Young Writers Society

*sigh* NaNo ended for me about fifteen minutes ago (CST). It's been a rough year for most, so I pose the question- what did you learn about yourself, your writing, or just life in general this November?

1. I really do pity the people who write those 'survival' novels...those scenes are boring as heck to write. XD

2. "Gross" is a word way more fun to have in mind when writing snog scenes, as opposed to "magical" or "passionate".

3. I have a style. *boogies* And it feels weird to go out of it, especially when under word count pressure.

4. Starting with a bang is better than rushing towards the end.

5. It's perfectly fine to leave entire scenes behind with the sentence "I really don't feel like writing this right now and it's blocking me, so...next!"

6. Nebraska is a fun state to write about. Even if your characters are boring as all get out, the weather is bound to be a source of interest. [Additionally, I never thought I'd say this, because it isn't something I believe in, per se- but it is a lot easier to write about places that you hang about a lot.]

7. I have a thing about priests. I don't know why.

8. Don't disregard golf courses as sources of *cough* entire plot arcs. -_-

9. NaNo is irksome, although much more productive, if you have a "helpful" friend along to prod you when you are doing math homework but really should be writing.

10. Don't get sick during NaNo. Simple as that. XD

1. I have a sudden affinity for the phrase "wondered vaguely."

2. I had the lack of sanity to be competing against blue bar graphs. "You shall not best me, blue bar of doom!" - Yeah, I kind of lost it.

3. Do not get a new keyboard halfway though NaNo.

4. Do not handwrite 10,000 words. You will type them up and somehow be 2,000 words short.

5. I don't recommend participating in NaNo if your birthday is smack in the middle of November. It throws things off by a long shot.

6. My chemistry grade suffered. Lots.

7. Dyslexia can be a spontaneous and temporary esaesid.

8. My characters all have minds of their own. *stabs Steven because I really don't like him*

9. Being on YWS so long has really helped me develop my novelist skills.

10. Chocolate bars are friends, not food. Same thing applies to caffiene pills and Coke.

Oh, and one last thing.

11. Writing 10,000- odd words after an hour and a half session of Guitar Hero is suicide.

1. Apparently, I have a thing for pregnant women in my stories. Who knew...

2. I can actually write more than an 11k story (which sucked, by the way).

3. Timelines are annoying to work out. Especially with pregnant people.

4. The moment November starts, your friends who you haven't done anything with in ages will start pestering you to come to their house. -.-

5. I can't remember names of towns. Especially when they don't exist.

6. Names should be created before NaNo begins (I learned that from Ally Way and Carolyn Monroe).

7. Words are easier to get when you try to stay ahead of Bubbles.

8. Word wars are just amazing, and you meet some awesome people too.

9. When I write quickly, my scenes become melodramatic.

10. (See Sam's 10)

Oh, and:

11. I use the words just and only about ten times more than I should.

So, basically, NaNo is awesome. I actually know that I can write under pressure now. It'll help me set goals for writing outside of Novmber. -hugs NaNo- xD

1. Ranting is fun and productive. It ups word count and gets your anger out. Win-win.

2. Writing in different colors helps.

3. Another word count booster: snog scenes. Well, mine were far more explicit than just snogging, and involved a gay couple who eventually got kicked out, but... When in doubt, write snog scenes.

4. Writing real-life situations into your story is almost inevitable, but also a win-win situation. See explanation for number one.

5. Apparently I get cranky when it's the end of NaNo and I'm still not done. While writing in calculus class, the prof asked me to do two different things, and I flat-out refused, then went back to writing.

6. I don't have the stamina I used to...

7. It is perfectly okay to only be on track two separate days during the month. As long as you keep writing, that's all that matters.

8. It's always important to find the perfect place to write.

9. The two most difficult years to write are the year after your first failure and the year after your first win. You're full of doubt during the first and you're overly confident during the second.

10. Always end on a good note, if you can. It can be in the middle of the story, or it can be filling out parts you wrote before, but end on a good note. That will finalize the accomplishment.

And now, on to my reward... Dark mint chocolate heaven.

1. Having a character tell another character about his random, crazy, weird, strange, odd, bizarre, peculiar, outlandish, strange, and otherwise unusual dream can be great for the word count.

2. A good thesaurus is also a wonderful boon to word count.

3. It is possible to (virtually) completely silence one's inner editor, if one tries hard enough.

4. Turning off the Auto-Correct feature on Microsoft Word and not using the spell check really help in quieting my inner editor, for some reason.

5. There is a way to get a word count from Microsoft Word without using the spell check first. (I seriously never knew that until I looked for it this month.)

