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=Mech= National Novel Writing Month

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10/21/2011 1:38:43   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 http://www.nanowrimo.org

So, anyone thinking of doing this?

Superjars and I have made a pact. We are both going to participate and be each other's accountability partners, so to speak.

If you are participating, have you decided on your novel's title and subject?


All talk about NaNoWriMo is here.

Have you done this before? If so, do you have any pointers for those participating?

If this is your first time, what techniques or thoughts do you have regarding your approach?

< Message edited by Eukara Vox -- 10/21/2011 16:04:31 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 1
10/21/2011 19:03:58   
demolitiondragon
Constructively Friendly!


 As far as pointers go...

Forget the word count. You're writing a story. Enjoy doing that.

Setting a certain time to write can help a) those with busy schedules who can't find time to write and b) those who lack the discipline to stick at it. If 4pm 'til 5pm is Designated Writing Time, that can help minimize distractions. The family knows that's what time it is ("so please don't interrupt..."), you know you're going to do an hour's worth at least (or whatever time you choose to set. I find an hour works for me. Half an hour seems too short to get my brain in gear, but my writing time may go to be an hour and a half or two hours if things are really on a roll. Strike while the iron is hot!), and you can plan to have everything else done (chores, homework, etc) by that time so you're not impacting anything else in your routine. Feed and water yourself before you begin. Rumbly tummy is a distraction. Maybe bring a drink with you (computers and liquids don't mix, kids...).

If some things are distracting you (the big baddie is usually TV or internet), remove thyself! Abscond to a place where your creativity is able to flourish. Maybe surround yourself with things that will help you (music that inspires you to write, sketches of the characters or scenes, maps of the place, etc).

Make plans. Good plans. Know your beginning, middle and end. Figure out the "main point" of each chapter, and then figure out roughly how many words you're going to need in each chapter to make up the final count. Don't worry so much if it goes over or under that limit, you'll even it out at the end. Keep a record of the wordcount once you've finished each chapter, compare it to the estimated word count. If you're noticing that you're finishing too early, you may have to add a chapter. Or try adding some more description (but not to the point of purple prose) in the following chapters. If they're evening out over time, don't worry about it. If they're too big and you're falling behind... don't worry about it. Maybe you won't make it in one month, but maybe that's because you're on to something good. You're writing a story. Enjoy doing that.

Don't get bogged into rewrites. If you hit a dead end, you may have to rewrite one or two chapters to change the direction so you can continue. Fair enough. But don't get to chapter 3 then decide chapter 1 is rubbish and rewrite it, then rewrite chapter 2 to fit in with it again, and then 3... and then decide chapter 1 is rubbish... Just get the first draft done. You can tinker later.

If you get really stuck, make a thread in L&L somewhere and talk it out with some other forumites. Throw ideas around. Help someone else. Often ideas will come to you while you're helping someone else with their story. Read something that may inspire you again. Study other people's techniques; maybe try a few out for yourself, see if they work for you. L&L has become an under-utilized but still great resource. Use it.

Stick to the one story. Don't start trying to run 3 or 4 because of a good idea you've just had while writing this one. Make enough notes that you can pick it up again later, then put it aside and get back to your NaNo story. Be firm with yourself about this.

Enjoy it. You're writing a story.
That's my 2c anyway. Good luck!
Post #: 2
10/21/2011 19:43:12   
sysdragonfable
Member

Err, I can honestly say that I am not qualified for a "Month of Writing" as I can barely stick with one week of writing.

But to those who wish to participate and encounter the arch-enemy known as Writers Block I would suggest taking a small notebook, pencil and going for a stroll around town. I find that walking and letting your mind think randomly you will be able to come up with some good ideas that you can implement into your story. Sure it may sound stupid and boring and dangerous(dang teenagers...) but I always found it rather calming and it always got me out of the writers block funk. Then again everyone else is different I suppose(For crying out loud I got my idea for the nemesis of my story from two butterflies flying in a circle...) so all I can suggest is what the person above said. She(or he!) pretty much has every base covered.

