Camp has started for me but I haven't written anything other than the title yet (caue I just got up about an hour ago )
Today is a busy day for me, and I'll be in town most of the day but I hope to get at least 2,000 words written
I wrote my synopsis, even though I hate it, but that's the best I could come up with after two days of thinking. I haven't made a cover yet, cause I'm still deciding how to make it (studying to be a graphic designer and can't even come up with a cover for my book, I am a pathetic little creature )
I don't have an outline written out but I have the basic idea in my head, but knowing myself, things will probably change in the last minutes
Good luck to everyone writing

It's been an hour and a half since Camp NaNo started, and I've already surpassed today's goal. I've got 2,378 words so far. And I finished Chapter One.

All's well so far.

~Riella

Hello there all Camp Nano writers!!!

Since you're all feverishly writing, and since this is a Narnian forum, I thought maybe you'd all appreciate tips that C.S. Lewis sent to one girl on writing:

It is very hard to give any general advice on writing. Here's my attempt.
1. Turn off the radio

2. Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.

3. Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it were being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.

4. Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing, you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about...)

5. Take great pains to be clear. Remember that though you start by knowing what you mean, the reader doesn't, and a single ill-chosen word may lead him to a total misunderstanding. In a story, it is terribly easy just to forget that you have not told the reader something that he wants to know---the whole picture is so clear in your own mind that you forget that it isn't the same in his.

6. When you give up a bit of work, don't (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think is my best, is the re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier.

7. Don't use a typewriter. The noise will destroy your sense of rhythm, which stil needs years of training.

8. Be sure you know the meaning (or meanings) of every word you use.

From Something About the Author, Vol 13, pg. 140, Detroit, Gal Research Book Tower 1979.

Well, I know not all of these are necessarily applicable to Nanowrimo, but I thought they were pretty fun...from the pen of Lewis himself. =)

Keep up the great work! I'm sure your Nanowrimo pieces are coming along fantastically!

Menelve, thanks for the advice on how to do it! I'm seriously considering it for August!!

Continue on everyone!!

~Sheroo

Awesome find there, Sheroo. Several of those are principles I have heard in various forms over the years, but numbers 6 and 7 intrigue me a bit. Six because very few writers I have heard of will say "save your drafts and such" because if it's bad, throw it out. Personally, I tend to keep everything anyway and often things will work out as Lewis said. As for seven, I guess that's the end of my dream of using a typewriter. In all seriousness, I think writing by hand helps slow the mind and make the words come out faster (not that I can keep up with them). Transferring the story to typed word makes the process a bit longer, but it also adds an element of revision and thought to what might otherwise be hasty and sloppy writing.

Ah, alright, thanks, Riella and Menelve! I'll probably contemplate on trying to do it in August, then.

I really enjoyed reading those, Sheroo!
I found 3, 5, and 8 to be the most relevant, though they all were helpful.

In all seriousness, I think writing by hand helps slow the mind and make the words come out faster (not that I can keep up with them). Transferring the story to typed word makes the process a bit longer, but it also adds an element of revision and thought to what might otherwise be hasty and sloppy writing.

I'm not alone! I usually find that my hand-written works are of much nicer quality than my typed ones; there isn't pressure to write on the screen and you can take a deep breath and calmly write. Too, the page in front of me seems much more accessible than typing something which just appears on a screen. And ditto, I never throw away drafts no matter how odious in hopes that they will be useful someday.

One advantage of using a PC instead of handwriting on paper is that the 'story graveyard' (those old drafts and things Lewis suggests keeping even if abandoned) takes up only virtual space.

I enjoyed the list too, but if both writing by hand or by keyboard are available I will always take the latter. I can type far faster than I can write (handy during those times the muse strikes and you just can't get the words down fast enough), and my 'internal editor' is more than willing to try to take care of the sloppiness later on.

(I do keep a notebook handy for writing when a PC isn't available, such as while traveling or camping).

I've found one disadvantage to this, however - my handwriting has gotten sloppier over the past 10 or 15 years. But part of that might be just old age.

Ditto Gazer on all accounts! lol It sounds like you're describing me instead of you. Except for one bit, my inner editor is far more active when typing versus handwriting. I find all sorts of basic typos and mistakes when I type up handwritten material. But, on the other hand, I find that my handwritten stuff often flows better than typed stuff. Guess it's cause I keep writing and don't edit as much so my thought flow is uninterrupted.

