I’ve signed up for the first time but 50k words is going to be tough while working full time.
As for planning - I hope to have all the scenes planned out before Nov 1st. I began using the file card system but I’ve switched to something called Writer’s Cafe. This is a brilliant piece of software that works like note cards - except you ccan lay them out along timelines - one for each sub plot so you can see the structure of your story and move stuff around.
It also collates all your research into ‘scraps’ and can also store live web links so you have all your research a mouse click away as you write.
One thing to look out for though - it stores the Notepad for a project in the My Documents folder by default - no matter where you store your actual project. Those of us who work from a thumb drive need to remember to change the default location. :smack:
Still, the only way I can get to write real fast is by letting my brain pour it out without worrying about language and later splitting the Spanglish monster into English and Spanish (good thing most of my writing jobs have required both versions anyway), so if I do anything it’s likely to sound like Once Upon a Time in Mexico…
I’m in. I signed up a few days ago with no idea what I was going to write. I’ve wanted to try for a few years, but could never quite take the plunge. But I’m in, now. I even bought myself 3x5 index cards yesterday, in the hopes that a plot would miraculously insinuate itself into them.
Well, I’m doing it, for the fourth year running … hopefully, the fourth successful year running, but time will tell.
Also co-ML for the Oxfordshire region (best in the UK) - first pre-NaNo meeting and pep-talk is tomorrow, I will be welcoming new aspiring writers with inspirational gibberish.
I’ve got a viable idea now, after a boring Thursday at work. (mythology+IVF mixup=strange horror-romance novel! hopefully.) I just stared into space and thought about this: why aren’t there any switched at birth & then-get-together-for-the-kids stories that are in the horror genre instead of romance? “Why can’t there be?” my brain asked. So their shall be.
You’ll probably think of something too. Remember, “write what you know” means “if neccessary, do some damn research” not “you’re limited to things you currently know about so your work is barely disguised autobiography” so the sky’s the limit
My first NaNo was barely-disguised autobiography. It worked at the time.
My second was barely-disguised fantasy, which was ten times more fun.
I have no idea what this one is. I’ve got a lot of characters and very little plot, but sometimes waiting to see where they take you is the fun part. Of course … they often take me to the land where stories die. And then I throw in some zombies to keep everything going.
Failed past two years, but I think 3rd times a charm. I too have an idea in my head; during downtime as a sub (prep period, lunch, etc) I doodle maps and write out ‘places of interest’. Its also fun writing up bios for my characters, and how everyone fits into the story. I’m hoping the actual writing part will be a lot more streamlined once I’ve already conceived an imaginary world with locations, people, events, fictional laws of phyiscs, etc.
Write about 1700 words per day and you should be fine. I figure if I dedicate at least 30 minutes of my evening every night to the novel, I’ll make enough progress that on top of the extra time on weekends, I should pull it off this year. Previously, school and other obligations made the idea of writing a 50,000 word novel a stressful chore, but I have a lot more flexibility with my time this year.
I’m well on my way. I’ve got my first several chapters planned out, and, although I have no idea where it’s going to go from there, I have a few fun scenes that I’m planning to shoehorn in. I’m reading the founder’s book, No Plot, No Problem, and he suggests that starting out with a plot really isn’t that important.
In the event that I find myself truly stuck, I’m considering making up some categories with things like types of relationship, occupations, and idiosyncracies, and investing in a dart board.
This is the first time I’ve tried outlining, and I’m going with Holly Lisle’s notecard method. It seems to be working: I’ve got a big stack of scenes that seems to make a fairly coherent picture, so I’m optimistic. I’m just not so sure I can stick by the plan, since the stories seem to come pretty organically as I go along, so we’ll have to see.
The next seven days are going to be difficult. I’m like a kid on Christmas eve.
I’m having the same problem. Only I can’t outline. I tried. I have no idea where this story starts. I know if I sit down and start it, I’ll have a place to begin. But I start to think about outlining, and my entire mind goes blank.
At this point, I just have to pray I go to bed before midnight on the 31st so I don’t end up staying up all night writing like I did last year.
I’ve signed up. This will be weird, because I actually am a professional writer… for television. And an unemployed writer at the moment. I’ve always joked around that writing novels and screenplays was my backup plan, so let’s see if I can do it.
Check out the Holly Lisle link I gave above. I’m not an outliner by any stretch. I don’t think I’ve successfully outlined anything in my entire life. To do it, you don’t need to know where the story starts, that comes out of the process.
Hopefully the third time will be a charm. The last two years I kept wasting my time looking for plot holes, and polishing and perfecting my prose. I think I only got around halfway to goal both years. However, being a masochist at heart, I will be trying again this year.
Just last night I attended a seminar about this, at our local library. Then I went and signed up. I’m already too busy, for the first half of November, and this is crazy. But I got an idea from the " adopt a plot" thread in their forums. So okay, I’m crazy.
