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NaNoWriMo 2011

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:03 pm
by LadyRushia
Let the madness begin.

So, who's in this year? Link your profiles, talk strategies, and report your progress in this thread.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/450050

This year, I'll be writing a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fantasy story in which everything is related to typefaces. It should be pretty fun.

I'll also be attempting this while balancing school work and figuring out some career options and other developments in my life. I should be able to win again if I do it like this:

Week One

Day 1: 3346

Day 2: 3216

Day 3: 3101

Day 4: 2986

Day 5: 2872

Day 6: 2757

Day 7: 2642

Week Two

Day 8: 2527

Day 9: 2412

Day 10: 2298

Day 11: 2183

Day 12: 2068

Day 13: 1953

Day 14: 1838

Week Three
Day 15: 1724
Day 16: 1609

Day 17: 1494

Day 18: 1379

Day 19: 1264

Day 20: 1150

Day 21: 1035

Week Four

Day 22: 920

Day 23: 805

Day 24: 690

Day 25: 576

Day 26: 461

Day 27: 346

Day 28: 231

Week Five

Day 29: 116

Day 30: 1

What about the rest of you?

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:32 pm
by Okami
I'm hoping to do 'WriMo again this year...however, between October 25 and December 12 split between five classes I have research papers that add up to approximately 70 pages due......so it might just not happen. If I do get to writing for myself, I would like to write a book based on a paper I wrote last year for Developmental Psychology on the treatment, ministry, and healing of self-harm...which is what two if not three of my research papers will be based on. So no novel this time around...but my creative juices towards my major and ministry are running wild so I might as well go with it! :lol:

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:13 pm
by mechana2015
I'm in for this again. Gonna try to see if I can follow or exceed LR's strategem.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:14 pm
by FllMtl Novelist
Oh man, I am so psyched. 8D

My outdated profile:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/704241

This year I'm writing the sequel to a YA fantasy book I wrote earlier this year. Neither has a real title because I am lame like that. XD But it's going to be pretty awesome. :3

Especially since I seem to have roped my sister into doing the YWP. :D

Like last year, I'll probably shoot for doing a little over the recommended daily word count, and do extra when I get time.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:35 pm
by Popyman
Wow, that strategy of yours is really interesting! I might have to give that a shot. It's not like it can mess me up, I could just resort to the usual minimum number of words for a day if I couldn't keep up with it.

But yes, I love NaNo and will be doing it again this year! Last year was my first time and it was the most fun I've ever had writing. This year, I'm going to use it to finish my current book that I hope to get published. I've been stuck on it for ages but NaNo will be a fantastic way to force myself through it and get the freaking thing done with. XD

EDIT: Oh, and my profile is here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/683262

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:25 pm
by Winry
I'm hoping to dgoodo it again this year. Last year was so fun! I don't have a idea of what I am going to write yet, but I have a whole month to figure that out =)

Here's my profile... Winry's Profile

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:24 pm
by Davidizer13
Welp, now that I'm out of college and have nothing better to do until I find a job, I might as well puke out stuff on paper until then! It's my first time doing this, and I've always wanted to give it a try. Bring it on, I say.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:36 pm
by LadyRushia
A'ight, I think I have you all added to my list.

Mech, the strategy I posted is for hitting 50k specifically, but you can change up the math to figure out word counts for a bigger goal. I ended up finishing six days early last year using it, so I think it works pretty well.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:41 pm
by mechana2015
Finishing early would be good. :D

By the bye my user name is animetedskier still.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:28 am
by bigsleepj
I've always wanted to try this, and this year I've decided to do just that. I will have to set aside a different writing project, but I can pick that one up again. Off course, I have no idea how exactly this works, but I'll browse the site when I get a chance. Do you hang out there, post your word count, or what?

Edit: Well, here I am. :)

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:36 pm
by mechana2015
I can't say much for what I'll use the site for this year yet, since they're changing the design of the whole site in about a week (Oct 10th). In the past I've used it to track my friend's status and confirm word counts, and to read the forum for silliness or suggestions if I was lagging.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:20 pm
by Edward
I'm planning on doing NaNo this year. I'll be writing a fantasy story. Though how I'll balance that with playing Skyrim and doing other stuff, I don't know. I'll figure it out.

