# The NaNoWriMo Support Group for Novice Novel Writers with Too Much Time Thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081 "2004-10-07T19:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/361 "2004-11-28T23:27:39Z")
Darn, I have only gotten to 23,900 this year. Last year I finished about 11/26 (not that 50,000 words is “finished” in the genre I write in, and not that it was “finished” in any sense of being a final draft). I really dropped the ball this year. Too bad, I loved watching that little capsule fill up. Mucho congrats to those of you who got to the finish line! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/362 "2004-11-29T00:22:11Z")
Now at a bit over 60k … Ok, OK, I’ve made the required word count, but I want to _finish the story_, dammit! And I don’t know if I can do that before December … oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/363 "2004-11-29T13:50:58Z")
Fifty-four thousand and change; but it isn’t done yet. Does it count if I broke the 50k mark but failed to actually close out the plot before the month is done? Now I have to figure out how to submit it for verification. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/364 "2004-11-29T15:01:00Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > This word you keep using, I do not think it means what I thought it meant. Oh, that’s _exactly_ what it means. 😉 Maybe I should stop drinking here in the Winners’ Circle. _hic_ ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/365 "2004-11-29T15:07:45Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > Oh, that’s _exactly_ what it means. 😉 > > Maybe I should stop drinking here in the Winners’ Circle. _hic_ No, no. Not at all! Clearly, it suits you! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/366 "2004-11-29T15:17:03Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > No, no. Not at all! Clearly, it suits you! 😉 This is where I whip out those _Get Me Drunk And I’ll Sleep With Anybody_ t-shirts I had made in the other thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/367 "2004-11-29T15:29:31Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Fifty-four thousand and change; but it isn’t done yet. Does it count if I broke the 50k mark but failed to actually close out the plot before the month is done? Plot? YOU HAVE A PLOT??? Nobody told _me_ I had to have a plot. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/368 "2004-11-29T15:33:06Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > And as for you, lno: The only thing worst than someone with the effrontery to have more words done than me, is having that person boast he’d just taken three days off, and is STILL ahead of pace. :mad: To be precise, I ended up taking six days off - I reached 40,036 on Sunday Nov 21 and didn’t touch it until Sat Nov 27, at which point I wrote 4500 words, and then another 5500 yesterday to put me at 50,002. I still haven’t completed the story, but our intrepid heroes have equipped themselves with flintlock shotte-gunns and broad-rimmed floppy black leather hats (which all the cool zombie hunters wear) and are about to resolve the story. Probably within another 15 to 20,000 words, but by Christmas, I swear. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/369 "2004-11-29T18:23:54Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Fifty-four thousand and change; but it isn’t done yet. Does it count if I broke the 50k mark but failed to actually close out the plot before the month is done? Absolutely! In fact, I wonder at the people with the counts of 50,002 who claim their novel is ‘finished.’ That exactly, eh? :dubious: I suspect a lot of those are either the ‘unending dumps of random maunderings’ genre OR their last line is “And the hurtling asteroid hit the earth and everyone died.” Me, I just checked my wordcount and I’m “finished” at 50thou and change. Yippee! Of course, my outline still has six more scenes. At my ususal scene length, that means I have another 9 to 12 thousand more words before I genuinely reach “The End,” but I plan to work them off at around 500 wpd while I try to catch up on the life stuff I’d put on hold. Anyhooo, for now I’m green, green, green! Hallelujah and pass the bottle. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/370 "2004-11-29T18:29:32Z")
> [@lno](#): > > To be precise, I ended up taking six days off - I reached 40,036 on Sunday Nov 21 and didn’t touch it until Sat Nov 27, at which point I wrote 4500 words, and then another 5500 yesterday to put me at 50,002. I swear by all that Dopesters hold dear that I HAD NOT READ THIS POST when I wrote the previous message. I pulled 50002 out of thin air as an example of a suspiciously ‘perfect’ final count – it was NOT a dig at lno. Really. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/371 "2004-11-29T18:31:36Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Absolutely! In fact, I wonder at the people with the counts of 50,002 who claim their novel is ‘finished.’ > > That exactly, eh? :dubious: > I suspect a lot of those are either the ‘unending dumps of random maunderings’ genre OR their last line is “And the hurtling asteroid hit the earth and everyone died.” How dare you insinuate that I would resort to such cheap hackery? The last line is ‘And then the nuclear bombs exploded, which came as a surprise to everyone, for it was only 1752.’ I still gotta rework that ending and actually conclude the plot, though. More seriously, I distinctly said that it was still incomplete, but that I had passed the 50,000 threshold, which is good enough for the month of November: > [@](#): > > _What if I hit 50,000 words but I’m only halfway through my story?_ > The 50,000 word limit is a threshold, not necessarily a stopping place. Reaching 50k and realizing you still have a lot of wrapping up to do is a good thing—it gives you something to come back and work on later. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/372 "2004-11-29T18:33:09Z")
