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Write a novel in November! | NaNoWriMo 2017

Timu

Member
Reporting. Let's see what my bad horror novel will be like. This is your brain on the Magnus archives.
Hmm, I never fully tried a horror novel before. I always wanted to, but never had the chance. Though if I reboot one of my IPs I may take the horror route in the far, far distant future.
 

W-00

Member
NaNoWriMo preparation time again already? Urgh... I thought about participating the last couple of years but always failed too miserably to want to say anything about it. I tried to start writing daily in September this year to get the creative juices flowing, but then I got really sick and fell out of it. I thought maybe I'd write something for October, but the story I had in mind isn't going anywhere. And I haven't even done anything for Inktober yet...

...

Waitaminute. Inktober? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then by the transitive property, a thousand words are worth a picture! If I can manage to write a thousand words for each prompt for the rest of the month, I might be in decent shape to start writing something when November starts. I might even find a topic I want to expand into a novel!

I may or may not be in. Ask me how things are going in a few days.
 

Shoeless

Member
You're braver writers than I. I've written novels before, and even managed to get literary representation earlier in the year, but cranking out 50K words in one month is not a deadline I could confidently set for myself.

Good luck and godspeed to all you GAFfers that try, though, you have my respect.
 
Dang, do you also do all your plotting and planning by hand in notebooks? I think that would drive me crazy! :p

Ehehehe…. I’m probably at a point most people would consider me insane. >>; Currently I actively have:
Idea book
Idea book pocket
Drabble book
Doodle book
Novel draft book 1 + plotting book
Novel draft book 2 + plotting book

I'm currently combining the stuff in the idea books and drabble stuff into the Hippo Noto. Usually I carry one idea book, drabble book, doodle book, and whatever novel I'm working on (plus my planner, pastel palette pen bag, bold palette pen bag, and fountain pen case). Once NaNo starts the other novels go on hold and I'll just have the idea book and Hippo.

Bujo stuff started leaking into my planning style last year and now it's pretty much an even hybrid. Since I’m going back and forth between two POVs this year, color coding everything and creating a palette for each character has been super fun and useful. Plus it lets me put up pages on my author social media so I don't end up sharing photo after photo of a teacup with the computer screen every time I work.
 

Delio

Member
Ehehehe…. I’m probably at a point most people would consider me insane. >>; Currently I actively have:
Idea book
Idea book pocket
Drabble book
Doodle book
Novel draft book 1 + plotting book
Novel draft book 2 + plotting book

I'm currently combining the stuff in the idea books and drabble stuff into the Hippo Noto. Usually I carry one idea book, drabble book, doodle book, and whatever novel I'm working on (plus my planner, pastel palette pen bag, bold palette pen bag, and fountain pen case). Once NaNo starts the other novels go on hold and I'll just have the idea book and Hippo.

Bujo stuff started leaking into my planning style last year and now it's pretty much an even hybrid. Since I’m going back and forth between two POVs this year, color coding everything and creating a palette for each character has been super fun and useful. Plus it lets me put up pages on my author social media so I don't end up sharing photo after photo of a teacup with the computer screen every time I work.

That's amazing.
 

Sonicbug

Member
Oh no.

I'm reviewing 3 shows, however many manga, and have a D&D campaign to write/run. Last year was depressed-fest and the thing I wrote was terrible. TERRIBLE. Usually I get at least something interesting out of the whole thing but last year... ugh. UGH.

Oh crap, by posting here the nanobot is gonna add me to the list. =[
 

Shoeless

Member
Ehehehe…. I’m probably at a point most people would consider me insane. >>; Currently I actively have:
Idea book
Idea book pocket
Drabble book
Doodle book
Novel draft book 1 + plotting book
Novel draft book 2 + plotting book

Holy crap, that's an insane amount of work. I just carry the ideas in my head and occasionally type a one line note at the end of the MS along the lines of "Need another fight in the middle."
 

Cyan

Banned
Oh no.

I'm reviewing 3 shows, however many manga, and have a D&D campaign to write/run. Last year was depressed-fest and the thing I wrote was terrible. TERRIBLE. Usually I get at least something interesting out of the whole thing but last year... ugh. UGH.

