[NaNo] -National Novel Writing Month- Over for another year. :(

It's now October and and all too soon 2012 will be a distant memory (assuming the world doesn't end on December 20th! ). But don't go counting 2012 over just yet, there's still time for you to do something amazing, and only slightly insane for you are about to write a 50,000 word novel in just a mere 30 days! (Wow! You must be crazy!) Yes ladies and gentlemen it's time to stock up on your favorite caffeinated beverage and prepare your family and friends to not see you for an entire month because we are quickly approaching...

NaNoWriMo!!

If you are wondering what the heck you just stumbled upon in this thread read on. If you are an old hand at the lunacy then feel free to skip to the bottom for discussion!

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. 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 How NaNo Works and What is NaNo? pages.


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!!


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 part.


Discussion: The obligatory first 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

Bold indicates who participated
Red indicates who won


Admiral_Volshe - 1,528
Alexis_Wingstar
Book-Geek - 20,000
Ceillean
Commander-DWH
DaenaBenjen42 - 2,991
Draconarious -5,789
earlybird-obi-wan - 50,655
Earwen_Lightrider - 3,368
ginchy - 50,203
Iverna - 21,114
Jade_Max: -106,452
Jedi_Lover - 50,000
JediMara77- 50,447
KELIA
LAJ_FETT - 51,397
Master_Jaina1011 - 1,685
mavjade - 6,704
moosemousse - 50,040
Red_Gold
Skywalker_t-65
spycoder9
stellermagic01- 45,384
Thumper09 - 50,084
tjace - 20,224
Zara_Valinor

 

Count me out this year. I couldn't finish my last one and I still can't get myself to even be in the same room with it. I'm considering taking what I have, chopping it down to a novella, and salvaging it that way. I just couldn't sustain the idea for a novel. And this year, I can assure you that I have no ideas to sustain for a novel, either.

 

I'm in for my third attempt. I got up to 18,000 last year, so hopefully I can make it a bit closer this time around.

 

I think, somewhat regrettably, that I'll have to sit this one out. Having just begun a new work of some size, I'm not inclined to put it on hold for NaNo. I have succeeded in the past, twice, with mixed results: the first efforts resulted in a 100,000 work I was quite happy with, the second resulted in me discovering, 70,000 words in, that I as writing for characters who I truly did not understand or empathize with and had to be completely junked. Pushing that hard and fast brings a fairly substantial risk/reward factor with it.

I'd still encourage everyone to try though, and will make a point to try and accumulate 50,000 words worth of prose during the month, even if I may not match the contest rules in doing so.

 

Haven't decided yet for this year, November promises to be a chaotic month already. *sigh* But I did finish in 2010 after an 'attempt' (quickly abandoned) in 2009 at the urging of a friend. Took last year off as I was quite immersed in a big fanfic at the time.
I haven't tackled any serious original fic writing in a LONG time though so I'm hoping I can encourage myself to jump into this.

 

I've wanted to do NaNo since I found out about it in 2009. Sadly, because of Darth High School and now her big sister Darth University, I have yet to be able to participate. I just looked at my calendar and November is already looking crazy. I have one research project due in the middle of the month and two papers due at the end, on top of preparing for exams. Plus I already have a novella on the go that won't be 50,000 words anyways and won't be finished by novemeber. It looks like I will have to cheer on from the sidelines yet again.

However, come July, I'll probably be ready to start my first novel, so hopefully I'll be able to participate in JulNaNo!

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know of someone who actually won NaNo while going to school full time (and lived to tell the tale)? I'm sure there has been, and it would be interesting to talk to them.

 

Yah, my friend who got me into it in 2009 finished it in 2008 while a sophomore at college. Unfortunately, she is not a Star Wars nerd or fanfic writer, but I do know that she was very conscious of her day-to-day word count, and made a big effort to make up the extra words if she did not hit 1,667 on any given day. She had post-its all over her desk with her daily and total word count, and how many she would need to stay on track.

She did start it in 2009 and 2010 and never got very far off the ground, so I think it really can be dependent on your school workload, not to mention extracurricular and job factors on top of it.

 

I was perusing the website and there's a forum area just for students.

Hypothetically, if I were to do it, I'd probably set a 25,000 word goal and try to finish my novella (I'm already at 8000 words in). I may still try it knowing it will be a personal victory if I get to 25k. I guess I have a month to decide and I'll see how much I can get ahead on my school work in that time. It might be an experience to try.

 

Briannakin I've won it five years running so far, and three were while I was at uni doing a full time degree. I never really went out though and I suffer from insomnia a lot, so spending all evening and night writing was something I did a few times. But yeah, take your time with it and don't worry about daily goals. I've had days where I've not written a single word and days when I've written several thousand. Just keep your eyes on the prize and don't fret if you're behind.

Oh, and count me in. I first did it a decade ago but didn't get very far as I didn't know about the website and stuff. A friend just mentioned it on her livejournal and I thought 'ooh, good idea'. The last five years have all been winners for me though, and the only other times I've done it.

Right, advice. Hrmm. Don't worry about word count too much, would be some good advice. Obviously you're going to want to get 50,000 at the end, but don't worry if you don't meet the daily goal or you fall behind. Some days will be good and some will be bad. And don't feel disappointed if you can't make it either. I think you're a winner just for trying, because it's something most people will never do.

