I wrote twelve thousand words last night

[Ziolko]

I started out yesterday about three fourths done with my novel, at 38,255 words. I ended it with 50,305 words, the last one having typed was END.

I am a literary stud. All must now bow before my writing cock.


...granted, it's a first draft and I'm already aware that I'll have to rewrite half of it, but it's a skeleton of a good story and a proud achievement. So I get to brag, right?

[panco]

Nice, what's the theme.
It's not a novel about word counting right?

[TIP]

So the penis mightier than the sword...

[cPol]

I started out yesterday about three fourths done with my novel, at 38,255 words. I ended it with 50,305 words, the last one having typed was END.

I am a literary stud. All must now bow before my writing cock.


...granted, it's a first draft and I'm already aware that I'll have to rewrite half of it, but it's a skeleton of a good story and a proud achievement. So I get to brag, right?

You know, if you can work this passage into your book, that's another 75 words right there.

[half guard]

:rofl:

[SidekicksRevenge]

"Peter Rabbit is a stupid book about a stupid rabbit that steals vegetables from other people's gardens. 1, 2, 3, 4..."

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

tell us about the book.

[Ziolko]

Nice, what's the theme.
It's not a novel about word counting right?

Here's the premise I wrote on my nanowrimo page:

Jackie Turner is a young woman who finds herself a target of a strange gang of monstrous looking men and is pulled into a secret side of the world she did not know exist. Now, with the help of some curious companions, she tries to find a way to get her life back to normal, only to find out her life might not be as normal as she originally thought.

Sorry, I'd write a new one but my mind is having problems forming words right now. It feels like my brain spent half of yesterday puking.

It's also pretty generic, I know.

Hey, I didn't say anything about writing a GOOD book.

[Greygor]

There once was a little sausage called Baldrick and he lived happily ever after.

[evilgenius]

I started out yesterday about three fourths done with my novel, at 38,255 words. I ended it with 50,305 words, the last one having typed was END.

I am a literary stud. All must now bow before my writing cock.


...granted, it's a first draft and I'm already aware that I'll have to rewrite half of it, but it's a skeleton of a good story and a proud achievement. So I get to brag, right?

Only if you do it for the next four weeks in a row. And you send me 4000 free copies. And gimme the right to sell 'em at twice the price.

:-x

Showoff. ;)

[cPol]

There once was a little sausage called Baldrick and he lived happily ever after.

Sausage? SAU-SAGE!?!?

[Greygor]

Sausage? SAU-SAGE!?!?

:lol:

[maverick-99]

Hate to say it, but 50k might be a little thin for a novel

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

In your own language?

[Greygor]

And of course to revisit and paraphrase Blackadder.

"I've just finished my book, it's taken me 10 years"

"Well not to worry, I'm a pretty slow reader myself"

[Ziolko]

Hate to say it, but 50k might be a little thin for a novel

It's a first draft. I'm well aware that I'll have to rewrite a lot and flesh things out a bit. It'll probably be another 2-3 months before it's actually done.

[Ziolko]

In your own language?

Nope, pig latin.

"Allcay Eemay Maelishay."

[Greygor]

Nope, pig latin.

"Allcay Eemay Maelishay."

Illegitimi non carborundum

[The Clone Ranger]

It wasn't "All work and no play makes Ziolko a dull boy" over and over, was it? :mistrust:

[maverick-99]

It's a first draft. I'm well aware that I'll have to rewrite a lot and flesh things out a bit. It'll probably be another 2-3 months before it's actually done.

Either way, 12k words in one night is pretty impressive. Kudos.

[GelfXIII]

So the penis mightier than the sword...

OH, well done! :thumb:

[mike black]

Hate to say it, but 50k might be a little thin for a novel

50K is the smallest a novel can be and still be considered a "novel".

[mike black]

It's a huge accomplishment to finish a novel period, man. Doing it in a month is even more impressive.

I finished mine in around 35 days and that was mostly because I was riding a Hypomanic episode for the entire month. That's damn impressive to do it on your own, man.

[Ziolko]

Hey, maybe I'll even get it published next year! That'd be crazy, right?

[Alex(sadly)Maleev]

Nope, pig latin.

"Allcay Eemay Maelishay."

Ha, you didn't get the reference.

"I type a 101 words a minute. But it's in my own language."
Mitch Hedberg.

[schizorabbit]

I just wrote five words.

[mike black]

Hey, maybe I'll even get it published next year! That'd be crazy, right?

I don't know about crazy, but it could definitely happen. If I were you, find a few people who you can trust to both give you non-biased feedback and not steal the story while you're working on your second draft. When they bring back their reviews, feed them into the third draft, then have someone else you trust edit it (or, if you feel, there are editing services out there for you - but be careful and research the person you send it to!!!)

Then you hunt for an agent, which if you're lucky, can take as little as two months. However, don't be disheartened if your first twelve agent picks pass you by - it's just common. I believe, last I heard, the average first novel sale can take up to twelve years.

If you want, the Science Fiction Writer's Association website has TONS of articles for writers of all stripes on different facets of the business that will really outline what you need to do (and look out for!)

If you're serious about trying to get it published, best of luck, man. It's a longer, tougher road than comics - but it does happen. Of course, there's always POD, but that's a different beast.

