NaNoWriMo '15: It's Over

[wild rose]

NaNoWriMo


National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is an online writing marathon that takes place every year from November 1st to November 30 (why November of all months I have no idea ). It is a challenge to write a 50,000 words novel in 30 days or less. Hundreds of people (if not thousands) around the world participate every year and Narniaweb has always been famous for it's active participation from the community. I hope this year will be no exception

If you are new to the whole idea of NaNoWriMo, you can find all information on their site:nanowrimo

So, for those crazy people who are willing to dedicate 30 days to writing and writing and writing, let's get the party started.

Some questions to get the thread going.

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?

How many times have you won?

What's your plan for NaNo this month?

Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?

[shastastwin]

Oh, boy, here we go...

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?
Yes; five times.

How many times have you won?
Only twice, but I'm determined this year.

What's your plan for NaNo this month?
Lots and lots of word wars and very little else.

Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?
I don't drink coffee at all, but I suspect there will be more tea than usual in my November.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?
Just keep writing...

I actually did an intro to my NaNo novel on my blog recently. You can check that out here.

[daughter of the King]

Woops, I haven't logged into my nano account since last year. Better fix that.

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?
Yes, and I have no idea.

How many times have you won?
Zero. I nearly always have too much homework or I get sick. I've eliminated the former, but it's hard to avoid the latter.

What's your plan for NaNo this month?
Dragon. It's a dictation software. That way if my hands get tired I can keep going. Also, I installed it awhile ago but haven't fully calibrated it to my voice, so there's an extra incentive.

Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?
No coffee for me. But snacks are a must. Chewing helps me stay focused.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?
Even if you write only ten words the whole month you'll at least have started to work on your story. Also, purple prose is totally allowed. You can edit it out in December.

[stargazer]

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times? How many times have you won?

I first learned about it here on NarniaWeb. This will be my 7th time participating. I've won twice (real life-or writers' block-keeps getting in the way).

What's your plan for NaNo this month?

I'm going to continue last year's story, which reached about 30k by the end of the month but has a lot more to go. It's a medieval swords-and-scorcery/D&D type adventure, with a 21st-century person transported there (sure, it's cliched, Mark Twain wrote a classic like this, but it's all for fun, right? And I have a few plot twists compared to Connecticut Yankee - he may have his modern knowledge but it won't give him much advantage, and his companions expect him to have full knowledge of this new world and he doesn't have much of a clue).

Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?

I'm not a coffee drinker either. My caffeine source of choice is Mountain Dew, which is essential all the time. And chocolate...lots of chocolate.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?

Turn off your inner editor. Get the words down on the page (or the screen); there will be time later to find just the right turn of phrase or name for that antagonist.

If this is your first NaNo, it's strongly recommended you start from scratch - a totally new story - on November 1 (the rules used to require this but were recently changed). Creating something brand new is part of the fun, especially the first time. (This is the first time I'm continuing a previous story because I want to see what happens ).

[SummerSnow]

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times? How many times have you won
Yes. I have participated and won NaNo six times.

What's your plan for NaNo this month?
I have been planning and outlining for my NaNo story this year, since I'm determined to make a novel that is not all over the place (or at least not as much as it normally is). I'm terrible at coming up with plots, though, so all I've gotten so far is a basic idea, some scenes, and my characters. It's a fantasy realistic setting with siblings on a road trip.


Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?
No, I don't drink coffee. I don't really rely on coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, or anything like that during NaNo. This year I'm planning on have some tea and hot chocolate once in a while, since it can help me get into the writing mood.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?
Word wars are quite amazing for getting a burst of inspiration (or at the very least, getting some more words down). They are also very helpful for increasing your typing/writing speed. And even if you don't end up using what you wrote for NaNo to edit, you have still gotten your ideas out, and you can use what you learned to further develop that story idea, as well as improve your writing.

Stargazer, the rules have changed? I did not know that! I generally like to start something new for NaNo, but that's nice to know for future reference. Do you think continuing a story will be harder, easier, or about the same than starting a new story? (or if you don't know, you can wait to answer that until November. )

[stargazer]

I'm a bit surprised at how many of us don't drink coffee. I thought it would be the preferred drink in November.

Stargazer, the rules have changed? I did not know that! I generally like to start something new for NaNo, but that's nice to know for future reference.

Here is a discussion about the change and recommending starting from scratch, especially for one's first NaNo.

Do you think continuing a story will be harder, easier, or about the same than starting a new story?

Good question! The ideas keep flowing for this, like they have done for my from-scratch stories in the past, so I'm not sure what effect having 55k words already done will have. I'll find out soon, I think.

I can relate to that post's observations about having a lot invested in a work-in-progress that can influence how NaNo goes. I'm wondering if I have 50k more words for this story (I'll only count those words written in November for winning purposes).

