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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

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

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by mavjade , Oct 3, 2012.

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  1. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    ZARA!! I haven't seen you in forever!! [:D] Glad to have you on board!!


    Discussion: Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one? Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer? Somewhere in between? Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?
     
  2. Jade_Max

    Jade_Max Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2002
    Excellent discussion topic! *rubs hands together* let's dive in!

    Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one? I have a plot already - several in fact. I just have to pick which one I'm going to write!

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer? Somewhere in between? Usually I fly by the seat of my pants, but sometimes I'm a touch of an outliner; I certainly can't outline a story the way I've seen some do; I find it very constricting. I tend to outline important scenes I know have to happen and make everything up in the middle from there.

    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write? Nope; just write. I intent to do about 2K words a day in the hopes of showing myself 1) how long that actually takes when I push myself and 2) where in my day I have the time for it. :D
     
  3. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one? I have a vague idea of scenes I want to write, but I don't have a real plot yet.

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer? I have never outlined a story ever. When I start I usually have no idea how to end the story. That is why my last story had an ending and then I posted two of the Alternate endings I was working on. I wrote them up and then showed them to a friend and got input as to which one to go with.

    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write? I am just going to write a few hours each day and hope for the best.
     
  4. ZaraValinor

    ZaraValinor Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 31, 2002
    Mav! I know I've been gone forever. But I'm back and hopefully to stay. I do have a plot. One I've been sitting on for a while. It's fleshed out in my mind, but I haven't done an outline. I eventually had to in my original fiction, because I had so many different versions that it became difficult to keep track. So if anyone is writing their own fiction, I highly recommend that you do outline.
     
  5. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Discussion: Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one?
    I do have a plot, characters and scenes

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer? Somewhere in between?
    I will outline the story and use an excel sheet for the characters

    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?
    Just writing this like my other stories
     
  6. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 25, 2002
    I've got a general plot and some characters. I'll probably do some outlining before Nov 1, at least for major scenes. As far as actual writing, I find I'm most productive hand-writing and then typing it into Word. I can't create that well on the PC.
     
  7. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one?
    Nope! I still have no idea what I'm going to write about... [face_worried]
    It really kinda snuck up on me this year and I really haven't given it too much thought yet. (I guess I should!) If I don't think of something soon I think I'm going to rewrite one I did a few years ago with some major changes and probably from a different POV.

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer? Somewhere in between?
    Fly by the seat of my pants. I've never been able to outline, even when I had to in school I was terrible at it. Though listening to most of the authors that I've heard speak, they all really talk about outlines so I figure it's something I should learn to do eventually.
    Though James Lucerno didn't really talk about it at C-VI, he talked about runing your story through you head over and over and over until it's all plotted out, which is sort of what I do, though usually not until it's all plotted out.


    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?
    I'm planing on trying something that Aaron Allston talked about at C-VI called flow state writing (I think that's what it was called, I'm at work and can't look at the notes I took) where you write your story from start to finish using the oart of writing you are best at. So I'm pretty good at dialogue, so I would write the story from start to finish writing only dialogue (though I probably won't actually start with dialogue). Then you take the next part, say, exposition and write it completley start to finish using only exposition. Etc, Etc. until you have written the entire thing.

    I don't know if I'll make it the entire way this way... I don't think my mind really works in this manor, but I want to give it a shot.
     
  8. Ceillean

    Ceillean Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 13, 2001
    I'll be participating again. As I do every year. But the years before I at least had a simple idea that I could work with. This year - not so much. No idea. No plot. No nothing. But I'm working on it. [face_worried]
    I'd like to write an original piece rather than fanfiction but my mind keeps wandering off to Star Wars.
     
  9. KELIA

    KELIA Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2005
    I've done it before. Won one and lost one so of course I have to do it again this year to break the tie :p

    I hope my mostly absent muse will cooperate.....I'll be doing another SW fan fic. That's what I'm most comfortable with and will give me the best chance to win.
     
  10. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I noticed at the site it said, "Create a new story" and it asks for a title. I usually don't give a story a title for a while. Can we change a title for a story halfway through a challenge?
     
  11. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    I'm sure you can. I just gave my title as Nano 2012 (Working Title).
     
