NaNoWriMo - Yes I am writing a 50K novel in 30 days ... and

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:02 pm

I could try to get you to write a 50K novel in a month. No really it’s a lot easier than you think if your turn off your inner editor. (And you writers need to take a break from that annoying inner editor every once in a while.) But I’ve given up on all that. I don’t want your words. I want your cash. Well actually the Office of Letters and Light wants your cash. This is the charity that NaNoWriMo supports.

Think of this like a marathon or a walk a thon. Instead of walking to raise money, or having my hair shaved, I’m going to write a novel. And I want you to encourage me my giving the Office of Letters and Light money! I want to raise $1,000 so pony up $10 … OK? You can see my donation page HERE.

Mission: The Office of Letters and Light organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential. Our programs are web-enabled challenges with vibrant real-world components, designed to foster self-expression while building community on local and global levels
Programs: November is National Novel Writing Month, a program which challenges children, teens, and adults write a novel in 30 days. OLL also hosts Script Frenzy, during which participants write a 100-page script within the month of April.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 11:47 pm

Oh fark, not again...

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:49 am

30 days.... in alaska, 30 days of night means vampires and feasting. Wait, wasn't there a film and before that a better graphic novel series about this? Wait before this didn't twlight zone and hordes of others mess with this idea?

yeah, so? You're saying my nanowrimo idea isn't original? Well, shit. I guess I should give up now. Maybe I'll make a story about a month where you start a startup web non profit company that is all about getting people motivated enough to write so many words in a month and as this feverish plot works over years and years, it is revealed by the mad non profit organization that it is all to get a cadre of monkeys close enough to a series of typewriters just so that they could maybe prove that they are better than shakespeare.

I shall start with the line. "Fvck, 6500 words a day, 3 packs of cigarettes, a bottle of Orange Triple Sec, and not a whore in sight. Who does a fvcker have to cap to make it in this mad, mad world of NaNoWrimo?"

Shakespeare, Norman Mailer, Poe, and that anonymous Beowulfian bard would all shiver in their graves.

Nah, that sounds insanely boring

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:47 am

If I can think of a good enough idea (preferably one that I won't need to pad out with porn), I might NaNo again this year.

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:48 am

I did this last year, successfully. I cannot repeat the feat this year however, thanks to senior thesis.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:57 pm

Alternately, Surgo, you could try writing your senior thesis for Nano.

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:58 pm

Not going to fly in math / computer science, sadly

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:07 pm

See, that's actually where it's needed the most.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:54 pm

Bump for NaNoWriMo 2010.

[url=http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=174394#174394 wrote:Koumei[/url]]it's time for me to start NaNo now.

It starts in 6 hours in my zone. I planned to be crazy prepared with compiled notes and stuff. Instead, I have two years' worth of notes in nine different formats, a head empty of ideas and an apartment to clean by tomorrow.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:59 pm

NaNoWriMo 2011.

I want to give it another go, but Tuesdays are an unproductive day for me... and today's not looking great either, but I'll give it a go.

Question though. What, exactly, does a novel need at minimum? I have some planning to run through my head while I mindlessly wash dishes at work tonight.

--------------

So I decided on using After Sundown as a basis for my novel, and am using an idea I floated when it was still in progress as AWoD for the plot. I'm working on a few characters at the moment, and have decided one will be an android based on this song. And yes, that's his power up ritual.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:55 am

NaNoWriMo 2011. I'm already a day off and about 2000 words shy. I'm hoping for a period of manic productivity.

Prak: At minimum, you need a conflict and conflict resolution. Characters and settings are obviously important but having a problem that needs to be solved is one of my favorite parts of a story.

Really, it should be conflict, learning/understanding the conflict or parts thereof, attempts to solve, result. This will in essence also create a setting in the process. Characters might have to be developed in tandem to the whole conflict situation.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:51 pm

Remember, we are talking about a NaNoWriMo Novel. The requirements are slightly different because the novel needs to happen NOW.

