Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Is funny. I donated, so my angry kitty photo has a halo over it now. Angry Kitty with a Halo. I have my username for next year's nanowrimo.

I'm on there~! I'm sierramcconnell there, too. XD I'm very talkative there. It's kinda how I found this place. :3

I'm thinking of working on Eden Underground instead of the sequel to Chasing Miracles. They say it's a good idea to take a break after living in a world for a year. XD

And it would be fun to have a modern world with punk and angels to play with! And an outline! I won't be pant-seating this time!

Just signed up. I'm Heather B there, too. I can't believe it, I'm actually excited.

Margo wrote:Is funny. I donated, so my angry kitty photo has a halo over it now. Angry Kitty with a Halo. I have my username for next year's nanowrimo.

Your pic just brought me to tears. Too cute.

Okay, so I understand that no one expects to right something awesome in that month. But if you're goal is to truly write a novel, then is 55,000 words realistic for a "first draft" of a novel (if someone we're to seriously want to approach that month like that). Do people undershoot or overshoot for first drafts?
And what exactly is the true, realistic word-count for a middle grade OR young-adult OR adult fictional novel?
I know the range varies. I know things will be accepted or not accepted if drastically too short or too long.
But I was always under the impression that a middle grade might be 30,000-50,000 words. A young adult 40,000-90,000 (wide variation). And an adult novel (80,000+).
So, seriously does anyway have a true rule of thumb they realistically think is best to aim for.
Oops. I hijacked this thread (kind of). Too bad, I'm posting it here anyway.

The novel I'm currently shopping started life as last year's NaNo novel. It came in, at the time, at 50,101 words. Then there came this time NaNoers know as "December"...

Well, anyway, fast-forward a year. The 50,101 novel is now 83,194. Someone said on the NaNo boards last year, "I think my novel was created for the sole purpose of requiring an epic rewrite." That was my NaNo novel. At 50,000 what I had was sort of a first draft, but really more a very long outline. I ended up having to throw out entire chapters because it wasn't workable as it was. I did not have a novel after NaNo, is what I'm trying to say. I did have a skeleton. Somewhere under those 50k words was a story that I could work with. And yet, if I hadn't done NaNo I'm not sure I'd have ever written it at all.

So, no. IMO you will not have a novel. But you'll have 50k of story, and what you make of it after that is entirely up to you.

I've done NaNoWriMo in the past, and I loved the people I met doing it, but my writing style runs pretty counter productive to the intent of the event so I haven't done it since those first two years. But I'd love to be everyone's cheerleader! I'm a great cheerleader. Cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee for everyone!

Sommer Leigh wrote:I've done NaNoWriMo in the past, and I loved the people I met doing it, but my writing style runs pretty counter productive to the intent of the event so I haven't done it since those first two years. But I'd love to be everyone's cheerleader! I'm a great cheerleader. Cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee for everyone!

You're hired, Sommer. But don't forget the ice cream. Nothing is better for healing wounds than chocolate ice cream.

Jessa wrote:The novel I'm currently shopping started life as last year's NaNo novel. It came in, at the time, at 50,101 words. Then there came this time NaNoers know as "December"...

For us NaNos, 'Dismember' would be a more appropriate month...

To be honest, "December" for me isn't an editing time. I wish I could say it was rest time, and that I recovered from the NaNo Frenzy... but that would be a lie. No, when December hits I am forced to catch up to all the studying I haven't done due to NaNoWriMo, since my semester finals are always around Dec. 12th- Dec 16th. Needless to say, by the time the semester is over, I only want to collapse.

As for word counts, my first NaNo was finished at 77k. After a first edit, it had 93k. I am the kind of writer that puts down only the barebones on the first go, often at lightning speed and with horrible prose. When I come back, I add fleshing-out and important scenes to make the characters' actions more understandable, and I edit the original scenes. Anyway, that's what happened last time.

By the way, is anyone here shooting for more than 50,000 words?

EDIT: And yay, cheerleader! :)

I'm shooting for more than 50k. My first book was first drafted around 80k, and then with massive rewrites and edits, it's around 115k now.

And that was without any plan or true plot. So now that I have an outline, I'm sure to hit above the 50k mark.

Also, last year I had two surgeries within a month of each other, the first in the month of NaNo. This year I don't have anything planned and my health has so far held out, thank the Lord, so I hope I can focus on good things like writing (and holidays!).

NaNo isn't just for writing, I should mention. It's also for meetups I hear. I haven't ever been able to go to one, but I hope this year I might be brave enough to get my butt to the local BN to meet some crazy writer types. It's to forge friendships with psychotics who are insane enough to attempt this lifestyle with you. XD

Jaya wrote:Okay, so I understand that no one expects to right something awesome in that month.

I'm going to have problems with this one. I do kind of expect to write something awesome, which is why I probably won't hit much more than 50k words (if that). Some nanos indicate they've written 100k+ words over the month. However, they are happy just getting a first draft out. I'm not. I still expect some level of competence from myself. I usually write more slowly, but then my first draft looks like it's a second or third draft. This is a huuuuuge experiment for me, but I'm not sure how far away from my natural methods I'm willing to stray unless the experiment is wildly successful within the first few days. If I get out 30K quality words, I'll be really happy.

Jaya wrote:But if you're goal is to truly write a novel, then is 55,000 words realistic for a "first draft" of a novel (if someone we're to seriously want to approach that month like that).

No, most adult novels need to be at least 80k, so this is a good way to get a good portion of a novel done if you're writing adult fic, but not a whole draft (except for those people who can churn out 100k words in 30 days). My target is 90K (for the whole book, not for nano), knowing I overshoot my wordcount habitually, in hopes of getting 100k. It's a little more realistic for MG and YA, as shorter lengths are more acceptable for those.

Heather B wrote:

Margo wrote:Is funny. I donated, so my angry kitty photo has a halo over it now. Angry Kitty with a Halo. I have my username for next year's nanowrimo.

Your pic just brought me to tears. Too cute.

We aim to please (but usually only succeed in offending). ;P

Sommer Leigh wrote:I've done NaNoWriMo in the past, and I loved the people I met doing it, but my writing style runs pretty counter productive to the intent of the event so I haven't done it since those first two years. But I'd love to be everyone's cheerleader! I'm a great cheerleader. Cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee for everyone!

LOL. Cheerleader? I'm probably going to need a medic. How are you with decaf IV drips? It's the thought of caffeine that counts. :)

Margo wrote:

Sommer Leigh wrote:I've done NaNoWriMo in the past, and I loved the people I met doing it, but my writing style runs pretty counter productive to the intent of the event so I haven't done it since those first two years. But I'd love to be everyone's cheerleader! I'm a great cheerleader. Cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee for everyone!

LOL. Cheerleader? I'm probably going to need a medic. How are you with decaf IV drips? It's the thought of caffeine that counts. :)

I work with nurses so I'm constantly asking them to hook me up. I get stern looks. I don't think they understand how serious I am about caffeine.

Sommer Leigh wrote: I work with nurses so I'm constantly asking them to hook me up. I get stern looks. I don't think they understand how serious I am about caffeine.

You SO owe me a decaf pumpkin latte and a pack of handy wipes. Maybe a new keyboard, too. :)