NaNoWriMo, anyone?

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ThomasP
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NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by ThomasP »

Not sure if this is the right forum, since I figured it was a toss between here and Off-Topic, but I was curious if anyone's doing the NaNoWriMo contest this year?

I've done it the last two years, at least according to the rules - i.e., I hit 50K words, just that it was pretty much crap both times. And not just first-draft crap, I'm talking all-but-unsalvageable pure crap.

I'm trying a different tact this year, in actually trying to do a little plotting and character development beforehand, instead of just showing up on day one and vomiting words onto the page.

I know better than to expect much from a crash-course plan for writing a novel, but I do find that it at least motivates me to sit down and write towards a goal, which I seem to lack most of the time.

Any other takers around?
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Glimmervoid »

I'm giving it a go. I've got an Urban Fantasy story (with no Vampires – emo or not) partly mapped out (character notes and plot outline) and I thought I would try writing it for NaNoWriMo.

It will star Owen Robertson, Glaswegian Chemistry teacher, as he tries to find his missing nephew. I’ve decided to put aside the normal Urban Fantasy races and go with an elemental system combined with some household-gods. It will be partly based upon the alchemical works of Paracelsus.

There will be four main types: Earth kin, called Gnomes; Water Kin, called Ondines; Air Kin called Sylphs; and Fire Kin which I am still trying to come up with a good name for since I dislike Salamander. Within each kin there will be subdivisions (Naiads, Necks etc for Water Kin) and each will have different magical abilities. The household gods will be outside this system.
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born in shadow
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by born in shadow »

I've been signed up for...I dunno how long.

I plan on doing a Lovecraftian horror type story about a man moving into a home and finding it is not someplace he wants to be.

So basically I'm ripping off 99% of Lovecraft work. Yay.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by fgalkin »

Did it 2 years ago, got the 50k words in, did not salvage the work.

NaNoWriMo is a waste of time. They make you write tons of shit, while deluding you into believing you're a writer.

Have a very nice day.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Oni Koneko Damien »

For the past four years, November has consistently been the least prolific writing month of mine. But since it's the only month designated as special for writers, I get to miss out because the several 100k words I write the rest of the year just don't bloody count. I think some year I'm just going to pile up a bunch of stuff I haven't shared with anyone, then submit it piece by piece, every November for the next five years.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Bluewolf »

fgalkin wrote:Did it 2 years ago, got the 50k words in, did not salvage the work.

NaNoWriMo is a waste of time. They make you write tons of shit, while deluding you into believing you're a writer.
Really depends on how you go about it. The whole way of galloping towards 50k with no intention to improve the story is pretty much a waste of time as you described. I did that last year and the result was a horrible mess that I am pretty much just going to loot any ideas I like from and then leave it. This year I am taking my time and being more careful.

This may beg the question "If you are going for quality then why are you even bothering with Nanowrimo?". The reason I do it is as a fun challenge that would give me something to do in the normally dreary month of November and on top of that it also gives me an excuse to splash down some ideas I have been procastinating on in a long time. I hardly get the idea I am a proper writer or anything though from it and I am willing to bet the stories that have got published from Nanowrimo have had pretty much have either gone to a low standards publisher or have basically done prose cosmestic surgery. That and they probably spent a great deal of time making it acceptable.

Though Fgalkin, if you want to see cringe worthy stuff in Nanowrimo, then some of the threads highlight it well. The "Cheats" thread is hilarious with such gems as "Make your characte stutter" and "Make them sing entire songs". I can understand how it'd work for some but still, ugh.

Though Nano does tend to bring on a collective insanity which is probably a given with such a deadline.

Anyway my story idea is a rough one but I wanted to try it. The basic idea I got from it was: "What if various types of people online and off were their own little race in a sci fi setting but were more subtle and fleshed out." My basic plot is basically normal delivery guy with aspirations of actually getting somewhere in life delivering several valuable treasures to antoher world. Shit happens and in the end he goes off course and almost crashes. Now he is stuck and has to navigate his way through a choppy fractured area of space (territory wise).Thus the races invocation I am aiming for light satire.

Personally I doubt I have the skill to pull it off correctly but I need to learn and try really. I will be editing it a ton to make sure it's actually worth reading.
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born in shadow
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by born in shadow »

Bluewolf wrote: The reason I do it is as a fun challenge that would give me something to do in the normally dreary month of November and on top of that it also gives me an excuse to splash down some ideas I have been procastinating on in a long time.
That's pretty much how I feel. It's a fun challenge and it gives me something to do, as well as an excuse to write something I've had on the brain for some time. I sure don't expect to have some golden piece of writing by the end of this, but at least I'll have something. If nothing else, it'll be nice practice.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Rogue 9 »

I observe NaNoWriMo by trying to get at least one chapter in on my ongoing stories, but I'm not about to shit out a 50k word piece of crap just on the contest's say-so.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Surlethe »

I was going to, but I don't have the fucking time to sit down and write 4 pages a night.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by drakensis »

Damascus, on this very board, is my story for this year's contest. Sometimes a little pressure can have positive effect.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Geoff-H »

Currently halfway to my 50k here. I like it because it's a month where I can push my muse to a point where my editor shuts down and lets me plain write. I almost never finish my creative writing attempts due to the critic in me, and Nano gives me that push, the thought that I'm not the only crazy shooting for 50k in 30 days, to help me finish through on a plot. And as for it not being quality, that's what December is for. November is all about quantity. I've found in the past few years, with enough planning, that come December I'll be able to turn the pile of words into a plot nicely, as I know where I'm going with it.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by drakensis »

I went past 50,000 words yesterday. The pressure tends to motivate me to actually write, which tends otherwise to be a rather slow process.

Nex landmark will hopefully finishing the fic by the end of the month and then cleaning it up based on the reviews and spellchecker.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Glimmervoid »

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I did it!

I just submitted my story at 50,389 words. It was a long hard slog but I think it was worth it. This the longest, by a long long way, piece of original fiction I've ever written. I have a couple of pieces of fan fiction that are longer but this really means something to me.

When I started out, I was writing a 1st person urban fantasy piece. I wrote seven thousand words of that but it took me the first 15 days of November to do. So come the 16th I decided enough was enough. I hated the main character, had little idea where the plot was going and was struggling to write more than a few hundred words at a time.

So I did the only thing I could, abandon that story and started a new one. The new story was called 'In to the Darkness, In to the Light' and is a much more typical fantasy story. It’s been kicking around the back of my head for a while now and I'm really glad to final have some of it on paper. It’s not finished yet, it’s not even near what, when I first start, I thought would be the middle but I'm quite pleased with what I have so far.

For once, the characters have distinct personalities. I think I've got a, if not terribly original, at least entertaining magic system. All round I really pleased I did this. I may post the story to the board later but probably not for a while. Its spell checked but it still needs clean up and I want to get a bit more done before I post anything.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by Geoff-H »

I've finished at 50,002 words pre-editing. All I can say is that the story needs some major editing. I read the whole thing today and my transitions made me feel like I was falling down stairs. That said, I'm happy with the overall plot, and the overly sarcastic dragon.
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Re: NaNoWriMo, anyone?

Post by drakensis »

A touch over 70,000 words. And still the story continues.
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