NaNoWriMo 2012

Post Reply New Topic

Good evening WP!

It just jolted in my mind that WP has a board dedicated to writing so I was wondering who else was thinking of taking part in NaNoWriMo this year?

If you don't know what NaNo is, it's a writing challenge in which you have to create (and write) a fifty thousand word (or more) novel in the thirty days of November.

Also, if you are taking part, have you got any plans for how you want your story to go?

Suburban, out :3

I've done NaNo in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and hit 50,000 every year except 2007. That was the year I found a friend dead on his kitchen floor at the beginning of September, and finished cleaning out his apartment - exhausted beyond belief, since it was two hours away - at midnight on Halloween. I was physically and emotionally wiped out, and never got past 2,000 words that year.

I want to give it a shot again this year, but I'm not sure if I should just sit a year out. I hate to; NaNo is some of the best fun I have all year. But my father died in August, I'm still getting over a very nasty bout of bronchitis, and there are other things I ought to be doing. So I'm torn.

Who am I kidding? I'm probably going to go for it. I hated the feeling that NaNo was happening, and I was missing out.

As for my story; I have this history of running with ideas I get at the last minute, after thinking I'm going to do something else. But at the moment, I'm thinking of doing a fictionalised version of some of my family history; much of my own life has been dominated by a curse a cult leader placed on my grandmother, back in the mid-1930s. And it might be the right time to explore that in a story.

Edited to add:
2006: The Blind Assassin - my own weird take on steampunk
2007: The Hammer of Evil - a very abortive stub of a horror/vampire story...
2008: Seeking Heir - science fiction, somewhat in the Heinlein vein
2009: Misled - historical fiction, Biblical / Roman
2010: Preservation - an alternate World War Two tale with an (undiagnosed, obviously) aspie protagonist
2011: Thunderstorm - another alternate World War Two; WWII is one of my oldest obsessions
(Neither alternate World War Two novel directly involves battles; the protagonists both wind up as spies, giving them more freedom of movement and involvement in important events...)

Last edited by theWanderer on 02 Oct 2012, 2:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Yes, I am. I've been doing NaNoWriMo since 2008. Won twice, both times with historical fiction. Last year I tried my hand at literary fiction, but it turned out such a garbled mess that I don't want to look at it ever again. So I think I'll go back to historical fiction this year. Not sure yet what I'm going to write about. Perhaps a story about Juana "the insane" of Castille, mother of emperor Charles V.

What about you, do you have any ideas yet?

That's some commitment right there Wanderer, though I am sorry about your losses. Your story idea sounds amazing, even better when it's partly inspired by true events/people!


Dawn, your stories sound really awesome too! I'm not one for historical fiction though, but I admire ANYONE who's won NaNo!

I'm torn between two ideas for mine. The first is a zombie apocalypse story (oh boy, ANOTHER one) set in the town I currently reside in. All the characters sharing traits and possibly names of my real life friends.

The second is a Matrix style story about a computer 'after-life'. It feels to me like a mix of The Adjustment Bureau and The Matrix, however, it means I can be more creative with places and any technology in there. I'm keen on this idea a lot.

SR x

I wish I could qualify but it's too late. I already started writing my first novel about two weeks ago. By my estimate, if all goes well, I should be finished in about five months. How folks can write complete novels, from beginning to end, in one month is a mystery to me. I envy that kind of talent.

Won NaNo every year I participated in. Last year there was college madness so I didn't really bother. Next month might be midterms and tests, but NaNo wouldn't be fun if you weren't stressed out while doing it.

I did a diary a few years ago... I might start doing that again. But not writing it out in pencil. I did that and it was such a pain to count the words! It also ended up being mostly a diary of my love life, which is quite exciting for me but not fun for anyone else. It's painful to look back at it now.

I might try something autobiographical this year. Or maybe not. Maybe I'll just write a bunch of disconnected short stories. Heaven only knows. I'm really interested in abnormal psychology and neurology, so maybe some kind of anthology of stories about people with these conditions would pique my interest... or I could just write responses to articles and books that I read. All that matters is that you write, because ultimately the prize is what you wrote. I haven't written in a really long time...

Except for last years 'novel' (ahem) which was a complete disaster, I visualize the stories repeatedly long before I write them down. Last year I tried to write by 'the seat of my pants', as the saying goes. I'm not going to do that ever again.

It's funny how different the writing process can be for each of us. I've written NaNo novels I only got the idea for on the 28th or 29th of October - and had fun writing them. Sure, they need a little polishing up afterward, but any first draft needs that. At least, my first drafts...

My creative writing club is actually going to do this! I'm so excited!

I know the requirement is 50,000 words, but I'm going to go for 100,000.

I tried several years ago, but I failed! I'm too slow. But I like to read the Nano forums, you can enjoy Nanowrimo without taking an active part in it too.

I envy people that can write a book in one month and shows year and book title, as theWanderer . I'm trying to write a book right now, and I'm not sure if being that slow is allowed, ha ha.

I think I'll enter. I've never done NaNoWriMo before but I have experience writing novels so this is going to be fun!

I've seen lots of people writing along in November but not getting the 50K wordcount. It's OK to write slowly, nobody will laugh at you or ignore you if you do not get the 50K wordcount. The most important thing is that you try. And have fun writing along with thousands of people around the globe.

As the saying goes, "slow but surely"

There's nothing wrong with being slow; people write at different speeds. But the other point is, the only way to become any faster is to keep on writing, because with more practice, you gain speed. You may never be the fastest writer on the planet, but that's not what matters. The real point of NaNo is doing what you can, giving it your best - and strengthening your writing muscles. The first year, I barely hit 50K by the end of the month. It was really touch and go for a while. Last year, I hit 50K without much effort and with about a week to go - and I was writing by hand last year, trying out different fountain pens and inks, and blogging about it (until I got sick at Thanksgiving, when I had to let the blog slide). And the first couple of days of November, I had no power, and was trying to write by the light of a little LED light in a freezing house. The first day, I'd picked an eyedropper filler to test - and eyedropper fillers are fussy when it comes to temperature; the heat of your hand can be enough to make them 'burp', even when they aren't chilled by their environment.

Here's what I have planned for NaNoWriMo 2012:

The Slave Pharaoh

Surburban: I think that you should do the zombie one. It sounds like an idea that you should have fun writing and we'll all have fun reading :3

The super long title for mine is: "Monotony; Change in the Forest that Never Changes"
Which is a pretty good summary by itself xD
Not sure on how exactly the plot goes right now, but I've still got some time to put everything in order
But I am wondering, would it be okay to put a quote from pokemon at the beginning of the story? xD
(There was a line I read in a game today that was surprisingly fitting)