So go-thats bad luck. Uhh, break a-what if they do? Uhh, go for it?
DF  Post #: 3
10/22/2011 0:54:34   
Argeus the Paladin
Member

Unfortunately, lately I have seemingly lost my writing impetus and all I could write are short stories (that suck, but that's beside the matter). I might consider partaking, but otherwise I don't believe I'd make it.
DF  Post #: 4
10/22/2011 9:22:12   
Un67
Member

I'm certainly planning to do it this year, even though I've never really written something in a novel format or close to it. I've actually taken some time to brainstorm and ended up with a plot and a setting for my novel. It's a fantasy novel, which probably isn't that surprising. Let me drag up my synopsis from the website:

quote:

Alan Fergant was an old warrior of noble descent obsessed with seeking out the fabled Fountain of Immortality, having had little success. Sacrificing much of his fortunes and his prestige, he put all of his hopes on one lead - an older bard named Lorias Ashter who supposedly knew the ancient Song of the Fountain, which detailed the location of the Fountain of Immortality. When Alan found him, he discovered that Lorias was intensely distrustful, indirect, and evasive, but through sheer force of will and determination he convinced him to sing the Song of the Fountain to him.

Then, he learned that the Fountain was far away in the overseas in the Estland, lying within the hinterland, hidden inside an ancient city in the heart of a mountain chain, and guarded by the most powerful of creatures and the most cunning of artifices. However, more perplexingly, he also was also given a magic journal by Lorias that magically transferred anything written in it to a journal of Lorias's own, so he could chronicle his journey in song, and was told by Lorias that it was the "key to gaining immortality", and that "the Fountain is only one part of it", but Alan dismissed it as merely a triviality.

With the new knowledge and task in mind, he set out on a long journey and overcame hostile nations, powerful beasts, and masterful feats of trickery... to discover that the Fountain was a generic water fountain. Was this a matter of lies and deception? Or was he a fool to believe in the ancient myths and legends? And yet, maybe, just maybe, he would get his immortality after all, but merely in the most unexpected of ways, unorthodox of methods, and the most indirect of paths, something that only an old bard who's seen and heard too much could have thought of...


Definitely rough and missing a lot, but obviously I'll have to fill in the holes as I write.

< Message edited by Un67 -- 10/30/2011 17:13:32 >
AQ DF  Post #: 5
10/22/2011 9:54:29   
Wildroses
A beautiful Rose,
always and forever


 I've never done it before, so I thought I'd try. I'm not sure if I can do it yet. I think the best way for me is to write a set amount of words each day, and to do it first chance I get. If I go: "Oh, I'll just play a game or browse the web or read a book first" then I'll never get around to it.

I have chosen a story. It was inspired by the character of Gravelyn, who appears in the games AQW and DF. I asked myself the question: "So what would it be like being raised secretly in a stronghold by a doting father who is an evil overlord bent on taking over the world, and what would happen after this child left the stronghold?" Because I dislike using other people's characters I invented a totally different world and set of characters.

Before November starts I'm going to have to flesh out the world and timeline a lot more than it currently is. Esmerelda didn't pay much attention to the outside world while her father was conquering nations and commiting multiple genocide, but once she gets out of the stronghold the timing and people who experienced the conquering and genocide are going to be important. If I can get all that straightened out, I think the writing part will be much easier.

< Message edited by Wildroses -- 10/22/2011 9:55:16 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 6
10/22/2011 12:03:19   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 I've been hardpressed to do any writing, much to a few people's chagrin, as I have kept a few waiting on Dionysus and a couple of other projects. I am hoping that this helps kickstart my writing again, since it will force me to schedule writing time. Maybe, after this is all over, I figure out something that works.

As to my story, it will be realistic fiction, which is some thing I don't particularly do. But, I want to write children's books, like older kid/early teen. And right now that market is overflowing with fantasy novels, and lacking in realistic fiction.

Title: Putting Barbie to Bed

Premise: Valkyrie is just another girl contemplating life the week before she starts 6th grade. A monumental time for anyone, especially her, as she learns that this new world will definitely not be her cup of tea. The book will follow her through the year, from her tendency to get in trouble, to the boy she likes and the baggage that comes with everyone learning it, to being dissed by her best friend, she discovers that growing up sucks, but must be done.

