NaNoWriMo 2016

[Monty Pendleton]

November is nearly upon us! Which means (amongst other things, like spending more money on Christmas presents than you have) National Novel Writing Month.

If you don't know what this is, here's an explanation ripped straight from nanowrimo.org:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.

On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

Basically, tons of people from all around the world try to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. This equates to 1,667 words per day, which is totally do-able! The idea is not to produce a brilliant manuscript, but to just sit down and write a first draft, even if all you get down on the page is gibberish. A lot of writers (myself included) struggle to get past the first few chapters of a novel, so this is a great exercise for powering through and keeping yourself disciplined.

The website allows you to update your word count daily, add writing buddies and track their own progress, join in conversations and some other fun stuff to keep you inspired.

So, who will be participating this year?! Have you planned your story, or when November 1st comes around will you just wing it and see what happens? What's your book called? What's the genre, and what's it going to be about? I'm going to keep a little table of participants and their usernames for people to add each other, so feel free to throw yours in and I'll add it!!

OOC Name	NaNo Username	Book Title	Genre
Claire	Indigomery	The Invention of Heaven	YA
Rowan	Tomoyan	Between Shores	Romance
Daniel (Danyel Withsby)	Daixtey	Untitled	History
Dan (James Cade)	Danielw450	Untitled	Romance
Aaron (Missouri Svajone)	Ripthesehufflepuffs	A Fall From Grace	Fantasy/Romance
Daphne	Daffzcookie	Her Fragile Beauty	Fantasy
Teigan	Ravenclawwritingprincess	A Life For You	Undecided
Tenile	Blueandpieka	Untitled	Fantasy

[th colspan="4"]NaNoWriMo 2016 Participants[/th]

I will update this info if title/genre changes are made!​

 

[Harley Tsuji]

I'm participating! I'm the former Municipal Liason (organiser/forum admin) for my region & I haven't participated since handing over the reigns because the stress of organising events etc completely burned out all my writing enthusiasm. I'm dipping my toe back in the water for the first time since, but my goal is not to pressure myself like I used to with the eyes of a region on my word count, so don't be surprised if I don't make it to the end I'm trying to just see the value in however much writing I do as writing I wouldn't have done otherwise, rather than go all-in like I used to.

I'm tomoyan on the site if anyone wants to be buddies, and I'm writing some sort of... romance... maybe... that's perhaps called Between Shores but might change name because pantsing (writing by the seat of your pants with no plan) is the best way to be

 

[Danyel Withsby]

Well seeing this will be the first time I ever participate. I don't exactly know what I will do. I only know so far I don't fit in my region, since I chose to talk only english online and hate writing German so I think it is certain my novel will be in English.

Maybe do something with a history scenario inspired thing, since I love playing around with alternate history. Don't know yet.

 

[Professor James Cade]

I am all over this. I'm the same as you Claire, I struggle to power through the first couple of chapters, I'm never happy with what I've written so I go over them, and in some instances rewrite the same chapter three or four times to the point I no longer want to write that story anymore.

My profile:

http://nanowrimo.org/participants/danielw450

As for the novel I will be attempting. I've changed my mind three times in the last hour, but I think I'm going to tackle a romance novel idea I've been batting around for a few months. It is currently untitled so I'll update that soon. I'm terrible at novel titles, nothing ever seems to make me happy.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Rowan: Absolutely! That's an important thing to remember, too - just because 50,000 words means you've 'won' doesn't mean that not reaching that goal means you've 'lost.' If you write 5,000 words that's 5,000 more than you'd have had if you hadn't taken part at all!! I hope you find your enthusiasm again

Daniel: Yass do it! You still have a week to decide, anyway!

Dan: Ugh I knoow right, both to the rewriting and rewriting and then hating it and to the picking a title I have about 3 I could use but I don't like them enough. I probably won't pick a title for a while, because I like to take it from a line in the story

 

[Missouri Svajone]

So I've always been wanting to do 30 day writing challenges but I usually get to day three then forget all about it, but seeing as their is a handful of us on the site participating, I'm sure this time I'll find the motivation to plod through.

My Profile:

http://nanowrimo.org/participants/ripthesehufflepuffs

My Novel, titled "A Fall From Grace" is going to be a fantasy/romance twist on the Angel Lucifer's fall from Heaven, while containing other mythical references. It's an idea that's been rattling around for a while now and this seems like the best way to get a draft of it done!

(Aaron! xoxo)

 

[Odette Madison]

So I've participated twice and won twice so far, but this year I'm not going to be too stressed out about winning. I just want to have fun writing!

My idea this year is to write a fantasy book that's loosely based on Beauty and the Beast but with lesbians. But I'll probably change a lot about the actual story. The hesitant title right now is Her Fragile Beauty

My nanowrimo profile is here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/daffzcookie

 

[Sloane Halliwell]

I've actually never officially joined NaNoWriMo but used to do it on my own. I should join this year, though I'll be starting late as I don't get home until the 6th. Oh well, better late than never!


http://nanowrimo.org/participants/ravenclawwritingprincess​

 

[Alessio Lichester-Raven]

I used to do something similar with a small group of friends, but I've never really had the dedication to make an account. But I don't see why not now! I have a tendency to get waaaaay too many ideas and then I run myself into the ground trying to tie them all together into a finished product. So, it's rarely a case of me going over my work, but er... well, finishing it in a timely manner (or at all).

https://nanowrimo.org/participants/blueandpieka

My novel doesn't have a title yet, as I generally get those when I've finished (aka never), and right now I don't have much beyond a main character. It's basically going to be a frantic compilation of rubbish that'll hopefully read like a storyline once I'm done with it. For now, I'll say that it's either distopian, or supernatural. Something along the fantasy genre in any case. There will for sure be a fight scene though, I've always wanted to write an awesome fight scene.​

 

[Abrax Dragonslayer]

So NaNoWriMo is finally here? anyone started anything? anyone winging it?

