National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2013! Over for another year.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the end of the year is creeping up on us which means November is right around the corner. And what is so important in November? Well for the last 15 years, it's been crazy, it's been fun, but most importantly it's the time to write your heart out because November is...

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What is NaNoWriMo?

At its most basic definition, National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo aka NaNo is writing a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November (That's only 1,667 words a day!). Many people get so much more out of it, some people don't, it's really up to you what NaNo is about. If you've always wanted to write a novel but never got around to it, this is your chance. You'll be doing it along with hundreds of thousands of other crazy people, so don't worry about being alone in your insanity!

NaNo is not about writing the next best seller (though it has been known to happen) or writing the perfect story, it's all about the writing. Repeat after me: "It's all about the writing." The goal is to get it all out there, get your entire novel down and don't worry about editing, grammar or plot holes... those are things that can be taken care of once the writing is done. This is a rough (sometimes very rough) draft. I'll say it again, it's all about the writing.

If you should decided to take on this challenge, I promise you this: you will write some utter crap so go ahead and turn your inner editor off now or it's going to be a long month. But in writing impetuously, you may find that giving yourself the freedom to just write -without worry- results in some truly amazing prose!


How do I participate?

You go to the NaNo website and sign up. Don't be alarmed if it takes a while for the site to load, it tends to be a little busy this time of year. Then starting at midnight November 1st (and no sooner!) write your heart out! You can write in a notebook, on your computer, heck, you could write on your walls, just as long as you don't write the same word over and over again!

Don't forget to check out the official NaNo FAQ.


I've signed up, what do I do now?

Well, you can start outlining your story, make your characters, do some research (but remember, no actual writing until November 1st!) or if your more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writer you can check out the Forums at the official NaNo site and discuss pretty much anything with your fellow Wrimos!


What Do I Get If I Win?
Absolutely nothing!!

But seriously, you get to know you wrote a novel in 30 days. How many people can say that? Even if you don't make it to 50,000 words you've done more than the majority of people in this world will ever do! They also make some shiny web badges so you can show off to the the internet how awesome you are! There are also a few companies that give you discounts or something free when you win so I guess technically you could win something!


If you've read this far and decided this isn't for you, just remember you'll never make it if you don't even attempt it. Many people don't make it to 50,000 words but there's still a lot of adventure and fun along the way!

Still not convinced? Feel free to keep tabs on this thread and cheer on those who are participating. We will take all the cheering (and caffeine) we can get!



So you've decided to tackle the challenge?

Great! We are glad to have inducted you into the insanity... er, um... Welcome Aboard!!

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If you are planning on participating this year, post in this thread and if you use a different screen name at the NaNo site let us know that as well so we can find you and make you a writing buddy. Once NaNo starts keep us up to date on your progress and it will be shown beside your name on the participants list.


Throughout October there will be some discussion questions leading up to our insanity and in November we'll all cheer each other on while we write as fast as we can.



The Obligatory First Discussion Question: Have you done NaNo before?
If yes: How many times? Have you won? What is your advice for someone who has never done NaNo?
If No: How did you learn about NaNo? Do you have any questions for people who have done this before?

 

Participants List

92SE-R (91talon): 25,453
Briannakin: 13,865
Chillia: 3,997
Cnaevs
DaenaBenjen42: 310
earlybird-obi-wan: 50,324
Goodwood
Iverna
Jabari: 4,000
Jade_Max: 78,045
Jedi_Lover: 50,295
LAJ_FETT: 50,370
mavjade: 3,309
moosemousse: 32,767
Padawan4687: 1,560
tjace: 13,219
TrakNar
ViariSkywalker: 18,436

 

First!
I have tried to do Nano before, but have never achieved 50k.
I signed up way back (don't remember the year) on the website, and have now forgot my login, so I made a new one just the other day!
My advice is to plan it beforehand with outlines.
My Nano login is now Cnaevs.

 

Been doing it (and winning) since 2006. I'll probably do it again this year but right now I haven't the foggiest idea what my subject will be.

Advice - load up on your caffeine beverage of choice and quick food beforehand in Oct - you don't want to be making long drawn-out meals in November (well - unless your family expect you to cook Thanksgiving dinner..). If you haven't read Chris Baty's book No Plot? No Problem! now is the time to check your Amazon of choice for it. It tells the story of how NaNo started and gives a lot of helpful hints to hit that 50k.

I'm on the NaNo website with a username real similar to the one I have here.

Edit - looks like the forums are up!

 

Sign me up! I've been doing it seriously since 2007 and I've won every year. I thought I'd failed last year but I checked the site (which looks really nice) and I found that I won! If you look at my stats you'll see it was very close indeed:
http://nanowrimo.org/participants/moosemouse/novels/novel-332081/stats

So that's my first bit of advice really. Do not give up. I didn't start until a week into it and I had another week where I only managed three thousand words, but I also had great days where I just couldn't stop writing. If you fall behind it's not a problem. You can still win.

Second bit of advice is to keep writing. It might not make any sense at all and it might be the worst thing you've ever written, but keep going. NaNoWriMo is all about quantity over quality. Stopping to rewrite or edit or improve is only going to slow you down and deleting anything will only set you back.

