# NaNoWriMo 2011?



## DotCommunist (Oct 7, 2011)

Anyone having a go? I am tempted as unemployed atm. 50k words in a month is EEK though.


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## SpookyFrank (Oct 7, 2011)

What is it, November? I know I say this every year but I reckon I'll do it this year. For a start I have nothing better to do and haven't written anything longer than a shopping list for about six months. I expect it's a lot easier if you formulate some sort of plot and/or theme before you start rather than just sitting down in front of the flashing cursor of doom one morning and expecting genius to ensue of its own accord...


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## kabbes (Oct 7, 2011)

Combine it with Movember and make a novel about moustaches.  MoNaNoWriMo


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## DotCommunist (Oct 7, 2011)

SpookyFrank said:


> What is it, November? I know I say this every year but I reckon I'll do it this year. For a start I have nothing better to do and haven't written anything longer than a shopping list for about six months. I expect it's a lot easier if you formulate some sort of plot and/or theme before you start rather than just sitting down in front of the flashing cursor of doom one morning and expecting genius to ensue of its own accord...


 
yeah november. Like you I have no other pressing duties. Is pre plotting cheating or what? I've got some vague ideas and themes running around my head at the moment...


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## DotCommunist (Oct 7, 2011)

kabbes said:


> Combine it with Movember and make a novel about moustaches. MoNaNoWriMo


 
sounds like a manga convention


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## kabbes (Oct 7, 2011)

Pre-plotting is not cheating.  The only cheating is not doing your wordcount.  Anything that makes achieving the wordcount easier is to be recommended.


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## scifisam (Oct 7, 2011)

It's a personal challenge, so the only cheating is anything that feels wrong to you. Pre-plotting feels wrong to me.

I won't be doing it, though - if I'm going to write anything, it has to be the museum write-ups.


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## zoooo (Oct 7, 2011)

Pre plotting is actually recommended in the rules!


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## scifisam (Oct 7, 2011)

zoooo said:


> Pre plotting is actually recommended in the rules!



Really? Where?


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## FridgeMagnet (Oct 7, 2011)

You should definitely pre-plot, at least to a certain degree - you'll never get it done otherwise. Though it can be pretty rough and you fill in the details as you write (or change things completely). But if you just sit down on 1 Nov and say "right, yeah, so, a novel, what's that going to be about then?" it's not going to work....


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## marty21 (Oct 7, 2011)

I've done it 5 times and I've never pre-plotted, I just sit there at midnight of the 31/1st and see what comes to me - not sure if I'll do it this year, but have managed 5 our of the last 6 years , so maybe...


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## SpookyFrank (Oct 7, 2011)

DotCommunist said:


> yeah november. Like you I have no other pressing duties. Is pre plotting cheating or what? I've got some vague ideas and themes running around my head at the moment...



I dunno about cheating but I reckon it would be impossible if you didn't start out with some idea what you're writing about. I find plots to be pretty malleable things anyway, I'll generally think of a basic arc and just build the plot round it as I go along.


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## marty21 (Oct 7, 2011)

one successful nanowrimo (as in I wrote 50,000 words, not that it was published and I'm sorted for life success) was basically 50,000 words about trying to write 50,000 words in a month, with regular references to the current word count and how much of a struggle it had been to hit the 1667 word count per day - pretty poor plot tbf


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## zoooo (Oct 8, 2011)

scifisam said:


> Really? Where?


Well god knows if it's literally in the rules now. But I've been doing it for about 6 years and you can plan the whole book out before you start if you want, work out your characters, and so on. As long as you don't write anything that ends up as text in the book before November first, you can do whatever you want in the lead up.

But like you said, whatever feels right for you is fine.

Oh, here you go, from the site:



> Outlines and plot notes are very much encouraged, and can be started months ahead of the actual novel-writing adventure. Previously written prose, though, is punishable by death.


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## Greebo (Oct 8, 2011)

Just wouldn't able to reach that word count in a month.  But good luck to anyone who wants to try.


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## Buddy Bradley (Oct 15, 2011)

I'm considering NaNo again this year - after ticking off "run a marathon" tomorrow, moving on to "write a novel" seems like a good move - and re-reading the first chapter from last year's abortive attempt I am encouraged by the quality of my prose.  Plus this will be the first year where I don't have a ton of freelance work to fit in as well, so time-wise it should work out reasonably well. 

Anyone made much progress on outlining so far? I think I'm going to work from an outline for a film script that I've had mostly complete for a year or two.


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## Belushi (Oct 15, 2011)

Tempted to give it a whirl if I'm still out of work then.


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## Vintage Paw (Oct 15, 2011)

Is it that time again?

