NaNoWriMo

[jackie106]

Has anyone here participated in NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/)? Were you able to meet your goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month? Did you find the experience worthwhile?

Thanks,
Jackie

[Akuma]

I was too scared to try it. -_-*whimper*

[AdamH]

I've never tried it but I've heard of it. But if you want scary, check out this contest: http://www.3daynovel.com/It's been going on for 28 years and counting.

[scribbler1382]

That is scary.

[rowriter]

I didn't know about NaNoWriMo until earlier this year, but I'm very excited about participating this year! I'm working on my first novel now, and hope to be finished by mid-Sept or so, and I want my second to be a NaNoWriMo novel. I can't wait to sign up.
I don't think I'll be doing the 3-day novel! PHEW! You never know, though.

[sunandshadow]

I didn't know about NaNoWriMo until earlier this year, but I'm very excited about participating this year! I'm working on my first novel now, and hope to be finished by mid-Sept or so, and I want my second to be a NaNoWriMo novel. I can't wait to sign up.

Lol I'm just hoping I'll be done outlining my first novel in time to attempt to actually write the thing during NaNoWriMo. (currently have the outline cut in pieces of 5 different colors of paper spread all over my dining room table, much to my roommate's annoyance. ;) )

[Euan H.]

Has anyone here participated in NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/)? Were you able to meet your goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month? Did you find the experience worthwhile?

Thanks,
Jackie

I participated (although I didn't officially sign-up) last year. I wrote about 2,000 words a day, and although i got through the 50, 000 words in the month allowed, I didn't finish the book until mid-December. I enjoyed it. Was it worthwile? I think so.

I've got to say though that 50,000 words in a month is not as big a target as it seems. I've written that in the last thirty days. Writing 2,000 words a day of first draft material is not *that* hard.

[Button]

If you have a good typing speed and your ideas flow out of you pretty easily, it's not a problem to finish 50,000 in a month.

I did last year's NaNo but I didn't finish that book. I got lagged with my flow and eventually stopped at 10,000. I like the book, my thought process just stopped though so I stopped.

But once I get up to speed, it's 5,000 words a day. This all depends on how the words are flowing. Heck, I can write a 500 word article in five minutes if I know the subject matter well enough.

[Promoman]

I have an excellent excuse for not participating: since I work in TV, and since November is a "Sweeps" month, I'm too busy to devote that much time to such a project. If they scheduled it in a non-sweeps month, I still don't know that I'd try it, because I don't know that I would be pleased enough with my output to keep going for the whole month.

[NicoleJLeBoeuf]

Done it and won it three years running now. Plan to do it again this year. Of the three 50K-word drafts, the latest is mellowing on ZIP drive and the other two are in various stages of revision.

I totally recommend it, especially if you've never done it before. Of course, if you want it to be a productive, fulfilling experience, it's best to approach it with a publishable book in mind. Not that the book will be publishable by the end of November, of course; but if by Dec 1 you have a draft of a story that could, with sufficient revision, turn into something you'd submit to an agent, that's a lot more useful than if you got to 50K by refusing to use contractions, making people say things twice, and transcribing your characters' sing-along-with-the-80s sessions. ;)

I also totally recommend poking your head into your regional forum once or twice a week at least. I think NaNoWriMo works so well because it isn't just a deadline; it's a deadline with a support structure. You can keep in touch with others who are trying to meet the same 50K goal, egg 'em on, drop in on the forum for a midnight marathon, whatever. Writing is mainly a solitary act, true, but there are ways in which it can be made less solitary. I got a lot of writing done at group write-ins.

Having done this a few times, I've finally figured out that I'm an outlining novelist, and not the other kind. Go me. The second year, I started with a premise and not much else, and found out that it was hell. Whenever I got stuck, I had no escape route. I couldn't skip ahead and write later chapters because I hadn't yet written the chapters that would inform those later chapters. I'm now editing the novel, and realizing that I didn't know my characters well at all in the first draft. Getting to know them better and imposing a chapter outline on the thing is making the rewrite finally happen. The third year, I had more of a structure ready to go, so I was able to bounce around wherever the day's inspiration took me, and the novel sort of grew like mold spores, radiating out from various points until a complete blanket of fuzz covered the used-to-been bare bones. Yum. Mold fuzz. Anyway.

The first year, though, it was a total surprise to me that I could write a novel. I thought I was a short story gal and nothing else. Now, my short story ideas have a tendency to turn into novels. What a difference November makes, right?

Er. Well. Yeah. I hope this was helpful for someoneortwo. Or at least amusing. In sum: Go go go go nanowrimo! Muahahaha.

