NaNoWriMo is here!

[Perihelion]

Also, how much preparation is everyone doing? My general modus operandi is to jot down worldbuilding and character ideas, and then when I have a decent idea of what I'm doing, start writing down major plot events and questions I need to figure out. And once I've answered those questions, I'll write down the plot events on notecards and figure out the best arrangement and fill in the gaps. It's served me pretty well in the past. I'm currently trying to develop the supporting cast and figure some things out about the plot.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

I like to get a good outline of my novel before I start writing. I find that getting down the 20 main events is enough for me, and I sort of improvise and fill things in, keeping those 20 events and scenes in order. I really don't plan out my characters much - I give myself their basic personalities and let them evolves by themselves as I'm writing (although I do usually know where they're going to end up by the end of the novel)

The novel I'm doing this year is kind of easy for me since it has a small cast of characters (six or seven) and nobody else is in the story. It's sort of a horror/adventure dealio, an idea I've had in my head for a couple of years now and haven't managed to get out on paper. It's really cliche and in retrospect the premise is pretty stupid but I still want to write it, just for the hell of it. (thank god NaNo isn't about quality!)

Gah! NaNo starts soon and I still don't even know all my character's names! :x I have the plot more or less finalized - it's just a few small details I need to fine-tune.

 

[Perihelion]

Oh, by the way, I just registered #nanowrimo on Slacked in case anyone wants to use it for word wars and plot wanking once November starts so we don't derail the main channel. I dunno if there are enough of us for it to be useful, though. Probably not. Well, whatever.

 

[Lune de la Cruor]

I'm gonna write about a tragic romance, where one person is reliving all the events that lead to the current situation. It is sort of a 200 page death note :O
As for my preparation I'm only making a basic plot outline. I like to develop the story while i write it. There will basically be no cast, only two people who met and fell in and out of love. Other persons that occur will all be nameless, I don't even want to give names to the lovers, just to keep this situation accessible for everyone(woman-man, man-man, woman-woman, woman/man-dog...basically what you want it to be).

 

[Perihelion]

Man, I think I might have just decided to do something random and completely different from what I originally intended! I have...errr...three days to prepare! Wish me luck?!

 

[Venetia]

i signed up for it but i'm 100% positive i won't be able to keep up with it :P

 

[Perihelion]

YOU CAN DO IT VENTIA~~~~~~~~~ :cheers: :toot: :biggrin: What are you gonna write about?

Man, I have NO idea where this new thing I randomly decided to do is gonna go. But I think I don't know enough about gam's backstory right now to write it, and I want to do more worldbuilding and research before I dive into actually writing the story.

The new thing is gonna be fantasy. That is, uh, all I really know right now. @_@ I'm looking through my ideas file for inspiration. Maybe I'll set it in Sandwichland. Man, I gotta come up with a better name for that than Sandwichland. I'm really bad at naming things, so I usually either refer to things by vague descriptors in my notes files or come up with ridiculous temporary names that end up sticking.

 

[Venetia]

My name on the site is reg'd as VenetiaMacGyver, be my writing buddy :3!!!!!

I'm thinking I'm going to do the backstory for neph in second sun. she lives a pretty interesting life I suppose. But there won't be much adventure in it. i wrote third sun when i was 16 and although there's a lot that's amateurish about it, i can't seem to shake the world I created back then :P

you can do it peri do it do it!!!

 

[Perihelion]

:3~~~~~~

Here is me:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/100741

God I am tired of that nick, but I don't think I can change it there without registering a new account, and I've had this one since I started NaNoing all those years ago... :'(

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/556159

I made a new account! Add me!

 

[Venetia]

i did :D!
it says you won in 05, 06, and 07--what does it mean to "win"? is it just getting to 50k words or something? or is there an actual contest of some fashion?

 

[Perihelion]

Winning is getting to 50k, yes. We're all winners!!!!!!

 

[Venetia]

wow thats pretty impressive that you were able to do that 3 years running. my longest novel is actually around ~270k words but it's all one thing and that took years and years (and never was finished >_>).

were your 50k dealies all finished?lemme read something :O

 

[Perihelion]

:O

B-but they're superbad... Maybe I'll post an excerpt in my profile if I write anything that isn't supershit this month.

And yeah, I was pretty bummed that I didn't finish last year. Broke my streak. :'(

 

[Perihelion]

By the way, just for fun:

http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm

The character I suspect I'm writing about got an 11, which is interesting because I thought it was gonna be much higher, given that she is beautiful (which is actually very unusual for my characters) and accomplished and an exile and things like that.

 

[Venetia]

when you're all done w/ it do they offer anything for sharing/critique or is it just like "gj you did x words"

 

[Perihelion]

You can trade with other people if you want, but when you upload your thing, it's only for word-count verification and then they delete it afterwards.

It's not a contest or anything, just a kick in the pants to get lazy writers going and exploit the magical power of deadlines.

 

[Venetia]

By the way, just for fun:

http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm

The character I suspect I'm writing about got an 11, which is interesting because I thought it was gonna be much higher, given that she is beautiful (which is actually very unusual for my characters) and accomplished and an exile and things like that.

man that took a long time to do >__>
my char scored a 10 :D
she suffers from beauty syndrome and bad stuff happens to her family/friends/etc. but other than that i guess her foibles give her a lot of saving graces.

 

[Perihelion]

:D

So, is anyone going to write-ins this year? They're a lot of fun, and I highly recommend them. They're a cool way to stay motivated and meet some neat people. There are some going on this year in the MIT science fiction library, and I'm gonna try to organize a little one for the kickoff.

 

[Venetia]

a write-in? what do you do
is it just like a bunch of people who get together and clickety clack away on their keyboards silently?

 

[Perihelion]

Yes, but you can also talk and make friends and stuff, and it's a good reason to get out of the house and stop procrastinating on novel-writing. It's fun! There are probably some in your area; you should check it out (go to regions on the NaNo page and look for the Tampa forum) if it sounds like something you'd wanna do.