Thread: And So I Signed Up...

I've been writing a lot of things for the past what, six-seven years? I initiated a lot of "novels". The two things I managed to finish are fan-fiction. The rest ended up in Chapter 5 or so and did not finish. True, I've told myself I'd finish a novel someday. I went so low with my expectations I told myself that the goal is fifteen chapters of roughly 30,000 words.

That was about three years ago.

So far, the only finished novels I have are still the two fan-fiction novellas...

So I finally dug up the courage (don't know how I did it) to sign up and get me on the writing track. I signed-up for NaNo this year and hopefully, I get a novel first draft finished. Don't know how I'll do that, seeing school will just get busier, but I think I could pull this off. *shrug*

1,500 words a day. That's your minimum if you want to finish at 50,000 words in a month. It's doable, even with limited time. I can write a thousand words in an hour if I push myself. Two or three hours at night, every night, and you'll start to see the word-count grow.

It's a great endeavour. You'll enjoy it because you'll switch off that inner editor and concentrate on getting words onto paper. Try Dr Wicked's Write or Die program too. It might help.

Good luck, Fuhrer.

Minor point of interest, it's actually 1667 words a day to reach that 50k goal line at the end of the month. But really, what's another 167 words if you've managed 1500 already, right?

I've never successfully won NaNo, but I find that the experience gives me enough drive to keep plugging away even after November's over. I say have at it, and good luck, Fuhrer!

I was rounding down, Steph, to make it less daunting.

Good to see you, by the way.

Argh, Fuhrer- your courage inspired me and I did the same. So much for not feeling daunted- just reading the registration email is making me break out in a cold sweat...

There's really no need for anxiety. You should be able to do it without breaking a sweat. If the task seems daunting, break it down into smaller pieces. Like Sam said up above, a couple hours a day are enough to get the thing done. I recommend planning ahead-get your characters and plot and setting lined up so that you don't have to waste time sitting around dreaming when you should be typing.
This'll be nano 4 for me. 3 wins so far. Two out of three are decent enough for the editorial pencil when their time comes around. The other is being cannibalized.

Good luck, Fuhrer. I think I might do it again this year as well.

Originally Posted by Sam W

1,500 words a day. That's your minimum if you want to finish at 50,000 words in a month. It's doable, even with limited time. I can write a thousand words in an hour if I push myself. Two or three hours at night, every night, and you'll start to see the word-count grow.

It's a great endeavour. You'll enjoy it because you'll switch off that inner editor and concentrate on getting words onto paper. Try Dr Wicked's Write or Die program too. It might help.

Good luck, Fuhrer.

What Sam is telling you is bang on. Get yourself into the zone of writing and just run with it. Don't get hung up on polishing it or even editing until you hit the finish line of that first draft. You will be amazed at the burden that is lifted from your shoulders if you just push forward with the creation process.

Best of luck on this Fuhrer.

I'm going to try NaNoWriMo this year. I've kind of shied away in the past, but I'd like to give it a go this year. I'm not going to try to win, and I won't beat myself up if I fall behind. It's just a push to get something written.

Good luck, everyone!

Aw hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

Btw, what's your username on the NaNo site?

slythgeek. I'm not doing anything yet, though. Just hanging out.

Originally Posted by AvA

Btw, what's your username on the NaNo site?

Kriegskanzler, as always.

I'm officially in, and will query the higher-ups about a WF forum in nano. My username is the same.

My username on NaNo is alex_turner.

@ moderan: Added you to my buddy list. In case you missed it, my username is Kriegskanzler.