Will she survive this year, or will she be 6th grade's newest casualty?
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 7
10/22/2011 14:42:18   
jerenda
Member

I'm going to do it!! I am I am!!

I sort of did it last year, but backwards and half-heartedly, and it was incredibly liberating. I didn't have to worry about the flow of the story or trying to make it be completely effective, I just wrote what I wanted. If I wanted to describe a room, I did, and bugger the flow. It was wonderful.

I have no idea what I'll be writing this year. I just hope that, like last year, it'll kind of tell me what it wants to say. I might be writing Heaven's Wrath for a bit, but that's because I'm ADHD and have decided that as long as I can get the word count completed, it doesn't matter what I write. Just that I'm writing it. I hope it'll be awesome.

Maybe I'll give in to my dreams (and my nightmares [and my daydreams {and like everyone in my life who seems to have gone bonkers over the idea}]) and write my own version of the Zombie Apocalypse... I'll thieve this video's title (which I LOVE) and call it A Sustainable Future.

< Message edited by jerenda -- 10/22/2011 14:45:05 >
AQ DF  Post #: 8
10/24/2011 3:57:47   
demolitiondragon
Constructively Friendly!


 Those wanting to do a certain amount of words per day: 1667 is the minimum per day if you want to make the 50k. But you all knew that already. =P
Post #: 9
10/24/2011 7:58:58   
Argeus the Paladin
Member

quote:

Valkyrie is just another girl contemplating life the week before she starts 6th grade.


What kind of parent would name their kid Valkyrie?

Seriously though, I was wondering... Would it count if you start on a project before November, but writes up a whole 50K in the month anyway? If so, I think I'd try my luck with my currently ongoing Mount and Blade AAR.

Shameless plugging go!

< Message edited by Argeus the Paladin -- 10/24/2011 8:00:05 >
DF  Post #: 10
10/24/2011 14:45:31   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 I actually know two girls by the name lf Valkyrie, one of which was in my older son's class last year. >.>


From the official website:

quote:

Do I have to start my novel from scratch on November 1st? Can I use an outline?

Yes.
This sounds like a dumb, arbitrary rule, we know. But bringing a half-finished manuscript into NaNoWriMo all but guarantees a miserable month. You’ll care about the characters and story too much to write with the gleeful, anything-goes approach that makes NaNoWriMo such a creative rush. Give yourself the gift of a clean slate, and you’ll tap into realms of imagination and intuition that are out-of-reach when working on pre-existing manuscripts.

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.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/faq/rules

< Message edited by Eukara Vox -- 10/24/2011 14:46:13 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 11
10/24/2011 19:14:01   
MonsterMike9000
Member

nanowrimo..ugghh...

edit: the Q/A screeny brings up an important note, what do u guys do to prep a story before writing one?

< Message edited by MonsterMike9000 -- 10/24/2011 19:18:03 >
AQ  Post #: 12
10/24/2011 19:55:20   
Un67
Member

^ Well, I write a synopsis and let everything else stew in my brain for a while. It helps with getting new ideas and not stifling my creativity- I know where I'll start and where I'll go, but then I have to decide how I'll get there.
AQ DF  Post #: 13
10/24/2011 20:22:14   
Goldstein
Member

I plan to write a story about pirates that pillage the satellites that polluted the Earth's atmosphere in the near future. It should be fun! It'll just be good for establishing the main events, I'll work out the logistics later. Should be fun.

I prep by thinking up a character, then going from there. Right now, I've got a guy named Cornelius Leopole that acts as an engineer for a governmental ship tasked to protect satellites.
Post #: 14
10/24/2011 20:35:26   
Edgemaster Scion
Constructive!


 ^^^I create a jumble of character roles and names, then figure out which ones I like and which concepts fit best for each. After that, I write out the beginning of an outline of the plot, leaving a lot of empty space for flexibility in case I don't like the idea of something later on. From there, I just start writing.

