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Osfer Registered User
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 50 Location: The Kingdom of Love
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:47 am Post subject: The National Novel Writing Month approaches! Who's in? |
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Ladies! Gentlemen! Intermediate genders!
The time is almost nigh. The National Novel Writing Month is almost upon us.
One minute after midnight on October 31st, about fifty thousand writers around the world will shun their spouses, children, friends and jobs and work themselves to a bleary-eyed state of catatonia until November 30th, with a singular goal:
To write one novel in one month.
The rules are simple. You can do all the preparation you want in advance, but you can only start writing the story itself on November 1st. And by November 30, you have to have reached 50 000 words.
Fiftykay.
It's a glorious challenge, a great test for any writer. The focus is on productivity, not quality. Who cares if it's full of spelling errors, who cares if it has serious plot holes. The goal is to keep writing, to move forward, and fix all the problems later. It doesn't have to be good, it has to be done.
It was the spur of NaNoWriMo in 2004 that caused Maranatha to spew from my brain, and while the deteriorating condition of my fingers forced me to abandon that by the time I hit about 190 000 words, it will soon find new life in the form of a comic, Heathen City.
Err, sorry about the plugging. Back to NaNo!
Yiffstar and my own FurRag are excellent places to participate in NaNo. Discuss the trials of long nights of writing with fellow novelling writers. Post one new chapter after another for your readers to marvel at.
It's incredibly hard work, and unbelievably rewarding.
Who's up to the challenge? Smiley _________________ Head pot-scrubber of Bad Dog Books |
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Midi Guest
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:56 am Post subject: |
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I'm gonna try and enter. I wanted to last year, but I didn't finish anything in time. But I do have a very good idea to what I will write! |
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Osfer Registered User
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 50 Location: The Kingdom of Love
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:07 am Post subject: |
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Well, entering means simply starting on time and trying to make 50k
Typically about one in four participants actually reach 50k, but everyone has fun. There's something really inspiring about devoting yourself to writing alongside supportive fellows _________________ Head pot-scrubber of Bad Dog Books |
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No_Idea_What_I'm_Doing Registered User
Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 136 Location: PR, La isla del encanto y de las calles malas
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I slapped down 6,000 words on paper over the last three days, but I don't think I can make 50,000 in one month. Sure, if I keep up at that pace, I'm gold. In fact, I'd be on pace for over the mark, but I don't just do all that writing like that. I may, as I said, do three day spurts, but I don't do months. SRY. _________________ <This space reserved for some random nonsense.> |
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Virmir Registered User
Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 107
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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Gah ha ha!
I just did 24K words in something like five months, and I'm burned out from that, hehe.
I commend anyone rising up to this challenge. _________________ - Kendo Virmir
Virmir's Stories
Metamor Keep |
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Tony Greyfox Registered User
Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 1
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm... I've got a couple of ideas I could work with, but as my job involves lots and lots of writing, I'm not sure I can focus in enough to write 50K in my off-time. But, I've had a couple of friends do it, so I might have to give it some thought again. (Shame it has to be written all in that time, I've got a project going now that would easily kill 50,000 if I got wordy...) |
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ScottyDM Registered User
Joined: 12 Feb 2005 Posts: 1142 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:51 pm Post subject: |
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No_Idea_What_I'm_Doing wrote: | Well, I slapped down 6,000 words on paper over the last three days, but I don't think I can make 50,000 in one month. Sure, if I keep up at that pace, I'm gold. In fact, I'd be on pace for over the mark, but I don't just do all that writing like that. I may, as I said, do three day spurts, but I don't do months. SRY. |
The "rules" state that it cannot be something you're already working on. BUT it can be something that you've prepared an outline for or done other research. It's just that you can't have already started writing your first draft, nor can it be editing time for a finished but rough novel.
Rules were made to be broken.
The real value of NaNo isn't that you'll end up with a novel at the end of November--50,000 words of... whatever it is you've just written, can't really be called a novel in many cases. The "rules" state that you don't need a plan or even a good idea, just write. Many people wing it, and while I suspect few use Jack Torrance's technique (The Shining) to get their word count up, the result is sometimes next to useless.
The real value of NaNo (in my opinion) is that it gives us a goal as to when to start writing. I like to do research, and I know my plot was weak so I've been daydreaming about how to fix it. But doggone it! November 1st approaches and it's high time I finished my essays on how my species raise and educate their young, court, select a mate, marriage rituals, etc. It's high time I finished my plot outline. And it's time I got ready to actually write the dang novel. Having a specific date is significant for some personality types.
So research and plan in the months leading to NaNo, do the bulk of your writing in November, and then edit in the months following.
Scotty
PS: I'll be there. And if you know where you're going, 1700 words a day isn't that tough. _________________
Kantaro wrote: | Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up. |
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Osfer Registered User
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 50 Location: The Kingdom of Love
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:15 am Post subject: |
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Rock and roll, Scotty.
The goal is, indeed, to write. Your fellow NaNoers give you energy and you return the favor, you strive to keep up because when you're surrounded by writers who stay up late and cancel appointments to keep up, you feel something that you just can't get when you write on your own: writing is important.
The experience of participating in NaNo, of keeping up the pace even when you're in the last week and realize you're too far behind to catch up -- it's powerful stuff. It teaches you what you're capable of as a writer, builds your confidence, and gives you enough experience with disciplined, focused writing that you can realistically plan future stories out in advance, and proceed with a clear idea of what you need to do and how much time it will take you. _________________ Head pot-scrubber of Bad Dog Books |
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