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The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
NaNoWriMo has begun!!! [2020 Has Concluded!]
Zonugal
(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
As October comes to a close, an annual tradition looms in the horizon. In just seven days it'll be November, which means a collection of insane people attempt to knock out a 50,000 novel in just 30 days. All over the world people will be slamming their fingers upon keyboards in a fury. Will they succeed? Historically, I haven't! Ever!
But seeing as how we're still suffering through COVID-19 and sheltering-in-place, maybe this year is the best year to sit down and scream out a book.
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. Participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript between November 1 and November 30. Well-known authors write "pep-talks" to keep them motivated throughout the process. The website provides participants, called "Wrimos", with tips for writer's block, information on where local participants are meeting, and an online community of support. Focusing on the length of a work rather than the quality, writers are encouraged to finish their first draft quickly so that it can later be edited at the author's discretion. The project started in July 1999 with 21 participants. By the 2010 event, over 200,000 people took part and wrote a total of over 2.8 billion words.
Writers wishing to participate first register on the project's website, where they can post profiles and information about their novels, including synopses and excerpts. Word counts are validated on the site, with writers submitting a copy of their novel for automatic counting. Municipal leaders and regional forums help connect local writers, hold writing events, and provide encouragement.
The Rules of NaNoWriMo
Since NaNoWriMo is used to get people writing, the rules are kept broad and straightforward:
-- #1. - Writing starts at 12:00: a.m. on November 1 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. on November 30, local time.
-- #2. -No one is allowed to start early and the challenge finishes exactly 30 days from that start point.
-- #3. -Novels must reach a minimum of 50,000 words before the end of November in order to win. These words can either be a complete novel of 50,000 words or the first 50,000 words of a novel to be completed later.
-- #4. -Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no material written before the November 1 start date can go into the body of the novel.
-- #5. -Participants' novels can be on any theme, genre of fiction, and language. Everything from fanfiction, which uses trademarked characters, to novels in poem format, and metafiction is allowed; according to the website's FAQ, "If you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too."
-- #6. -"Rebelling" is allowed, as NaNoWriMo is considered a "self-challenge"; rebels are allowed to validate and thus receive any prizes from sponsors
The Big Picture of NaNoWriMo
Writing a 50,000 word novel in a month can be a daunting activity for anyone (except for Stephen King), so it is easier to look at it in smaller steps.
Your daily goal is 1,667 words a day.
Here is the official website where you can sign up.
Resources for NaNoWriMo
Here is a bevvy of helpful things, collected by Fearghaill & Brovid Hasselsmof's last two NaNo threads, including the original wisdom from Straightzi:
Seven Steps to the Perfect Story: http://www.the-cma.com/news/seven-steps-to-the-perfect-story
NaNoWriMo Blog: http://blog.nanowrimo.org/
NaNoWriMo Forums: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums
NaNoWriMo Forums – Writing 101: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/writing-101
The Snowflake Method: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php
Worldbuilding Questions: http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/
The Art of Dramatic Writing – Premise: http://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/egri.htm
Jim Butcher – Story Skeletons: http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/1308.html
The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html
How to write a novel in three days: http://www.wetasphalt.com/content/how-write-book-three-days-lessons-michael-moorcock
Fun plot generator: http://fictiongen.inky.me/
Writing.com’s NaNoWriMo prep calendar: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1998261-October-Nano-Prep-2014-Calendar
A map to get out of writer’s block: http://nybookeditors.com/book-editing-copy-editing-proofreading-self-publishing-blog/2013/3/12/a-map-to-get-out-of-writers-block#sthash.AuWOZpt7.dpbs
Jeff VanderMeer’s Wonderbook site: http://wonderbooknow.com/
Stephen King on imagery: http://www.wordplayer.com/pros/pr13.King.Stephen.html
The Emotion Thesauraus: http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/p/the-emotion-thesaurus.html
Stuff from Chuck Wendig’s blog, which is generally NSFW due to saucy language:
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/09/25/25-things-you-should-do-before-starting-your-next-novel/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/17/25-things-writers-should-start-doing/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/05/14/25-things-you-should-know-about-outlining/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/09/14/25-ways-to-plot-plan-and-prep-your-story/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/11/27/how-chuck-wendig-writes-a-novel/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/10/08/welcome-to-nanowrimo-prep-school-word-nerds/
A massive conglomeration of random characters, premises, generators and challenges for the folks who need some inspiration: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13xS8Klc7HdTI5vC2nisrys_ixQgh6sp0d5Szq4TUJ5g/edit?usp=sharing
So there ya go! Who is thinking of challenging themselves and trying to be a wordsmith for the month of November?