[MoonlightDancer]

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?
Yes! Twice
How many times have you won?
Twice.
What's your plan for NaNo this month?
I'm writing a new stand alone novel. I've had an idea that I've wanted to write about for years but I never seemed to make it fit together in my head before.
Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it? I couldn't get out of bed without coffee or function as a human without it...so that would be a yes.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year? Have a plan! It's really easy to not get stuck if you know where the story needs to go. I'd recommend mapping out chapters. Write about something that you're dying to write about. Be creative and don't worry about rambling on or cutting scenes or making a work of art. Just make it unique to you. And have fun!

[Meltintalle]

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?
I think this will be my eight year, and hopefully my eight completed November novel.

What's your plan for NaNo this month?
Probably late night typing sessions where I try to keep up with the suggested word count.

Do you drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?
No, but a couple of years ago I started eating candy corn.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?
It's nice to have a cheering section. And a plan, even if your plan only looks like it'll get you to 15,000 words.

[SummerSnow]

It's been awfully quiet in the thread for being November.

How is the writing going for everyone? I'm almost at my word goal for the day, so I'm happy about that. I combined two of my plans (which only covered the first several chapters) to a story I like so far, so I'm hopeful it will continue this way.

Does anyone else like to listen to music while they write? If so, do you have songs in particular that you've really liked listening to while working on your novel?
I know some people find it distracting, but I find it can be quite helpful for getting me into the mood of the scene. Depending on whether or not I actually want to write. If I don't, then anything can then become a distraction.

[shastastwin]

I've been doing pretty well with my word counts so far. Sending out the day's work to beta readers does wonders for your motivation. It also forces me to reach chapter's end each day, which keeps me moving along. I've had to adjust my outline, but that's NaNo for you.

I have actually been compiling a playlist for this book over the last month or two, starting with the songs that helped inspire it. That's generally what I listen to while I write.

[Meltintalle]

I started out behind on my word count, and it looks like I may stay that way for awhile. On the bright side (I think it's a bright side), I'm not as far along in my outline as I expected to be so I haven't fallen off into uncharted and really rough territory. But the whole translating the images in my head into words thing could be better.

[aileth]

I am also behind, so I shouldn't really even be posting, but starting to get into the swing of things. I didn't do nearly as much revving up prior to starting -- sad mistake

[MoonlightDancer]

I'm currently really behind--just reached 5k. I hope to catch up tomorrow. Kind of hard to work full time, train for a half marathon, and do Nano at the same time.

[stargazer]

I'm woefully behind in word count. Too many distractions. But when I sit down to write, the words eventually come, and I'm hoping to take some time the next few days to try to catch up - or at least get closer to where I should be.

[wild rose]

So, I'm behind in answering these questions but I figured better late than never

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before and if so how many times? I did my first NaNoWriMo in 2011, (all thanks to Narniaweb by the way ) ever since then I became addicted and I can't imagine a November with NaNo

How many times have you won? I've won every time I've participated, so that would make it four times.

What's your plan for NaNo? I'm doing two stories this year, mainly because each story won't reach 50k on its own. I'm juggling some other writing projects as well, but I'm not counting them, cause feel it unfair to my main focus. I know, I've got a weird logic.

Do you drink coffee during NaNo, do you think you could get by without it? I can't have coffee so I get by without it. I even started thread on the NaNo forum for those who don't drink coffee during our writing month

Any advice for people think to try this year
It's okay if you find yourself struggling from time to time, just enjoy the idea that you are creating...even if it total and utter nonsense, at least it is your nonsense just get it all out, don't pause to rewrite and make it better, I found it easier if you get the whole thing written, no matter how bad, and then edit later. So write, write, write

So far I've been doing pretty good word count wise, sometimes the writing has gotten hard and the novels aren't as planned out as I usually like them to be, but I plow through, despite some awful writing, I'll fix it all later, in December....or whenever

For all those who are behind, you can catch up, rooting for you

[DamselJillPole]

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo before, if so, how many times?

I actually have once but I deleted my story because on the site because I couldn't get through 1000 words. I regret that now.

How many times have you won?

0 Times

What's your plan for NaNo this month?

Even if I don't make 50000 words by the end of this month I'll still feel satisfied that I tried and did my best. I also promise that I wont delete my stats this time when it's all over.

I had a pretty good start at the beginning, but once I went to work after a short vacation I've gotten a bit behind. I write on my phone at work a little and then I start to pick up the pace when I get back home. That's basically how i planned it out. I try to get at least 3000 word count done each day.


Do drink coffee during NaNo? Do you think you could make it through NaNo without it?

I actually drank coffee once so far this year for Nano but that is because my coffee machine is broken. However that one time I found a loophole in making it but I'm too lazy to try and do it again.

Any advice for people who are thinking to try this year?

I always tell people to write everyday about something. Even if its 30-10000 words. I find it to be a great practice and exercise for aspiring writers and was something I read a few years ago and it works. It does help beat the writers block when you are inspired everyday. It also becomes routine.

Most of you that I have as buddies, I have checked all your stats each day and keep up the great work everyone!