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2017 NaNoWriMo support thread

Actually that's not entirely true. I support Nano largely because of the awesome work they do at supporting literacy programs and student writing initiatives. That's really why I do it every year. Everything else is just a bonus!
 
lillianaZ said:
Actually that's not entirely true. I support Nano largely because of the awesome work they do at supporting literacy programs and student writing initiatives. That's really why I do it every year. Everything else is just a bonus!
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Local group always encourages children to write and to join literacy programs.
 
Yes, a lot of schools participate too. It really sends a positive message to students. I actually just signed in for the first time this year and discovered it's my 19th year...You'd think I would have something out of 900,000 words over 18 years! Maybe this year will be the ticket!
RjThoughts said:
Local group always encourages children to write and to join literacy programs.
Click to expand...
 
lillianaZ said:
Yes, a lot of schools participate too. It really sends a positive message to students. I actually just signed in for the first time this year and discovered it's my 19th year...You'd think I would have something out of 900,000 words over 18 years! Maybe this year will be the ticket!
Click to expand...

My boss' wife is an English teacher at a small Catholic school. She's having her students write all November, twice a week in class and encouraging them to write at home. She's put some "coin" in it: For every student who writes 25k+ words receives gift cards to Barnes and Noble and Starbucks.

This year, I'm writing connected short stories and novellas, certain characters will appear across several of them or some locations will be the same. The last three years, work has pissed me off and made it impossible to write.
 
That is awesome! I'm actually thinking about something similar. Sort of a series of vignettes featuring the some recurring characters that rotate through. I haven't done this before. I've always had one "big" novel I was working on. This is a new idea for me. I'm thinking along the lines of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories or maybe even Deadeye Dick. A novel, but not really a novel. I don't know. I'm not a Pantster or a Planner. I fall somewhere between the two. I usually begin with a general idea of what I'm writing and where I'm going and take it from there. This year my ideas are a lot less "formed" and a bit more flexible. Maybe that's a good thing.
RjThoughts said:
This year, I'm writing connected short stories and novellas, certain characters will appear across several of them or some locations will be the same. The last three years, work has pissed me off and made it impossible to write.
Click to expand...
 
lillianaZ said:
That is awesome! I'm actually thinking about something similar. Sort of a series of vignettes featuring the some recurring characters that rotate through. I haven't done this before. I've always had one "big" novel I was working on. This is a new idea for me. I'm thinking along the lines of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories or maybe even Deadeye Dick. A novel, but not really a novel. I don't know. I'm not a Pantster or a Planner. I fall somewhere between the two. I usually begin with a general idea of what I'm writing and where I'm going and take it from there. This year my ideas are a lot less "formed" and a bit more flexible. Maybe that's a good thing.
Click to expand...

There's something called the Short Story Cycle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story_cycle
 
lilli and RJ - just read through all this. Such a wonderful dialogue - thanks! I enjoyed it very much.

lilli have you ever participated in the summer camps?

I've developed a creative writing course at my college for Fall semesters that uses NaNoWriMo. We use Sept and Oct to learn plot, setting, characters - the basic story mechanics. For the month of November, we use class time to just write as all students are participating in NaNoWriMo. For the final month of class in December we learn about effective proofreading, editing and publishing.

It's a total effort grade. Students who complete the 50K words with elements clearly in place from what they learned get an "A." Grade goes down from there as word counts get lower or they don't really have coherency to their work.
 
litfan10 said:
lilli and RJ - just read through all this. Such a wonderful dialogue - thanks! I enjoyed it very much.

lilli have you ever participated in the summer camps?

I've developed a creative writing course at my college for Fall semesters that uses NaNoWriMo. We use Sept and Oct to learn plot, setting, characters - the basic story mechanics. For the month of November, we use class time to just write as all students are participating in NaNoWriMo. For the final month of class in December we learn about effective proofreading, editing and publishing.

It's a total effort grade. Students who complete the 50K words with elements clearly in place from what they learned get an "A." Grade goes down from there as word counts get lower or they don't really have coherency to their work.
Click to expand...