I've already started writing and I'm quite surprised that I've wrote for almost an hour and still haven't given up yet. Really buzzed for this!

(I wish luck to you all, and I want updates people )

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Nice! I also started an hour ago and I have a whole 193 words basically winging it, though I have the first few chapters sorted I think.

Woohoo!

 

[Abrax Dragonslayer]

I've decided to go far a chapter a day [including prologue] all aiming for the daily word target (1,667?) the only thing helping me cope with the state of my writing so far is once I've done the 30 days I can go back over it slower and improve. [totally gonna hand the full thing in to my English teacher]

 

[Wren Louise]

I am so surprised I missed this post! This looks so cool

I genuinely admire everyone participating, truly and sincerely. Millions of people all over the world are letting themselves be heard, and it's incredible that I get to read a snippet of your thoughts and dreams in this writing challenge.

It's not something I'd be able to do, unfortunately, because the very idea (at least at the moment) is making me sick with anxiety, but even if it weren't, I can't write without other people's involvement because I have no good ideas. At least none that don't exist in anyone else's world XD

I assume you can't co-write with someone? Not that co-writing would be banned, or anything, but it doesn't look like the point of the exercise.​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Cool, Aaron! Yeah, so far I've been spending waay too much time trying to perfect sentences, which is why I've hardly written anything. I hate hate hate leaving things imperfect so this is a huge struggle for me

Awhh KR I don't see why you couldn't co-write - the point of the exercise is just to get you writing and fulfilling a deadline, I think, so why not?

 

[Tristan Collins]

Yeah I think Nano is mostly designed just to get you writing, in any form. Many people struggle with what Claire has, where they worry too much about small sentences and then don't get anything done. I think the purpose of Nanowrimo is to just start writing and go on without worrying too much or editing yourself. It's why I really enjoy it! You can always go back later. Though I haven't done that the past two years because neither story was very good.

I'm probably going to be working on more than 1 project and just combine the word counts. I have a few fanfictions that desperately need updating and I feel like writing in an existing world is a bit easier. I'd advice anyone not to worry too much about what 'counts' or not, it's all subjective and you should just do what works for you. Writing anything at all is an improvement over not writing.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

I totally agree with Daphne

Unfortunately I'm coming to realise after 4 hours and only 600 words that the reason I can't write this story is because I just don't like it. But I don't know what else to write.

I don't want to end up 1,667 words behind by day two, but... I just really, really loathe my writing and I'm pretty sure I can't do this

 

[James Woodlock]

It's worth noting I'm yet to write a word.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Good luck to those of you participating!
Don't get too caught up in the deadline you've been given. Even if you don't or won't meet the 'goals' set for Nanowrimo, I admire all of you for even attempting to write that much in a single month. @_@

 

[Marzen Svajone]

(Claire- )
Also to anyone still on the NaNoWriMo site, has anyone read the peptalks? because I 110% recommend them even if you're not going to do the writing part. The most recent one, written by author Daniel Jose Older, genuinely inspires me and I absolutely love his quote:</FONT>

"Walker, there is no path / the path is made by walking."
​

<FONT font="Georgia">

also Cyndi, I wonder collectively how many words you've wrote since you've been on here?? :

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

It's evening here, I have homework and I'm at the tiny word count of 315 but I'm not giving up Every new word I write is another word I wouldn't have written otherwise, at least that's what I keep telling myself

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

also Cyndi, I wonder collectively how many words you've wrote since you've been on here?? :

Hmm...A lot , but I don't have the pressure of a deadline or a word count when I RP so it's fun to me. If either one of those things had been added at any point during my HNZ time, it would feel like work and I'd be gone.

 

[Marzen Svajone]

Day One: Target of 1,667 words completed!

Wow! that genuinely got my heart pumping towards the end as it's slowly drawing closer to midnight and I felt like time was running out.

1,668/1,667 words done!

(got a cheeky head start on tomorrow guys!)

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

I just outright started a day late because I felt horrible yesterday (taking the 'not taking it seriously' goal very seriously) and I'm just over 600 words, and I'm actually enjoying the process of just writing without really worrying about it. Though in true pantser fashion I've completely changed genre already and it's turned into some kind of YA post-post-apocalypse (as in, the postapocalyptic panic is a few generations past and people are pretty settled in a new civilisation but there's still the remains of the old one just sort of lying around) but I'm having fun and that's what counts

Also, I'm rediscovering my writing fave jams from my first few NaNos... this is a Kelly Clarkson zone now >

 

[Wren Louise]

I totally agree with Daphne

Unfortunately I'm coming to realise after 4 hours and only 600 words that the reason I can't write this story is because I just don't like it. But I don't know what else to write.

I don't want to end up 1,667 words behind by day two, but... I just really, really loathe my writing and I'm pretty sure I can't do this

Well, why don't you forget about a cohesive story and write snippets? They can be from the same universe of your story, and they might even form a linear narrative, but they don't have to marry up.

Or you can just do snippets of any world- hnz characters, some of your screenplays (hilarious, btw, I've still got a scene saved that I go back and read for a giggle), even some poetry.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

Day two. Word count: 0

Struggling to see how I'll write anything at this point.

Questioning my decision to do this.