tcaptain

Well I spoke to my wife to be about it and she's supportive. I read the great comments on this site about it and I've decided that this year I'll be signing up for NaNoWriMo.

Been thinking about it a few days and I am no closer to a solution/decision about this related matter and was looking for advice.

What would be preferable to attempt for the National Novel Writing Month? I have a novel in my head I'd say 70% planned out, I've been playing with the idea for years, experimented with it years ago (wrote out about 30% of it but it needs a complete rewrite as I've gone over the idea again and brainstormed it from a fresh perspective very recently) and I'm tempted to work on THAT....

OR....

Should I brainstorm a bit (or a lot) and come up with something completely fresh and new for November that might not have as much "baggage"?

Its been hard to decide since with my old novel, well I have an outline (or will have one completed by then) and it IS the novel I want to get out there eventually. On the other hand, its a given that any novel cranked out in a month will not be the best written and might be best viewed as a creative exercise and nothing more or at least be seen as needing a LOT of editting after november to make it marketable.

I'd be very interested in all advice/opinions especially from someone who did NaNoWriMo successfully.

Thanks (in case I haven't said it, this is such a great forum)

americanwriter

NaNoWriMo is teriffic fun. I did it last year. Planning to do it again this year.

For the editing phase there is NaNoEdMo in March. Chris, the founder of NaNoWriMo always puts a link to it's site.

Looking forward to seeing you around the NaNo forums in November.

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To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive -- Robert Louis Stevenson

http://oneamericanlife.blogspot.com

gabriella

This is going to be my third year.

I say go with you're old idea, the one you've had in your head for a few years.

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You write by sitting down and writing - Bernard Malamud.

stiltzkin

I'm in a similar position to you, tcaptian.

I haven't yet decided whether I will be taking part in NaNo. If I do go ahead with it I was toying with the idea of, much like yourself, using an existing idea that's been evolving for the past four years or so. It's a real dilemma because I'm very much attatched to this particular story and am worried that it won't turn out as I want it to and I may lose motivation to re-write the whole thing.
On the other hand though I do think it would be a great way to get the thing off the ground - admittedly it's been gathering brain dust in the back of my mind recently and I'd love it to come to frution.

As of yet I don't have the complete plan for story - if you have a very detailed plan that you're happy with (so you don't get any unwanted suprises) then I'd say go for it, write it for NaNoWriMo.

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"If you know you're insane then you're not insane" - Mr. Baynes

Eiji Tunsinagi

I just let someone read the outline to my story (totally at random, which I hate to do and kinda regret) but they said it was "interesting"---whatever the hell that means. Interesting like 'cool, how interesting,' or is it 'huh. Interesting...'

Eh, whatever. I'm doing it though. This is my fav idea 'cause I dont think anyone is bold enough to do something so hardcore when it comes to purposely mediocre novels!

__________________
"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

gabriella

Well. Since there's more than one of you, I'll tell you why I think the both of you should use your old ideas.

Alot of people like Nanowrimo for various reasons. You're not the only one doing it; you have countless people who are encouraging you; chances are, more than eighty percent of the people participating are facing the same problems as you; you have an actual deadline; your success (or failure) won't be a secret, so it drives you harder.

Nanowrimo is the only time in a month when a writer has all the things they need going for them. Encouragement. Empathy. Friends. Understanding. Competitiveness. And a bunch of people who will listen to you brag.

Why waste it on an idea that you won't see through to the end, when you could be using November to write the novel that you've been pouring your souls into for years? And if you've been thinking about it for that long... I know that sooner or later you're going to make yourself finish it, and wouldn't it be so much better to finish it sooner?

__________________
You write by sitting down and writing - Bernard Malamud.

moonandsun

Nanowrimo is what you want to make of it. For some, it's a way to get out a long planned story (or half of it) they've had in their brains all their life. For others it's a way to try a whole new genre, and for others it's just to get them writing. I'm ultra excited to do and as of now, my plot is pretty outlined. It's something I've never done before (I usually write realistic fiction) but I wanted to challenge myself with something a tad more epic. It's not quite fantasy, more like a legend of sorts.

