suzakugaiden

I completed it the last two years, with 50k and then 70k. To make it fun, I'm going to try to actually FINISH the novel this year and make it good, instead of just have it trailing on into nothing like in the first two (although I'm gonna incorporate bits of Nano 2 in Main Story Project I'm working on sometime eventually).

When are we allowed to do prewriting and worldbuilding, anyway :3

valeca

Whenever you want. As long as it isn't counted in your 50k, you're good. Most people seem to start the nitty-gritty of planning in October.

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"...make your own nature, not the advice of others, your guide in life." --Pythia, Oracle of Apollo at Delphi

I'm here.

Elysia19

Haha,

Yes, i am entering this year. Its my first year, and i'm pumped! I have a great plot idea (and yes i know not to aim for quality) and cant wait to get writing. I've even gotten 3 friends entering aswell since i've been so excited about it. Im really just glad to get more people into writing. I cant wait to see everyones word counts once we start, but till then, im researching my topic like a maniac

Cheers!

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Iannis

I've planned on doing NaNoWriMo for the last two years. I did some plot outlining the first year. Last year, I even made a few (false) starts, but I don't think I even hit 2k words. This year, I am going to finish. My Chaos-to-Motivation ratio is better. 2007 is my year.

I haven't (really) written fiction in a long time. I have to find a way to write through the voice in my head telling me that everything I write is crap. (I have that problem all the time, not just during NaNoWriMo.) Maybe I should PLAN to write the worst crap possible in November so that I can always tell my inner critic that whatever I am writing, it isn't as bad as that NaNoWriMo thing I wrote.

Butch Mandance

I'm going to give it a shot, even though my better half believes that putting myself under that much pressure will be the final straw to push me over the edge into burbling insanity. Personally I reckon it'll do me good. I've managed to terrify myself into inaction on all my current projects and a month of 'no strings' writing might be just what I need to get going.

In fact I was working on a film script with the step son over the school holidays and did all the pre-writing. I'm at the stage where I have about 140 index cards blu-tacked to the wall and just looking at them causes me to break out into a cold sweat. I reckon that ploughing into it in novel form for NaNo might just be the breakthrough I need.

It'll be my first time, although I once did sneakily set myself the challenge of writing the 50K novel within the month and managed to finish it at 60K. I wasn't quite daft enough to self publish but it did earn me a nice shiny form rejection when I entered it into the Waterstones/This Morning's childrens' novel competition. Perhaps a single quick read through with a red pen wasn't nearly enough editing. Then again, there's always the possibility that it just wasn't very good.

badfaith

I'm participating this year for the first time. I had a rough start to my planning, but I think I finally found the idea that's going to be worth 50,000 words. Hopefully, it won't die a horrible death before I can get it on paper (or in a text file, whichever). lol

Aeris

I've never done NaNoWriMo before and like everyone else who's said that I'm psyched too.

I've gotten my boyfriend into it so we've both got our basic plot outlines and everything. Now I've just got to find a way to fit it in with my schoolwork and job.

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Of Beasts and Men

JSMallory

I'm giving it a shot this year as well. This will be my first NaNo and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can concoct in such a short timespan.

It should be entertaining, to say the least.

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It's a shame stupidity isn't painful...

Charlie_Eleanor

I signed up today as well. Don't know what I'll write about, but we'll see! Should be fun to push myself.

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scifi maniac

I just want to know - I've been scared of starting a novel, even though I've had this idea in my head for half a year, and it has grown and developed. Now I feel ready to do it, and then I heard about NaNoWriMo for the first time. I'm thinking of using the competition as a kind of 'starting-pad' for what I hope will become a publishable novel. Is NaNoWriMo the right thing to be using as a starting-pad, because I hear that it's all quantity no quality. Anyone else doing something similar?

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MYStery fiction... the distillation of fiction to its purest form...

Charlie_Eleanor

It is a way to get yourself writing, and keep writing. You don't have time to edit right away, so sure, at first there may not be real quality, but a lot of people just use it to get their first draft down.

A little recommendation: start reading and outlining now if you want this to be a quality piece.

Plus...if you get into it, and decide that you just want to take more time at least you have started rather than just throwing ideas around in your head.

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scifi maniac

I agree - sometimes I feel like I'm more of a 'thinker' than a 'writer', in the sense that most of my ideas have self-imploded in my head due to my overthinking them. This one has a more solid foundation, however, and because it's stuck in my head for so long, I know that it's not a gimmick or anything.

I have a basic idea of what's going to happen, but I'm not going to outline this novel, as outlines have always suffocated my creativity. I'll just develop the characters a bit more in my own mind, and then think more deeply about the story. Apart from that, I think I'll have a good shot at whipping this idea into shape, but this time it'll be on the page

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MYStery fiction... the distillation of fiction to its purest form...

Writer Kitten

Okay. I totally lied. I'm doing NaNo this year. Sort of.

See a friend of mine and I are both in the midst of editing manuscripts. Both of us procrastinate horribly because we loathe editing with every piece of our being.

So. Instead of writing a new novel for NaNo, we will be working on our rewrites. Our goal is to have each written 50k on the rewrites, during the month of November.

... Our heads are going to explode.

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My internet published works.

How I help support myself from home.

wmd

Actually Nano is a GREAT starting pad for your writing!

Last year was my first year doing nano. Before that I had not written anything serious in about two years, and the minute I signed up for nano I got so pumped to write something it was incredible. The Nano Community is very unique and can keep you going forever.

I did not win last year... Only got 20,005 words or something like that, but I feel that I am a winner because it got me writing seriously again. I have written a lot of stuff in the last year and continue to do it.

I do not take the nano project seriously... my novel will be full of dares and full of plot holes, but that is okay! There are a lot of people that write serious books during nano with the intention of edits and re-writes in the following months to make it a publishable novel.

Keep in mind that the more planning you do now the easier it will be to keep writing through November. You will not have to stop to plan things or go back and check details. And you do not have to finish your book to win, just reach 50k. As long as you get to 50k you win and you can continue to work on your novel in December.

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geektarra

I was really, really excited when I learned about Nano. My mind was instantly swarming with the possibilities of it...and then I fell to Earth and realized that I already have three (3!) works in progress.

I have this really bad habit of biting off more than I can chew. Still, I chew and chew and chew until my jaw aches and I finally ralf all over. Yuck. I don't want to do that again. I really like my WIPs and want to see one through to the end! I think my friends are taking bets on whether or not I'll finish.

Oh, but Nano's pull might be too irresistible. We shall see. I have no fresh ideas for a new plot. I like Writer Kitten's idea of rewriting, though.

For those of you who have participated in past years, how many hours of writing did you do per day? I don't know if I have the stamina to write that much in only a month. I'm really pokey. I spent over 12 hours writing on Saturday and only have 10 single-spaced pages to show for it.

I do like a good challenge, though...