Anyway. Here is my profile. My general strategy is to just write as much as I can and try to get the word count goal. I'll probably have to do some extra writing since I go out of state for Thanksgiving and won't be able to write.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:06 pm
by Atria35
I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope I manage it. I've made an account just in case. I'm sure I'll have a few days to work on it.

My profile- and hoping I remember to do it!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:51 am
by Lynna
If I have the time, this will be my first year in NaNoWriMo. I can't wait! I'v been thinking a lot about my plot and characters over the summer.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:59 am
by Atria35
Favorite pep talk so far? Lemony Snicket's. I'm feeling the urge to write. Too bad it's not November yet!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:46 am
by GeneD
I am very, very excited for this! I've been counting down the days for about a month and a half now.

I have about 3 different story options that I could tackle this year, but I am beginning to lean towards one of them. I'll post my profile when the new site is up on Oct 10th. Last year I finished about 3 days in advance but I still don't think I'll be able to adopt Rushia's writing plan.

A friend of mine and I are planning to hold our own Night of Writing Dangerously all-nighter since we can't attend the official one in San Francisco.

Q1. Did any of last year's winners use any of the prises besides the internet buttons? I used the free book copy from CreateSpace to send myself a printed copy of my unedited novel. Just for fun really, since the story isn't really finished and I've been meaning to edit but never got around to it. I'd also like to use the Scrivener voucher but Scrivener for Windows isn't out until end Oct. Although I suppose I could get the Beta before then.

Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?

I don't really remember the pep talk's well enough to have a favourite, but I do know that most of them made me want to go check out that author's work.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:37 pm
by LadyRushia
I'm using all of this month for pre-writing. I have all my characters and places written down (in Scrivener. I love this program to pieces) so now I'm in the process of creating an outline. Hopefully, this will minimize writer's block.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:45 pm
by ABlipinTime
Seems tempting, but I'm going to take this time to write stuff I've already started.

Good luck to all of you!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:05 pm
by mechana2015
GeneD (post: 1508438) wrote:Q1. Did any of last year's winners use any of the prises besides the internet buttons? I used the free book copy from CreateSpace to send myself a printed copy of my unedited novel. Just for fun really, since the story isn't really finished and I've been meaning to edit but never got around to it. I'd also like to use the Scrivener voucher but Scrivener for Windows isn't out until end Oct. Although I suppose I could get the Beta before then.


I didn't... I'm sort of kicking myself for not using the print code for CreateSpace actually.

GeneD (post: 1508438) wrote:Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?


I try to do some planning, but leave the story open to run. This year I've sketched out some charachter outlines and plot points or scenes I'd like to hit on as I go. I also happen to be writing a story I attempted previously and failed HORRIBLY at.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:20 pm
by Atria35
GeneD (post: 1508438) wrote:Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?


I'm going to *finally* kick-start the book I've had the first chapter written for since about 7th grade. I have no idea where to go from there. I think actually being forced to sit down and write will get the brain juices going.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:10 pm
by Davidizer13
GeneD (post: 1508438) wrote:Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?


When I first decided I was going to do this thing, I really didn't have any idea what I was going to write, and was hoping that I'd figure out something with a bit of time. It turns out that night that I had a dream that gave me a starting point, and now I'm outlining the characters. After that, though, I don't have much to go on plot-wise apart from a vague outline. My plan is that, since the story is about family members who probably haven't seen each other in a while, their interactions will give me something to fill that out.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:29 pm
by Popyman
ABlipinTime (post: 1508514) wrote:Seems tempting, but I'm going to take this time to write stuff I've already started.

Good luck to all of you!


You can still enter NaNo. It doesn't matter if it's a story you've already started, you just have to write 50,000 NEW words.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:08 am
by Lynna
I wonder, does it all have to be one novel or can you work on two and then submit both works as one? Because I'm torn between starting this new novel and finishing the one I'm currently on

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 10:06 am
by mechana2015
I know one person on my friends list is doing a series of short stories? I think that's up to you in the end really. I personally try to stick to one story for the sake of hitting the novel threshold, but thats just the way things usually work out when I write anyways.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 3:34 pm
by FllMtl Novelist
Buddied y'all.
Atria35 (post: 1508404) wrote:Favorite pep talk so far? Lemony Snicket's. I'm feeling the urge to write. Too bad it's not November yet!