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"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. "
-Groucho Marx

tcaptain

Gabriella: That makes sense I guess. I'm bracing myself for a huge effort. I took my wife-to-be aside and discussed it with her before deciding to be sure it wouldn't cause a problem on that end. I am leaning towards my old story now.

I'm only afraid a little of coming out of there, starting to edit and needing another complete re-write...BUT...thinking about it, for me, signing up for NaNoWriMo is mainly to be sure I start writing and quit procrastinating. I'm now thinking, even if its badly done, at least it will be DONE, after that I can deal with making it better. Which is a thousand times better than just having it in my head and thinking "some day"

gabriella

Yup, that happened to me last year.

There's been a novel that I've had in my had since grade six, and now I'm heading off to grade ten. That's a looong time for one novel to be stuck in a head. I didn't know how long it was supposed to be - I had ideas of a solo and a trilogy, so whenever I attempted to start the novel, it always seemed like I was starting at the second book in the trilogy. There always seemed to be SO MUCH more that needed to be written before where I had started. In short, I threw out over two thousand pages - an accumulation of both written and typed.

I took a stab at it last year's Nano, and just like all the other times, I started with no outline. Only of course this time I started way too early =] Ah well, I don't regret writing the 100k words I wrote last November on my novel, even though all of it won't be used. I worked on the outlines, got everything set, got chapter summaries that are no more than 5 words long... and I'm starting one more time.

Anyway, the point of that story is to tell you that, even though there is a chance that you'll throw it all away, you'll still find it worth it. You either get the trash written down quickly in one month, as fast as possible, or you get the trash written slowly, in a matter of a few more more years. *shrugs* The best thing is to use an outline and go over that outline like you would a novel - all outlines are changed some time or other. But, if outlines aren't for you, and you prefer to just write the thing, then still use the idea. Sooner or later, what you have will get written, and it's better to the get the garbage written down quickly so you can move on to the gold.

__________________
You write by sitting down and writing - Bernard Malamud.

Eiji Tunsinagi

Wierd! I thought everybody here was, like, 42! I'm IN tenth grade! So, yeah, I'm not 42 either.

Anyway, if I do Nano (no, I WILL) I'm not writing for the sake of it. I actually want to do something I'll want to keep, as in, good.

__________________
"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

moonandsun

Fourty-two? Oh lordy, not for a few decades. I'm still in middle school.

__________________
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. "
-Groucho Marx

Eiji Tunsinagi

really? Wow....and you all have good advice too. I just write stories---other people give the advice. (I think I might be too young to tell other people how to write)

__________________
"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

moonandsun

Ah, me too. Though I wish I had someone who had brilliant writing advice for me but no one in my family is huge in writing nor are any of my friends though I'm dragging my very best friend into Nanowrimo with me.

__________________
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. "
-Groucho Marx

Eiji Tunsinagi

No onw but my brother writes---and hes almost 21 and in college so I've got to just hope my stuff is good. As for NaNo, I cant convince anyone that writing a novel in a month is the best way to write a novel (get it dont fast, no matter how bad). I'm going to use the NaNo concept every month of the year----so I'll be writing non-stop.

__________________
"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

moonandsun

Wow, I applaud you. I'm have to get something done by mid september (it's a collection of short stories for my best friend's brithday) so I guess that's a bit of Nanowrimo but I can't belive writing every month 50k. Think of all the wonderful things to get done.

Hmmm, some ideas to covince your friends.
a) Show them the pretty NaNoWriMo T-Shirts
b) Explain to them all the bragging rights they will recieve.
c) Beg and plead not do it alone
d) Talk about it constantly until they have to do it to get you to shut up.

__________________
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. "
-Groucho Marx