  12. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Thanks. This is my first attempt at the NaNo and I am confused. lol!
     
  13. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    Quite a few of us have done it before so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! Also be sure to check out their forums - there's quite a bit of good stuff there.
     
  14. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    Agreed! Us long term vets are more than happy to help out. :)

    Can we do a CD swap? I'm thinking that everyone who wants in submits their name and gets 2-3 people to send a mix CD to. I do the one through the official forums and it's always great to get new music, especially if it's not stuff you'd normally listen to or have ever heard of before. Not sure if that'd be ok to do here there.
     
  15. Admiral Volshe

    Admiral Volshe Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Just signed up! :)
    My first time, hopefully the muse hits me... soon.

    And for the discussion:
    Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one?
    No plot prepared yet, but as for genre:
    I want to try an original sci-fi/fantasy or historical fiction, but I'm not quite sure which one.
    But I might very well go with Star Wars.
    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer?
    Fly by the seat of my pants, definitely. I do plot major points so I have some sort of beginning, middle and end, but it's not nearly enough.
    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?
    Write a few thousand words everyday, even if they aren't up to my standards. I really want to reach the goal of 50k.

    Edit: If you would like a writing buddy, you can add me as admiralvolshe .
     
  16. Draconarius

    Draconarius Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2005
    Discussion: Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one?
    I'm actually trying to pick between four different ideas (that must sound very showoff-ish...). I've got two Star Wars fanfic ideas, one original idea, and I'm also thinking about taking another shot at the non-SW fanfic I used for last year.

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer?
    I'm a bit of both. I'll start out with an outline, but it usually winds up pretty much obsolete inside 10-15 chapters.

    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?
    Not really, no. Although I am going to put a lot more effort into turning off my internal editor this year, re-reading and rewriting has been a big part of why my last two attempts were not successful.
     
  17. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    So I just want to confirm...we just need to write 50K words...it doesn't need to be edited or a finished product. I can write chapters out of order and then put things together later on, right? Because that is what I sometimes do. I think of a cool conversation between characters and I write it and place it at the end of the story under NOTES or Possible Scenes. So even if these scenes don't get into the final fic if I do the editing in December...they are still words I wrote and count, correct?
     
  18. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    Jedi_Lover Absolutely! Just do whatever works best. As long as you end up with more than 50,000 words it's all good!
     
  19. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Partcipants list updated! Welcome everyone!

    moosemousse - I'd be okay with people doing a CD swap if they want, it sounds like fun! :)

    Jedi_Lover - Yep, 50K no matter how great or terrible it is, where it goes in the story or even if it never goes in, it all counts! In fact, never erase anything you write. If you write a sentence/paragraph/page and then decide you don't like it, it doesn't work or fit, resist the urge to delete it. Copy/Paste it into another file and keep it, those words count too!
    Anything you write that pertains to your story, gets you words!
     
  20. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    Alternatively just change the font color to match your background - words will stay but you won't see them.
     
  21. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Do you have a plot or are you still searching for one?

    Still searching for one.

    Are you an outliner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of writer?Somewhere in between?

    Somewhere in between "outline" and "seat of pants" because you can't always plan for writing awesomeness when in the process of it.

    Is there a specific method or technique you are going to use to write?

    Sure. I plan to put pen to paper and see where it goes. This... can go either way and can lead to mixed results.
     
  22. Skywalker_T-65

    Skywalker_T-65 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2009
    I might go for this. I already have a novel (original one mind you) in the very late planning stages and just haven't gotten around to writing it. Considering I can get upwards of 3k words typed in a single day when I want, I could possibly manage. Depends on how College goes.
     
  23. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    It's been mentioned in the Tech Help thread on the NaNo site that some users aren't getting NaNo emails. (I'm one of them - haven't gotten anything since the summer and I do have the options turned on in my Notifications section). If you're not getting mails you might want to add your feedback here.
     
  24. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    Also, it'd be a good idea to check your spam folders. I still get non-spam going there from time to time.
     
  25. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 25, 2002
    I did that before I posted in the thread over there. When I log into AOL mail I can see if anything is in the spam folder.
     
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