Maybe this year I'll actually do it


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## SpookyFrank (Nov 2, 2011)

Bump. If you haven't started yet you're already a couple of thousand words in the hole I'm afraid.

Naturally I have done none of the dilligent research, plot outlining and character development I was going to do in preparation, so I guess I'll just have a spliff and start spewing my usual garbage before eventually giving up some distance shy of the 10,000 word mark.


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## Belushi (Nov 2, 2011)

Started yesterday - I'm about 6000 words in now.


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## DotCommunist (Nov 2, 2011)

big old 500 words here. I'm already behind!


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## Belushi (Nov 2, 2011)

I should stress I've got 6000 words of really shit prose. I have to keep reminding myself not to go back and edit and that the only thing that matters is the wordcount.


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## Buddy Bradley (Nov 2, 2011)

Around 2,000. Just sitting down to work on today's target.


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## marty21 (Nov 2, 2011)

Did about 300 words on the 1st, nowt since - I guess I could leave it a few weeks and then blitz it


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## Iguana (Nov 2, 2011)

3960 for yesterday and today.  It's not great but parts of it aren't awful, though I did have an _extensive_ outline that I was having trouble working up the drive the to turn into a story.


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## Spanky Longhorn (Nov 3, 2011)

marty21 said:


> one successful nanowrimo (as in I wrote 50,000 words, not that it was published and I'm sorted for life success) was basically 50,000 words about trying to write 50,000 words in a month, with regular references to the current word count and how much of a struggle it had been to hit the 1667 word count per day - pretty poor plot tbf



I'm sure a load of Urbanites have appeared in one of yours.

I've succeeded twice, but I've done nowt with either since, and simply do not have time this year - good luck to all who do though!


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## SpookyFrank (Nov 3, 2011)

842 words and counting. I forgot writing can be quite hard work, particularly as I invariably tinker with my work as I go along.

The word count thing also tells me I have 4721 characters, which is odd as I could've sworn I only had four.


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## marty21 (Nov 3, 2011)

SpookyFrank said:


> 842 words and counting. I forgot writing can be quite hard work, particularly as I invariably tinker with my work as I go along.
> 
> The word count thing also tells me I have 4721 characters, which is odd as I could've sworn I only had four.


don't tinker - just write , write write - the time for tinkering is December 1st!


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## marty21 (Nov 3, 2011)

Spanky Longhorn said:


> I'm sure a load of Urbanites have appeared in one of yours.
> 
> I've succeeded twice, but I've done nowt with either since, and simply do not have time this year - good luck to all who do though!


always change their names though


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## frogwoman (Nov 19, 2011)

im doing this, only just got round to posting it up on the site tho. My entry is here. 12666 words 

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/yaasehshalom/novels/harper-163581


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## Iguana (Nov 19, 2011)

I hit 50k yesterday but I'm only half way through my story. I'm hoping I can pick up speed and finish the rest by the end of the month as I think I'll lose my motivation otherwise. It's fucking exhausting though.


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## marty21 (Nov 19, 2011)

marty21 said:


> Did about 300 words on the 1st, nowt since - I guess I could leave it a few weeks and then blitz it


ended on 300 words nanofail  - just didn't have it in me this year.


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## FridgeMagnet (Dec 3, 2011)

Well, I quit after a couple of weeks. The thing about NaNoWriMo is that it's really just _yet another bloody thing I can feel guilty for not doing_. Though it does give me the excuse to buy new pens.


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## marty21 (Dec 3, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Well, I quit after a couple of weeks. The thing about NaNoWriMo is that it's really just _yet another bloody thing I can feel guilty for not doing_. Though it does give me the excuse to buy new pens.


I love that you want to do it with pens - hard core - 19th Century Nanowrimo


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## FridgeMagnet (Dec 3, 2011)

marty21 said:


> I love that you want to do it with pens - hard core - 19th Century Nanowrimo


The only time I succeeded I hand-wrote the whole thing! (The story did have ink as a central point to it, too. And was set in an counter-historical 19th century actually.)


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## marty21 (Dec 3, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> The only time I succeeded I hand-wrote the whole thing! (The story did have ink as a central point to it, too. And was set in an counter-historical 19th century actually.)


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## Greebo (Dec 3, 2011)

TBH I wouldn't mind a go at NaNoWriMo, but the wordcount is too high.  Even if I had nothing else to do but write for that entire month I just wouldn't be able to get the words onto paper (or screen) quickly enough without injury.


