NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month: 50,000 words, 30 days. Can you do it?
317 replies, posted
[QUOTE=ScriptKitt3h;51196368]I'm tempted to draw out some character concepts for my story- I personally find it can help sometimes to not only write out a good plan for a story ahead of time, but also to visualize it somehow via sketching/drawing, etc.[/QUOTE]
I know some people use video game character creators to design physical models of their characters-- not a bad idea, really.
should probably get back into writing, might as well use november as the excuse. won't try to go for the 50k though
Figured I might as well post here. I've been writing a story for a few years and it's a beast of a thing, but lately I've slowed down. I always slow down when winter rolls around, but I hope to somewhat participate even though it's not a new story.
fuck it, i'll make a stab
Sign me up. I'm going travelling during November and i have exams so it's going to fun trying to fit this in.
Has anyone here managed to get a general story premise down yet? Would love to hear what some of you have in mind!
Academically I did well in English and History, which both require good writing skills I guess (I got an A1 in both) but I'm just not sure about my creative writing skills; I haven't written a story in a while and I'm afraid it'll just be utter shite. I've never written anything longer than 2,000 words either. That, and time; I have my course to do, along with extra projects.
Does anyone care how decent or shite your novel is?
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;51201733]Academically I did well in English and History, which both require good writing skills I guess (I got an A1 in both) but I'm just not sure about my creative writing skills; I haven't written a story in a while and I'm afraid it'll just be utter shite. I've never written anything longer than 2,000 words either. That, and time; I have my course to do, along with extra projects.
Does anyone care how decent or shite your novel is?[/QUOTE]
You're probably going to be the only one that reads it, so exactly 1 person cares and its you
I'll give it a go, had an idea
I've done it before, I'll do it again. Be a darling and pencil me into the OP at your earliest convenience.
I've quite a lot of papers in my possession, shuffled about and all. While I am currently transforming those papers and stories into a video game, I think I may use this event to also make a novel out of it. Might prove a bit difficult, but I suppose that's the fun of it. For those of you who care, I'll include a short character document that was made quite some time ago - but I'll edit some details out for spoiler's sake.
[QUOTE]
[I]Ilenir Wulfric, Priest of the Deep Waters. Wulfric, an experienced and veteran priest, serves as a member the King's secret group of Depthweavers.
Priests of the Deep are selected at a young age (typically relatives of other priests) and are taught the dark magics that govern the dead and living.
~~~~~tends to the recent dead, harnessing their soon-to-be-faded spirits as energy. This energy is used to power the Deep Priests' magic. Ilenir is a quiet and serious man, in his late 30s. Typically wears a long dark cloak of wool, with only his pale, gaunt face visible among a sea of curly raven hair long enough to touch his shoulders. He works in the shadows, and little to none is known about him.
~~~~~[/I] [/QUOTE]
Im gonna give this a shot. I sign up for it every year but then never end up writing much of anything, looking to change that this year.
i wish i werent in a permanent writers block
id gladly write a novel but im p sure i wouldnt finish by the deadline
I know i couldn't write 50,000 words, but i do have a couple of premises that i have.
Put me down for this challenge, fuck it, I do it every year, 1-2 with completing-not completing (woulda been 2-1 if my hard drive didn't die the first attempt ;~;)
Done it twice before, should be able to do it again
[QUOTE=megafat;51202311]I know i couldn't write 50,000 words, but i do have a couple of premises that i have.[/QUOTE]
I mean, you definitely can't write 50,000 words as long as you keep that mentality! You can't be pessimistic about it and expect to have the willpower to get all the way there. Pessimism takes a lot of energy.
Sign me up, I think I'll try it. If I can't stay motivated because of other factors, at least I tried.
I'll join in. Have too much free time anyway.
[QUOTE=Monkah;51204351]I mean, you definitely can't write 50,000 words as long as you keep that mentality! You can't be pessimistic about it and expect to have the willpower to get all the way there. Pessimism takes a lot of energy.[/QUOTE]
An anthology book of ~50,000 i could probably write in about a month.
Ill give it a shot. Sign me up.
[QUOTE=megafat;51205623]An anthology book of ~50,000 i could probably write in about a month.[/QUOTE]
Careful, I tried the same and ended up using the anthology aspect to end the books when I didn't care for them, and my numbers dropped like a rock.
