ForumsArt, Music, and WritingWant to write a novel?

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Strop
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Strop
10,817 posts
Bard

Then do it!

I see some people here are into writing, and some even aspire to write novels. Then there are others who probably look at people writing novels and say "I could write a novel..." but they never do!

Well, bollocks to that! National Novel Writing Month gives everybody a chance to write a novel or at least have a really good whack at it. Every year in November, a growing number of people (now over 100000) join the international community with a resolution to write no less than 50000 words of an original, fictional work in 30 days. Fuelled by caffiene, loud music and then encouraging words of your fellow writers (who will kick your sorry butt if you slack off), participants are encouraged to release their inhibitions and dive into an 'anything goes' approach where nobody cares if your main character wears a stocking over their head and has a penguin for a cousin and lives in a donut in an alternate universe...

So yeah.

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TAKE HOME MESSAGES:

* If you at all want to write a novel, this is for you.

* What you write is 100% up to you- nobody else has to read it. Conversely, if you cheat, it's you who doesn't get anything out of it: there's no real competition or prizes apart from the experience of writing a novel (get it?)

* Grammar, good English (or any language), good story, plotlines, characters, themes etc. etc. These are only important if you want them to be- but if they're in the way, stuff 'em. Think of NaNo as a chance to write a first draft, or anything at all.

* You can join other NaNoers in your local area and organise activities to fire up that writing spirit there.

* 50000 words in 30 days. Think you can handle it? Sign up!

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  • 15 Replies
thoadthetoad
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thoadthetoad
5,642 posts
Peasant

how do I sign up? I will just work on my faceless story! so where could I sign up. I live in albuquerque NM.

Gantic
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Gantic
11,892 posts
King

I tried it for two years '05 and '06 and reached over 40,000 words both times. Incidentally, I lost both files and everything else I had written on my computer. I'd say I was cursed. In '05, my computer was infected with a virus, so I lost everything I wrote. In '06, a bad installation from a CD corrupted my program, and I lost everything again. I haven't had the time to do it since then.

Just joining for the community there would be worth it for a would-be writer, even if you won't participate in NaNo. There's a nice community there with a lot of resources (i.e. people) to tap into, especially for knowledge that you may not have.

how do I sign up? I will just work on my faceless story! so where could I sign up. I live in albuquerque NM.

Sign up is just online on the website. The event starts after midnight on November 1 your timezone and ends midnight on November 30.

One rule is that you cannot work on anything that you have written before November 1 because you have to start from scratch on November 1.

There's a lot more information in the FAQ.
Strop
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Strop
10,817 posts
Bard

One rule is that you cannot work on anything that you have written before November 1 because you have to start from scratch on November 1.


This is an official rule. However, because I had an agenda and NaNo is primarily a motivational tool, I broke it without breaking any of the other rules, and ultimately was still a legitimate winner.

I already had ~30000 words of my novel written come November '07, and wrote 50154 words on top of that over November. The reason this is unadvisable for less experienced writers is because it undermines the 'anything goes' approach which encapsulates much of NaNo- I had invested a lot into the characters and the plotlines already, making prolific writing very very difficult. This normally would spell the death of your novel but in my case I knew precisely what I wanted to do, so there's an exception. You could say I won it the hard way.
Rockingkid45
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Rockingkid45
35 posts
Nomad

I LOVE WRITING!!!!!!! That is why i posted some of my story already on this website just so that i can get some info on other peoples point of views on the story. I haven't gotten many responces but i will still wait!!!

Klaushouse
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Klaushouse
2,770 posts
Nomad

What should I write a novel about.

TELL ME! Dude I could write one of those guide books! Like the zombie survival guide! LOL What should it be about. AFK MAKING A THREAD.

Strop
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Strop
10,817 posts
Bard

...you go afk to make a thread?

I shudder to imagine what kind of things you're doing O_o

chowdollas
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chowdollas
672 posts
Nomad

can one of u guys give me a link to the site so i can sign up

Strop
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Strop
10,817 posts
Bard

Up the very top, chowdollas. It's harder to see because my text is already blue :P

chowdollas
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chowdollas
672 posts
Nomad

ok thanx

Kalkara
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Kalkara
141 posts
Nomad

I have so many ideas. It's just that my attention wanders somewhere before i can start to write it! But seriously, i have a lot of ideas

thoadthetoad
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thoadthetoad
5,642 posts
Peasant

what if I do a script change to one of my unfinished stories? Will I be able to go in then?

Gantic
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Gantic
11,892 posts
King

what if I do a script change to one of my unfinished stories? Will I be able to go in then?


You can have a plot outline, Mr. Ian Woon, trebuchets, etc. but no sentences, paragraphs, entire pages and whatnot that would have been written out before NaNo.
thoadthetoad
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thoadthetoad
5,642 posts
Peasant

been written out before NaNo


So does that mean I can enter a story so long as it has NOT been presented to them? please, i'm confused. commment my profile on the subject plz, ^^.
razinskie
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razinskie
120 posts
Nomad

I'm acctually writing a trilogy!

Strop
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Strop
10,817 posts
Bard

Bottom line: 50000 words of original fiction written during November itself.

If you've got content or notes of varying detail because that helps you, fine, but generally if you actually have pages written, you're already restricting yourself. Enter pre-written works at your own peril!

FUN FACT: In Courier 12 pt, double-spaced, manuscript-approved format, 50000 words comes out to about 280 A4 pages!

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