NaNoWriMo 2006

[LoveSickJerk]

Check it out!
Oh man! It's almost here! NaNoWriMo is a mere 21 days away from starting, so who is with me in declaring a holiday from sanity for the month of November, and getting 50,000 words down in a month?!

I'll even invite all participants from this board to join up as honorary Buffalo Region members! C'mon! Who wants to do it? Well? What say you?*






*Sorry about the Return Of The King reference.

[Betty Felon]

I'm seriously thinking about it. Though between a language profiency exam in early december and my lovey love love autumn weather, I'm not sure I can pull it off.

I don't have any concept of 50,000 words. In practical terms, what does it take?

[philistien]

Maybe 200 pages? It depends on how long your words are. It's do-able, but insane.

[Moni]

*Sorry about the Return Of The King reference.

I'd say there's nothing wrong with a ROTK reference, if quoted correctly.

Anyhow, I finally realized (took me long enough) I have no real talent for writing fiction. The end.

[LoveSickJerk]

I'm seriously thinking about it. Though between a language profiency exam in early december and my lovey love love autumn weather, I'm not sure I can pull it off.

I don't have any concept of 50,000 words. In practical terms, what does it take?

It takes about 120 pages typically of single spaced awesomeness. So really, its a novella. All it really takes is 1667 words typed each day in some coherent fashion for 30 days. The trick is, it doesn't have to be any good, it just has to be finished. 1667 usually takes 2-2.5 hours to bust out, depending on how fast you are; sometimes I've gotten double that down in that time. You also have to have available coffee, and if you have a significant other, a very understanding one: you will be hard to get along with.

[aj]

wow. I'm thinking about it. I'm one of those scaredy cats. lots of ideas and no follow-through.

I'll look at the specifics... yikes. I have to sleep on this one.

[LoveSickJerk]

Some encouragement: I didn't think I could do it last year either, but when I did finish, it was the best feeling on the planet. I would be lying if I said it didn't have a positive effect on the rest of my creativity as well. It is also an excellent source of calcium.*






*Calcium is not guaranteed and may not even be available during this contest, ever.

[philistien]

i once pretended to write a book for my senior project. it went really well because none of the teachers grading it were willing to read beyond the first five pages. if you're not worried about quality and have some semblance of an idea, i say go for it. it's a pretty remarkable feeling to know you wrote something.

[Betty Felon]

2-2.5 hours a day... I physically can't do it. It will ruin my prospects for passing this profiency exam (also only once a year, on Dec. 3.) Also, the non-instant coffee supply chain in Japan is broken down.

I will do this next year. From what I looked at, there is a social community growing up around it. The shared experience has to make it all that much better. I'm sure the frantic intensity required to win makes it almost ceremonial. Bacchic writing?

But everyone who hasn't already overcommitted themselves as it is, you should do it! I was a scaredy cat last year, afraid to realize I had only mediocre ideas. But to that fear, I like Susan Sontags response:

"I discover, say, three-fours through something I’m writing that it is mediocre, inferior. I reply that I feel good and plow on to the end. I’m discharging the mediocre in myself. (My excremental image of my writing.) It’s there.

I want to get rid of it. I can’t negate it by an act

of will. (Or can I?) I can only allow it its voice, get it “out.” Then I can do something else.

At least, I know I won’t need to do that again."

[the hutch]

I'm gonna take a stab at it! I entered my data, and I've got a title and everything!

[chelsea]

wow...i thought it was more like one hour each day. i don't know that i could handle 2-2.5 every single day all month. i'd never go swimming or for any walks and my apartment would become a sty.

but i'm curious....can you write about anything your heart desires? it doesn't have to be fiction does it?

[the new girl]

This would be fun, but I have two manuscripts to write and I don't think it would be appreciated if I decided to write fiction instead...it sounds like way more fun though...

[LoveSickJerk]

wow...i thought it was more like one hour each day. i don't know that i could handle 2-2.5 every single day all month. i'd never go swimming or for any walks and my apartment would become a sty.

but i'm curious....can you write about anything your heart desires? it doesn't have to be fiction does it?

Let me clarify a point: it takes me 2-2.5 hours a day to sit down and shit out 1700 words. It could take you less, a lot less. Also, you can manage your time, and do more on the weekends (like write for 4-6 hours on Sat & Sunday to make up the time), I just like to keep it simple and straight and as evenly spread as possible, but...it really is up to you.

And yes you can write whatever you'd like, though they suggest fiction, it can be any type of fiction from historical, to erotic to fantasy to crime to horror and beyond. You really can do what you want.

For those of you who want to write straight non-fiction, there will be a seperate event created next year for it, and next June I believe there will be a seperate event created for screenplays.

From what I looked at, there is a social community growing up around it. The shared experience has to make it all that much better. I'm sure the frantic intensity required to win makes it almost ceremonial.

This is absolute truth!

[LoveSickJerk]

*bump* Hey! There's only 9 more days left!! Who is with me now?!

[What Pancakes Do]

I don't think I can write fiction. This sounds fun though. Maybe I'll be in on it when they do the non-fiction version.

Good luck to everyone!

[the hutch]

Hey LSJ, how do pesky little things like spelling, punctuation and grammar fit into all this? I didn't get an answer from my local nanowrimo forum.

[Moni]

I remember someone from thsi board once (2004?) wrote a NaNaWriMo-novel about an Alien and a Fruitbasket, but I don't remember who it was... are you still out there, anonymous writer?

[LoveSickJerk]

Hey LSJ, how do pesky little things like spelling, punctuation and grammar fit into all this? I didn't get an answer from my local nanowrimo forum.

They don't matter at all! The magical word counting dohicky only counts the strings of words, regardless if they're made up or incorrectly spelled/conjugated/apostrophed. The only thing that counts-THE ONLY THING-is the magical number at the end of the month!

One Week Left!!!!!!

[the hutch]

puncuation be damned-excellent!

we're having a kick off party Nov 1. ya'll doing the same?

[LoveSickJerk]

Oh sweet jesus yes. Though I'm going to be late to mine, because I have Swing Dance lessons to take care of on Wednesday nights. For serious.
But it will be a party, and it will be AWESOME!

6 days left!!