[LadyLazarus]

I've done it 2 years but have never managed to finish the novel :cry: Got to almost 20,000 words last year if I recall correctly. I think it IS still worthwhile tho, as it helps you to get into the practice of writing every day. I just found for me personally that life + work and everything else got in the way, but then perhaps I wasn't prioritising my time properly! The forums were great, as someone else mentioned. Unfortunately I won't be taking part this year, as I'm having a baby sometime in September, and that would just be stupid!:ROFL:

[DragonHeart]

Although I've known of NaNoWriMo for a few years I've never participated. I'm hoping to this year though, I think it will be a good learning experience. In the next month or so I'll be starting to put together a basic outline and doing any research I think will be necessary. I have several novel ideas bouncing around, so I might as well put one to good use. :)

~DragonHeart~

[KTC]

I've done both Nanowrimo and the 3Day marathon. There is, in fact, a second three day marathon...in Huntsville, Ontario...it just occurred on the weekend of the 16th of July.(The Huntsville one is actually carried out in a cafe...where the people actually sit in chairs for the weekend...ringing an annoying little bell each time they get another 10 pages completed. I wanted so badly to participate in this one but my holidays were already booked when the date was announced. If it is still going next year, I'll be there...ringing that bell!)

Last year I failed to get the 50,000 words in Nanowrimo...but the previous year I did it. Last year I came close, but was enjoying what I was writing too much...I began working on it. The trick is to write like mad and go back over it in December after the month is over.

I will be participating this year in Nanowrimo...if anything it gets BIC and when it's over you have something to work with.

[debraji]

I did NaNoWriMo in 2003. What did I get out of it?

1. The completed first draft of a novel. The draft had great, gaping holes, and has required extensive editing and rewriting since then, but still--it's the first time I got through to the end on any novel-length draft.

2. The habit of BIC every night, still going strong. Invaluable!

3. A better understanding of how I work best. A rate of 1,000 words/day is more sustainable for me (than the 2K/day I did during NaNo), given my job, commute, household and other repsonsibilities. During that crazy November marathon my husband and son gave me extra support that I couldn't ask of them year-round.

4. The enormous satisfaction of keeping a promise to myself, of pushing myself farther than I'd ever gone before.

[KTC]

Deb,

All good points. I could not have said it better myself. If anyone is on the fence about participating in NaNoWriMo...just read post #14 in this thread. I agree with every comment! (And yes, support of those around you when you're trying to type out 2k a day is imperative!)

[jules]

I did NaNo last year. By January I had comlete draft of a novel, and I'm currently revising it. I think it's one of my better attempts, and I think I may be able to make it into something saleable.

If I hadn't done NaNo, I'd probably be just about finished on that draft now. :)

[Tirjasdyn]

I've done it for the past three years. Failed each time but got a more solid plan for this year.

It is really fun.

[alaskamatt17]

I've been doing 2,000 words a day for about two weeks on my current novel. It's working pretty well (up to 124,000 words right now!), but I think if I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo I'm going to have to up the pace. I've only written one novel that came out under 100,000 words. I have an idea for one that I want to do in November, but it might be too long to finish in a month.

I fully agree that 2k/day is a great pace. You have to make sure, though, that you don't fall victim to the idea that writing 10,000 words in one day gives you a reprieve from writing for the next four days. 2,000 is the minimum, and going over doesn't count toward the next day.

[rowriter]

And don't forget nanoedmo (http://www.nanoedmo.org/) in March! :) (I don't know if I could wait that long...that's 3 months between finished draft and editing...though it doesn't say it must be the nanowrimo draft)

You all are getting me so excited for November! It seems like whether or not a draft gets actually finished, it's a good thing just to git'cher fingers going. I'm getting close to 50k on my first novel (will hit it tomorrow! woo hoo!) so it's hard to imagine how to write a whole novel in 50k...

It's nice to know also that there's so much support on their forums.

[Euan H.]

I fully agree that 2k/day is a great pace. You have to make sure, though, that you don't fall victim to the idea that writing 10,000 words in one day gives you a reprieve from writing for the next four days. 2,000 is the minimum, and going over doesn't count toward the next day.
Heh. definitely. And also don't fall into the trap of saying "Well, I won't do it today, but I'll do four thousand tomorrow."

[hpoppink]

Even if you don't cross the finish line, NaNoWriMo is a fabulous springboard for aspiring writers.

I wrote 4K words in NaNoWriMo last year, my first attempt ... then I gave birth to my second son. Yes, LL, I felt a bit stupid, but my guy was very late, and I needed something to do! Meanwhile, it lit the spark that got me through a novel this year, the first draft of which I just finished this past Monday. (125,500 words, 2.5 months of BIC every day)

I hope to see a lot of you on the NaNoWriMo boards this year.

[pepperlandgirl]

I never participated in NaNoWriMo. Nov. is NOT a convienent time. It was always the month when I had huge essays due in every class, projects due, my tutoring hours would go up, holidays were approaching, finals were approaching...Ugh, November. What a rotten, rotten month.

I'm going to try this year though. No school, part time job, and I already know exactly which project I'mgoing to start.

[jackie106]

Everyone, thanks for all the great feedback! I am definitely going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year and I am glad that other AWers are doing the same.

Jackie