NaNoWriMo has begun!

[dadevvtsvre]

In case you're wondering what NaNoWriMo is, it's an abbreviation for "National Novel Writing Month". It's where a bunch of people have a sort of contest to see if you can write a 50,000 word novel in only a month, from November 1 to the 30th. The ultimate goal is to not make a high quality novel, but simply to get 50,000 words in a month. In fact, they actually discourage going back and re-editing the novel. )Their slogan used to be "No plot? No problem!")

From the official website:

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.

I've always wanted to write a novel, and I think that this would be pretty fun to do. To actually complete the book within the time limit, though, you'd need to write at least 1667 words a day.

There is no prize for NaNoWriMo, really. No money is handed out to the people with the most words or best quality. Just for passing the 50,000 mark, you "win". It drives you to persevere and think on the spot instead of being overly critical. It's a good exercise for perfectionists like me.

Anyway, I was planning to do NaNoWriMo this year, but with three jobs, school, exercise, and other stuff, I'm not sure if I'll manage. (if you're 17 or under, there is another option-the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's program. Instead of the ambitious 50,000 word goal you can set your own. But for people 13 and older, like me, you can still do the 50,000 word goal.) I think it'd be cool if all the people on this site that were doing this could make their own little thread where they could post their word count and excerpts and try to encourage each other to finish.

So! Anyone interested in doing this with me? (if I even do it?)

As of November 1, NaNoWriMo has officially begun!

 

[Despain]

I can't believe this has no replies. It's usually a pretty popular thread every year.

But yeah, I've attempted this three or four times now. Each time it never really works out for me, because I always get distracted and do something else (not to mention that I am a HUGE perfectionist and it takes me a long time to write a page -- I always stop and revise and edit as I go, which is a bad habit that prevents me from ever completing anything).

Although I do have to finish a novel within the next few months anyway for my honors thesis, and a vast majority of that writing will take place during November. So I won't really be participating in the challenge itself, but I'll definitely be writing along with everyone else.

 

[Perihelion]

I've successfully completed it for the past three years, and much as I hate to break a streak, it's really not a good idea this year. School is completely insane, and I have other stuff going on. But I still want to do it. I've been dithering over it for a few months and haven't decided what I'm doing yet, but I'd better work it out pretty soon. God, it's already October. D:

 

[mawk]

I had a friend who was crazy about this thing. I might actually attempt it this year, since I've got more in the way of creative juices flowing. I've never really been able to stick to a commitment, though, so this should be good practice with setting priorities if nothing else.

 

[Stardust]

I may do it, but not being able to go back would bother me.  I have to revise something a million times before I'm happy with it.  I guess that's kind of what this is about - getting something done.  I'll start getting ideas together for it.

 

[Whiskey Dick]

I was thinking about this the other day.  It seems like it would be fun to do if I had more time but there's just too much other shit that needs to be done.

 

[Skyla Doragono]

If things settle down, I think I'll try for it this year.  It's not that I can't do the writing -- most I've ever written was around 100,500 words, and that took about a month -- it's just figuring out what to write about.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Glad some of you are doing it so I won't feel so alone :D. For me the biggest issue will be time, because I don't think I'll have a problem with plot. Maybe this month I'll design the story.

They have a forum for everything there, too, except the whole site's offline right now. It appears the server crashed.

 

[serrated_colon]

Man I NEED to do this, I've been having writer's block for like a year now. It's not an option: I NEED THIS.

 

[Grathea]

I may try this. I'm really not all that familiar with 'novel' writing, and generally most of my output is poetry or short stories. I could use the practice, in other words.

 

[Skyla Doragono]

Well, I just signed up.

This'll be fun. ^_^

 

[dadevvtsvre]

It's November 1st, everybody, which means NaNoWriMo has finally started! Prepare your pencils and pens! (Well, keyboards)

I forgot completely about it, which means I have absolutely no idea what I'm gonna do, plus the fact that I'm super busy lately. I think I'll have to drop out .

 

[Skyla Doragono]

My friend made me stay up till midnight to write with her, but by the time midnight rolled around, I couldn't focus 'cause I was so tired. @_@;  So, I have a few hours to make up for.

 

[Seafoam]

I'm just finding out about this now!?  :sad:

Whatever, I signed up, looks fun xD

*opens up microsoft word*