So the first thing you need are characters. Characters that can easily interact with each other. Not only is this really interesting, but you need to get the "voices in your head" talking. Characters can "drive" the novel. (Who cares if they drive it off the cliff, bring in more characters, or just raise them from the dead. See the entitlement thread for more information.)

The second thing is you need a setting. Thisn't script frenzy where you have two characters on a blank stage talking to each other. There's a room, or there's a park, or there's an office complex. It's cold, or it's hot or it's dark or it's bathed in brilliant color. Yes, it's only words, but words are all I know, to raise my wordcount high. (Plus description is interesting.)

Then you need a conflict (yes I know getting to 50,000 words is conflict enough, but unless you are writing a novel about writing a novel ...) in order to get the characters involved in their setting.

You really don't need a resolution, until you actually start editing the work for the finished novel.

I'd reccomend against it, unless it's really obvious and even then never let a resolution interfere with your wordcount.

I typically start working on characters early, around October. That way they are all chatting away in my head for ideas for the plot.

Eye candy is also very helpful.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:44 pm

Well, two days of actual writing, and I'm at 2454 words. so basically I just to improve my daily word count by about 300 words, and actually write every day.

Currently, I've introduced two characters by just adding in extras while writing who said "Hey, hey, make me a main character!"

Also I left off on characters chatting and not actually doing much, so... yeah. Great. And only one of them can actually succumb to alcohol.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:46 pm

I'm going on target. So far everything is somewhat falling according to plan. Bob and Mary are exporing the great outdoors and it's the first time for Bob. In a few days they both will be completely drug free. Then things will really get interesting. You know, allergies, painful sun burns, and discovering old hermits.

(How that part of Logan's Run got into my Parinoia Novel I'll never know.)

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:56 pm

I'd be glad to hear what you guys come up with. I was going to do it this year but I had some writing commitments I needed to focus on already. Maybe I'll do NaSoAlMo for shits and giggles when I get a spare minute.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:00 pm

Current situation: Bob and Mary return to find they were listed as dead and get turned in by, of all people, their own clones. Fortunately, they are saved by someone from threat assessors who give them new identities. They are also enrolled in a secret society. (There are some copyright issues I ain't touching with a ten foot pole so even if the Parinioa people managed to get Chaosium's permission for the Illuminati I ain't paying for it.) They just got visited by a man in a mask (not yet revealed as Bob's former dormmate) who gives them this secret task of moving soda cans from one room to another.

So anyway, Bob's name is now Rune. Mary's name is now Alfrun (odd how both names have 'run' in them). Alfrun secretly moved the full cans during the morning, and Rune moved the empty cans back during the evening. Neither one was aware of the actions of the other and neither have told each other about the mysterious man in the mask. They are currently sharing a two bunk dorm. Note also that "washy wash" refers to a shower. Necessity to the toilet.

