National Novel Writing Month 2016

oggbashan

Dying Truth seeker
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NaNoWriMo starts on November 1st

http://nanowrimo.org/

You can use the month of November to challenge yourself to write 50,000 words. Despite the title of the site, 50,000 words is NOT a novel. It could be the start of a novel, an outline of a novel, or just a random collection of thoughts that might be inspirations for later novels.

OR - it can be one or more stories to be posted on Literotica, for the Winter Holidays Contest, or next year's Valentine's Day Contest or...

The challenge is for yourself. No one but you knows whether you wrote 50,000 original words or not. The only person you would be cheating is yourself if you put 50,000 copied and pasted words through NaNoWriMo's word counter.

This thread is to encourage you to take up the NaNoWriMo challenge and to support you and other Literotica authors who do NaNoWriMo.

From past experience you should set yourself a target of 2,000 words a day. 1,666 words would do IF nothing interferes with your writing. 2,000 words allows for inconvenient interruptions such as a family crisis. Once you fall behind your daily total it can get harder and harder to recover.

There are groups and local activities connected to NaNoWriMo but beware! Those activities can be enjoyable but distract you from your main object - to write 50,000 words by the end of November.

You don't have to edit, correct or polish the words - just get those words into your wordprocessor. You can sort them out in December.

Write whatever you like but WRITE.

I hope what is written in November will eventually appear as stories on Literotica but if they actually appear as money-earning stories? That's great too.

I will not be taking part because I know I can type 50,000 words in a month. In 2003 I decided to make the NaNoWriMo challenge more interesting for me. I set myself the target of writing all 50,000 words as a linked series of chapters and to have edited them and have them posted as stories on Literotica (even allowing for the delay in the posting process) by the end of November. The result was the twelve chapters of Flawed Red Silk. That story stands exactly as I left it before the end of November 2003.

If you haven't tried NaNoWriMo you could find it easy, or difficult. But what you might prove to yourself is that you CAN write even when you don't feel like it. Remember. The only person who will know that you have succeeded is yourself. If you do - you will remember that for years. If you don't? You can learn from the experience and try again next year.

Good luck! And start working out how and what you will be writing on November 1st to 30th.
 
I might try again but I'll set a lower goal for myself the way they have it in summer camp. I have several pieces I would like done before the end of the year. Between personal issues and losing my brother, I seem to have lost the desire to write. I want it back.
 
I usually participate, but I don't think I can this year. The 11th-13th I'm set up at comic con and the following week we're going to SC for four days for my wife's cousins wedding. Then of course Thanksgiving and we're hosting a few people from out of town for the four day weekend.

Maybe I'll enter, but with a small goal just to try to distract me from all that wonderful family time.:rolleyes:
 
I usually participate, but I don't think I can this year. The 11th-13th I'm set up at comic con and the following week we're going to SC for four days for my wife's cousins wedding. Then of course Thanksgiving and we're hosting a few people from out of town for the four day weekend.

Maybe I'll enter, but with a small goal just to try to distract me from all that wonderful family time.:rolleyes:

I like the option of setting our own goal, the way they have summer camp. The timing of writing challenges isn't always the best.

Enjoy your assorted activities.
 
Bump.

NaNoWriMo starts today. Write 2,000 words today and you're on your way.
 
Did an online write-in with my region at midnight. I wrote 1600 words, but now my eyes are so very angry at me. :(
Worth it, though.

Edit: It'll be especially worth it if I can double that number tonight. :)
 
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I'm participating this year for the first time. I'm terrified and excited at the same time. As soon as I get some work done, I'm going to start writing my first page.

Fingers crossed. Good luck to all that are trying this year :)
 
I'm participating this year, as I have the last three years. Though, this year I am not starting with a new idea, I am continuing my novel from last year. Even though I finished the 50,000 words, my novel was far from "finished."

I have yet to write today, I've been busy with work. Hoping to get to it later this evening.
 
Got 1,732 words done today. Feeling like I actually accomplished something. Writing the beginning is so hard.
 
Good luck to all those doing NaNoWriMo.

I might write a lot during November but whether it will be 50,000?

That depends on family affairs.
 
Good luck to all those doing NaNoWriMo.

I might write a lot during November but whether it will be 50,000?

That depends on family affairs.