I wish either the community college or the 4-year school I attended had creative writing courses. No, I chose to be a Computer Science major...LOL
 
litfan: I did one of the first summer camps, but not since. I'm still a bit baffled that I've been doing them as long as I have. I honestly had no idea it had been so many years! I think it's great to build a class around Nano. That sounds like a great way to teach all the basic elements of writing.

rj: Yes, the Short story cycle is what I had in mind. And don't feel bad, I never took any creative writing classes either. I've read a lot and learned on the fly. It's not a bad way to do things!

I do have to say since finding this thread, I am feeling a little more encouraged and excited about Nano.

lilli
 
I had an interesting chat with a writer who I vaguely know. She has had four NaNoWriMo attempts. One has been published; and one is under offer. And she hasn't really given up on one of the others either.

I told her that my two attempts had run out of days at about the 25k word stage.

'Ah, you're editing as you go, aren't you?' she said. 'You can't do that.'

But that's how I write, dammit.

:)
 
lillianaZ said:
litfan: I did one of the first summer camps, but not since. I'm still a bit baffled that I've been doing them as long as I have. I honestly had no idea it had been so many years! I think it's great to build a class around Nano. That sounds like a great way to teach all the basic elements of writing.

rj: Yes, the Short story cycle is what I had in mind. And don't feel bad, I never took any creative writing classes either. I've read a lot and learned on the fly. It's not a bad way to do things!

I do have to say since finding this thread, I am feeling a little more encouraged and excited about Nano.

lilli
Click to expand...

I read a lot, too. It still would have helped me to take some fiction writing courses so I don't tell as much, show more, of the story.
 
One of the wonderful things about the age we live in now, is that there is so much information available without having to take a class. I know I would have benefited from taking a writing class, but there are plenty of authors out there who have never taken classes. Simply writing is the most important thing you can do to improve the quality of your writing. The more you practice the better you get. Especially if you are really trying to write something good. A lot of the craft part can be perfected during the editing process. The creative parts can't be taught.

I was actually feeling a little blah about doing NaNoWriMo this year. Now I feel pretty excited about it.
lilli
RjThoughts said:
I read a lot, too. It still would have helped me to take some fiction writing courses so I don't tell as much, show more, of the story.
Click to expand...
 
lillianaZ said:
One of the wonderful things about the age we live in now, is that there is so much information available without having to take a class. I know I would have benefited from taking a writing class, but there are plenty of authors out there who have never taken classes. Simply writing is the most important thing you can do to improve the quality of your writing. The more you practice the better you get. Especially if you are really trying to write something good. A lot of the craft part can be perfected during the editing process. The creative parts can't be taught.

I was actually feeling a little blah about doing NaNoWriMo this year. Now I feel pretty excited about it.
lilli
Click to expand...

Many people on Lit are doing NaNo. One of these years, whether NaNo proper or a CampNaNo, I'll do a short story cycle of naughty tales :devil:
 
lillianaZ said:
litfan: I did one of the first summer camps, but not since. I'm still a bit baffled that I've been doing them as long as I have. I honestly had no idea it had been so many years! I think it's great to build a class around Nano. That sounds like a great way to teach all the basic elements of writing.

rj: Yes, the Short story cycle is what I had in mind. And don't feel bad, I never took any creative writing classes either. I've read a lot and learned on the fly. It's not a bad way to do things!

I do have to say since finding this thread, I am feeling a little more encouraged and excited about Nano.

lilli
Click to expand...

I'd never thought about doing NaNo but after this thread I am now. Seems like a real driver to write and I like the whole pound it out concept. I tend to start every writing session with a re-read and edit of what I'm working on and that really slows my output down. I've done 10k words in a day a few times just pounding the story out without stopping so I think I'm going to try this.
 
Please remember - November is for writing, not editing. Editing comes in December or later.

Editing can damage the flow of words necessary to complete the challenge.
 
The best part of doing a short story cycle is that you don't need to write the chapters/stories in order.
 
RjThoughts said:
The best part of doing a short story cycle is that you don't need to write the chapters/stories in order.
Click to expand...

I did that in 2003 - 12 linked stories, in order, edited and posted to Literotica before the end of the NaNoWriMo month.

If today was part of NaNo, I'm ahead. I've already written 2,500 words on one story and 750 on another.
 
