NaNoWriMo 2013

http://www.nanowrimo.org

Who's doing it this year? Anyone else here willing to put in 1667 words a day for 30 days to create the equivalent of a 50,000-word novel?

You're allowed to break it down into smaller sections so it's more like several short stories if you prefer; the goal is to get to 50,000 words, period.

I'm going with a straightforward RPG-fantasy type of story this time. I've had the idea in mind for years - in fact, long before I ever went online, never mind knowing about NaNoWriMo.

The starting point is just over 2 weeks away...

EDIT (November 3, 2013): Luckymoose has explained how we can keep track of our progress here in this post. If you want to be included in these automatic updates, please let me know.

Last year I managed ~2000 words, which was quite an achievement since I haven't been actively writing that much since high school.


This year I'm planning things out more. Main problem is that I'm not sure what to write - I have two ideas, somewhat fleshed out, that I want to do, but am not sure whether to do one or even try both in a way. Additionally I have problems with both.

First one basically came to me when I was sickened of my stories becoming too complex for me to write satisfactorily, so I wanted to write the stupidest and silliest thing I could think of: a high school story. Unfortunately that has become a somewhat difficult character piece for me to tackle because it is, well, very character heavy and light on plot (similar to the slice of life genre, though I am extremely hesitant to use that term) and I essentially have to deal with two main protagonists. Also it's really hard trying not to make a stupid high school story. That's not to mention since the protagonists are Asian-American whether I like it or not I do have to consider the Asian-American experience or whatever you want to call it.

Second one is a more generic adventure and politics sort of thing - I guess you could call it really, really light steampunk in another world -, and the plot and main themes are much more fleshed out, though I do find issue that some of the sub-ideas from that one as they remind me of my Middle School style war and adventure writing. It is however relatively more straightforward. However, I don't find it as personal as the high school thing above, and I have more interest in that one.


So essentially I'm torn between doing 1) a difficult character piece that could easily turn into a mess, but one that resonates more with me emotionally; or 2) a simpler, adventure-seque story that, while still somewhat more character focused, will be easier to write but won't be as personal to me as the first option. Or do both, but that will present its own obvious difficulties.

Still, all in all, I hope to get quite a bit of writing done. I never bother to finish writing an entire novel anyways with NaNoWriMo and just try to write as much as I can.

The thing about NaNoWriMo is that you're not actually competing against anyone but yourself. For me, that means getting past a few thousand words - that's less than a week if I do the 1667 words per day.

As I said last year, for me it's the journey that counts, rather than the destination.

Valka D'Ur said:

The thing about NaNoWriMo is that you're not actually competing against anyone but yourself. For me, that means getting past a few thousand words - that's less than a week if I do the 1667 words per day.

As I said last year, for me it's the journey that counts, rather than the destination.

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Yeah, I know.

It's not much a journey vs destination issued for me - it's more like I really just want to get back into the groove. I haven't seriously written since high school, when I finished two novels, one by computer and one by hand - they were crap, sure, but I did them. I used to write so much, but as I got older it became harder to write simply for the fun of it - other considerations and writing problems getting he way.

So, I want to make sure the "journey" I am taking this time is one that will guide me back into the writing spirit. So it's an issue of whether I want something more challenging but more personally rewarding, or something that is simpler so three is a better chance I actually get back into the groove. Do I want a journey that will teach me more, or do I just want to take it easy so it's easier toget back?

Bleh, I dunno.

Maybe try both and see if one places a greater pull on you than the other? After all, the rules don't say you have to use all 50,000 words on the same story. Anthology-style is allowed.

Aw damn, I was hoping to do it this year but I have too much work on my plate trying to save up for moving. Good luck to everyone who participates!

My problem with NaNoWriMo is that it's kinda sucky to write in Danish when it's an English thing, and I write horribly when I write English.

Valka D'Ur said:

Maybe try both and see if one places a greater pull on you than the other? After all, the rules don't say you have to use all 50,000 words on the same story. Anthology-style is allowed.

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Yeah, I know I don't have to follow the rules. After all, last year, as said, I only did 2000 words but that was good enough for me and proved to me I could still write if I put my mind to it.

Problem with doing both at once is the obvious issues of having to tackle more at once and having things get too hectic (I don't like things getting hectic, I like writing to be a very planned and structured process, it's always worked better for me that way). However, maybe it'll be the better option, though. Maybe.

Either way, got quite a bit of soul searching to do before NaNoWriMo starts.

I'm gonna try it. Just like last year I joined in Halloween and wrote no words (actually a few hundred, but you know how it goes: write, read, delete, repeat). So this time I got it easyyy. I just want to do a few thousand words.

I've always written pretty well. I love writing and my mother always told me I have such a wild imagination. But I never really got to write anything beyond school compositions. And that's what NaNoWriMo is about for me.

Angst said:

My problem with NaNoWriMo is that it's kinda sucky to write in Danish when it's an English thing, and I write horribly when I write English.

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I'm reasonably sure that it's not compulsory to write in English. It's the number of words that matters, not what the words actually are.

JoanK said:

I'm gonna try it. Just like last year I joined in Halloween and wrote no words (actually a few hundred, but you know how it goes: write, read, delete, repeat). So this time I got it easyyy. I just want to do a few thousand words.

I've always written pretty well. I love writing and my mother always told me I have such a wild imagination. But I never really got to write anything beyond school compositions. And that's what NaNoWriMo is about for me.

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One of the things the NaNoWriMo organizers recommend is that you don't worry too much about editing and revisions. They suggest doing that later, after November is over and you have more time to consider what changes you want to make.

Of course it's hard to remember that when you see mistakes or plot holes in front of you and your first impulse is to fix them...

I wish I had the time. I don't think I will.

I decided a while ago that I'll try it out this year.

Valka D'Ur said:

I'm reasonably sure that it's not compulsory to write in English. It's the number of words that matters, not what the words actually are.

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Indeed, but I'm only creative when I'm able to be social about it. I know absolutely no people who would join me in this who can understand Danish.

Maybe there are other Danish people registered. In spite of the name, it's actually an international site.

So 4-5 people apparently exist there. Well. Perhaps I should anyways.

Sometimes NaNo participants organize RL meetups where people get together to encourage each other through their writing. From what I understand, they meet in coffee shops, cafes, book a room at a local library, etc. Everyone brings their stories and laptops (or other writing materials). I've never taken part (since there are so few in Red Deer), but I hear it's interesting and fun.

They are talking about a meetup, actually.

You'd mean a massive increment to their number!

Srsly, might be worth it.

In major cities, write-ins are a regular event. I know in Ottawa we usually hover between 3-6 group writing sessions a week, ranging from a few hours to at least one 12-hours marathon each year.

(I'm back in action, of course, and MLing for Ottawa this year again)