Oh crap, by posting here the nanobot is gonna add me to the list. =[

NaNoBot has no remorse.

Ehehehe.... I'm probably at a point most people would consider me insane. >>; Currently I actively have:
Idea book
Idea book pocket
Drabble book
Doodle book
Novel draft book 1 + plotting book
Novel draft book 2 + plotting book

I'm currently combining the stuff in the idea books and drabble stuff into the Hippo Noto. Usually I carry one idea book, drabble book, doodle book, and whatever novel I'm working on (plus my planner, pastel palette pen bag, bold palette pen bag, and fountain pen case). Once NaNo starts the other novels go on hold and I'll just have the idea book and Hippo.

Bujo stuff started leaking into my planning style last year and now it's pretty much an even hybrid. Since I'm going back and forth between two POVs this year, color coding everything and creating a palette for each character has been super fun and useful. Plus it lets me put up pages on my author social media so I don't end up sharing photo after photo of a teacup with the computer screen every time I work.

Whooaaaaaaa
 

Sch1sm

Member
So do people typically publish their novels they write for this thing? Or do people just do this for fun? I never heard of this before.

I didn't, but it definitely does happen. Last year was my first year, so it was mostly for fun and to see if I could do it. This year, I might look into publishing it after it's edited, if I feel confident in it.
 
I really want to join in, but I am 12 pages into a novel I started a while back. I haven't touched it for a month, but it feels like cheating to finish writing it for nanimo, and I don't know if I got the energy to come up with something else AND finish this current one.
 

zulux21

Member
I really want to join in, but I am 12 pages into a novel I started a while back. I haven't touched it for a month, but it feels like cheating to finish writing it for nanimo, and I don't know if I got the energy to come up with something else AND finish this current one.

I'm just going to write what I am working on.

I treat it as a write 50k words in nov type deal not 50k words of a new project :p
 

Penguin

Member
Gawd it's been almost a decade since I last completed it... I'm having that itch and that work world blues... may join
 

Timu

Member
Ehehehe…. I’m probably at a point most people would consider me insane. >>; Currently I actively have:
Idea book
Idea book pocket
Drabble book
Doodle book
Novel draft book 1 + plotting book
Novel draft book 2 + plotting book

I'm currently combining the stuff in the idea books and drabble stuff into the Hippo Noto. Usually I carry one idea book, drabble book, doodle book, and whatever novel I'm working on (plus my planner, pastel palette pen bag, bold palette pen bag, and fountain pen case). Once NaNo starts the other novels go on hold and I'll just have the idea book and Hippo.

Bujo stuff started leaking into my planning style last year and now it's pretty much an even hybrid. Since I’m going back and forth between two POVs this year, color coding everything and creating a palette for each character has been super fun and useful. Plus it lets me put up pages on my author social media so I don't end up sharing photo after photo of a teacup with the computer screen every time I work.
You're pretty much guaranteed to hit 50k with a setup like that!
 

RedBoot

Member
I really want to join in, but I am 12 pages into a novel I started a while back. I haven't touched it for a month, but it feels like cheating to finish writing it for nanimo, and I don't know if I got the energy to come up with something else AND finish this current one.

People ask this a lot, and IIRC the "spirit" of NaNo is to write something new, but it doesn't really matter and 50k is 50k. Do what ya want. :p

I write off and on all year, so usually I use NaNo to try out new ideas.
 

Cyan

Banned
People ask this a lot, and IIRC the "spirit" of NaNo is to write something new, but it doesn't really matter and 50k is 50k. Do what ya want. :p

I write off and on all year, so usually I use NaNo to try out new ideas.

Correct. It's technically "cheating" because you aren't supposed to start the novel until Nov 1, buuuuut a decent number of people use NaNo to try to make progress in existing works instead of starting something brand-new. I usually suggest first-timers start something new, because it can be really hard to get into the right full-speed-ahead mindset when working on something you've already put a lot of work into. But in the end it's up to the people participating to decide how they'll do it.

If you do do it, just make sure you're only counting words from November!
 

