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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 14, 2016 17:42:16 GMT -5
Welcome to the NaNoWriMo thread! Here you can discuss your story ideas, vent about things that are going wrong, get advice from fellow NaNoers about whatever you're having difficulties with, and participate in challenges in order to help boost that word count! (Shameless promotion: add me on the regular website, I'm RavenclawAuthor333)
What is NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short) is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in the thirty days of November. You can sign up for the website at nanowrimo.org or the youth site at ywp.nanowrimo.org if you think that 50k is just an absolutely ridiculous amount of words (or you want to push yourself further!) If you're reading this right now and haven't started yet, well, the later into the month this is the harder it will be, but you can sign up whenever you want! It will just be a bit more difficult since the time limit would be shorter.
Challenges!
November 5th is "Double-up Donation Day". The goal: double your current word count! If you haven't gotten far yet, don't worry because you can use this day to boost up your word count if you want! It also serves as a comfortable space for you to fall back into in case something horrible happens halfway through the month and you can't write. Bragging rights if you manage to actually double your word count. (There's also a thing for donating on the website, where they try to raise $100,000 in 24 hours. Go ahead and do that if you want to! I am unemployed and a child so I won't be doing it, but I feel like this should be mentioned.) (Alternatively, you can donate motivation to me so I can actually write instead of procrastinating!) (If only.)
... if you have any ideas for other challenges or pep talks or writing tips or prompts or anything else on the front page, please let me know. I have awful organizational skills so please help me out here!
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NaNoWriMo!
Sept 14, 2016 17:55:27 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by kiwi cheesecake on Sept 14, 2016 17:55:27 GMT -5
Erm...
Last year I tried...
With a story that was already half-written...
AND I still missed the mark lol
School sucks.
But yeah, I think I have a basic concept this time, and I'll try not to cheat...
Much.
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 14, 2016 18:31:59 GMT -5
I think you still did better than I did, I got almost 10k in before completely giving up. Bleh.
I was really looking forward to this but I just have so much homework this year that I don't know if I'll be able to do it. With any luck the homework will calm down by November? Or at least I'll know how to manage it?
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NaNoWriMo!
Sept 14, 2016 21:01:04 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by kiwi cheesecake on Sept 14, 2016 21:01:04 GMT -5
Yeah, the managing it is the problem. Sometimes I just don't do it, but I can't anymore. Yeah, but I'm going to choose one of the two ideas I have- a sequel to something else I've written, or a story about my bae Atale.
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 14, 2016 22:32:40 GMT -5
I've never really been overwhelmed while writing, I just get really upset with the poor quality of my writing and then fall behind and it's a really vicious cycle and it sucks.
This year I'm not really doing anything ambitious, just trying to get ~something~ out, and it's definitely not going to be readable until I rewrite it a few times.
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Post by llavoie -- on Sept 15, 2016 2:16:02 GMT -5
I would be really interested in this.
I've attempted NaNoWriMo in previous years.
And by attempted I mean I told everybody I was doing it and made an account and never wrote a single word, lol.
But I've had this really cool idea running around my head for the last year and I'd really like to play with it.
Only problem is I have zero idea where to start. d:
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NaNoWriMo!
Sept 15, 2016 3:13:51 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2016 3:13:51 GMT -5
Hey! I'll be trying it myself this year. I haven't quite met the mark the past two years, but I'll certainly be trying out a new idea I had and trying to make the full 50,000 this time.
If anyone wants to add me as a buddy, I'm Earth Wolf-Howl on the site.
As for my story- I haven't quite figured out what it's about, just that it's primarily set in a harsh locale known as the Outlands, and that it follows a thief main character.
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Post by llavoie -- on Sept 15, 2016 16:27:50 GMT -5
The more I'm thinking about this the more I want to do it. It'd be really nice to have a group of people to bounce things off of and get advice from.
Because I seriously have this really cool idea, I just don't know how to really play it out and how to keep people interested.
And I'll need a lot of different voices for it, so it would be amazing to have a lot of different personalities giving me ideas.