But yes, typing is handy because a PC is a wonderful storage device for stories. Much easier to keep track of than handwritten notes (provided you can find the files again lol).

My notebook (which every writer should have) is now currently sharing space with my personal journal (mostly because I needed to fill space in an old journal and then just never stopped). So my journal is now a random collection of real life events, observations and bits of stories and poems. And yes, my journal illustrates the fact that my handwriting has because sloppier. (I went through a phase of writing solely in calligraphy...looks waaay better than my current writing. lol)

wow Sheroo, thanks so so much for posting that, I'm gonna print it out and paste it in my scrapbook
I also prefer to write by hand, it comes out easier and more freely, I have my special writing book that I always carry around with me so I can jot down my thoughts, another plus is my siblings can't read what I've written cause they can't make out my terrible handwriting
When I was writing my novel for CampNaNo last year in July, I wrote out about a third of the story by hand which was neat, considering the pressure I had and I started a week late and had to really write/type fast to catch up with my word count.

About this years Camp, the story is coming along well, I'm at 8000 words, but the characters are starting to misbehavig Why can't characters just behave the way you want them too? Em in particular is annoying me right now, she just keeps giving away so much of the back story, stuff you aren't supposed to find out till later, and Elsie, her daughter, keeps encouraging it by asking more and more questions.....I'm in the process of trying to figure out a way to make them stop, my only option right now is to switch scenes and just get away from them for a while

LOL I'm running away from my characters, I have to admit, this is the first time I'm doing this, usually I enjoy being with my characters, but not when they talk to much

I've added about 3000 words to last November's NaNo story - not quite up to the level I'd need to complete 50k this month. But with all that's going on later this month - and the fact that I'm not writing a new work - I qualify as something of a NaNo rebel anyway. But I'm enjoying myself, and I'm writing!

My notebook (which every writer should have) is now currently sharing space with my personal journal...

I have a similar situation - my writing notebook does double duty as a notebook in which I record my stargazing observations. The observations and writing notes are intermingled to some extent, so I can follow the progress of my writing in the context of stargazing notes as well as travel and other records.

Why can't characters just behave the way you want them too?...

That can be annoying! One reason I didn't finish last November's story is that Erik simply refused to do what I wanted him to.

(My strategy then was similar to yours - switching scenes and writing about other characters. Now I'm 'filling in the blanks' and it's going reasonably well).

(My strategy then was similar to yours - switching scenes and writing about other characters. Now I'm 'filling in the blanks' and it's going reasonably well).

How are things going for everyone
I'm slowly reaching 20k, if I can force myself through this unpleasant scene, and another one that follows it, things should go pretty smoothly from then on

7. Don't use a typewriter. The noise will destroy your sense of rhythm, which stil needs years of training.

But he's talking about a typewriter, not a computer keyboard.
There is no noise from a computer keyboard. Not compared to a mechanical typewriter.

Enjoy your camp - I'm registered, but only to keep my Wise Queen account open, I'm not participating. At least not in June. I guess not in August either, but we'll see - and then we'll see about November ...

I validated my novel today made it with 60,248 words. The novel is far from finished, but I can't stand it anymore. I'm going to set it aside until I feel ready to write it again
I hope things are going great for everyone else doing Camp

Right now I'm doing research and preparing for my CampNaNo August novel

so.....is anyone up for campNaNo August?

I don't know if I'm interested in NaNo August or not. I definitely have a plot ready to go...

Congratulations wild rose, and everyone else who worked on or completed something in June.

Not sure. I was planning to do it in August but for me, it's usually all up in the air until a few days beforehand. I'll probably decide closer to the start date if I'm feeling up to it. I'd like to, but I've felt burnt out on writing recently so I've been taking a break - a lot of whether I participate will depend on whether I'm inspired. I also don't want to participate in August and then feel too burnt out to participate in the November NaNo, which will likely be the most fun for me. As for plots, I have a couple ideas. The only question is which one I'll use.

Ditto! A huge conga-rats to all the participants in June Camp NaNo, no matter how much you managed to write!