Ah. In that case, then, the nuclear bombs haven’t exploded. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/373 "2004-11-30T12:28:36Z")
50403! I turned it in! I am a winner! I can sleep again without feeling guilty for not getting in another hundred words. I’m going to format it and print it, but not edit it. But I wrote a book. Pretty proud of myself. Next year, if I’m stupid enough to do this again, I’m going to have a plot. Yay. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/374 "2004-11-30T13:02:41Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > 50403! > I’m going to format it and print it, but not edit it. But I wrote a book. Pretty proud of myself. Congratulations! BTW, something anyone who plans to print out a ‘keeper’ copy of their masterpiece might want to do is check into some of the threads in the ‘helpful org/resources’ forum. There are at least two companies (one is [lulu.com](http://lulu.com), I can’t remember the other) who do single copy printing at remarkably low prices. I remember seeing a post working out the economics of getting a copy from lulu (they have some base fee plus X per page pricing structure) vs. printing it yourself (based on just ink supplies/paper costs.) As best I remember, it was significantly cheaper to go lulu if you have an inkjet (and aren’t using cheapo replacement ink) and about 10% more expensive if you have a laser printer. And if the idea is to have something that looks like a ‘real’ book to show off, a perfect bound trade paperback sized book has it all over whatever binding method you choose to apply to a bunch of loose 8 1/2 X 11 inch sheets. NOTE: I have not bought a book through Lulu, so I can’t vouch for their quality. The other company’s deal may be better or worse. I am not affiliiated, etc. etc. Basically, I’m just saying it’s an option you might want to take a bit of time to check out before simply assuming the way to go is to crank the thing out on your home printer. Of course, if you can get free printing somehow, all bets are off. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/375 "2004-11-30T19:29:52Z")
I did it! I, too, still have a lot of wrapping up to do: to my surprise, I’m only about 3/4 of the way through my plot. However, I have hit 50K. Which is really, really cool, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/376 "2004-11-30T20:19:28Z")
Feels good, doesn’t it! I’m trying to see how close I can get to the end of the story, now … won’t make it tonight, I fear (but I’ve racked up 63k plus, now, so I don’t feel _too_ bad about that … ) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/377 "2004-12-01T01:08:32Z")
I did it! I even finished all my plot (I was thinking I’d have to skip a couple side plots,) with a thousand or so words to spare. Just had to add a few meaningless ramblings (which actually work in this context since it’s in the form of a journal,) and rounded it off with a few flow-interrupting scenery descriptions. Okay, those two things I don’t feel bad about. But I do feel bad about the fact that when I wrote in stream of consciousness and a sentence was far too long for the ending clause to feel like it properly matched the referent, what I felt bad about was the fact that I just repeated the clause instead of cut and pasting 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hoshiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Hoshiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoshiko)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/378 "2004-12-01T02:40:24Z")
Well, I finished. 50,055 words and a caffeine headache, even with the week I took off because I like horrific deadlines. Booyah! Of course, that just leaves me with about 30,000 words to go until it’s completed for good. And then I have 3 more stories that have occured to me while writing in this one, one outlined already. They’ve created a monster. BTW, thanks for the printing advice, **StarvingButStrong**. I don’t want to kill my little HP by printing this thing off so I think I’ll go that route after editing. I love the certificate they give you when you finish. I’m think I’m going to frame mine 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/379 "2004-12-01T04:09:51Z")
Way to go everyone! Is there anyone still working on it? If so, gogogogogo! You can do it! ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081/380 "2004-12-01T14:24:16Z")
58k & change, and I finished the story at 12:10am EST. I glossed over some stuff at the end—which means that I may be faced with one of those “second draft” things I’ve heard about. So, now I’ve got a month to learn to draw and illustrate the book? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nanowrimo-support-group-for-novice-novel-writers-with-too-much-time-thread/268081.md?page=20)