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## marty21 (Dec 3, 2011)

Greebo said:


> TBH I wouldn't mind a go at NaNoWriMo, but the wordcount is too high. Even if I had nothing else to do but write for that entire month I just wouldn't be able to get the words onto paper (or screen) quickly enough without injury.


if you break it down, it is only 1667 words a day - and when I have done it , I have managed 8000 in one day (that was desperate catch up towards the end of November), and 2000+ was regular


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## FridgeMagnet (Dec 3, 2011)

It's manageable if you know what you want to write every day, and have a few spare hours. As soon as you falter, though, you're fucked.


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## Greebo (Dec 3, 2011)

marty21 said:


> if you break it down, it is only 1667 words a day - and when I have done it , I have managed 8000 in one day (that was desperate catch up towards the end of November), and 2000+ was regular


*ONLY?*  Good for you if you can, but I really can't.  Seriously, the last time I spent that much time continuously holding a biro or typing, I ended up with tendonitis from shoulder blade to finger tips on my dominant side.  Which forced me to either stop or slow down enough to do the rest left-handed, with the right arm & hand fully supported.  Not even writing something outstanding is worth that again.


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## marty21 (Dec 3, 2011)

Iguana said:


> I hit 50k yesterday but I'm only half way through my story. I'm hoping I can pick up speed and finish the rest by the end of the month as I think I'll lose my motivation otherwise. It's fucking exhausting though.


well done btw -


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## marty21 (Dec 3, 2011)

Greebo said:


> *ONLY?* Good for you if you can, but I really can't. Seriously, the last time I spent that much time continuously holding a biro or typing, I ended up with tendonitis from shoulder blade to finger tips on my dominant side. Which forced me to either stop or slow down enough to do the rest left-handed, with the right arm & hand fully supported. Not even writing something outstanding is worth that again.


fair enough - it's not worth pain tbf


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## Greebo (Dec 3, 2011)

marty21 said:


> fair enough - it's not worth pain tbf


If it was 3 months instead, that'd be doable.  

But there are a few things I want to finish getting into English first (just to see if I still can).


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## Iguana (Dec 4, 2011)

marty21 said:


> well done btw -



Thanks.  I didn't get it finished though.  I had 65k words at the end of the month.  I have 75k now but I still feel only halfway through the bloody story.  It keeps growing and growing.


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## stuff_it (Dec 4, 2011)

marty21 said:


> I love that you want to do it with pens - hard core - 19th Century Nanowrimo


People write with pens!?


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## Greebo (Dec 4, 2011)

stuff_it said:


> People write with pens!?


Why not? Sometimes it gets the ideas flowing in a way that sitting at a keyboard doesn't. Plus, it makes it impossible to rewrite as you go along because there just isn't enough space on the page or in the margin, even if you use double line spacing.


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## FridgeMagnet (Dec 4, 2011)

Greebo said:


> Why not? Sometimes it gets the ideas flowing in a way that sitting at a keyboard doesn't. Plus, it makes it impossible to rewrite as you go along because there just isn't enough space on the page or in the margin, even if you use double line spacing.


It also means that there's considerably less chance you'll be distracted by the internet while writing.


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## Greebo (Dec 4, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It also means that there's considerably less chance you'll be distracted by the internet while writing.


Very true.


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## DotCommunist (Dec 10, 2011)

I got thus far before a terrible liquid/keyboard interaction happened and the got no further when keyboard was restored because I just had lost my momentum



> Necromancy. The least alluring of the Arts, the paths I tread both live and dead, not one not two but three entwined where ribbon ends and darkness blinds. Let me tell you about my father. My father made dead rabbits dance at country fairs. My father would read petty-fortunes in dying guts. Once at a gathering of the men when the meal was done he had the bird carcass stagger around the table calling out in a querulous voice- some wandering stone memory pulled in for sodden mirth.  Pater mine knew one tenth of the art and employed less than that.  Free with his tongue and careless with his art a gibbet wound from birth to death around his throat till scaffold timber fell away and snap! He came and jerked and there were no more dancing rabbits.
> Five and two number the bearers before me who were canny and wise and liked too much the smell of death. Three who never questioned makes the ten.
> Blood will out.  My grandmothers most cherished comedy was Nosferatu. ‘have the ken of it! Lookit how moves!’ A face webbed so deep with seams that the colour of the skin was  a matter for careful consideration, bright, bright blue chips in deep sockets as she leans forward at me, forever seven (fortuitous year!) ‘Wese nivver make em so false. Yer  gran’sire nivver haddem so’
> While clove oil and decay smells washed over me.
> ...


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## Sweet FA (Dec 10, 2011)

Regather your momentum DC, that's quite ace. Moar.


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## frogwoman (Dec 11, 2011)

well i got to 27000 words and then didnt do any more on it , till now. i thoroughly agree with Sweet FA btw DC


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