So I figured I'd browse the internet for awhile, maybe I get some inspiration, then be done with it. Only, I managed to remember a thing I wanted to check for a couple of days now and always forgot before tonight.
It's the public plan for the new law of higher education (no worries, my English speaking friends, I am speaking of Hungary now - as for my Hungarian friends, feel free to worry, please). I only got to read the intro, but by the time I reached the end of it (it's not long, only 1/4 page) I was so angry, and frustrated and feeling helpless that I knew this was a bad idea before reaching my goal for today. Ugh. I would rant about it, but since I don't like complaining, let's just say that I was overwhelmed by a strong need to get out of here. I mean, out of Hungary. And again. I don't think I can count on my fingers how many times I felt this in the last few years, but it was certainly a lower number than the ones I've felt after the election this spring. It's... suffocating.
But, on to calmer waters: I decided I want to reach at least 12k tomorrow! So now I only need to figure out how to get Odette from one place to another. I have a faint idea, but I still need to see if I can imagine it - I mean, if it's really possible and not a deus ex machina move - you know what I mean.
Wish you at least 1667 words today!
On the 4th, I wrote appr. 2365 words. Wow, this sounds so much! I only remember reading that manga, then before I knew it, I had only 1 hour before going to class (creative writing!) and decided to write till I need to get going and did just that. Then, after class, I had a chat with one of my classmates, with hot chocolate and even managed to convince her to sign up for NaNoWriMo! And she did! I told her I finished it on the 26th last year, so it's not too late to join us in NaNoLand. I'm so proud of her!
After I got home, I wrote some more. But it still didn't seem this much :o I'm glad, though.
Today, I wrote appr. 2500 words, so I'm at 9622 words so far. I wanted to reach 10k today, but... certain things got in the way, only half an hour ago. So my day went like this: read the manga (finally caught up with the freshest chapters!), then wrote, then I had to turn off the computer and only got back to writing around... hmm... 7 PM? And been writing since then.
I'm at a scene where I need some idea to think about how exactly should I reach the next plot point, without any plot holes to disappear into o.O So I figured I'd browse the internet for awhile, maybe I get some inspiration, then be done with it. Only, I managed to remember a thing I wanted to check for a couple of days now and always forgot before tonight.
It's the public plan for the new law of higher education (no worries, my English speaking friends, I am speaking of Hungary now - as for my Hungarian friends, feel free to worry, please). I only got to read the intro, but by the time I reached the end of it (it's not long, only 1/4 page) I was so angry, and frustrated and feeling helpless that I knew this was a bad idea before reaching my goal for today. Ugh. I would rant about it, but since I don't like complaining, let's just say that I was overwhelmed by a strong need to get out of here. I mean, out of Hungary. And again. I don't think I can count on my fingers how many times I felt this in the last few years, but it was certainly a lower number than the ones I've felt after the election this spring. It's... suffocating.
But, on to calmer waters: I decided I want to reach at least 12k tomorrow! So now I only need to figure out how to get Odette from one place to another. I have a faint idea, but I still need to see if I can imagine it - I mean, if it's really possible and not a deus ex machina move - you know what I mean.
Wish you at least 1667 words today!
November 02, 2010
NaNoWriMo Day #2 - A journal entry
Dear Blog,
I successfully managed to flick off a spider from my glasses during today's Russian word test, then between Japanese Literature and Russian Linguistics, I created a time paradox and in order to solve it, I used a non-linear conception of time.
When I got home after my classes, I realized I forgot to lock the keys on my dictaphone, so it recorded 3,5 hours of nothing interesting, but I found out at least that it used appr. 50 MBs of space and the batteries are still okay. I amused myself listening to bits of it.
In the evening, I managed to break our internet-connection (effectively rendering our landphone useless) while trying to work on my NaNoWriMo Novel. Fortunately, the need of the www and my creativity let me fix the connection.
Now I can finally continue my novel. See you later!
2nd Nov., 2010. 7 PM
I successfully managed to flick off a spider from my glasses during today's Russian word test, then between Japanese Literature and Russian Linguistics, I created a time paradox and in order to solve it, I used a non-linear conception of time.
When I got home after my classes, I realized I forgot to lock the keys on my dictaphone, so it recorded 3,5 hours of nothing interesting, but I found out at least that it used appr. 50 MBs of space and the batteries are still okay. I amused myself listening to bits of it.
In the evening, I managed to break our internet-connection (effectively rendering our landphone useless) while trying to work on my NaNoWriMo Novel. Fortunately, the need of the www and my creativity let me fix the connection.