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;51206532]Careful, I tried the same and ended up using the anthology aspect to end the books when I didn't care for them, and my numbers dropped like a rock.[/QUOTE]
I can see how it would be the easy way out, but when you write a short story i feel like it has to be a simple story. You're writing something with a start, middle, and end that are close to each other. Plus it's a neat way of getting ideas out.
Guess I could have a go at this, considering I haven't done too much writing lately
I remember participating last year, actually got to 15k words before I had to drop it 'cause of school.
It's actually not that hard if you just completely spitball it and turn off the filter in your head. (don't get me wrong, this is probably the hardest part) NaNoWriMo's focus anyways is to reach 50k words, quality not withstanding.
So yeah, planning will help but don't be afraid if you go a bit off the rails!
Definitely trying my luck this year!
[QUOTE=Monkah;51201399]Has anyone here managed to get a general story premise down yet? Would love to hear what some of you have in mind![/QUOTE]
minor official in 25th century america has to put up with a lot of bullshit is the premise for mine
[quote]Deep in the Patagonian desert, German scientists come across the entombed of what appears to be an ancient creature. Unbeknownst to them, this animal is far from dead, and its arrival back in Europe sparks a reign of absolute terror.
The military seems powerless as the creature seems to grow in size, its appetite alongside it! Mankind appears to be doomed at the wrath of Earth's finest, largest, deadliest...
...SUPERPREDATOR[/quote]
p l o t
Are there any requirements or can i just write 50,000 words in 30 days?
I've completed NaNo twice (I think?) a few years ago and haven't done it the past two years, sadly I need to focus on my dissertation this November or I'd take part.
But here are my pro-tips for what's motivated me in previous years:
1,667 words are all you need to do in a day, they don't need to be good words, they just need to make sense. I like planning, if you like planning I suggest thinking about what needs to be accomplished story-wise within a chapter, and pushing through in small sections each day.
I LOVE a certain section on the NaNo forums for Word Sprints. You can find it here: [url]http://nanowrimo.org/forums/word-wars-prompts-sprints[/url]
When NaNo starts it'll be full of people posting in threads for 10/15/30 minute word sprints. The idea is people post that they will be word sprinting at, say, 17:00, for 10 minutes. Other people respond saying that they'll be sprinting too at 17:00, and when the clock hits that time you, and everyone else who responded will be in a ten minute race to write as many words as you can within the time limit. At 17:10 you all update the thread and see how many words you all managed to write, and who won.
I really enjoy it and it's a great way to force yourself to write something whilst distracting you from the mind-numbing task of deciding what it is that needs to happen next. You don't have time to decide so you just go for it and see where ten minutes gets you. If you're a competitive person I'd say definitely give this a go.
Also- try not to fall behind! Have some mercy for future-you. If you have time try and write above the 1,667 daily goal so that when it's Tuesday and it's been a long day and you burnt your dinner so you had to make it twice and you just can't anymore- you can put your feet up and have that day off, because [I]trust me[/I], playing catch up [I]sucks.[/I] (Although don't let anyone tell you it's impossible. One year a guy who failed miserably decided to get drunk and do a 50k in 24 hours challenge on the final day of November. I wish I could find what he produced for you because it was a thing of incomprehensible garbage beauty, but I seem to have lost the pdf somewhere.)
And while I'm trawling through odd NaNo files, here is a copy of a file people throw together every year, a book of highlights of the worst/stupidest/most incomprehensible 'NaNoisms' people found they had written accidentally whilst blasting 50,000 words out. It's a good laugh to read - [url]http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_62/1310000/1310566/1/print/Master2_workdaggumit.pdf[/url]
Hope that was helpful/interesting. The best thing to do is to find out what works for you to keep you motivated and writing consistently. Good luck to all the brave people taking part.
I'm gonna give it a go this year. I have bits and pieces of something I started writing but gave up on and would love some actual pressure to finish it.
[QUOTE=megafat;51207000]Are there any requirements or can i just write 50,000 words in 30 days?[/QUOTE]
You can even do scripts if you want. 50k words is all you need.
Think of it like a marathon, you only win if you finish. Doesn't matter if you're first place or turn it in at 11:59 PM
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