posted
Feel free to add yourself to this list if I have missed you.
Unwritten1971
Cheyne
sjsampson
gobi13x
annepin ???
KayTi
Owasm
genevive 42
Ben-M
LAJD
ScardeyDog
CarolCPK
shimiqua
Rhaythe
Sunshine
Kitti
SavantIdiot
Starweaver
Red Grant
Joseph Forrest
Pyre Dynasty
Bent Tree
ArmadonRK
This is a place to tell us your word count, your horror stories, your success stories, get advice, give advice...whatever you need to get you through. The only requirement I can think of is that you need to be insane enough to think you can write a book during the month of November. If you haven't done it before, it is so much fun!! Here is the link:
posted
Who is outlining their stories, and who is free-styling? I'll admit, I've outlined nearly ever facet of the story thus far (except closer to the end), but that may be due to eagerness to get started.
Posts: 487 | Registered: Mar 2008
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Synopsis: A small interstellar delivery company gets hired to make a far flung, handle with care delivery on the other side of the galaxy. It's a small, 'can't believe it's still flying' ship with an oddball crew. There are space pirates, space anomalies, quixotic robots, poker games, horny plant life, anti-technology rebels, etc. and the hilarity ensues.
I have the story and the characters outlined to a considerable degree. I have never outlined something this much in my life and yet I have no idea exactly what I'm going to write.
[This message has been edited by genevive42 (edited October 28, 2009).]
Synopsis: Part two of fifty-two. Ordered against her will, Elizabeth Wilde must keep her arrangement with the CIA and travel to Mexico to attempt an assassination. The odds are stacked against her, though, as the CIA calls and warns the very criminal they sent Wilde to assassinate...
quote:There are space pirates, space anomalies, quixotic robots, poker games, horny plant life, anti-technology rebels, etc. and the hilarity ensues.
Quite the variety!
EDIT: fixed mah po' engrish
[This message has been edited by Rhaythe (edited October 28, 2009).]
Last year I completely winged it, and I will never ever ever ever do that again. But this year my planning isn't as far along as I would have liked. Oh well. I've still got a couple days, right?!
posted
I'm SpokaneSunshine on nanowrimo, and I've only got one "buddy" so you would be doing a good deed to add me to your list!
I was detoured during last year's nano with a dying niece and other crazy events, so I'll just start the one I planned last year.
Title: Ding Dong, We're Dead Genre: Youth - Paranormal
I have a partial outline from last year, but I will probably stray from it since I've had an entire year for the story to percolate in the back of my mind.
[This message has been edited by Sunshine (edited October 28, 2009).]
posted
Okay, I'm caving and joining in the NaNo fun... with full expectations of failure. I have to write an entire chapter of my dissertation between now and Nov. 11 - akk! - so I'm doing more like NaNoWriHalfMo. But we'll see - I've surprised myself before.
To those who are thinking of winging it--it some ways, I think that's the best way, though maybe the hardest. I almost winged it the first year--I knew where the story was starting and where it was ending, and what the climax was going to be, but not a whole lot in between. The second year I winged it too, and finished wiht 50,000 words, but without a complete novel. Anyway, it pretty exhilirating.
I added everyone I could figure out. A few of you I couldn't find (LAJD in particular, do you have another Nano handle? I was going on the list in the first post on this thread.)
Title: Working title is Selenium, but I'm currently running a quest on my facebook status to get a better name...I'm horrible with titles. If we're FB friended, have at it. If we're not...well, what are you waiting for? I'm Karen T. Smith, er, um, well, good luck finding me? Or let me know your full name, perhaps it's best not to try to search for a smith?
Genre: mid-grade (younger than YA, about 3rd-8th grade) Science Fiction
Synopsis: It's days before her 13th birthday, and Brynne is in a race against time. She's on the space ship Selenium, plummeting toward a distant sun. It's up to Brynne and her gamer friends to rescue their colony ship after a sleeping sickness causes everyone over the age of 12 to fall into a deep coma-like sleep. Along the way she must figure out the complexities of the space ship, and the complexities of interacting with her peers, most of whom she prefers to play with in the virtual world rather than steel and silicon. Will she be able to create a cooperative team, save the ship from certain destruction, and figure out the mystery of the sleeping sickness before time runs out?
