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"Happy" NaNoWriMo
At least two Hairpin contributors are celebrating the festival of misery that is National Novel Writing Month. Are you? You crazy crazies.
(And if this is the first you've heard of it, you've already missed a day and are thus hopelessly behind, so pretend you never read this. In fact you didn't.)
I am! Wordcount's 2684.I haven't even started the endless run of long, meaningless dream sequences yet, so I can tell this is still the good part.
I know the point of NaNoWriMo is to *make* time to write, but my semester ends first week in Dec., so November always ends up being a big month for deadlines.
Maybe I'll make December my NaNoWriMo
I am! Ready to go!
I anticipated that I would be a day behind on 11/1 and have achieved that goal. GOLD STAR FOR ME.
There's still time! Just make at least two characters have a bad stammer.
@Patrick M …or a habit of quoting dead people and then explaining each quote in excruciating detail. It's not plagiarism, it's poetic license!
My Twitter is just a really really really long-form autobiographical fiction.
@Josh is like Germany Ambitious and Misunderstood
50000 words for the month, ~1667 a day, 15 average words per tweet:
~111 tweets per day.
I think you've can do that handily.
Is there any way I can just transfer the 20,000+ words I've already written for my novel to NaNoWriMo? Is that allowed? Please can we all just silently agree that it's allowed?
@kayjay /whispers no one will know your terrible secret.
@kayjay In a similar vein, I'm just going to call this proposal I'm writing a "novel" about what would happen if things functioned properly in Pakistan.
@Ophelia Well, it's pretty fictional, right?
I am, but I haven't had a chance to write anything else! Also I am continuing the same book from last year. I WILL FINISH IT DAMMIT (I probably won't).
I did this way back during the first year. It was super fun, what with the camaraderie and research via crowd sourcing and all. I haven't done it since 'cause I write stuff for work and I'm terrible at fiction (how do actual humans speak to each other I have no idea?) but my first line was the best thing I've ever written, so I remember it fondly.
@laurel What was it?!
@thenotestaken Don't think I wasn't hoping you would ask. It was, "The car rode high like an old man's pants."
@laurel I want to hire you to write all the novels I read from now on please.
@laurel A++++++++++
@laurel But if it has hilariously terrible dialogue, sell it has a humour book!
I'm participating in NaCoAboNaNoWriMo. (National Complain About &c.)
@deepomega Me too! Every November I start to hate Facebook [even more].
@Lucienne Maybe I just need to embrace my quarter-life crisis.
I just heard about it this morning, signed up, and now made the (very scary) commitment as part of a post-breakup-wontthinkabouttheex kind of thing. Has anyone done it before? Any tips!?
@KatyK
1. Determine what you are going to be Writing Your Novel on. Paper? Better go to that fancy stationary store at the mall. Computer? Well then your laptop had better be up to date, so check out all the computer stores to see what's the latest and greatest laptop for you.
2. Figure out the location for Writing Your Novel. Coffee shops? Tea shops? The library? Spend several evenings (and all weekend) testing the various locations: acoustics, seat comfort, beverage availability and price, etc.
3. Once you determine that you'll probably Write Your Novel at home, make sure you have no distractions. Clean your kitchen, wash your bathroom, do the laundry, steam clean the floors, etc.
Ok, so at the end of the month you'll probably have written 5 words, but you'll have a new laptop, clean house, and some new coffee/tea shops to visit!
@stalkingcat If I got into the fancy stationary store, I'm never coming out. And nothing will get written, ever. But at least I might get some good crafts out of this. Maybe I should do a crafting month, instead. Or a cleaning month (clean one thing a day! starting with your blinds, ending with your knives)
@KatyK
If you try for a cleaning month, then maybe you'll have your novel written! You know, productive procrastination. "I need to clean my blinds, but first I just need to write a couple pages…"
@KatyK have a set word count goal for each day! That's the most important thing right there. And if you fall behind (and you probably will), make sure to plan a catch-up weekend where you can just vanish for 48 hours and your family and friends will be ok with that. Good luck!
@stalkingcat That is exactly how I write. Cleaning is a legit form of procrastination.
Every year I swear to attempt NaNoWriMo, and every year I fail MISERABLY. I even tried to do NaNoBloMo (where you write a blog post every day in November) once and failed at that too. Basically, it's pain in poorly written book form.
Also, why does it have to be in November? November is my birthday month AND Thanksgiving, and I'm usually too busy getting my booze and food on to be concerned with writing.
@Miss Cay Ooof NaNoBloMo is not a good acronym.
I read this article I think last year about how NaNoWriMo was a hoax started by writers in the bay area who wanted a month off from zealous fans and people asking for editing/reviews, but I cannot find the article anywhere. Did anyone else see this or was it an elaborate fever dream?
