NaNoWriMo: Got Balls? (Event has ended!)

[xObserveRx]

Ballpoint pens that is. Actually, you'd be using your computer (most likely), so scratch that thought completely, all it did was make for an interesting thread title.

Anyway, the actual topic at hand is NaNoWriMo. So wtf is that you ask? Let's take a look-see...

http://www.nanowrimo.org/modules/cja...index.php?id=2

oh, wait. Some of you are too lazy to click a link and read. So I'll save y'all the trouble of doing that and post a quick summary here. (Well, sort of quick.)

What is NaNoWriMo?


National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and -- when the thing is done -- the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2004, we had over 42,000 participants. Nearly 6000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from your novel at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2005. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

So there you have it. Sounds like a boatload of fun to me. Anyone who feels up to the challenge should join up and give it a go. Aside from the forums on that site, we could have a thread here where you could let fellow FFR NaNoWriMo contestants read your work. (If nothing, that'll be good for a laugh.)

I've honestly wrote more than two things that were 50,000 words over the past year, and it really isn't that difficult. I think there's at least a handful of us here who'd really benefit from doing something like this. I just hope we're all up to the challenge.

[T0rajir0u]

im doin this lol

[Tokzic]

Pointless though this is in itself, this'll make a damn good thing to show off in Writer's Craft, and will probably look nice on my resume (or at least make a good story *pun*).

in

[Squeek]

It sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to write my grammar book.

I just hope classes don't get in the way.

haha what am i saying ill probably just write in classes

[Chromer]

Oh you know I'm in.

[MalReynolds]

What I find stupidly strange is that I'm already writing a book that I want for publishing, and if I put another thing on the back burner, that'll pretty much be really dumb considering I have at least three other projects and there are only four eyes on a stove.

That being said, I think I could possibly do it.

[xObserveRx]

when will you have time to put this on the backburner? I mean, you only have a month to do it and I'm pretty sure you have many other things that must be done in a month.

[MalReynolds]

It's a motivation thing; if I have five projects that I'm working on and add a sixth, it to me looks impossible and I shut down for a while. That being said, if I hit 50% on my book, then there's just the downhill pedal to go through. SO maybe if I get this book I'm working on now half done, I'll hit up the NaNoWriMo.

[this_n00b_rocks]

Oh I'm definetely doing this.

[Chrissi]

I'm doing it finally this year. I attempted to attempt year after year but never actually got started.

This year I am doing it. I am hoping that it might help me brainstorm for the novel that I actually want to write and do care about. As of yet, I have one character and very vague plots and ideas.

I hope my nanowrimo will be a springboard. Of course, I'm sure I'll positively hate writing after the month is over, but, at least I'll be better at it.

[this_n00b_rocks]

Originally Posted by Chrissi

I'm doing it finally this year. I attempted to attempt year after year but never actually got started.

This year I am doing it. I am hoping that it might help me brainstorm for the novel that I actually want to write and do care about. As of yet, I have one character and very vague plots and ideas.

I hope my nanowrimo will be a springboard. Of course, I'm sure I'll positively hate writing after the month is over, but, at least I'll be better at it.

Get high, and then write.

[xObserveRx]

Just a reminder to the people in this thread that Nanowrimo starts in less than a week.

Just thought I'd tell you. I'll have a thread up when it does start to discuss... well, writing stuff, plot stuff, or just to share what's up already.

I want you guys to remember that the goal is 50,000 words. Editing will only slow the process down. Not that I won't be editing, as I'm sure I'll be editing some stuff. However, if you refrain from editing until after you've finished 50,000 words, we'll (hopefully) see a lot more people hit the mark.

[Squeek]

It's only 50,000 words?

Sheesh, I wrote a 2,000 word essay in an hour. How is this hard?

I could write an entire grammar book in a day.

Edit: My grammar thread, which is just a generic overview, is 5,000 words. I wrote that in four hours.

[MalReynolds]

Originally Posted by Squeek

It's only 50,000 words?

Sheesh, I wrote a 2,000 word essay in an hour. How is this hard?

I could write an entire grammar book in a day.

Edit: My grammar thread, which is just a generic overview, is 5,000 words. I wrote that in four hours.

Come up with a story that's worth telling over the span of 50,000 words. That's the trick.

[Squeek]

The adventures of grammar.

Hey, if I can write an uninteresting 2,000-word essay, I can easily spit out something that is interesting to me faster and easier.

In any event, they say a novel, but it's not like it has to be a story. I have several novels that are just the author explaining why grammar is important, why she hates its abuse, and how it can be corrected.

If I can't do it this way, I can make up a story, but I hate making up stories.

[MalReynolds]

Okay, then do it. Money where mouth is.

Also, I would like to read it when you're finished plx.

[xObserveRx]

plz*

*Sigh* editing already...

[whorlichan]

I think about this every year, and every year I have more important stuff to do that gets in the way. I'll try it. I probably won't make it. I think I'll be too busy this year knitting Christmas gifts.

EDIT: http://pats-quinade.livejournal.com/14531.html

Hehehe. National Talking About National Novel Writing Month.

[Chromer]

Premise of my Novel Idea:

15 year-old loner find out her left eye is sensitive to the sun and her right eye is sensitive to the moon. Her grandmother tells her she has the Eyes of Kronos, a special trait found only in every other generation of her family. Why every other generation? Her family is an offshoot branch of the original Dracula and they've kept the vampirism secret. Now the 15 year old must learn to cope with her new found vampire-like traits (think Blade except no ass kicking skills....just yet) and her fight against other vampires and the humans who want to use her power for evil. In the end, she must decide whether she will stay a vampire to save humanity or become a human again for the sake of her sanity.

If that doesn't sound kick ass, I'll just cry.

[xObserveRx]

I hate vampires.