== I have done a lot of pre-work on this novel, as I've been running a writing workshop for middle school students at my kids' school for the last 6 weeks, and I've been using the writing exercises as my novel prep time. It's been fantastic. I still don't have a strong idea of what happens in EACH episode/scene/chapter, but I do have a lot of the main arc figured out, a set of characters begun (they need more detailing) and a lot of the backstory identified. I think I'm in pretty good shape, but I should probably put a little more time into the outlining of what happens first, then next, then next.
I have done Nano twice before. The first year I had things figured out to about this level, probably a little less in terms of details about the plot (but those details evolved as I wrote, and I'd spend a little time at the end of each writing session doing some outlining for the NEXT session so I didn't have any writer's block problems.) Last year I did not do much prep at all and I found it MUCH harder to write, though I finished both years and have 55kish novels from them.
I'm hoping to see a difference this year, just in terms of my writing skills and overall writing maturity. Good luck to all of us!!
posted
Oh yeah, remember you asking about the preteen survivability of certain causes of death. Look forward to reading it.
Couldnt find a Karen T. Smith in Chicago on FB Disregard...found someone minus the T. that looks exactly how I would have pictured you...plus your a member of the FB Hatrack Writers Group so I found you on there.
[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited October 29, 2009).]
Synopsis: A bit murkier. I was going to spend the last 2 weeks of November storybuilding, but the novel I was editing has taken over my life.
My idea for Nanowrimo came from the first sentence challenge here on Hatrack earlier this year. An obese girl realizes that her recently married sister is sending her letters in code. When she can't get her parents to see the danger, she journeys to find her brother who is a soldier. The story will be about her learning to push past her limits to discover her own potential. It will have my trademark romance in it--if I can figure out how to add it without sending the message that only beautiful people can be loved. I have a few ideas.
I'd love a few more Hatrack friends on facebook too. I'm Melanie Sweat Crouse.
[This message has been edited by Unwritten (edited October 29, 2009).]
Title: (working title) San Francisco (I know it sucks but it's a working title)
Genre: Fantasy? Time Travel? (is that a genre?)
Synopsis: Consula Angelina Isadore "Connie" Ramirez never considered herself a hero before she crawled back into her burning house during the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm. But when she saw the figure twisting in the flames, it was the only thing she could do. Connie, born of an old but faded San Francisco family, grew up on tales of brave and noble ancestors, but that was long ago.
The rescue became a journey when the firestorm blew her across time and space. She emerged in December 1849 San Francisco. Alone, she was pulled out of the flames of the Denison’s Exchange fire to become an instant sensation. Connie has been torn away from her home and everyone she loves including her young daughter, Angela. Now she must figure out how to get home.
I started planning this novel last spring during a Liberty Hall challenge called MidSommer Madness. This was in part a response to my totally unplanned nano work last year. I did write 50K words....65K actually. But I am still terrified to even look at the file on my computer. Ewwwwww! Maybe on Halloween! It would be a fright!
Leslie
[This message has been edited by LAJD (edited October 29, 2009).]
[This message has been edited by LAJD (edited October 29, 2009).]
It is a writing/project mgmt tool that I now find nearly indispensable. They are offering a Nano trial that goes through the 7th of December. So you could use Scrivener to write and organize your nano work and then export into another format if you don't want to buy Scrivener.
I liken Scrivener to the tools that software engineers use to write code. It allows you to organize smaller text files inside a framework and then compile only the parts that you want in the final output. If you want to get really fancy you can hook it up to subversion on the back end or run it very simply on your macbook, like I do.
You have all your research, notes, drafts etc at various levels of detail. I'm not doing the best job of explaining this, but think about it this way. Instead of hunting all over your filesystem for that image of the map of eastern Elbonia where the great battle happens, that map becomes part of your document-you see it right there when you write that scene-but it is not exported as your final draft.
I no longer write at all in word and only free write in a wiki. It may have helped me last year, which I why I mention it.
Leslie
[This message has been edited by LAJD (edited October 29, 2009).]
posted
Does anyone have any good tools they use to help them figure out the magic of a fantasy world? I've added a couple of giants and other magical creatures, but my magical development of this world is sorely lacking so far. And since I'm sure that will spin my story in unexpected directions, I should get on that.
Posts: 938 | Registered: May 2008
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posted
Oh, dear. I misunderstood, I think. I thought you did it ALL starting November 1. I think that means I am winging it. I have a list of possible title/starts. It makes sense to me to do it YA fiction or fantasy so that's probably what I'll do.