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oggbashan said:
I did that in 2003 - 12 linked stories, in order, edited and posted to Literotica before the end of the NaNoWriMo months.

If today was part of NaNo, I'm ahead. I've already written 2,500 words on one story and 750 on another.
Click to expand...

If I could count my intraoffice letters, it would take me a week to finish NaNo. LOL
 
RjThoughts said:
If I could count my intraoffice letters, it would take me a week to finish NaNo. LOL
Click to expand...

Me too - if not faster.

But NaNo doesn't have to be writing a story. If you have a project, an essay, a thesis? Any of those could be used towards the NaNo 50,000 words.

NaNo is whatever you want it to be. The only person who really knows whether you wrote the 50,000 words in the NaNo month is you. If you cheat? You're only deluding yourself.

NaNo is a tool for you to use. What you make with that tool is up to you.
 
oggbashan said:
Me too - if not faster.

But NaNo doesn't have to be writing a story. If you have a project, an essay, a thesis? Any of those could be used towards the NaNo 50,000 words.

NaNo is whatever you want it to be. The only person who really knows whether you wrote the 50,000 words in the NaNo month is you. If you cheat? You're only deluding yourself.

NaNo is a tool for you to use. What you make with that tool is up to you.
Click to expand...

I have so many stories ideas, so many already in note form, most of them non-eroticAs it stands, I have pencilled (outlined) just one erotic tale, but as I put on the bottom of my recent outline: *All subject to change if and when I find more caches of notes and stories.

If I'm allowed to write - work took up my free time the last two Novembers - I can see me hitting the 50K mark!
 
RjThoughts said:
I have so many stories ideas, so many already in note form, most of them non-eroticAs it stands, I have pencilled (outlined) just one erotic tale, but as I put on the bottom of my recent outline: *All subject to change if and when I find more caches of notes and stories.

If I'm allowed to write - work took up my free time the last two Novembers - I can see me hitting the 50K mark!
Click to expand...
I have a bunch of ideas too. I guess that's why I was considering a short story cycle. This year, I don't have "big" novel idea. What I seem to have in abundance are "little" ideas that wouldn't lend themselves to expansion. I do agree that you can't edit in November! In fact, I find that I don't want to even look at it until at least January, if then! I think at least a few of my efforts never received another glance after I finished them. Maybe my next New Year's resolution should be to pull those up and see what the hell I wrote.
 
lillianaZ said:
I have a bunch of ideas too. I guess that's why I was considering a short story cycle. This year, I don't have "big" novel idea. What I seem to have in abundance are "little" ideas that wouldn't lend themselves to expansion. I do agree that you can't edit in November! In fact, I find that I don't want to even look at it until at least January, if then! I think at least a few of my efforts never received another glance after I finished them. Maybe my next New Year's resolution should be to pull those up and see what the hell I wrote.
Click to expand...

Writing the Cycle lends itself to easier editing, I would think.
 
RjThoughts said:
Writing the Cycle lends itself to easier editing, I would think.
Click to expand...
I haven't ever tried it but, yes, it does seem like the editing process would be easier. Although, I suspect I will struggle with how to place them as a whole once I've finished! I'm a bit (read a lot) perfectionistic that's one major reason why I've never shared anything I've written with anyone until very recently. I'm trying to break out of it and start to share some of my writing efforts.
 
lillianaZ said:
I haven't ever tried it but, yes, it does seem like the editing process would be easier. Although, I suspect I will struggle with how to place them as a whole once I've finished! I'm a bit (read a lot) perfectionistic that's one major reason why I've never shared anything I've written with anyone until very recently. I'm trying to break out of it and start to share some of my writing efforts.
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Been there myself, but since the days of when AOL had writing contests, I've not cared about being so perfect. I don't sweat the small stuff any longer
 
RjThoughts said:
Been there myself, but since the days of when AOL had writing contests, I've not cared about being so perfect. I don't sweat the small stuff any longer
Click to expand...

For me, I think it's the fear that I don't have anything of value to contribute. I think about all the great writers who have captured the human condition so brilliantly and I wonder if there is anything unique that I can contribute. But then I look at what is being published and I wonder why I'm not contributing! Not sure that makes sense, but there it is.
 
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