@aliceandstuff: I didn't see that article but I know the founder a little and did NaNoWriMo the first year. I think he was a freelance writer for Lonely Planet travel guides when I met him, but NaNoWriMo's founding wasn't by any means a "hoax". Chris is a sincere person (also funny and super cute, etc.).
I tried that last year. I got three pages in and decided it was a hopeless endeavor. I think this was around 11/09 or so. I've never worked well with deadlines.
Want to know the plot? OK! Well, so far, it was a clever, funny, yet lonely single girl living in Seattle (what? autobiographical? Maybe, who knows!) and one night she was woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night! And it was her friend in Miami (they had been estranged for yearsss though, weird) and the friend needed my protagonist to get to Florida RIGHT AWAY to help her deal with a mysterious secret emergency. WHAT COULD IT BE
That's where I ended/quit my tale, so… eternal cliff-hanger for all. You're welcome.
I am ankle deep in it!
There was talk on the google group board about a PinWriMo or something… I am still all about that but I am reluctant to spearhead crazy internet tasks unless I can be sure it won't just be me looking sadly at my computer screen cause no one joined my e-party
I finished two years in a row, then tried and failed two years in a row. Now, I don't even try. It was really fun while it lasted, though! It's an interesting experience for sure, just not something I'm interesting in making time for anymore.
I'm doing my own, uh, ChWriMo…chapbook writing month…because I'm finishing this fucking manuscript by Thanksgiving OR ELSE.
This is HAPPENING, bitches! I've never done it before and am terrified!
@femme cassidy It was a mental workout for me. It developed my reasoning and critical thinking skills–longform fiction requires you to work out plot points logically over a long arc, something I struggle with over the length of a blog comment. So I was very pleased with myself for finishing (or even taking it on seriously).
ETA: This was meant to be encouraging that it's a worthwhile exercise!
@laurel Thanks! I think it will be super good for me. I had a recent employment-related disaster that kind of killed my confidence in my writing, so now whenever I sit down to write I end up agonizing and beating myself up for not being able to find the perfect word. Hopefully, the insane push to JUST GET SOME FUCKING WORDS ON THE PAGE DAMMIT will get me through this stupid block.
@femme cassidy
Not that you need my advice, but that blocked beginning feeling is very familiar to me. I've found you don't have to write from the beginning. You can write the fun parts first, the scenes or conversations or even single observations or phrases that are already floating around in your head (for me, those are usually scenes of sex or fighting, natch) as they come. Later, you'll find there's a sequence and structure that knits it all together. I'm aways surprised by how well it works out.
In other words, "When we read, we start at the beginning and continue until we reach the end. When we write, we start in the middle and fight our way out." – Vickie Karp
I'm doing NaGraSchAppMo. National Grad School Applying Month. All the pain, none of the supportive online community, plus you know there are actual committees of people out there just waiting to judge you.
@annepersand
Everyone who has ever applied to grad school is your supportive online community! It was YEARS ago but I remember it well…Sigh. And grad school was great and totally worth all the annoyance.
Good luck!
@annepersand Don't worry, we on the 'Pin feel you! I am actually currently in grad school and applying for MORE grad school (my Ph.D) so if nothing else we can have a little supportive online community of our own!
@annepersand Why do all the good programs only take 6 people! Why!
@annepersand Yaaay! Same boat, same boat! *starts scooping water out of rapidly sinking boat with an old jam jar*
@Lucienne I have been trying to do Math that Rationalizes It, being like, well if the top 30 or so programs take an average of 7 people, then that's 210 people who will get a spot and you're not really competing with everyone who's applying, you're competing with the "good" candidates but basically all the math falls apart when I don't actually know if I'm a Good Candidate or not and also there are probably way more than 200 of those anyway. (!) (!!) (!!!!!!!!!!!)
@The Lady of Shalott Yay PhD! That's my boat, too. English! Because I'm not deeply committed to employment as a life plan!
@annepersand Yeah, exactly! I went to a very small school, majored in a tiny/kind of weird department, and have no idea how competitive I "really" am (and my GRE scores don't help there). Plus I am applying to philosophy programs, so really I should probably just examine all my life choices very carefully.
(Haha, that is what philosophy is for!)
@annepersand I am too! But I finished my undergrad five years ago and I can only find three papers from back then and two are not useful for this so I have to fix up the adequate one. And finish my statement of intent. And write to professors I haven't spoken with in years.
I'm in it! Anticipating two weeks of medium productivity followed by one epic drunken meltdown divided by the power of healing pizza.
I'm doing it, and I must be naive or in denial, because I'm really excited about it. I'm not sure if I'll get to 50k words by the end of the month, but the structure/deadline of having just this one month to commit myself makes the whole thing feel doable. At the very least, the story idea I've been kicking around for six months is finally going to see the light of day! I'm hopeful! (We'll see where I am in two weeks.)
