Thread: 3 Day Novel

I know I am crazy, but I a moth drawn to the flame. It is inevitable. I will try to talk myself out of it, but I know come Friday night I will be walling myself away into a basement, pulling the battery out of my cellphone, unplugging the ethernet cable, spreading out my notes and praying, to whomever will listen, that I will survive.

Sleep is for the weak and the dead.

3-Day Novel Contest

Labour Day was four months ago.

Labour Day is the first week of September, Garza, so I don't see how it was four months ago.

This seems like NaNoWriMO on speed. Still, the one problem I have is that you can't write a novel in three days. All of my novels are over 100K, which means I'd have to write around 35,000 words a day to finish. That's 1,500 words an hour or twenty-five words a minute. That's not taking into account pauses for toilet breaks, food, and sleep. Which basically means I'd have to write two thousand words solid for about eighteen hours of the day.

Sorry, just not my thing.

Sam - I had forgotten that in the U-S Labour Day is not celebrated at the same time as the rest of the world on May first. When I clicked on the site and saw 'Labour Day', the first thought that crossed my mind was 'four months ago'. A similar problem occurs when I hear people from the U-S talk about 'football', I think they are talking about football, but they're not.

Altogether I've spent about half my life outside the U-S. For the past 25 years I've made only brief visits to the U-S. You forget these things after a while.

Good luck.

I haven't and won't attempt this but I've done Nano twice in the past. The issue I have is most of the work that came out of that was crap so in the end it was a waste of time. I hope that you plan on a lot of editing.

Well, that's a generalisation, Kat. I did a NaNo novel a while back and didn't have to do any editing. Just because you write fast doesn't mean you have to edit a lot.

I have always admired those who can discipline themselves and write the expected goal of 50,000 words for NaNo. Sadly, I am not that girl...it doesn't work for me.

Good luck to you, Malvo...I wish you the best.

If I tried to do this my loved ones would probably find me lying in a pool of my own brain matter at the end of it.

If you think you can do it, by all means, but like Sam it doesn't seem possible to me, unless by novel you mean novella, and by novella you mean novellita.

It is funny how a lot of the first comments was about Labor Day how this contest is indicative of the US, but actually this contest is Canadian. Haha. I just found out about this contest and most things I see on this are from Canada.

When people think of a novel, they think it needs to be X amount of words or the same average amount they usually put out but within three days and say that it is they physically output that much. But I like thi idea of this contest because it isn't about word count or what you usually do or even creating something good. There is no way I am going to edit this thing at all. I think it is just the push to get me to get it all out, to turn off my self edit and just try to finish the story. Get to the climax, to get to the meat of what you want to do.

I have done nanowrimo three times and I think that the tone of this is going to be completely different. With Nanowrimo I didn't even really finish the story, I was still able to self edit, and it was mostly about word count, sometimes I just rambled on and on about stuff not even related to the plot because it was more words. I Danced around ideas because I was not yet brave enough to let it out. Plus, at the end of Nanowrimo you don't even expect or want anyone to read what you have done. In this contest, not only is the focus the completion of the story, the commitment to it, but also it is going to be judged. With a chance to get it published. If you win, they will help you edit it of course and in the judging process they will take into account that it took you three days to write the freakin thing, but it is about the essence and committing to it. Doesn't anyone else think that is absolutely magical?

Now I just have to figure out how to tell my parents I am going to be living in a basement of the building I work in for three days. I just need to stock up on food and coffee filters now. As well as study Hindu mythology as if I am about to convert. Haha.

Well it sounds like you are really excited about it and that's the best way to start. I wish you the best of luck.

Originally Posted by Sam W

Well, that's a generalisation, Kat. I did a NaNo novel a while back and didn't have to do any editing. Just because you write fast doesn't mean you have to edit a lot.

You are right Sam. I should have said I. But not everyone is Superman like you.

I could not write for 3 days with no sleep and even attempt to have anything make sense. Need more time.

Beginning November 1, 2010 there is a month long writing contest to complete a 50,000 word novel
by midnight November 30. This is NaNoWriMo writing marathon.

Last year almost 170,000 people participated. Anyone who completes 50,000 before the deadline wins so there are many winners. You submit you scrambled manuscript to have it word counted by the hosting website who then claim they delete it.
The work is never read. All they want is word count...and not jibberish. Why would you screw yourself for 30 days?

I thought this would be a good opportunity to push through a very rough first draft of some possible book idea. During September and October 2010 research, plot, story line, characters, and such could be determined. It is OK to have a strong starting point...just nothing written in advance.

" Outlines and plot notes are very much encouraged, and can be started months ahead of the actual novel- writing adventure. Previously written prose, though, is punishable by death." (NaNoWriMo.org FAQ, retrieved 2Sept2010.)

This would provide about 2.5 months to avoid procrastinating the initial steps getting involved in starting a story and 30 more days to complete the first draft.

for complete information visit: FAQ | National Novel Writing Month

Wow, well good luck! I could never do something like that, same for NanoWrimo, I am prone to constant writer's block so it usually takes 3 months to get about 18,000 words. I've heard of a few authors though, (if memory serves me correct, the author of "Vampyre" was able to write the first draft in only 3 days) who can churn out something decent in that amount of time.

Why on earth would you want to do that? Surely it's better to take the time to produce something of quality?

Have fun!

I kinda agree that it would be hard to get something quality out of a 3-day writing binge, but what you get down could definitely be the start of something great. I personally think my fingers would fall off.

I love NaNoWriMo, however. This will be my fifth year and all the novels I have written then have gone on to be edited and tweaked into something that could go somewhere... someday.

So it's a personal goal then? I suppose it could serve a purpose in getting you into the practice of writing regularly without worrying about editing, which I think that every writier needs in order to succeed, although I think that the product would need one hell of a lot of editing at the end!!