I am 'ribbit' on NaNoWriMo. I am going to have to do this relatively stress free so I am not expecting much. I do love to spin it out, though.
posted
I just realized I could finish this thing in a half hour if I just copied and pasted "Hey! This is my nano novel, ain't it so great." 5000 times.
That would get dull though, after about five pages, and a waste of space on my computer. My goal is to have something worth the space when I am finished.
I've figured out what I'm doing.
Shakespeare with Magic {Obvious working title*. Historical Fantasy
Fourteen year old Will Shakespeare finds a demon book that taints every thing he tries to do with it, and takes him on a voyage through his lost three years.
I got the whole thing plotted out. Character interviewed it to pieces, but never actually wrote the story, because I have this sinking feeling that no one really wants to read about a young Shakespeare. I'll try it though for Nano.
I'm giving myself permission to turn off the grammar police, so I might as well give myself permission to turn off the "This is going to be so dumb." police while I'm at it.
posted
Leslie - I second the rec for Scrivener. I love it! Much better for my disorganized way of thinking (it only APPEARS disorganized when I try to put it down in vertical format on a document. What I need is the corkboard metaphor on Scrivener that lets me lay things out horizontally and vertically. It's a magical tool!)
Also - Shimiqua, I've read a book by Gail Carson Levine about writing (called Writing Magic, which is a great YA/Mid-grade writing book but has TONS of relevant bits for us old fogies as well) and in it she talks about times where she sits down to write and just writes "I don't feel like writing, I am not in the mood to write" over and over, because it's writing time and she must write.
Those days happen to us sometimes and in my opinion, Nano leaves us the leeway to include them in our word count. It would be better to use the free writing time to just brainstorm the next parts of the novel, but again you should feel free to use that in your word count.
Both previous years I did Nano, I would sometimes brainstorm my next day's writing session when mine was wrapping up before the idea train was completely run out, so I'd jot down where I was headed, reminders to myself about character's motivations and mental states, etc. Those words COUNT! Even if you edit them out in revisions, they still count for nano!
posted
Unwritten and ScaredyDog, I'm having trouble finding you at NaNo to add to my buddy list, as well as a few others. Would you mind posting your handle or a link?
Posts: 1993 | Registered: Jul 2009
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posted
I should be ScardeyDog over there too. I haven't actually logged on over there since signing up, so maybe there's something I haven't done. I'll try to figure it out this weekend.
Working title: Legacy
Genre: YA Fantasy
Synopsis: A teenage girl is having trouble relating to her father in the wake of her mother's death. She finds a journal while moving and slowly gets sucked in to the magical world it describes. Soon she can't distinguish fantasy from reality, and isn't sure she wants to anyway. It's kind of Donnie Darko/Peter Pan inspired. I'm not too clear on what's going to happen... so a little bit of winging it for me.
I'm impressed that you found everyone else. I haven't been over there for awhile. I'm putting my editing on the back burner starting now, and I'll use the next 2 days to get in gear for Nano. Yeah.
posted
Yeah, I checked, ScardeyDog you're not coming up with that moniker at NaNo. Hope you get it straightened out.
Posts: 1993 | Registered: Jul 2009
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Okay, I'm gonna give this a try even though it scares the crap out of me. I've been working on this story in my head forever so maybe it's time to put it down on paper.
Title: Artifice
Plot synopsis: Jon Smiles, a Fixer, is paid to kill Adam, the A.I. that ushered in the technological singularity that changed the world. Of course, he also ushered in the Second American Civil War, collapsed the world economy and led to the rise of the Corporation States that now run the planet. Jon's never failed to complete a job but how do you kill a target that operates in the cloud?
Now, let's hope that I can flesh that out into at least 50K words and maybe, at the least, have a product I can edit later.
posted
Totally freaking out. But that may be more from not having anything to write, read or watch until November. I didn't want to start anything that would distract me from plotting my novel, but I think I need an outlet for all this nervous energy.
Posts: 938 | Registered: May 2008
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posted
Not freaking out, exactly, but struggling mightily to keep from just starting already.... This forcing oneself NOT to write thing is very strange.
Posts: 715 | Registered: Nov 2007
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quote:Not freaking out, exactly, but struggling mightily to keep from just starting already.... This forcing oneself NOT to write thing is very strange.