Oh my gosh, I loved that one to pieces last year. XD
GeneD (post: 1508438) wrote:Q1. Did any of last year's winners use any of the prises besides the internet buttons? I used the free book copy from CreateSpace to send myself a printed copy of my unedited novel. Just for fun really, since the story isn't really finished and I've been meaning to edit but never got around to it. I'd also like to use the Scrivener voucher but Scrivener for Windows isn't out until end Oct. Although I suppose I could get the Beta before then.

Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?

-Nope. I don't think I even used the web badges. XD

-I have a vague idea of beginning, climax, and aftermath/epilogue. I've also got a couple of events that have to happen in-between, but I don't know the order yet. Right now, I'm figuring out who my characters are, backstory, world-building, and which characters I get to kill off. (In the first book of the series, I killed off approximately 60% of the cast by the end. 8] I'm kinda morbid.) I used to make more detailed plot outlines, but as I've written more, I've been doing more discovery writing, and it's worked pretty well so far.
Lynna (post: 1508714) wrote:I wonder, does it all have to be one novel or can you work on two and then submit both works as one? Because I'm torn between starting this new novel and finishing the one I'm currently on

The only real requirement is that you write 50,000 words during November. They can be from any project. Poems, scripts, a billion short stories, fanfiction, or practically anything else is fine, so long as you're not copy/pasting stuff from any previously existing works (e.g., Wikipedia, ff.net, stuff you wrote months ago). For example, last year I wrote a bunch of scenes and short stories from two unrelated projects, and a complete draft of a third project. So anything goes, as long as it's fifty thousand words and original.

Advice: If you're going to finish something you've already made progress on, or anything other than a typical one-project attempt, makes notes as you go to clearly label what project each portion belongs with.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:40 pm
by Maledicte
GeneD wrote:Q2. How are you all planning your projects? Are you like me who has a vague idea of the characters and beginning of the story and then just writes and sees where the story takes you? Do you plan out everything from the start?

I tried my project last year as a collection of short stories (and failed), but now after letting the characters and plot points simmer for a year I think I have enough to bump it up to a full-fledged story. I know the basic character arcs and know where I'm starting and where I'm ending.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/402406

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:03 am
by Bobtheduck
Well... I've wanted to do this for a while, and I may, actually, be out of a job on November 1st, unfortunately... I REALLY hope this wouldn't last a month... Hmm... Should I?

Thing is, I like working in one universe, and I don't want my universe to be the property of that website in any respect... I

I'll get back to everyone, but it really seems interesting. Has any participant ever become a published author? I doubt a one month novel is going to have the kind of polish needed to publish, but has anyone just said "This has loads of potential. I'm going to do something with it."

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 9:50 am
by Atria35
Bobtheduck (post: 1508940) wrote:I'll get back to everyone, but it really seems interesting. Has any participant ever become a published author? I doubt a one month novel is going to have the kind of polish needed to publish, but has anyone just said "This has loads of potential. I'm going to do something with it."


Water for Elephants is the most famous published book to come out of NaNoWriMo. There's also Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. You're right in it wasn't perfectly polished and did need editing, but it was published and is a pretty famous book. They also have no rights or whatnot over your book- it is your property period.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:16 pm
by LadyRushia
Thing is, I like working in one universe, and I don't want my universe to be the property of that website in any respect.


http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/402670

The only way you're "submitting" to the website is to validate your word count. None of the people running this actually see what you've written and they don't own any of it.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:21 pm
by ABlipinTime
Popyman (post: 1508595) wrote:You can still enter NaNo. It doesn't matter if it's a story you've already started, you just have to write 50,000 NEW words.


According to http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/hownanoworks
Start from scratch. None of your own previously written prose can be included in your NaNoWriMo draft (though outlines, character sketches, and research are all fine, as are citations from other people's works).