As 99.9% of you writers out there already know, November is National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo, one of my favorite writer events of the year. For the entire month first-time and experienced storytellers all over the world work toward the goal of completing 50K words in thirty days.
Since my writing schedule makes almost every month at Casa PBW a NaNoWriMo, I don't officially participate, but I encourage everyone who's game to give it a whirl. If you've never attempted to write a novel, it can be a terrific ice-breaker to join in. It's also a good preview of what it's like to write professionally, create on demand and work under deadline pressure.
Are any of you guys joining in? Is it your first time, or are you a dedicated NaNoWriMo'er? What are you planning to work on? Let us know in comments.
Some NaNoWriMo Links:
The 2008 NaNoWriMo Write-a-Thon Fundraiser Event in San Francisco
AlphaSmart Loaners
FAQs
NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
2008 Web Badges and Wordcount widgets
I've never been one for NaNo. I do well with general deadlines (like "get this story done by this date"), but setting an exact number of words just creates a mental block for me, and makes me worry about quantity over quality. November will just be a "write as much as I can" month for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm going for four consecutive wins out of four tries. :)
ReplyDeleteI've got several stories in mind, but I'm not hearing that voice that's louder than the others. I tend not to pick a story until a few days before. That's when a character finally pipes up.
The first two Nanos finished the storyline arcs I had started in a story I had written years before. The third one dealt with the twin sister of the main character in the previous ones.
I've also won Script Frenzy two consecutive times. Both dealt with the past of the main characters from the Nanos.
It looks like I keep going back in the characters' timeline. LOL I've written other short stories in this world with secondary characters stepping up. Now if I can combine all these storylines into something coherent I'd get a romantic suspense series.
I will participate. I have no idea if I can manage it though, I seem to have incredible problems turning off the "inner critic". And that is also the main reason why I should do NaNoWriMo.
ReplyDeleteI intend to write something science fictiony, of a sort, but the past few days I have been wondering whether I should do something else. Still got time I guess....
I'm participating with an urban fantasy set over 200 years of rural England
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm in Australia myself and a group of friends are in. Think it's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is also my third year to attempt the finish. I WILL win this year. I've already logged in "auburnfaerie" and updated my information. This will be my year. :)
ReplyDeleteI adore Nano. :) Thanks for posting this!
I joined the insanity for the first time last year and did win. I'd really love to participate again this year, but I have to finish the revisions on the current wip first (last year's NaNo novel, first draft finished--50K isn't enough for me!). October is Revision Hell month for me.
ReplyDeleteI love NaNo. I'll probably be an unofficial participant, since one project I may work on is off to a 50 page start. Depending on what happens in Oct., I'll be writing Project A or Project B.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, LOVE Nanowrimo! Thanks for the plug and encouragement. Anyone who hasn't tried it should really give it a go -- it's a blast.
ReplyDeleteKTB
I love the idea but find November is a terrible month for that kind of commitment.
ReplyDeleteI also recommend Chris Baty's book NO PLOT, NO PROBLEM. It's all about how to survive Nano and win it too. A good read for everyone, actually, participants and non. It's a fun look into the life of a writer on deadline.
ReplyDeleteI did it last year and completed it, and then went on to add another 30k words to my novel and polish it a little for some contests.
ReplyDeleteI want to try again this year. I have also got a start on another novel--I'm only about 12000 words in though. I *could* make it my goal to finish the thing during nano (aiming for 80-90k words), but I think the spirit is to start from nothing.
Of course, I have a list of about a dozen other book ideas that I could tackle, but I'm a little freaked out about abandoning my WIP where it's at and starting new.
Aack! Decisions, decisions..
I am so looking forward to NANO. Have decided to do a cozy mystery this time around.
ReplyDeleteThis will be my third year - I won the last two.
ReplyDeleteI've got an outline done that I intend to write, finally. I think I probably over-outlined the story and had no interest in writing it when I was done with the outline. It's been almost a year since I put it aside, so I'm going to use the outline as a suggestion, only and start the story from scratch.
I'm in! This will be my 4th year. I "won" the first year, and in following years have ended up getting slammed by real life stuff just as November was starting, so never managed to continue with the attempt.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have a YA novel set aside for NaNo, with the though being that the 60-ishK needed to reach "The End" (of the first draft, anyway) is close enough to the 50K for NaNo that I might actually finish both...
I'll be participating for the fourth year. I've got a horror/romance novel underway, so I'll probably just continue writing it.
ReplyDeleteI know that's probably violating the NaNo rules, but I need to finish the rough draft of this thing!