Quoted for Truth
[This message has been edited by Rhaythe (edited October 30, 2009).]
posted
I'm actually giving my brain permission for a couple of days off in preparation for Sunday's start. Tonight I might just play Guitar Hero until the buttons start to blur or I start to channel Jimi.
I will also probably read through my outline and character notes a half a dozen times today and tomorrow too. Not to mention imagining conversations between characters that, even with outlines, I don't have a full grasp on yet. That's usually one of my strong suits so I hope it will come as I start writing. Oh, and it looks like I will be making up most of the tech as I go along.
Uh, oh. Maybe not so much Guitar Hero tonight.
And fellow Americans, don't forget to set your clocks back Sunday morning/Saturday night. That's another hour to write!
posted
So what is everyone else doing while they wait? Me, I'm compulsively checking Facebook. I've got all my loudest songs on constant playblack as I clean my house...which I can't keep my mind on for more than a few seconds at a time.
It's been a long time since I had more time than words to type.
[This message has been edited by Unwritten (edited October 30, 2009).]
posted
The other night at work I was thinking through reasons not to do it this year. (I keep talking myself out of it.) But then a weird thing happened, my other brain started countering my arguments. I even argued that I don't have a novel idea ready and then suddenly one rolled out in front of me. This is more or less an exercise for me, but then my only relatively published story was done as such. I'll get all my info up later, but here is my page (which lies empty.)
posted
What I like to do, instead of letting the nervous energy get to me, is to find a nice quiet place in my head. In that place I let my MC come out or the any of the supporting characters. I let them find their voice so I know who they are when I get to writing them. I'm prepping but I'm not prepping. I know that sounds a little schizo but it works for me.
Oh, and I do that for all sorts of things. Speeches I may have to give. When I'm angry at a subordinate. When I want to strangle my kids. It's really a great stress reliever and you end up building the universe of your story in your head.
posted
Pyre D, when I click on that link it says that I am not authorized to access that page. Do you want to try another link or give us your handle?
Posts: 1993 | Registered: Jul 2009
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posted
Well, Pyre Dynasty, you're on the list now, so there's no backing out now.
quote:I'm putting my editing on the back burner starting now, and I'll use the next 2 days to get in gear for Nano. Yeah.
So far, my "getting in gear" has consisted of panicking that I'm so unprepared. I did name one more character, bringing the total number of characters with names up to 3. My story has quite a bit of travelling in it, so my goal for today is to make a map. I do have a ton of town names rolling around in my head, so that's a plus. I also need to flesh out (and name!) the people and places in the opening chapter so I can hit the ground running.
[This message has been edited by Unwritten (edited October 31, 2009).]
posted
Okay, I think I figured out the general plot line and several of the characters. Start tomorrow!
Posts: 168 | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
Thanks for figuring out my thing, I didn't even look at it, just copied and pasted. (I was kinda running out the door.)
Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I am exultant!!! I just finished over 4 thousand words and my family liked it! Bwahahaha! Of course, I don't imagine that I can keep this up but still.
We'll see if they keep being willing to sit and listen to what I've done every day.
posted
Congrats SavantIdiot! Do we have your link? Do you mind sharing it?
I'm hoping for the same but it's a slow start. 11:30 am, 600 words and I'm about to move on to introducing the second character of my ensemble cast. I'm glad it's Sunday. I just wish it weren't such a beautiful day outside.
[This message has been edited by genevive42 (edited November 01, 2009).]
posted
I did it last year, so I will see if I can redo it. I am going to just wing the whole thing this year. I will see how that works.
Posts: 80 | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
Okay, I am adding everyone of you as a buddy. You don't have to accept me. I will write your name into my book as one of the bad guys, though, or someone who dies in a gruesome fashion, if you do not.
posted
Although I am uncertain that there is something which can disengage my from my chronic procrastination, I figured I would at least give it a chance and set my bar a little lower by using this to write a Young reader novel I have been thinking about, thus increasing the likelehood of me fullfilling this goal. So... away we Go.
WHat happens when two good-hearted but troublemaking teens from two entirely different planets meet? Well lets just hope the eccentric, six-legged Agilian scientist, Professor Orphington can keep them from starting and interplanetary disturbance.
[This message has been edited by Bent Tree (edited November 01, 2009).]
posted
I hope you guys finish your stories. I am excited just reading about them. Also several of you like the same stuff I like reading. I have to go add Harry Potter, I forgot that one.
Posts: 168 | Registered: Apr 2009
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