# NaNoWriMo 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267 "2008-10-16T20:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/61 "2008-10-29T17:51:53Z")
Dear god I signed up. I have no ideas, never even considered anything novel-wise. I’ve written some short stories so I guess I have the ability somewhere in here to get a plot out. I don’t even know how much 50,000 words is. I foresee much whining in my future, but I’m gonna give it a shot. I do find a lot of comfort in the quantity, not quality aspect of it. ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Wind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Broken\_Wind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Wind)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/62 "2008-10-30T19:55:24Z")
I tried a couple of years ago and failed miserably so I’m going to give it another shot this year. And I roped my little sister into trying it with me so now there is the whole family competition aspect involved, always so nice around the holidays. My working title: _Absolute Dreck_ ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/63 "2008-10-30T20:53:10Z")
> [@CaerieD](#): > > Alas, no. Just wasteland dwelling mutant cannibals. Sweet! What other kinda cannibals would live in the Wastelands? I mean, c’mon! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/64 "2008-10-30T20:54:12Z")
I have a rather semi-serious question: Has anyone who has entered NaNoWriMo and finished gone on to Great Good Things in the Publishing World ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/65 "2008-10-30T22:33:48Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > I don’t even know how much 50,000 words is. I foresee much whining in my future, but I’m gonna give it a shot. I do find a lot of comfort in the quantity, not quality aspect of it. About 150 to 200 pages roughly. It is a lot. The best thing I can think of is to shoot for 2000 words a day and try to make up deficit on the weekends. > [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Has anyone who has entered NaNoWriMo and finished gone on to Great Good Things in the Publishing World Their page says that several NaNoWriMo books have been published (presumably after deep revision). My feeling on it is that whatever comes out of my keyboard is going to be unusable except as a writing exercise. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/66 "2008-10-30T22:45:56Z")
I’ve started a collection of reject letters for my '06 nano. So this year, when I actually finish the third part (see other thread: nuking last year’s winning mss from space) of the story, I’ll see if I can really edit the whole lot down to a three part novel instead of a trilogy. Or I’ll do a series of connected short stories. 12 hours and 16 minutes till New Zealand kicks off - I should really have a clearer idea of what I’m doing. ETA, I’m maggenpye over there too. ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/67 "2008-10-30T23:58:02Z")
I’m in, also with the same name as here. This will be my sixth year, with four “wins” behind me. Of course, it would help if I knew what I was going to be writing by now… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/68 "2008-10-31T00:16:50Z")
How did I miss this thread? (Oh. I was on vacation.) Merging this with the Cafe thread so we can see how many people here are really doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/69 "2008-10-31T10:43:07Z")
Ah, holy crap…I had totally forgotten about NaNo in my pre-election panic… It starts tomorrow. I have until tomorrow to think up a plot. This will be my third year in the running…hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Hrududu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Hrududu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrududu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/70 "2008-10-31T10:44:27Z")
I’ve attempted this a couple of times. I always seem to come up with the excuse that I can’t find the time. But this year I’m hoping it will be different. My problem has always been the inner critic. I know I should just write and then later on go back to fix stuff. But its very difficult to stop yourself from thinking “Oh no, thats not very good, I don’t know how to make it better, I’ll just stop.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/71 "2008-10-31T10:51:08Z")
I’m considering giving it a try. I guess I’ll decide for sure tomorrow. My novel, will of course, be about space pirates. I’ve already got a title: Space Pirates or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Space Pirates ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/72 "2008-10-31T12:31:43Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > I’m considering giving it a try. I guess I’ll decide for sure tomorrow. > > My novel, will of course, be about space pirates. I’ve already got a title: > > Space Pirates or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Space Pirates Awesome title! Will there be attacks from Ninjas? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/73 "2008-10-31T13:20:46Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > I don’t even know how much 50,000 words is. I foresee much whining in my future, but I’m gonna give it a shot. I do find a lot of comfort in the quantity, not quality aspect of it. The 200 pages mentioned earlier assumes double-spaced. [Here](http://marlyspearson.com/formatting_101.htm) is a link to manuscript guidelines, though it’s only really important if you’re actually trying to get published. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/74 "2008-10-31T13:57:18Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Awesome title! > > Will there be attacks from Ninjas? You better believe there will be. Space ninjas! They’re like regular ninjas, but in space! I went ahead and signed up, so I can get to work on it tomorrow. I think it’ll be fun. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/75 "2008-10-31T14:19:44Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > You better believe there will be. Space ninjas! They’re like regular ninjas, but in space! I went ahead and signed up, so I can get to work on it tomorrow. I think it’ll be fun. Of course it will be! 😃 Assuming you have no ambitions about publishing, you really ought to follow Chris Baty’s advice in the Nanowrimo book: What should be in your book? Everything you like to read about and/or everything you like, period. Space ninjas? Excellent. Space-flying pterodactyls? Marvelous. Fly-in A&W rootbeer stands in the rings of Saturn? Sounds good to me. And then there’s always the classic mystery advice. When you don’t know what should happen next, have a guy with a gun walk in the door. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/76 "2008-10-31T16:12:09Z")
Woot! Started at midnight (here in Japan) and an hour later have 1483 words. This is easier than I thought. I’m going to aim for 2000 words a day on week days and 500 words a day on weekends, but I wanted to get a jump start on it this weekend since enthusiasm is high right now. Happy writing, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/77 "2008-10-31T16:39:56Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Of course it will be! 😃 > Assuming you have no ambitions about publishing, you really ought to follow Chris Baty’s advice in the Nanowrimo book: What should be in your book? Everything you like to read about and/or everything you like, period. > > Space ninjas? Excellent. Space-flying pterodactyls? Marvelous. Fly-in A&W rootbeer stands in the rings of Saturn? Sounds good to me. > And then there’s always the classic mystery advice. When you don’t know what should happen next, have a guy with a gun walk in the door. 😉 That’s the exact mentality I’m going in with. I know no one’s ever going to read it and that it’s not supposed to be good, so I’m just going to go with whatever I think of and let it flow. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/78 "2008-10-31T18:38:00Z")
Ok, I just signed up. I could have sworn I was Shirley Ujest from the last time I was there, but apparently, I cannot remember what I signed under. So, I am Shirley Ujest there now. I look forward to starting and I have not one story in mind. I think I will do the opposite of what I like to read. Maybe Horror. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/79 "2008-11-01T04:32:30Z")
First day of Nano - cleaned out the garage, bought (yet another) old set of drawers to restore, moved the kayak to it’s new home and scrubbed the stove top. Word count = 0. Good start. If last year and the year before are anything to go by, the house will be pristine by week 2. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267/80 "2008-11-01T11:53:40Z")
Well, I’m stopping for the evening. I’m 3265 words into my novel and feeling worn out. I’m debating what direction to take since I can see that what I’ve written needs some appropriate padding but there’s a real advantage to rushing through and finishing the tale with a short word count and building it up to 50000. Here’s my first line: > [@](#): > > The concert stopped before the end of the composition on a chord of screeching gears, twanging springs, and a whistling boiler that echoed through the high brass dome of the hall for minutes after the terminal note had escaped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanowrimo-2008/468267.md?page=5)