Hey, this will be my fourth year giving it a whirl. I "won" my first two years and only made it to 30K last year.
ReplyDeleteUN on the board is Firewolf.
This will be my third year, and I'm hoping to win again for the third time. I'm trying something new this year, an urban fantasy about the Nephilim.
ReplyDeleteThe plan is to participate in the madness, not sure if the life will cooperate. The plan is to write the second book in the urban fantasy series. Wish me luck. :)
ReplyDeleteLol, I never manage 50K (I'm just not a fast writer) but I've been in since 2003 and become pretty addicted. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, great. They have an A.I. to do the word count, so I won't have to worry that I may bore real people to death. And they allow foreign languages. Maybe I'll have a go, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll be doing it this year. I'd love to give it a try, but school always has me slammed and too busy to do anything of that kind of commitment. But, I'm not gonna rule it out yet either.
ReplyDeleteI can't do NaNoWriMo. I've been writing for almost 20 years (er, I'm 22, heh) and I just can't do the brain vomit method, the quantity over quality thing. Just doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's cool that it's one month when so many people are doing this one big writing thing, though. :)
I first learned about NaNo in early Dec 2007 so I've been thinking about it for a whole year. I've never written fiction so I'm a little apprehensive. But I have a rough outline and a couple of characters and am just going to go for it!
ReplyDelete(My handle is justmethinking)
This will be my first year participating. I'm intimidated and excited as all hell. I just hope I don't allow myself to chicken out. November is going to be busy for me, but I want the challenge.
ReplyDeleteSo good luck to all who have endeavors of taking part. :) May we all come away winners.
I'm delighted to see so many of you are planning to join in the joyful madness that is NaNovember. :)
ReplyDeleteCassie wrote: Now if I can combine all these storylines into something coherent I'd get a romantic suspense series.
Most of my series (Darkyn, StarDoc) started out as individual or serial short stories. I find I almost have to write a short story or series of scenes first to test drive a novel idea. The trick is pulling them all together. Usually I'm successful to some degree, but every now and then the stories just aren't cohesive.
Margaret wrote: I also recommend Chris Baty's book NO PLOT, NO PROBLEM. It's all about how to survive Nano and win it too. A good read for everyone, actually, participants and non. It's a fun look into the life of a writer on deadline.
Agreed. I bought a copy of it last year (in a kit form, I think) and it was very entertaining and informative, something you don't see often in a how-to. :)
Kristi wrote: I *could* make it my goal to finish the thing during nano (aiming for 80-90k words), but I think the spirit is to start from nothing.
I'm pretty sure the goal is to write 50K on one story (although the rules should be checked on this.) I don't think anyone should discount or penalize you for working on a WIP. Finishing is as important as starting a new novel.
Ann wrote: The plan is to participate in the madness, not sure if the life will cooperate. The plan is to write the second book in the urban fantasy series. Wish me luck. :)
ReplyDeleteSound like a practical plan. Break a keyboard. :)
Klingonpacifist wrote: Oh, great. They have an A.I. to do the word count, so I won't have to worry that I may bore real people to death. And they allow foreign languages. Maybe I'll have a go, too.
I really like that they allow other-than-in-English writers to participate. Language shouldn't be a barrier for something this universal.
As for all you who won't have the chance or can't work within the NaNo time frame, don't sweat it. Life and the process have to come first. I do hope you'll join me and cheer on the participants, though. It takes a lot of chutzbah to do this thing. :)
This will be my sixth Nano but I haven't set myself an extra challenge this year. Just a straight up double Nano with a pike and a triple twist.
ReplyDeleteA Renaissance/Edwardian urban crime thriller fantasy. Did those eras have 'urbs'?
I love NaNoWriMo! I've participated four times, won once, and had my 2005 novel published by Samhain -- woot!
ReplyDeleteIt's a blast and I wouldn't miss it.
I'm in this year. I haven't done much writing for the past year because I've been working for the family business. I miss it and I'm ready to get back at it!!
ReplyDeleteI've done NaNo five years and won 3 of those. I am trying to decide whether to go for it this year again or not. My actual writing career is starting to take off, and I feel I should put my time and writing effort into building that. I LOVE NaNo though, and I will probably do it. I can sleep in December.
ReplyDeleteI've signed up for my second year. I actually managed to win my first NaNoWriMo. It really got crazy toward the end. There was even a yetti in my urban fatansy dystopian adventure. Even I was suprised.
ReplyDeleteI'm listed as Urban_Literati. Check my profile. Add me as your writing buddy. We can taunt each other to the finish line.
Good luck, everyone!