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 15, 2016 17:28:34 GMT -5
I would be really interested in this. I've attempted NaNoWriMo in previous years. And by attempted I mean I told everybody I was doing it and made an account and never wrote a single word, lol. But I've had this really cool idea running around my head for the last year and I'd really like to play with it. Only problem is I have zero idea where to start. d: "Told everybody I was doing it and made an account and never wrote a single word" pretty much sums up my experience with NaNoWriMo, don't worry. There's plenty of time to figure out the idea! That's part of the reason why I made this thing relatively early-ish. Hey! I'll be trying it myself this year. I haven't quite met the mark the past two years, but I'll certainly be trying out a new idea I had and trying to make the full 50,000 this time. If anyone wants to add me as a buddy, I'm Earth Wolf-Howl on the site. As for my story- I haven't quite figured out what it's about, just that it's primarily set in a harsh locale known as the Outlands, and that it follows a thief main character. I've added you as a buddy! The story idea sounds cool; thieves are always fun to work with. The more I'm thinking about this the more I want to do it. It'd be really nice to have a group of people to bounce things off of and get advice from.
Because I seriously have this really cool idea, I just don't know how to really play it out and how to keep people interested.
And I'll need a lot of different voices for it, so it would be amazing to have a lot of different personalities giving me ideas. And that's why I've made the thread! I might be able to give some advice. Maybe. I still don't really know what I'm doing myself, so |
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NaNoWriMo!
Sept 16, 2016 3:35:01 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2016 3:35:01 GMT -5
Thanks! I'll make sure to add you back.
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it, if only because I love the setting.
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Post by *Ɗαɾƙρσσℓ* on Sept 16, 2016 12:33:07 GMT -5
I did it last year, started late, and got about 25000 words in :3 I'm gonna try again this year and we'll see how it works out. I think I've got things planned out better so hopefully I'll complete it this year xD
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 18, 2016 19:37:17 GMT -5
... I don't think I've fully realized how long it is to NaNo; I'm already freaking out over not having my story planned out when there's still plenty of time left. I've got about 20% of it planned already, I can probably relax a little instead of trying to force ideas out of my head?
One thing I have noticed is that there are certain things that I really love (aka fight scenes) but out of the two stories I am working on right now (one of them being my NaNo story) they're more focused on character developement+ emotional scenes rather than action. There's probably only one swordfight in this whole thing, and even then it's an emotionally significant swordfight. I've also managed to take all of the action-heavy content and make it mostly backstory. Sigh.
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Post by *Ɗαɾƙρσσℓ* on Sept 18, 2016 22:38:30 GMT -5
Writing things that aren't your usual fare is great, you learn how to write a greater variety of emotions and situations. Also broadens your perspective, so it might give you more ideas for when you do go back to whatever you write usually :3
I'm a big fan of fantasy (and to a lesser extent sci-fi), and I've never been able to like Dystopian stories, but I recently found myself writing one, and it's probably the one I'll be working on for NaNoWriMo. If you're enjoying it, just keep writing :3
If you really want more fight scenes, try to figure out how/where they might fit into the plot- and it might help to ask someone who hasn't read the story before, sometimes a fresh perspective helps.
lol and I have the opposite problem. I don't have anything planned and I should really start cause November is fast approaching and I have even less free time than I did last year xD
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Post by llavoie -- on Sept 18, 2016 23:27:34 GMT -5
I have nothing planned,just this idea in my head, and I have no idea where to start. Writing used to come so easily for me but I went through a rough few years and stopped doing pretty much everything I loved, including writing, and I'm having a really hard time getting back into it. I want so badly to get this story out on paper - er, computer? - but I have no clue what to do, lol
What are some of your planning processes? Like, what do you do?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2016 3:17:55 GMT -5
I have nothing planned,just this idea in my head, and I have no idea where to start. Writing used to come so easily for me but I went through a rough few years and stopped doing pretty much everything I loved, including writing, and I'm having a really hard time getting back into it. I want so badly to get this story out on paper - er, computer? - but I have no clue what to do, lol
What are some of your planning processes? Like, what do you do? Honestly, I don't have much of a planning process. Mostly it invovles worldbuilding. I will, however, make note of characters and their development, plus any potential plot ideas. |
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Post by *Ɗαɾƙρσσℓ* on Sept 19, 2016 14:21:47 GMT -5
I like to do a very general plot outline where I mark a few key scenes/events and approximately where they occur in the story, and then I add some basic ideas of what could happen during the time between the key plot points.
