Writing: NaNoWriMo 2018

[Aisling]

November is fast approaching and with it, National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo is a month long frenzied creative challenge.  To 'win' you only need to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

[Jenett]

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I'm in! (Just picked up a couple of books from the library relevant to my prep, in fact...)

I'm working on the next in a series of current projects, which in this case is a 1920s country house mystery with a side of magic. (And probably a bunch of Tarot references.)

I've really upped my writing game this year: I normally average closer to 1000 words a day than the 1667 required for NaNo, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I'm also really excited to see what the 4thewords.com site comes up with (it's basically 'write words, fight battles, defeat monsters, complete quests, write more words' gamification process). They just launched a major update to the site and gameplay last week, and they do a huge set of special questions for NaNoWrimo (and a few other events during the year.)

[Morag]

November is fast approaching and with it, National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo is a month long frenzied creative challenge.  To 'win' you only need to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I'm in! Because I'm the Queen of Foolish Decisions. XD I'm starting book 3 of my Borderlands Saga, The Moonrunner.

Anyway, prep right now is barebones because I've been focusing on school and work. I'm hoping to get the book plotted out roughly, at least, and some places worldbuilt.

I was also going to try to finish book 2, From the Ashes, before starting book 3 in November but I have been having so much trouble with that that I'm thinking maybe I NEED to start book 3 before I finish book 2. Maybe it'll help inform the ending of book 2. I don't know. So I'm just diving in and hoping to fix everything later.

[JupiterSkies]

November is fast approaching and with it, National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo is a month long frenzied creative challenge.  To 'win' you only need to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I'm in!  Gods know with what.  I've got a plot idea for a new novel, I've been wanting to work on being a better short story writer, I have multiple autobiographies from family members that could use transcribing and arranging in chronological order, I'm hoping to do a NaPoWriMo on my poetry forum (two prompts a day: a form and a subject... so sixty poems!). 

But I'm also feeling completely exhausted and very listless.  I WILL hit 50K because I say so, whether it's gibberish and stream of conscious or not, but it's probably going to be a real struggle and push this year.  I am SO TIRED YOU GUYS, WHY.

[Sobekemiti]

November is fast approaching and with it, National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo is a month long frenzied creative challenge.  To 'win' you only need to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I'm in! This'll be my 13th NaNo, and for some gods-forsaken reason, the Muses have thwapped me with an epic poem to write. I kinda consider myself a rebel for the first time, because while verse novels are definitely a Thing, this is not one of those. It's an Epic Poem.

It's also fanfic, because of course it is. XD I got bit by a shiny new fandom this year that has turned me into a reluctant poet, and this is probably the maddest idea I'll ever have, and I have nfi if I will make it, but I'm stubborn enough to try, at the very least. I suspect I'll end up either sketching out scenes in prose to add in later, or writing other little poems to go along with it as well, so. It's going to be fun though.

The reasons it's an Epic Poem and not a verse novel are mostly because it's a Royal AU mixed in with a Mythic Kings Under The Hill and Shitloads of Welsh Mythology And Also Dragons with a post-Brexit, break-up of the Union kind of setting. It just doesn't feel like a novel, it's mythology. Once Wales becomes independent, the ancient kings are like, bring back the kings, we are going to be a sovereign fkn country again, and so a king is chosen, and it's this whole epic ballad about the restoration of the throne and the conquering of Wales and England and there will be Arthur's knights and giants and dragons and a whole lot of this is our story kind of stuff. I'm still figuring out the finer details of the later part of the plot, but that's the premise. We'll see how far we get with that.

[Chatelaine]

November is fast approaching and with it, National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo is a month long frenzied creative challenge.  To 'win' you only need to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

It is probably a terrible idea, because, although my work schedule has somewhat stabilised, it still gobbles up too much of my time and spoons, so it's a matter of time before I fall off the wagon, but... there's a story that wants out and I might as well try to let it.

[Aisling]

I'm also really excited to see what the 4thewords.com site comes up with (it's basically 'write words, fight battles, defeat monsters, complete quests, write more words' gamification process). They just launched a major update to the site and gameplay last week, and they do a huge set of special questions for NaNoWrimo (and a few other events during the year.)

After wandering over to check it out, I may have to blame you for creating a new addiction. 

[Jenett]

After wandering over to check it out, I may have to blame you for creating a new addiction. 

It's done wonders for my word count! (And if you get stuck, feel free to ask for help - everyone's still learning the new update, and there's still some things that are buggy, so if something seems weird, that might be why.) But it's a fun site.

[Aisling]

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I love the enthusiasm that this project generates. 

I'm in, of course, for the 12th year running.  I've declared this the year that I'm going to stop mucking about and my prep has consisted entirely of taking the Coursera Creative Writing MOOCs.  Cramming four months of classes into six weeks seemed like a good idea at the time, but it's exhausting.  On the bright side, I actually have a idea and an outline for a change - a dystopian fantasy piece. 

[Aisling]

It's done wonders for my word count! (And if you get stuck, feel free to ask for help - everyone's still learning the new update, and there's still some things that are buggy, so if something seems weird, that might be why.) But it's a fun site.

I've spent a few minutes on it this morning and am hooked already. Ran into some glitchiness trying to sign up but was able to get it up and working.  A subscription may be my reward if I win at NaNo this year.

[Chatelaine]

After wandering over to check it out, I may have to blame you for creating a new addiction. 

+1. And I thought Notebook.ai was cool as tools went!

[Aisling]

+1. And I thought Notebook.ai was cool as tools went!

I really need to get out in the virtual world more often. Adding another one to my list of new favorite online work spaces.

[MadZealot]

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

Fuck. I'm in. Again. Maybe I'll actually finish my Great 'Murrican Post-Apoc Epic this year. (I've been stalled about about 80K words for a bit, and far as I can tell, I'm only half done.)
As for prep? Well, I think I know how the story's gonna go. I really just need to beat the Procrastination Bug and kick Crippling Self-Doubt square in the nuts.

[Jack]

It's done wonders for my word count! (And if you get stuck, feel free to ask for help - everyone's still learning the new update, and there's still some things that are buggy, so if something seems weird, that might be why.) But it's a fun site.

I haven't been on there since last year because it was not happy running on my laptop, but I'm interested in checking it out again. Gamification works well for me. (Sometimes too well, but Nano is not a time when I worry about that.)

I was going to not this year but I guess I'm thinking about trying it. I haven't won since the kid was born and I don't expect to win but I might as well start.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[Eastling]

Who's in this year? What are you doing to prepare and what do you plan to write?

I have learned of the existence of NaNo rebels and decided to join. I'll be bending the rules slightly and reworking an existing draft. I have a lot of ideas and material, so I'm pretty excited about this.

I've put my novel information up here.