Now I can finally continue my novel. See you later!
2nd Nov., 2010. 7 PM
November 01, 2010
NaNoWriMo Day #1
As it is almost 8 PM and my fingers hurt, I feel it should be okay to sum up today's events. So, I looked through those aforementioned 295 words, edited a little (I couldn't help myself, I wrote them in such a haste and strange mindset, I was exhausted and 295 words aren't the end of the world - only the beginning of it, at least, in my novel... or not?), wrote some more there, then continued the story.
I must confess, I updated my wordcount more times than I should've - and wandered to the statistics page to see it changed (woah, new shiny little statistics!) and drew the conclusion: do not check your statistics unless you're done with your word-goal for the day. Otherwise, it will just dampen your spirits.
It didn't dampen mine, however, I just kept going, I needed to continue. As of now, I have 2316 words written in English and enjoyed creating them! I planned on doing some more today (I can see a day or two when I absolutely won't be able to write, besides I tend to write as if I am on a roller coaster: a lot in one go, then nothing for days), but I'm not sure I will be able to do so.
You see, I have a test tomorrow (yes, I finished my portion for the day before I went to prepare for it, don't worry, my fellow Wrimos) and besides the fact that I need to study, I wrote my homework. My conclusion: never ever write long texts with rotring. I can't even hold a pencil now and it's even hard to type :'(
So, first day is successful, we'll see what tomorrow brings (I know, test and the need to finish a 300-pages long book in a few hours - oh! and reach my daily word-goal).
Hope you're doing well! Boost your word count while you have the momentum and as long as your fingers don't hurt (too much)! Good luck!
PS.: I don't know how frequently I'll be posting about my NaNo progress (I have a sneaking suspicion it will be infrequently), but I'll try my best.
I must confess, I updated my wordcount more times than I should've - and wandered to the statistics page to see it changed (woah, new shiny little statistics!) and drew the conclusion: do not check your statistics unless you're done with your word-goal for the day. Otherwise, it will just dampen your spirits.
It didn't dampen mine, however, I just kept going, I needed to continue. As of now, I have 2316 words written in English and enjoyed creating them! I planned on doing some more today (I can see a day or two when I absolutely won't be able to write, besides I tend to write as if I am on a roller coaster: a lot in one go, then nothing for days), but I'm not sure I will be able to do so.
You see, I have a test tomorrow (yes, I finished my portion for the day before I went to prepare for it, don't worry, my fellow Wrimos) and besides the fact that I need to study, I wrote my homework. My conclusion: never ever write long texts with rotring. I can't even hold a pencil now and it's even hard to type :'(
So, first day is successful, we'll see what tomorrow brings (I know, test and the need to finish a 300-pages long book in a few hours - oh! and reach my daily word-goal).
Hope you're doing well! Boost your word count while you have the momentum and as long as your fingers don't hurt (too much)! Good luck!
PS.: I don't know how frequently I'll be posting about my NaNo progress (I have a sneaking suspicion it will be infrequently), but I'll try my best.
Managing your time
NaNoWriMo has just started, I've already written 295 words in 5 minutes after midnight, in English (which is not my native language), I'll probably skim through it, because it looks rather ungainly and 295 not such an amount that I can lose precious time because of it.
While were're at it, TIME. Not only my NaNo Novel includes time-travelling, but I think I may need that little handy hourglass-thing Hermione has (but doesn't every Wrimo?). I have to figure out how to prepare for next day's word-test at University and do my homework for Tuesday, and I need to read a few-hundred pages long book before Wednesday morning.
Oh, and write for my NaNo. Why are there only 24 hrs a day? And it's only day 1! (And only 11AM...)
Hope you're doing better and don't stress yourself over every little thing as I do. How was/is your first day in this year's NaNoLand?
PS.: The word-count widgets are active! Shiny~~!
While were're at it, TIME. Not only my NaNo Novel includes time-travelling, but I think I may need that little handy hourglass-thing Hermione has (but doesn't every Wrimo?). I have to figure out how to prepare for next day's word-test at University and do my homework for Tuesday, and I need to read a few-hundred pages long book before Wednesday morning.
Oh, and write for my NaNo. Why are there only 24 hrs a day? And it's only day 1! (And only 11AM...)
Hope you're doing better and don't stress yourself over every little thing as I do. How was/is your first day in this year's NaNoLand?
PS.: The word-count widgets are active! Shiny~~!
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