William

Member
I'm going to participate again this year! Started noting down ideas this week, looking forward to getting stuck in.

Thanks for this thread, always a great motivator.
 
Think I am just going to continue a project I started recently. Normally I would want to start a new project, but I literally just got going on this one.

Doubt I will get to 50k, but we will see. I am a full time teacher and a full time student working on my masters degree, but at least I get a week off for Thanksgiving for that last push.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Alright then, sign me up.

K2Y9PFt.gif
 

MilkBeard

Member
Please add me to the list, Cyan.

I am currently engaged in an editing pass of the novel I was writing last year for NaNoWriMo. Once finished, I will begin prepping Act II of the same story for November.

Getting pumped!
 
Never attempted this before, but I’ve always wanted to... it could be the excuse I’ve been waiting for to flesh out characters and a world I’ve been idly thinking about for years now. Guess I’m in! I’ll be brainstorming on the outline for the next couple of weeks I guess 😤💪
 

Sch1sm

Member
How do you guys find the time?

It's in those 15 minutes you waste staring at your ceiling in the morning when you wake up, and at night before you fall asleep, or in the time you idly sit and just chill out.

Essentially, it's in the breaks. NaNo takes over what spare time you have, and if you don't have any, it maybe cuts into your sleep a little, or you make up for it on days where you have blocks of time free.

If a bitch can get through the struggle at the moment then I might be able to finish my novel by November.

You got this, Blasian. Gonna be continuing a project you already started?
 
What what nanowrimos. I'm doing this silly thing again. Add me to the list. Still trying to break the plot, but I think I can pull this off again.
 

Penguin

Member
Ok so some tips/advice for me, what are the best ways to go about creating/writing a villain? Think last time did it... just made them zombies... no real need to flesh (pun!) em out
 
I think the best villains are the ones that mirror the heroes in some way. They should have an ideology that clashes with the hero, but the hero should be able to learn from that ideology to change themselves.

I a zombie infested world, the zombies themselves are not really all that interesting, but they too can reflect something in the survivors, maybe not as individuals, but as what they could (or will?) become.
 

DirtRiver

Member
Count me in! My first time, pretty scared actually as I need to write a Master's thesis in that month as well but I've got that one pretty much under control.

Actually been thinking the last few weeks of a story that was once a crappy short but could actually work as a novel but I'm just not that interested in it and the idea of writing a what is essentially a teenage ghost in first person POV scares me. I dropped it for an idea I had and am now fleshing out, inspired by Robert Jackson Bennet's latest, and amazing, trilogy.

Can't wait to wish for all of it to end with you in November!
 

zulux21

Member
looks like I will be the first to give up.

Given I am likely going to stop writing all together or at least seriously cut back on the amount of time writing it doesn't seem to make sense to sign up for nano since it goes against that change.

so yeah. You can likely remove me from the list. Things might change by Nov, but even if they do I doubt I will be up for nano by then.
 

Cyan

Banned
I need to remember to set up the automated process for NaNoBot. Anyway, should be up through the latest signer-uppers!
 
It's in those 15 minutes you waste staring at your ceiling in the morning when you wake up, and at night before you fall asleep, or in the time you idly sit and just chill out.

Essentially, it's in the breaks. NaNo takes over what spare time you have, and if you don't have any, it maybe cuts into your sleep a little, or you make up for it on days where you have blocks of time free.



You got this, Blasian. Gonna be continuing a project you already started?
I've been working on a novel for three years and in the past 4 or 5 months I've been stuck on the final chapter.
 

Chichikov

Member
Okay, I'm in. I've never attempted this, but I'm nothing if not overconfident when it comes to shit I know very little about.
It also took me like 15 minutes to pick the username so I'm sure this will go really well.
 
So I decided to do a story based in a world with super heroes. I thought it would be fun to write stuff like that. Been thinking of cool powers all day lol.
 

Sch1sm

Member
So do most people have a basic outline of the plot before they begin?

I winged the hell out of it last year. It was my first time around, and it can make for a hell of a difficult time since you can work yourself into corners. I'm outlining this time around, started around when Cyan threw the thread up.
 
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