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for being a single, childless homebody who hangs out with her cat every night.
It leaves so much time for writing! :D
 
We kicked off with a write-in tonight and I picked up 2,000 words. Planning to get up a little early every morning and write. Good luck all! :rose:
 
I'm working on short stories, not a novel, but I wanted to keep up a daily word count. Just 637 words today, plus some editing. I'm going to try to make up the remainder over the rest of the week.
 
I'm working on short stories, not a novel, but I wanted to keep up a daily word count. Just 637 words today, plus some editing. I'm going to try to make up the remainder over the rest of the week.

I did the short story thing last year. it took nine short stories to make the 50k. Some were complete at the end and some still aren't. Time is always a problem.

Quit the editing right now. That's for later other than fixing misspelled words.
 
I'm working on short stories, not a novel, but I wanted to keep up a daily word count. Just 637 words today, plus some editing. I'm going to try to make up the remainder over the rest of the week.

December is for editing. November is just for writing - who cares if it is crap that needs weeding and polishing later?

Just WREITE! (And spell check in December!)
 
December is for editing. November is just for writing - who cares if it is crap that needs weeding and polishing later?

Just WREITE! (And spell check in December!)

This whole don't-edit-as-you-go thing is stressing me out more than the word count.

If I call my doctor and tell her that my nightly compulsion to fix my words is going to lead to a nervous breakdown, do you think she'll prescribe me enough Valium to last the rest of month?
 
This whole don't-edit-as-you-go thing is stressing me out more than the word count.

If I call my doctor and tell her that my nightly compulsion to fix my words is going to lead to a nervous breakdown, do you think she'll prescribe me enough Valium to last the rest of month?




I'm the same way. It's SO hard not to edit as you go.
 
I'm the same way. It's SO hard not to edit as you go.

I know you have wondered why you write so slow. Editing takes twice as much time as writing it in the first place. The idea behind NANO is to get you in the habit of writing so much a day and at the same time every day. You might not believe it but once you get into the flow, the less editing you will have to do.

Old habits are hard to break but bite the bullet and quit editing. :rose:
 
I know you have wondered why you write so slow. Editing takes twice as much time as writing it in the first place. The idea behind NANO is to get you in the habit of writing so much a day and at the same time every day. You might not believe it but once you get into the flow, the less editing you will have to do.

Old habits are hard to break but bite the bullet and quit editing. :rose:


I know exactly why I write so slowly. The reasons are varied and many. I've done NaNo several times, successfully. I know the deal. But truly, getting into the flow does not reduce the need for editing. It's just that the editing needs to wait until later. It's just a different mindset than the way people, like me, usually write. Which is part of the fun.
 
I know you have wondered why you write so slow. Editing takes twice as much time as writing it in the first place. The idea behind NANO is to get you in the habit of writing so much a day and at the same time every day. You might not believe it but once you get into the flow, the less editing you will have to do.

Old habits are hard to break but bite the bullet and quit editing. :rose:

Editing it as you go also disrupts the flow of unfolding the story in your mind. May not bother other people, but it does me.
 
I edit as I go out of anxiety. While writing, my brain is constantly feeding me better ways to phrase something I'd written a few words, sentences, or paragraphs back. I worry that if I don't make the change right away, the idea will leave my mind and I won't get it back. My memory is shit, so the anxiety is justified.

Hence the need for Valium.
 
This whole don't-edit-as-you-go thing is stressing me out more than the word count.

If I call my doctor and tell her that my nightly compulsion to fix my words is going to lead to a nervous breakdown, do you think she'll prescribe me enough Valium to last the rest of month?

I'm the same way. It's SO hard not to edit as you go.

I'm so glad to learn that this isn't just a problem for me. It's seriously a compulsion. My vision passes over a sentence I don't like, and suddenly I'm agonizing over word choice and going back through the whole thing.

I know you have wondered why you write so slow. Editing takes twice as much time as writing it in the first place. The idea behind NANO is to get you in the habit of writing so much a day and at the same time every day. You might not believe it but once you get into the flow, the less editing you will have to do.

Old habits are hard to break but bite the bullet and quit editing. :rose:

You're absolutely right. And this is exactly why I need to participate in NaNoWriMo. I need to develop new writing habits or I'll never accomplish everything I want to in the future.

*salutes, goes off to type*
 
I edit as I go out of anxiety. While writing, my brain is constantly feeding me better ways to phrase something I'd written a few words, sentences, or paragraphs back. I worry that if I don't make the change right away, the idea will leave my mind and I won't get it back. My memory is shit, so the anxiety is justified.

Hence the need for Valium.

Would a nice glass of wine work just as well?
 
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