If I know a major event has to happen between two other points but I'm not sure yet what that event is, I note what the event should accomplish/how it should move the plot along and leave it. I can't plot an entire novel with twists and intense plot-relevant scenes in one sitting, so these outlines usually start out really sparse and it takes a while to fill them out :/
They're not definite step-by-step outline by any means, cause I think most writers need to leave some space to make changes/veer off on a different tangent, but it helps to have a loose idea, however non-specific, of the entire plot. It's kind of a fine line between planning enough to keep yourself writing even through writer's block and leaving enough space to let the story naturally develop so you don't get bored. I usually end up either overplanning or underplanning xD
And everyone has their own planning style, so you could end up with a more/less structured method than this. You just have to find what works for you and the story you're working on :3
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Sept 19, 2016 17:48:52 GMT -5
I'm pretty new to planning so I don't really have an organized structure, it's kind of all over the place. I usually start out with a basic plot summary where I just kind of sit down and type it all out hurriedly, and by the time I'm finished that I have no energy so I go back to it later, pick out key plot points, and make them into little headings. My plot summary usually contains a lot of unnecessary punctuation, the phrase "something happens here", and tildes?
Anyways over the next while I fully flesh out each of the plot points. If I change ideas, I usually just copy+paste them to the bottom of the document because I don't like getting rid of things and enjoy knowing where I started. I also have a few sections where I write down key characters, what significance they have to the plot, and other details. The plot points are also really general so even if how they come about changes the structure stays mostly the same.
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Post by Winona on Sept 21, 2016 16:02:00 GMT -5
Ah. Yes. NaNoWriMo. The bane to my existence.
I think I've tried it three years in a row...?
One year with a partially finished story. Failed completely even with cheating.
Second year tried to lengthen what one of my short stories into a full-length book. Failed even worse than the previous year. (I think I did this twice, actually. In two different years tried to lengthen two different stories.)
Third year had my story more or less planned out. Had the ending, anyway. Some of the middle stuff. Had a pretty good outline going, but lost my buzz when I thought it was getting stupid. Quit it and then took Creative Writing and dumbed it down into a short, ten-page story. Got a 100% on that and lots of great comments. =3
This year, I am writing a story based on an rp that I made a few years ago on the old forums. It lasted for a good three years before dying. (R.I.P. Shadow Realm. You were my single greatest accomplishment) I still talk with the members, though. Facebook, man.
ANYWAY... I flushed out the world surrounding it a bit more and now have a good handle on my setting. Absolutely love the place. I would love to rp it with some people, but I don't want people stealing my ideas. Because I want to make it an actual story and I don't want people taking my ideas. I've got the history of several cities down. Their customs and government structures, man. I can't give that up.
Which sucks because rping stuff helps me flush out the story ideas for my, well, story better. Helps me with character development and the likes. It also keeps me more interested in the story so that I don't just give up if I don't feel like "OH, I'm the only one who cares about this." I like to share my stories with people and get feedback... well, mostly just support. XD
ANYWAY, I have been working on it like mad, so if I manage to finish the first draft before November, I'll probably use NaNoWriMo to help me "edit" it. Like, I'll go through and rewrite whole chapters and put down those word counts. Because that's not cheating in the least! (Sarcasm.)
I did make a Dungeons and Dragons version of it that went pretty well. I'm basically just following what happened throughout that little adventure for the basis of my plot. XD
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Post by Thrushheart on Sept 21, 2016 17:21:10 GMT -5
I'm joining in again this year! I started in 2012, hit the mark. 2013 I hit 50,000 a day early. 2014 was bad.... I wrote a paragraph the first day, then got swamped with college stuff the rest of the month and never looked at it again.
Then last year was amazing. I made it to around 85,000 words with a rebel project I chose at the last minute. I picked up on a story I had started years ago, and continued it as far as the month would let me.
This year... I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. Either the next book of last year's project, some other continuation, or starting a new modern fantasy project I've had in mind since last year, where I've only planned out extremely vague details. If I do that one I'm probably going to be challenging a friend to write with a similar plot, so that we can see how each of us interprets it.
