Nanowrimo

The writing process, writing advice, and updates on your work in progress
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Heather B
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Heather B » October 3rd, 2010, 6:40 am

Geez... I think I may have to join too. My WIP needs a rewrite and I'm thinking 50,000 words should be a good revamp.
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Claudie
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Claudie » October 3rd, 2010, 3:27 pm

Heather B wrote:Geez... I think I may have to join too. My WIP needs a rewrite and I'm thinking 50,000 words should be a good revamp.
I'm doing this with one of my novels. The first draft fell kind of flat after the 2/3, and I'll use NaNo to give it a second go. There's no point in editing a draft I don't even like the last 25,000 words, eh?
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by bcomet » October 3rd, 2010, 5:19 pm

I Love NaNoWriMo.
The discipline and high you get from writing 50,000+ words in a month with people from all over the world side by side doing the same thing with you is amazing.
So long as you know, there will be much more work to follow. (Ahhh, the finishing writing, the rewriting, the editing...)

It has helped me get the bones of one novel down (with 2+ more years work afterward to completion) and progress another novel.

The camaraderie is awesome.

The first year I participated, I could not believe I wrote so much. Now, I know I can write even more.
It is one of the best rushes for writers and would-be-writers, participating. A very good game.

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Holly
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Holly » October 3rd, 2010, 6:39 pm

The Rejectionist on Nanowrimo (she signed up last year):

http://www.therejectionist.com/search/label/nanowrimo

Claudie
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Claudie » October 3rd, 2010, 7:48 pm

Aah, le R., priceless I ever. I rather hope she'll do it again this year. It would be fun!
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Jaya » October 3rd, 2010, 10:26 pm

I'm kind of (kind of) working my way through a WIP now (I'm at the 1/3 mark, and struggling. I keep leaving it, then writing a bit here or there. But its derailing -- going to a place I didn't see it going). Anyway, I like the above idea of using October to plot something else for November month (something fresh, exciting, new). Would it be a detriment to keep plodding through this current WIP in October and "jump" into the Nanowrimo comp. in November (too soon?). Better to go in fresh? Spend October plotting and focusing on short stories in meantime? Or okay to jump from one major novel to another one on a "whim" (no real plotting thought out)? (Keep in mind I may abandon this current WIP yet, I'm flustered and frankly feeling it is crap at this point, not sure if that is normal or telling me something).

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Heather B
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Heather B » October 4th, 2010, 5:04 am

A lot of people use NaNoWriMo to start something fresh. It's a good time to jump on a new idea because, let's face it, a month isn't a huge amount of time to spend away from your WIP.

It's also good to get some distance if you're frustrated with what you're currently working on. That way, come Dec 1st, you can either decide to keep going with your NaNoWriMo project or your prior one. At least if you go back to your WIP you have that distance to help reevaluate.
Journey to the Cuckoo's Nest

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maggie
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by maggie » October 4th, 2010, 11:59 am

I love NaNoWriMo!

I've done it for the past 3 years, and for me personally (though I'm sure everyone is different!) I realized pretty quickly that if I'm actually trying to get the full 50,000 words, I should not work on something I really care about. That is just a ton of words in a short time, and, unless you have all day every day to devote to it, you're going to have to write some stuff that's not good to get to that word count. Some people might be able to churn out 50,000 words of brilliant (or at least pretty good) prose in this kind of frenzied manner, but I find that it's really more for a lot of great practice--practice writing, discipline, finishing...and to be able to grow ideas quickly.

I did get the idea and bare bones for my current WIP out of something I did for NaNo, but just the bones! What I had written for NaNo wasn't even worth trying to edit into shape.

I think this year I'm going to do it, but not really try to "win." Just use the time to focus on working on my WIP, going to write-ins, etc, but at a pace that makes sense to me.

NaNo is fun!

WilliamMJones
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by WilliamMJones » October 4th, 2010, 12:49 pm

Does anyone know what they are going to work on?

For Nano I don't usually plot the ending, just the first half or so. If I try to stick to a plan the entire way through the ending seems forced. I've already done more world building pre writing than I've ever done before, and I'm extreamly excited. I'm going to be writing an Urban Fantasy set in a somewhat dark Steampunk city. The working title is THE SECOND GUADIAN.

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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Margo » October 4th, 2010, 12:57 pm

WilliamMJones wrote:Does anyone know what they are going to work on?
The urban fantasy I accidentally pitched. LOL. Good to hear you're also writing urban fantasy. I've been buddying several other urban fantasy writers, and we've been talking plot techniques. I'm scrambling to get an outline ready by the end of October. I had lots of notes, but I hadn't started the actual outlining yet, other than writing the pitch.
Urban fantasy, epic fantasy, and hot Norse elves. http://margolerwill.blogspot.com/

Claudie
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Claudie » October 4th, 2010, 1:32 pm

I'm writing a political fantasy, set in a world I've been slowly working on for a year now. It's an idea I love, actually, and count on revising times and again. The blurb is in my author info on NaNoWriMo, and on my blog, if you want more details. It's a Take The Throne type of storyline. :)

I'm writing it during NaNoWriMo anyway because no matter what I do, I'll always churn out a horrible first draft, very quickly. Sometimes, though, I get stuck and I lack the motivation to finish it. Never during NaNoWriMo. This is a way for me to make sure I finish (both) my stories. They will just need more editing than your average first draft, I guess.
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Aimée » October 4th, 2010, 4:11 pm

I have no idea what I'm going to work. I think I'm just going to pants it and see what happens. I've actually never written an novel longer than 50K, only novella-length stories. This is going to be a challenge.

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Heather B
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Heather B » October 4th, 2010, 10:29 pm

I was going to use it to rewrite my current WIP but now I'm thinking it may be better to take a month off that one.

Now I'm not sure if I'll work on one of the two ideas I have sketched up, or if I should give rewriting my first novel a go (and by rewrite, I mean keep the characters and scrap the story). I have been meaning to for a while but I haven't really been able to justify the time; maybe this is the perfect excuse.
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Claudie
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Claudie » October 4th, 2010, 10:37 pm

Heather, I'm not sure you'll ever get a better excuse than NaNoWriMo for this sort of endeavour. :)
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

Jaya
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Re: Nanowrimo

Post by Jaya » October 5th, 2010, 8:53 am

I've done it for the past 3 years, and for me personally (though I'm sure everyone is different!) I realized pretty quickly that if I'm actually trying to get the full 50,000 words, I should not work on something I really care about. That is just a ton of words in a short time, and, unless you have all day every day to devote to it, you're going to have to write some stuff that's not good to get to that word count. Some people might be able to churn out 50,000 words of brilliant (or at least pretty good) prose in this kind of frenzied manner, but I find that it's really more for a lot of great practice--practice writing, discipline, finishing...and to be able to grow ideas quickly.

I did get the idea and bare bones for my current WIP out of something I did for NaNo, but just the bones! What I had written for NaNo wasn't even worth trying to edit into shape.

I think this year I'm going to do it, but not really try to "win." Just use the time to focus on working on my WIP, going to write-ins, etc, but at a pace that makes sense to me.

Maggie: Yeah, I kind of agree with you there. I think I would approach it as a "fun" month. Maybe an idea I've had in the back of my head for a while, but not clear on it, or something that seems "different" from a typical pursuit.
I'm currently struggling through a WIP and not sure what to do with it. I want to take some time to plot ideas for Nano. But I have this stubborn wonder whether I ought to focus on this WIP in October, or simply dump it for sanity and work on plotting for november + short stories for skills-building.

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