6. It is possible to write more than fifty pages of one single story in less than a month.

7. Not everything should really be put off until the last minute. (How many times will I have to learn that one? ) Research, for example, should be done before November. (See also Insomnia's 6.)

8. If it weren't for the backspace button, all of my emails, YWS posts, and stories would make me look completely illiterate.

9.I should probably find a good synonym or two for "awkward," because if you use it too much within a short time, it starts to sound, well, awkward.

10. There doesn't seem to be a word in the English language for "sat down heavily upon a bed, cot or other soft, cushioney surface in a manner befitting one who had just found out that his best friend had not, in fact, been eaten by a dragon after all." If anyone knows a word for this sort of thing, please PM me!

Oh, also:

11. I am capable of writing about a place other than St. Louis, Missouri or someplace that I completely made up.

12. It is okay to skip around when writing. You don't always have to start at the beginning if you can't figure it out.

And:

13. My bed is really nice. You really never do know what you've got 'till you can't use it 'cause you're trying to write a novel. XD

1. Getting sick during NaNoWriMo is just about the best thing that could happen to you

2. Characters begging can really help word counts

3. Complaining about how much you hate writing really makes you want to go and write

4. Names are evil. You have to scroll up pages and pages to find what you called someone.

5. It makes the 1st December all the sweeter.

6. I can;t be bothered writing

#1. Don't wait until you're desperate to start cheating. Begin straight away.
#2. Chocolate is good, but don't under estimate its powers to distract you from writing.
#3. Write absolute rubbish. Just make sure that it's wordy rubbish.
#4. Be superflous and redundant.
#5. Similies and metaphors are your best friend.
#6. Write earlier, not later.
#7. Being insane helps.
#8. Don't try and be specific. Being specific = less words.
#9. Write anywhere and stuff artistic atmosphere down the drain.
#10. Always write something everyday, even if it's only a few sentences. It makes you feel good.

1. Writer's block stinks.

2. Pacing and saying random dialogue aloud is permissible despite any strange looks.

3. Tranquilizing perfectionism always helps.

4. One word titles do not help word count.

5. Let your characters ramble - wonderful way to increase your word count.

6. The keyboard is your friend unless it starts lagging half-way through NaNo.

7. 'Filler scenes' are the most painful thing in the world to write.

8. LJ is a good distraction from writing.

9. Drink lots of tea. It stimulates the mind.

10. Bursting into spontaneous fits of laughter when something reminds you of your NaNo is acceptable only during November.

1. Your characters will run away with your story. The best thing to do is figure out how to stall them.

2. Never rely on emailing your progressing story to yourself, because sometimes the Internet will go down, and then what do you do?

3. Don't be afraid to write in longhand occasionally.

4. Those NaNo pep talks are kind of boring, to be honest. And most of them lack pep.

5. Having characters swear, while crude and unnessecarry, is still a good way to inch up your word count.

6. Working at the radio station is great for writing.
6.b. Especially when you're stuck running board for double header basketball games that take for-freakin-ever.

7. Hyphenated words are bad. Avoid them whenever possible.

8. Sometimes those red and green squiggle lines don't know what they're talking about.

I learned that I love sleep a lot. ^_^

1. Don't try to plan beforehand. Just don't.

2. The MC does not have to be in every scene.

3. You run out of things to write about rather quickly if the MC is in every scene, and is the subject of every scene.

1. Attempting to write when filled with pathogens is a bad idea, and results in a writing ban from friends who threaten to take away your laptop if you continue.

2. Stories about cacti and the life and death of are good for unexpected word-count boosts.

3. Characters will always know way more about what's happening than I do.

4. Planning is yummy ^^

Flemzo wrote:7. Hyphenated words are bad. Avoid them whenever possible.

Amen, brotha!

I think I left out about sixty hyphens. Hey, it counted for sixty extra words.

1.) Never use the computer that's in the same room as a TV. It will be the death of you.

2.) Hyphenated words ARE good. You must put a space between the hyphen and the words, though. It counts as three words that way. (Yee!)

3.) Making your main character a novelist, and having her rant to her best friend about how she hates her main character and about how the plot is becoming insufferable will do wonders for your morale, your sanity, and your word count.

Flemzo wrote:8. Sometimes those red and green squiggle lines don't know what they're talking about.

Oh...my...gosh. Those things can be SOOOOO annoying! The green ones are especially bad. They have seriously had me wanting to re-program the computer with an axe before.
The dumb thing doesn't even know what it's talking about half the time!

I turned the green squiggles off for NaNo when I stopped using the Auto-Correct. Much less frustrating.