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Post by llavoie -- on Sept 22, 2016 18:39:46 GMT -5
I've always sucked at planning because I get bored and frustrated and so easily distracted. I'll sit down to do it and five minutes later I'm done cause I can't get a single idea down, or I don't know how to flesh out the one I already have. I'm too impatient to write a book but I want to so. badly. So seeing how everybody else does it should really help me figure out my own method and style. Let's hope, at least.
And that's really cool, Blaze! Maybe you could do a small private rp with a few people to help figure things out with the Shadow Realm?
And honestly, Thrush is the bane of my existence. Curse you for being able to reach your goals. >_>
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Post by Thrushheart on Sept 22, 2016 18:49:51 GMT -5
llavoie --Sorry... Does it help that I've never actually finished a story during the month...? Or that last year part of the reason I made it that far was because over half of what I wrote was a rewrite...? The story from the first year I got... probably not even 3/4 through the story, and had no idea how I wanted to end it so I never really went back. 2013 I had vague ideas to continue my story from the 1/3 of the way I made through it.... but it's also been sitting for a long time. Last year's had been planned for a long time though, and I forced myself to go back and finish that mess of a first book back in March as a goal I had to reach before quitting my old job. Plus the first couple years I kind of worked writing into my homework schedule and I didn't have a job, so I felt like I had to do it. And last year I was hardly getting any hours at work and had more free time than I knew what to do with, so I forced myself to write more. Going to a lot of write-ins and doing word wars helped way more than I thought they would too.
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Post by petrarch on Sept 22, 2016 19:10:36 GMT -5
Oh jeez, the amount of times I've started NaNoWriMo with the intentions of finishing. It's never truly worked out because either I didn't have a plan or I just didn't have the time. Last year I started a novel that was loosely tied to the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and I got up to around 5,000 words until I stopped. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it this year to be honest, but I do have an idea (not a outline).
I've always wanted to be an author but I guess the motivation to actually write out my words and ideas out have been too overwhelming.
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Non-binary
eph 💕
transed my gender 👍
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Post by eph 💕 on Oct 6, 2016 13:41:20 GMT -5
I'm trying it for the first time this year. I'd always hear about it but I've never had the guts to join. Plus I'm no good at finishing stories, much less my own original ideas. :P I'm hoping I can at least get a few thousand in; college will probably destroy me before the end of the month, but I'm determined to write this idea to completion, even if I don't win NaNoWriMo. I'm a pantser by nature, so I don't have much prep done besides a rough outline and an inspiration playlist. I'm foreverephemeral; feel free to add me as a buddy. (:
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Post by fuzzytail333 on Oct 20, 2016 17:27:27 GMT -5
Figured I'd bump this up since we're closer to NaNo now!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2016 23:20:13 GMT -5
I'm trying it this year!
Have you guys found the wcf thread on the Nano site? (: it's in the Writing Groups & Clubs section.
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Post by Thrushheart on Oct 20, 2016 23:43:06 GMT -5
@thewolfsshadow
I just found it. I'm not sure how to go about jumping in though. I normally stick to my regional forum.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2016 7:53:16 GMT -5
That's fine ^^ just thought I'd let you guys know about it in case you wanted to find a few other wcfers doing it.
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Nightambush
Returning because I miss the vibe and rping! <3
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Post by Nightambush on Oct 22, 2016 13:30:37 GMT -5
I wanted to come back into writing somewhat and was thinking of joining NaNoWriMo unofficially this year. But I need to quickly get the prep work done in order to write my story more neatly. xD Any suggestions?
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Post by *Ɗαɾƙρσσℓ* on Oct 22, 2016 14:26:54 GMT -5
Do you have an idea for a plot/characters? If you do, you can just make reference sheets/lists for characters, worldbuilding, and plot. Just list stuff like character traits/history, cultures/geography, and major plot points to have something to look at for continuity or inspiration if you hit writer's block. Having it in separate lists will help out if you need to quickly look something up while you're writing instead of pausing to go find it in an earlier chapter of your story.
Another option would be to just write a summary of the story, including plot, worldbuilding, and character backstories all together, which would probably take less time, but also have fewer specifics.
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