[Sy-Klone]

Congratulations! :rock:

Now let's guess the words he wrote. I'm going to go with:

Placenta
Tumescent
Dalliance

[Ziolko]

I don't know about crazy, but it could definitely happen. If I were you, find a few people who you can trust to both give you non-biased feedback and not steal the story while you're working on your second draft. When they bring back their reviews, feed them into the third draft, then have someone else you trust edit it (or, if you feel, there are editing services out there for you - but be careful and research the person you send it to!!!)

Then you hunt for an agent, which if you're lucky, can take as little as two months. However, don't be disheartened if your first twelve agent picks pass you by - it's just common. I believe, last I heard, the average first novel sale can take up to twelve years.

If you want, the Science Fiction Writer's Association website has TONS of articles for writers of all stripes on different facets of the business that will really outline what you need to do (and look out for!)

If you're serious about trying to get it published, best of luck, man. It's a longer, tougher road than comics - but it does happen. Of course, there's always POD, but that's a different beast.

Hey, legit advice! Thanks! :D

[Ziolko]

Congratulations! :rock:

Now let's guess the words he wrote. I'm going to go with:

Placenta
Tumescent
Dalliance

It's like you can read my MIND.

[Ziolko]

Ha, you didn't get the reference.

"I type a 101 words a minute. But it's in my own language."
Mitch Hedberg.

Sorry, not familiar with Hedberg.

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

It's a longer, tougher road than comics - but it does happen.

Just wondering why you see it this way?

[mike black]

Just wondering why you see it this way?

Because "traditional" print is much more exclusionary and closed off than comics. Yes, there are many more publishers of all stripes, and yes there are tons of different ways to get a contract - but the big sticking point is that most people will never see print, or at least won't for years.

The average "serious" writer, who has never published anything at all, faces a huge uphill battle to land an Agent. There are literally thousands of stories all over the net of successful writers, popular writers, who talk about having gone through a hundred different agents before with ten, twenty, thirty different works before finding one who is willing to try and sell their work. Even then, agents have numerous clients, and have to try to sell to editors who are not only working with established and in production stories, but numerous other agents trying to sell their clients work. It's a huge undertaking and it's typically a lot harder to sell a novel than a screenplay, TV show, play, comic script, etc.

As I said earlier in the thread, the average wait time to sell a novel for a first time writer is 12 years. Even a published writer (say, someone who has sold short stories, or is coming from a different field,) can have an exceptionally rough time if they're not a brand name.

Now, like I said, it's not impossible, and you'll find stories of people who struck gold, or got lucky, or ran into the right person at a con - but for the rest of us, it's tough. I don't "see" it this way, the traditional print business is this way.

Not to mention how many scams there are in the print business, how typically POD will kill your career the moment you wade into it (never tell an editor or Agent you self-published,) or if you've sold before and your book failed.

I'm not saying don't try - do everything you can to sell your work if you believe in it - I'm just saying don't expect to get lucky in six weeks and sell to Harper Collins.

[mike black]

Hey, legit advice! Thanks! :D

Not a problem, man. Like I said, I've been through it. There are a few guys around on this board who can tell you stories and give you tips about trying to sell a novel.

Just keep pushing, and if you're into the book, keep at it. On the day you get that first rejection letter, crack open a bottle of beer and start calling yourself a writer. ;)

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

Yeah, seems like a scary realm to try and navigate. I'd like to think that with a novel, at least you have the chance of dozens of agents actually reading your work and deciding if they think its good enough to try and make money off of for themselves, as well as all of the differing publishers and houses that cater to different niches. With comics, it just seems like after the toughness of finding an art team to work with, you then have to catch the attention of one of the three or four people who can green light a book at exactly the right time.

[mike black]

Yeah, seems like a scary realm to try and navigate. I'd like to think that with a novel, at least you have the chance of dozens of agents actually reading your work and deciding if they think its good enough to try and make money off of for themselves, as well as all of the differing publishers and houses that cater to different niches. With comics, it just seems like after the toughness of finding an art team to work with, you then have to catch the attention of one of the three or four people who can green light a book at exactly the right time.

The problem is, agents and editors have hundreds of submissions to cull through every day. In the case of comics, an editor can at least be captured by solid art, or thoughtfully laid out pages - it takes much less time to go over a comics submission than a novel.

In the case of novels you have to submit a very specific package to an Agent (ranging anywhere from a query letter alone to a query letter, 3 sample chapters, and an outline of the book - or any number of combination between.) Typically, an agent will read the query letter and pass on a large number of submissions there. Then they might read the outline and pass, or move on to the sample chapters and pass. If the agent likes your work, then in 3 months you'll receive a request for the whole manuscript, and 6 months after that you might have landed an agent. Then the agent takes the work to every editor they know trying to sell it, and on the outside chance that it sells, that can take forever as well. However, if your package is off in any way, you're out the door, and never thought of again.

It's a tough business to work in.

[Ziolko]

Just an update, I've been getting pretty positive feedback so far, but no one's gotten to the 12,000 I've written last Monday so that could all change when they get to the end. :)

It is nice to get some reassurance that it wasn't a waste of time. One comment was that I definitely can't not write (double negative done on purpose). So that was nice. Still finding a lot of mistakes on my own, though. It's going to be a long month of rewriting.

For the 3-4 of you who care. ;)