After the session Rune told Alfrun that he had to do something “important” but he would be back before Sleepy Sleep. Alfrun returned to the dorm but she deliberately decided not to take a washy wash until he had returned. From now on, she decided, she will never shower alone.
Finally Rune came in to the room. “I’m going to go into the washy wash now,” she told him.
“Why did you wait,” Rune asked.
“Oh I don’t know,” Alfrun replied. “I was busy at the monitor.”
Rune smiled. He didn’t bother to check the monitor; had he done so he would have noticed that it was off. He just smiled and watched her disrobe. Seeing her naked had a calming effect on him for some reason. It reminded him of something, but he couldn’t quite recall what. Hearing the sound of the water in the washy wash also had a calming effect. He was starting to forget about how nervous he was swapping those empty cans from one room to another. One of those rooms was in a red clearance area and the other was in an orange clearance area. But as far as he was aware, Bouncy Bubble Beverage was that great taste that all citizens could enjoy. There was no orange level or red level or blue level or any other color level. So unless something strange was going on, there should be no difference in any of the cans. Besides the cans were empty; they would have been all processed in the same recycling system to make new cans for even more Bouncy Bubble Beverage.
He turned the monitor on to see another exciting report by Mary-O-LAX-2. Some red level citizens were being accused of treason. Apparently it was a troubleshooter team that turned on Friend Computer and Apple Complex. The members of the team all insisted that they could not remember what happened. The last thing they remember was heading out of the debriefing room of LAX-B15-B4C3-R11. That room sounded familiar, Rune thought. He was about to remember why when Alfrun came out of the washy wash.
“Your turn,” she said. Turning to Rune and the monitor she sighed. “You are not watching her again!”
“I just turned the monitor on,” Rune said. “It’s not my fault that her news item was broadcast.” Rune turned to head to the washy wash and started to disrobe.
Alfrun turned for a moment to glance at Rune. He liked the way he looked from behind, she thought. Then she turned her glance to the monitor where her clone was interviewing one of the alleged traitors. “That’s not how you interview someone,” she said to the monitor.
“She’s apparently very good at it,” Rune said as he walked into the washy wash.
“How would you know,” Alfred said turning to him in anger.
“Well,” Rune replied. “She seems to get a major spot in the news every other day. How often did you get a spot?”
“Once a week,” Alfrun replied. “But she’s orange level and they get more airtime. She wouldn’t survive as a red, I can tell you that!”
It was clear, however that Rune wasn’t listening. The sound of the washy wash filled the silence after her words. She turned to the monitor. There was something that was at the back of her mind. It wasn’t the strange thing she had to do in the morning. It wasn’t the masked man who threatened her in the washy wash. It wasn’t the way her clone was taking all her fame and fortune. No it was something else. She turned and checked the necessity.
Sure enough, she thought. The seat was up. She was going to say something, but decided to simply lower the seat. You can always tell a boy, she thought, but you can’t tell them anything.

Proof why I should never quit my day job.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:07 pm

Um... Illuminati isn't copyrighted, as far as I know...

edit: has anyone used Scrivener? How is it?

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:09 pm

I like Scrivener, but have had some disastrous crashing trouble that makes me mistrust its ability to retain... well, your writing. And the constant beta updates are really fucking annoying.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:13 pm

What, precisely, does it do when it's not crashing?

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:13 pm

It's just an online writing interface with some tools. Not sure that it's worth the hassle.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:20 pm

I've been using google docs for my writing.

edit: I did precisely because I didn't seer a linux version for scrivener. I don't like messing with WINE too much.

If anyone does know a good program for linux (ubuntu to be exact), I'd love to hear about it.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:37 am

Broke 50K today. Still working on finishing the novel.

So I've been recreating the occupy movement. Infrared citizens have been living in camps drug free and discovering sex. So I dropped a tactical neutron bomb and killed them all.

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 3:49 pm

Good job, tzor! I'm doing some collab with a friend of mine, should have a couple of good stories come out of it. Unfortunately a lot of my spare creative time has been spent auditioning for an outer-space-themed surf band, so...

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 3:56 pm

JigokuBosatsu wrote:Unfortunately a lot of my spare creative time has been spent auditioning for an outer-space-themed surf band, so...

Ohhh, do tell; instrument or vocal?

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:00 pm

http://www.reverbnation.com/outerspaceheaters
Instrumental- two guitars, bass and drums. They want a keyboard player and general weird ambient noise maker. I've got the second one nailed.

I'm also doing some fake old radio program Science! voiceover to complement some of the psychedelic narration they had in mind for the space in between songs. They've already used one of my recordings as the intro to their last show, so I'm hoping this means I'm in.

my recording wrote:‎"Hello. I'm Donovan James Falsifier... Professor of Bricolage at the University of the Wind, and lecturer emeritus at Miskatonic University on the subjects of Prehuman Literature and Advanced Theoretical Teledildonics. Perhaps you may be more familiar with me from my series of books on science for the layman, such as 'The Hermeneutics of Paralinguistic Qualia', and many others..."