Third bit of advice is to meet up with people if you can. Arrange to meet in a coffee shop where you can plug in your laptop and go there as often as you can. If no one shows up then stay and keep writing. You've made the effort to go out and you've found a good spot, plus you'll have coffee as good as on tap. I found it helped me a lot just to be out of the house and away from my usual writing environment.

I'm on the site as 'moosemouse' as I made a typo when I signed up.

 

Have you done NaNo before? Yes, I did it last year and won. My advice is just write and don't edit and don't erase or delete anything. If I had stuff I wrote and decided to get rid of it I would cut and paste and put it in the back of the story under NOTES. That stuff you wrote and decided against using still is counted as words written. Often things I decided not to use I end up using later. I would also use Scrivener. It is a great writing program.

 

One thing the Baty book says about deleting - just change the font color of the text you would delete to match your document background. The words will still be counted.

 

I may participate in some writing sessions, perhaps attempt to resurrect my muse, but I have no plans to actually participate in NaNo this year. My muse is dead and buried. My last NaNo ground to a complete halt and I have no current plans to get that back up and running.

 

You guys have no idea how badly I want to do this EVERY year, since I've learned of this 4 years ago, but I always can't. I've always wanted to see if I could turn off my inner editor and procrastinator and just write! But with 3 research papers totalling 10,000 words, that I have yet to even start, all due December 2nd, and an oral presentation, it would be stupid of me to even consider Nano, yet for some reason, I still am. I do stupid stuff all the time and even though there is no way I'll make it too 50,000 words, it would be interesting to see how far I could get.

Perhaps after my midterms, I will sit down with all my assignments and see if this is completely insane.

Someone tell me how stupid I'm being!

Edit: if I decide to focus on school work, I'll still be a cheerleader

 

Briannakin am I supposed to tell you that you are stupid for not wanting to do Nano or stupid for even considering it with your workload? I would say do it.

 

The second one I'm going to see how much research I can get done between the 15th and 30th of October and if I get enough done, I'll try my hand at Nano.

 

I've never done NaNo before, but am currently considering trying it this year. I actually learned about it through this very section of the JC Forums a few years ago.

My first question: What program do you recommend for writing? I have always used Microsoft Word for my writing, so that's what I'm used to, but what about Scrivener? Would it be worth giving Scrivener a shot for this?

 

Yes, I like Scrivener. I think you can use the trial version for a while to check it out first.

 

The main thing that I'm concerned about with using Scrivener for NaNo is that I've never used it before, and so my unfamiliarity with it might hinder my productivity. Would that bee a problem, do you think?

On the other hand, I'm intimately familiar with Word and know that it won't slow me down.

 

I thought scrivener made things easier for me. They have tutorials, but I found it easy to do the basics. Go to YouTube and look at some of the tutorials.

I am JL88 over at Nano.

 

Briannakin - I did it several years while I was still in college. It's hard, but I find having less time makes me more productive in most things so it actually worked out relatively well. I don't think I won any of those years, but I didn't do too badly either

jcgoble3 - I also use Scrivener and love it! They have tutorials to go through, but just to do basic things is pretty easy to figure out.


As for me, this will be my 7th year doing NaNo. I've only won once, but I've come close many times. I find that winning isn't really the big thing for me, just doing it and working on something I wouldn't have done anyway is the big deal for me.

Advice I would give would be go to write-ins if there are any in your area. You'll meet a bunch of crazy writers like you (that's how I met all my friends I have in Boston) and there is a lot of encouragement. If you don't have any near you, or even if you do, get involved! Check in here frequently, chat on the forums, be with as many WriMo's as you can, even if it's only virtually.

Reading No Plot, No Problem is pretty awesome too! Lots of great advice and encouragement.

 

Hmm, thanks. I may give Scrivener a try.

What is No Plot, No Problem? Is it a book, a blog, or what?

 

I think it is a book written by a NaNoWriMo writer. I looked over a copy while I was in the library.

 

Aha! Found it on my library's online catalog and placed a request on it. There's a copy at my home branch, so it should be on the holdshelf waiting on me by tomorrow afternoon.

 

Thanks. That is a good point, I do find the more busy I am, the more productive I am. And doing nano will force me to get the majority of my research done in October (not a bad idea anyways even if I wasn't doing Nano). Alright you've convinced me! I'm making an account now. My username is Briannakin.

Now the question is, do I write what I'm comfortable with (fanfiction) or do I jump into my original piece that has been outlined on my computer forever? Are we still allowed to participate in this thread even if we are doing an original work?

 

I did it once before but didn't really follow through (don't know whether or not I won) and I don't even remember my screen name or password. If I could get those back and a document writer installed (new hard drive means no installations) and I have no idea what this document program is that's being discussed. That said, I find myself with much more time on my hands this fall than previously anticipated. So, if I can get everything settled in time, I'm gonna go for it.

 

Scrivener website: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

 

Thanks. I may check it out tomorrow.

 

Scrivener is glorious. I will never go back to word for anything again. Plus it's like $40 for the program when Microsoft word is $120. You get a 30 day free trial anyways. But OpenOffice is also nice (AND FREE!) if you are looking for an alternative to Word.

 

I used OpenOffice before. I will get it again.