Oh, and this is my stats page for last year. As you can see I was way behind for most of the month but I still won.

 

I'm going to try Nano this year, even though I'm not sure if I can win since I'm going out of town one weekend. I need to start writing the sequel to my original novel, and I figure this will be a good kick in the pants for me.

I did Nano and won in 2010 and 2011, writing fanfic. This will be my first attempt writing original fiction.

Advice for newbies? Find friends and challenge them with word wars.

 

When you submit your story to them for verification do they post them online? What if you write something and you don't want it publically posted? Can you still compete then?

 

Nothing is posted online. They don't even keep the story in their servers.

(Trust me, I know. I lost four chapters of my Nano story last December and tried desperately to get them back. The Nano people said it wasn't possible.)

 

Good, because if I try original fiction I don't want to embarrass myself. If fanfiction is okay I think I may try it. I wanted to write a sequel to Second to None. Maybe this will force me to do so.

 

I'm in. I've started thinking about what to do. I went back through some of last year's ideas and I think I will be resurrecting one that I didn't use. I started doing it in 2005 and have managed to make 50k every year. (Of course I've had to resort to characters starting blogs and diaries when my ideas ran out of steam ).

I learned about NaNo from seeing an article in a writing magazine and I picked up Chris Baty's book No Plot? No Problem! from Amazon UK. (Recommended reading if you haven't read it.)

 

I have ideas for my new character Ivano Arvedai now appearing in "Inferno"

 

I probably shouldn't- the project I'm currently on has a schedule just like Alice in Wonderland did, and I didn't have much success when I was on Alice. However, I do want to do a global edit of my epic, which ought to be done by then, so I'd like to do that, or at least take a big chunk out of it in November.

 

Participants List Updated!

Briannakin - Many people have done it and finished as full time students, it's just a matter of using your time wisely. I actually find the less time I have on my hands, the better I do. When I have too much time, I procrastinate too much and don't get nearly as far. (That goes for everything, not just NaNo)

Jedi_Lover - At the end you copy paste your story to confirm your word count only, as soon as you do it deletes it, it never has to see the light of day if you don't want it to. Fanfic is perfectly okay, many people do fanfic. Even things that are 'against the rule' are alright. Officially it's supposed to be fiction, but there are many people who do non-fiction and there is even a place in the official forums for people going 'against the rule.'

This is my 6th year, I won in 2010 but never any time else, mostly just because I ran out of steam the other years and didn't know where to go or what to do, but I keep trying! My biggest piece of advice for noobs is go to write-ins if you can. I did for the first time last year and made so many friends (three of them are now my roommates) and got so much more written when I was in a group doing the same thing. When you get your word count, people cheer and it makes one want to make it so you can get cheered for as well!

 

The obligatory first question and answers

Have you done NaNo before? Absolutely! I can't believe it took me so long to jump into NaNo.
How many times? I believe this will make it my third year.
Have you won? Yeah, but I set my own goals - 80K first year and 100K the next - and met /exceeded them. This year I'm just going to try for the 50K since life's been interesting and weird.
What is your advice for someone who has never done NaNo? Write! Write write write! It doesn't have to be good or up to standard or even make sense initially - that's what revision is for *after* you've finished it - but the big thing is to get the ideas down. So yes; write write write - even if you don't like it initially, later you can always go back after the end of November [never edit during] and cut and crop and rewrite to your heart's content!

As for name at NaNo? The same

 

I'll take part if I can finish plotting this story before November... it'll be original fiction again this year for me. I've done it before, I think I've done it four times now, and won every time.

I actually got into it at college, so yes, it's possible to do it while at uni full-time! Actually, I was a grad student when I did NaNo for the first time. I was writing my thesis in the second year. I wrote my thesis about fantasy and fanfic writers, though, so NaNo sort of counted as research. Sort of. (Not really.) But it's definitely possible! It just takes a bit of time management, and fast typing, both of which I had to learn at uni anyway, so yeah.

My advice to someone who's new to NaNo is - write notes beforehand! Some people like to make it up as they go, which is fine too, but if you're someone who needs an outline and so on, make sure you have one before you start. I get completely lost without one, and that's not good when the pressure's on. I always write out plot notes and character files and do some research during October so that I know what I'm doing once November starts. Aside from that - just write. Keep writing. Don't worry about quality, don't worry about anything except the next 100 words. You can edit later.

 

I'm going for it again this year and will be making a much more serious attempt than I have the last couple times. I'm preparing to be a recluse in November. This year I also will be trying much harder to have some sort of outline or list of plot points done ahead of time-- I inevitably get stuck if I don't feel confident of where the story is going, and I run out of plot steam very fast. My NaNo account name is chrononaut67.

 

I'm going to try again... though all I seem to have is poetry right now.

-DaenaBenjen42 (who, no, isn't switching user names...)

 

Welcome aboard everyone! Participants list has been updated.

 

I'm in. I've got to go sign up. Maybe this will be the first time I don't get distracted by something else. "It's all about the writing!" Woot! Woot!

 

Well, I just binned my first idea. Wasn't happy with it. Going with something else (still scifi/horror though).