No True Scotsman would spell it “Whiskey”! :eek:
I just signed up–still haven’t decided which idea to go with, though.
Just remember, you can never go wrong with evil robots or ninjas.
My main character has a name, do dah! do dah!
(Er, her name isn’t do dah. In case you wondered.)
I’m not sure that local zoning laws permit evil robots, ninjas and vampires all at once.
But I think that you might just have given me an idea.
Well, I am a zoning administrator, and the new 2006 Zoning Enabling Act does require local units of government to allow home occupations for craft and fine art intstruction. Clearly, evil robots are just more advanced versions of knitting; ninjitsu must be certainly considered a fine art; and vampirism, while not a craft or art, should probably be considered a form of existence rather than a land use proper. So, I think all is well. Let the writing begin!
So, maybe I was wrong, and my story isn’t set in another country or time, and I should just shut up and plot the story I had originally come up with. Whatever. But hey, I’m filling up notecards like nobody’s business.
(What does that mean? Should it be somebody’s business, but it isn’t? I never got that phrase. Doesn’t stop me from using it. I’m already overcaffeinated, aren’t I?)
Thanks for the handy hint, js_africanus! Let the ninjas, vampires and evil robots be unconfined!
And five hours, sixteen minutes to go. Probably slightly less once the hamsters have thought about whether or not they want to deliver this message to the boards.
Damn your superior time zone! I’ve got thirteen hours and eight minutes to go, and I’m dying here.
I may indeed begin typing at midnight tonight. Hit happy hour, get a bottle of wine, and be too blissed out to care whether my first sentence sucks. 
I so want to do that, but alas, I kinda have to be at work tomorrow. Next year, I’m totally taking off November 1st.
I went to the local NaNo kickoff party on Saturday and I’m totally stoked. I also dumped my first idea and now have an actual plot that I’m really excited about. I used the notecard method to great success–thanks to whoever suggested that. I don’t have an ending yet, but I came up with my plot in two days, so surely I can think of something in time. I mean, I have a government conspiracy, unharnessed mental powers, and a bunch of ethically challenged heroes–if I just keep shaking it’s all gotta blow up eventually, I figger.
::takes deep breath::
I’m in. I registered at the site yesterday. Since I’ve never done this before, and because I have personal tendencies to focus procrastination in organization, I’m just planning to sit at the keyboard and pound out 1667 words a day. I have faith it will begin to make sense in the editing. I’m not really doing it to have something publishable or even coherent, but just to prove to myself that I can do it.
Aw, crap. I’ve just found out that the story I’m writing is the X-Men. So much for great ideas. Guess I’ll need to do some quick restructuring tonight before I begin tomorrow. Sigh.
That’s what I did first two times. 
I didn’t have consistent 1667-word days, but I got to the end successfully (and barely). Glad you’re giving it a whirl!
I’m not going anywhere this year, so I’m taking my vacation to write. I decided to take the first of the month, because I’m ready to snap from stress.
So write the inverse: instead of an evil conspiracy, you’ve got a valiant team of (agents from whatever gov. agency) trying to take down a gang of evil mutants, with nothing but guts and training and cleverness to offset the special powers of the mutants.
Though I think that one has been done too. 
So I’d say don’t worry about the basic plot being done before: ALL plots have been done before! Yours will turn out to be different just because you are a different writer.
I know of a team of four writers who started from the same one sentence plot summary AND the same starting line and their stories were wildly different by the end.
Wait! How will NaNoWriMo know what time zone I started in? They say that you should start in local time, but the deadline for sign-ups is in GMT.
I now have one major character, two minor ones, a MacGuffin, a beginning, a motorboat chase through the canals of Venice (It’s not really an action story until there’s a boat chase through Venice), and an ending with a potentially large explosion. The rest is still a little fuzzy, but I’m sure it will be gold.
They won’t, but I will. I didn’t mind shaving a few laps off the mile-long swim I had to do to graduate from high school (that’s true!), but for NaNo there’s no point in cheating. Like all challenges, either I succeed or I don’t; however, unlike most challenges, there’s no reason to do so.
You should see your doctor about that.
I’ve got to write a tale that will be a “bible” for my comic.
However, there are many reasons why I should not do it.
I have problems with grammar; English is my second language; this is the week of finals; It’s 106 miles to Chicago, it’s dark and I’m wearing sun glasses.
Just registered.
Hit it!!!
So you’re in the same boat as American students? Our grammar ain’t pretty, man!
Anyway: 12:05 am and I had the first sentence:
“Griseous scrambled up the stairs from the main guard to the great hall, bouncing off the walls of the narrow, circular stair, only just ahead of the ringing armor on her heels.”
Yee-ha!
Don’t forget the pirates!