Either way, best of luck!
In closing:
Zonugal on
+5
Posts
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{Writing and Story Blog}
the bulk of that work will take place in nanowrimo largely by necessity due to holidays and such
You've already written 9!
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{Writing and Story Blog}
It's not November yet!!!
Ah yes, Moriveth's famous no-write November
But how will you sign up for Satans?
i intend to write the last few thousand words as november starts, then stop writing entirely.
exceptional, dare i say perfect timing.
Your golem's warding is completely bare! Something could scuff the runes and then we'd have a rampage on our hands! And when was the last time the seals were reapplied?
What do you mean you've got two veil-watchers? Minimum for a facility this size is three per shift, and a backup in case of a full-blown breach.
Just a mundane government job in a fantasy world.
(14 words total so far)
Maybe I'll try and do that idea I had about a story from the POV of a tree.
The story is from the perspective of a child coming of age in that city, on his way to the shrine to receive the blessing. When he arrives though, he refuses the blessing and instead insults Arcana for ruining the world. Amidst his tirade the empty throne suddenly has an occupant reclining across the arms, and with a gesture they blast the boy across the room before disappearing. The boy finds himself unharmed and quickly departs the shrine, telling no one of what occurred. The next day a small force of knights from the highest city, ruled openly by Justice, God of Light and Law, arrive in the city and announce they have come to capture the boy, declaring him marked by Arcana and prophesied to bring ruin upon humanity. This is the turning point of his life that will eventually bring him from his mountain home to the forgotten land of ancient humanity to the city upon the highest peak, learning the truth of what happened to the world so long ago, what's become of it since humanity's exodus, and why he's connected to all of it.
This is the “secret” of writing a book. Just sitting your arse in the chair and doing it. I’ve written 6 full length novels and 3 light novels this year, and I’m a lazy shit.
Personally I find it most effective to write in sprints. Set a timer, 20-30 minutes and just slam out the words in that time. Don’t worry about perfection just worry about getting them down. Then take a break for a bit, and repeat. You would be surprised how having a time focuses you.
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{Writing and Story Blog}
people in books are overrated. I support this protreegonist concept.
Semiosis was a good read. I heard the sequel wasn't, though, which is a shame.
I have used it a fair amount and I like it, it makes the rewrite and revision process really easy
Keep at it. It goes places.
I am physically unable to do this.
I can hold a pen or pencil for maybe ten minutes before I just can't anymore.
I still want to be a weird niche submidlist webserial writer scraping by below the poverty line on a Patreon a successful fantasy writer some day instead of writing about HVAC and car dealerships.
Yeah that's about what I used it for. Then I went and wrote the actual story in Word 97 because I'm not paying for the new Office suite and I kinda hate OpenLibre for causing formatting issues.
Oh I can craft a world and an outline like a champion. Can do it in my sleep.
But committing to actually doing something with it? Writing that shit down? Impossible.
LaTeX.
*Puts on shades, puts on fedora, curls beard, puts on second pair of shades, walks over to motorcycle, trips, falls, farts, motorcycle falls down, busts oil line, oil spreads everywhere, oh god, everywhere, so much oil, why, ack it's in on my coat, ACK IT'S IN MY BEARD, dies*
I decided to try OpenLibre for my freelance writing on a new installation of Windows with no Office installed.
...I'm already very close to giving up on it, because I can't at all intuit how its going to handle certain aspects of formatting.
Word, I do what I think I should probably do and lo and behold the formatting I get is what I wanted.