I feel as though I'm going to have a long month. I intend on writing a novel in which stereotypes will be completely eliminated, all done with the goal of showing true reality based on my experience. Each character will enigmatically and discretely represent a different side of my own psyche. The problem with that is that I plan on including a variety of viewpoints; some of these include a boy who is socially detached and very emotional, a girl with a tomboyish attitude bent on straying as far away from others as possible, and a boy filled with pride that buries his thoughts on his own hatred of himself.

With the story I'm planning, I have vowed to give every character an interesting element that will relate to different kinds of people respectively. The challenge is figuring out how all of them will act without giving any of them too much of a bland, cookie-cutter or stereotypical feeling. I intend on using the NaNoWriMo forums for detailed questions, so I hope I can keep this vow. I likely won't reach 50,000 words, though I look forward to my first attempt at writing a novel.
AQ DF Epic  Post #: 15
10/24/2011 20:37:36   
Goldstein
Member

Oh, good lord Scion, way to make my idea seem highly petty.
Post #: 16
10/24/2011 20:42:11   
Edgemaster Scion
Constructive!


 Well, you can hardly compare two very different genres of writing. My genre is young adult, while yours seems to be science fiction. Don't be discouraged to write what your heart desires, for I wouldn't want to do that to anyone.
AQ DF Epic  Post #: 17
10/24/2011 20:45:46   
Goldstein
Member

I appreciate that! Far too man people dismiss sci-fi as shallow and without social importance.
Post #: 18
10/24/2011 23:36:02   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 What? Shallow? Say it isn't so!


Ridiculous, SciFi is fun! So, write it out, man, and have fun.

I have a story map with notes for the entire thing. I've thought about this while driving and gardening. I already have my first chapter outlined. Working on my second. I think I am going to have fun with this, even if this is new territory.

And, did I mention, I am going to try and write this all in the first person?
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 19
10/24/2011 23:52:17   
superjars
Member

I suppose I should chime in here as well. Eukara is much further along than I am, but I've always been more of a flow writer. My main goal this final week of preparation is to write: just get out of my funk and do something creative with my time, get the juices flowing. I've got my idea, and I also am going the science fiction route, although mine is more of a Steampunk, futuristic adventure/romance. It's inspired by RL friends of mine and I think it should be pretty fun to write.

I need to get Eukara to teach me this story map thingy and try to use it on my actual novel I want to write. Always a good thing to get better at our craft.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 20
10/25/2011 0:35:42   
Cataclysm
The fanciest of moustaches


 I've gotten the basic idea of what I want to do now. It'll be a first-person novel, conceptually it'll have elements of romance (odd for me), action, drama... Yeah, I'll just throw most of it in there. Oh, and vampires. Fairly vampiric-centric. I've got the idea for an opening laid out already that'll clear up any vampiric concerns.

I'll run with the title "My Life Sucks: A Vampire's Tale." It was just a joke at first, but I fell a bit in love with it... Haven't the heart to change it now.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 21
10/25/2011 2:53:06   
Argeus the Paladin
Member

Alright, I guess I am joining in the end. This is just going to be a rewrite of one of my old ideas (the one I've posted on L&L almost three years ago actually), but with less Nasu and more actual history. And like Cataclysm, mine is going to be fairly vampire-centric still. well, as far as a story based on a Polish-Lithuanian Byzantine-worshipping cataphract hussar is vampire centric anyway.
DF  Post #: 22
10/25/2011 3:54:44   
lordkaho
Creative!


 ^

Make that Prussian Hussars. You know you can't resist the guys who made black leathers, skulls, and iron spikes cool.
DF MQ  Post #: 23
10/25/2011 4:14:08   
Argeus the Paladin
Member

Polish-Lithuanian hussars have huge-ass wings. Your arguments are invalid.
DF  Post #: 24
10/26/2011 13:13:27   
sysdragonfable
Member

well I signed up for 2 reasons.
1. I need something to do when I get home from school(Winters coming hard and fast)
2. This would really help with my ACT testing(I stink at English so a little tip from experts could go along way with me.)

_____________________________
DF  Post #: 25
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