I tried it the last two years, failed miserably. I miiiiight do it this year but I have ZERO IDEAS! Maybe I'll spend today brainstorming…
I did last year! And got to 50K! And finished my novel! I'm going to attempt it this year, but now I'm in grad school. *grumble grumble*
i attempted this in 2006 and all i typed out all month was: "NaNoBloMe."
I have a YA fantasy idea I want to write and this would be such a fun way to work on it! But with a 4 month old, I'm lucky to get ten minutes to myself in a day. Maybe next year….
@piggie Oh, I just need to tell you how much I love Piggie and those books and your icon and oh, everything, I guess.
I am doing this, but am behind (0 words and counting). I plan to type all of next week until my fingers are bloody stumps. And then cackle a bit. Ok, a lot.
I'm doing the blog posting one (NaPoBlahblah as I like to call it), but writing a novel in a month isn't going to happen.
I'm doing NaKniSweMo (national knit a sweater month) instead! Because the writing, it is not good.
You know, I'd probably be more excited about NaNoWriMo and actually consider doing it if I felt like it really valued the editing and rewriting aspects of writing rather than getting 50k words.
I dunno. It's great for people who can do that and accomplish something, but it feels kind of alienating to someone who can't write very quickly.
(qq more, amirite)
I'd certainly like to be in a collective that large to practice writing casually, but if it means devoting any and all time not doing schoolwork only to not be able to reach the 50k… I'd rather practice drawing. :V
I'm already hopelessly behind, but I'm trying. Lesbian multiracial fantasy novel where the love interest has a developmental disorder! I'm going all the way! I've never got past 10 pages before, but I'm shooting for half the ideal wordcount this time.
How to Write a Book in Three Days: Lessons from Michael Moorcock
A simple four-item formula for turning story into fiction
In case anyone is interested in having a fabulous breakdown on the 30th after having come just 1,000 words shy of the goal.
This year I have a previous commitment to National Novel Writing The Same Novel For Half A Decade And Revising It For The Very Last Time Really I Swear And Then I WILL Start Shopping It Before The Holidays Hit Instead Of Punking Out AGAIN Month…. so my heart is with you guys. Good luck, all.
I'm doing it this year. Tried once before, and failed miserably, but this time I'm not taking classes at the same time. This is also my first time doing any kind of historical fiction. I've not signed up officially, but I'm doing timed speed-writes on Google+ hangouts with a friend who is also participating.
Day 2 word count: 4,303 so far. I may try to write more after dinner, because I suspect that it will be less easy to meet my quota for Day 3 (5,001) tomorrow.
I'm doing it again this year. I did it and succeeded 2 years ago, but I was unemployed and that made it really easy to do. I tried last year and failed miserably. But, I'm doing pretty good right now – 5000 words today (but I stayed home sick). So, I'm thinking the only way I can do it is to be unemployed/out sick for the entire month. Sigh. But I'm going to keep on trying.
Book idea: Post-apocalyptic world where all of the cities are underground. My heroine was accidentally frozen before the apocalypse and wakes up to find out being blonde and pale makes her a freak of nature that people are afraid of (sun sickness spreader). So, it's her journey in the new world as a total freak. Oh, and there's a serial killer in it too. Yeah, way too much to handle I think. But it's the same book I've been working on for 2 years, so hey, maybe this year I'll finish it!
For years I've had stories swimming inside my head and it has only occurred to me now that I should probably start writing them down. So I'm in! I actually had dreams about getting up early and working on it.
This is the eighth (!!) year i've signed up. So far I have seven novel-starts.
Also, can I count the 1500 words I wrote in an hour today for work?
@trefoil I am also on my eighth year, or maybe I have eight years under my belt? I started in 2003 and have won every year but 04 when I was asked to write a weekly entertainment column and concentrated on that instead.
This year I am writing a YA about a girl who is practicing for a play, pleading with God for the healing of her beloved, when a genie pops out of her props and can't leave until he grants her wish. So they have to go find someone named Eugene who is badly injured so the genie can hit the road…
Currently 3407 words into – pretty much the bare minimum.
I'm doing this too! Just signed up today so I'm a day late already. I have ZERO words so far but I do have a glimmer of an idea. Well more than a glimmer at this point. Must get cracking.
I didn't even know there was such a month! But coincidentally I've just started writing something for the first time in years. Now I know it's NaNoWriMo I have a wonderful, warm, supported kind of feeling.
Also the bf is doing Movember, so we're very participate-y at the moment.
I was thinking of doing NaNoWriMo, but decided I wanted to be a reader instead of a writer, so instead I am reading one novel every day for the month of November. I'm calling it NaNoReMo
Somebody's got to read all those novels!
http://gettingbetteratthings.com/2011/10/nanoremo/