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So; NaNoWriMo?

posted by [personal profile] panik at 12:34pm on 15/10/2007 under ,
Never done this, never really given it much thought before, tbh but, being in the prep stages of a novel that'll probably start getting written in November anyway...

If you've done NaNoWriMo -
If you're thinking of doing NaNoWriMo -
If you've never done it and never , ever intend to ever have anything to do with NaNoWriMo...

Have you got any thoughts? What are the advantages/disadvantages (bearing in mind I'm going to be writing this thing anyway, challenge or no challenge)? I'm really interested in thoughts, experiences, opinions...
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There are 13 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

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posted by [identity profile] rhianne.livejournal.com at 12:13pm on 15/10/2007
Hi hon. For what it's worth, I did NaNoWriMo about four years ago. It was great fun, but an incredible amount of pressure (though that does depend on your writing speed, I guess, 1667 words every day was a lot for me!). I managed the 50,000 words with about four days to spare, and it felt like a great achievement, but I must admit I'm not sure I'd ever do it again. The story I wrote for Nano ended up at about 60,000 words, was unfinished, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone back to the story since then. I'm beginning to wonder if it'll ever get written!

Having a daily deadline really does help to spur you on to keep writing, even when you're having a bad day or don't want to sit at the computer/whatever, but it really depends on how much other stuff you have to get done during that month. I was also doing on a full-time job when I did it, and doing 8 hours real work and then having to go home and start that was a little too much for me, though as I said, I'm glad I did it.

Just my 2p, if it helps. *hugs*
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] gillyp.livejournal.com at 12:21pm on 15/10/2007
Hmmm. I'm not good with pressure tbh; I won't even do a fic challenge, but I'm going to be writing this anyway... Not sure I need the discipline, really and I really don;t need the pressure.

::still thinking::

Thanks for the input. (o: (Hope you're doing OK?)

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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] rhianne.livejournal.com at 04:12pm on 15/10/2007
Hmm. Well, to be fair to Nanowrimo, they don't really put 'pressure' on you, so to speak. You get an email once a week, reminding you of the deadline and how many words you should have done by then to be on track.

There are forums and LJ comms you can join to keep in contact with other people, but I never got involved in them.

The real pressure that I found was the pressure I put on myself, which is something I tend to do once I commit to something. I'm a bit of a worrier *g* If you're good at not putting too much pressure on yourself then you probably won't find it as much of a problem as I did.
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] boogieshoes.livejournal.com at 01:03pm on 15/10/2007
i'm thinking of doing a mini nano this year - 100 words a day, non-prompt-related on one of my two major WIPs, both of which i'd like to actually see finished at some point. i think i've really got something going with those two stories, and i've got so little focus... so i'm trying to help that along. i'm going to mod the start/end dates, though, because i probably will not take my laptop with me over thanksgiving when i visit my parents.

-bs
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] gillyp.livejournal.com at 01:33pm on 15/10/2007
I just can't decide if it's going to be much use to me, tbh. I'm going to be writing the novel anyway - it'll be around 100,000 words when it's done is my guess so a month is nowhere near long enough anyway, especially since I'll be writing 2 fics WIPs at the same time. (o:

So... ::shrug::

Good luck with your projects!
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] boogieshoes.livejournal.com at 11:23pm on 15/10/2007
thank you :)

you said below that you don't feel you want to do it for discipline or inspiration reasons - i'm not sure those're are the only reasons around to do it though. i think there are a fair amount of people who are in it for the networking/social part of it - like a giant writer's workshop weekend or something. part of the workshop is just getting together with other writers and gabbing about what you're writing.

i know maygra is also doing a mini nano again this year - but to prompts, not like mine. i'm not so good with prompts, which is why i decided to go it alone, but if you'd like something like that, or to make a commitment to do some sort of excercise every day, i think that's a perfectly reasonable thing to declare as your nano project.

this is kinda rambly, but i'm trying to say don't go by what other people are doing; go by what you feel is best.

-bs
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] gillyp.livejournal.com at 10:42am on 16/10/2007
Well the social/networking thing I could certainly get behind. I'm not sure why I thought about it really, just that it's coming up, people are talking about it and I'm about to start writing anyway so, I was wondering what people thought about it.

I'm still thinking about it. (o: Thanks for your thoughts though, they've been a big help.
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posted by [identity profile] sassyinkpen.livejournal.com at 02:00pm on 15/10/2007
I'm doing NaNo this year - and the more I read about it the more excited I get. I decided to do it as a way to break the writer's block I've been dealing with for most of this year, and as a way to branch into some different forms of writing.

Taken at its heart, NaNo is really about ignoring your inner editor and just letting your imagination flow - no matter how bad it is, or implausible it is, or...whatever.

Which is exactly what I need.

I've got a premise, and the barest bones of an outline, and now I'm working on fleshing out the main characters - but that's all the prep I'm really going to do. Other than making a list of good ideas for scenes and events so that if I get stuck I have something to turn to.

I figure the worst that can happen is I fail, I don't finish by the end of the month, but big deal.
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posted by [identity profile] gillyp.livejournal.com at 02:10pm on 15/10/2007
It seems most people are doing it because they need some discipline or structure and I don't think I do. I'm already committed to writing my novel...

So...

LOL! I don't know. *G* I'm starting to wonder if it's for me, really, which is fine - I needed to know if there was any advantage to me doing it and I'm thinking, probably not.

Thanks for the input.
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] hawk-soaring.livejournal.com at 10:27pm on 15/10/2007
This year will be year 5 for me. I love doing NaNo. I have no idea what I'm going to write going in (usually) and just WRITE. Last year I had an opening scene in my head and it wound up taking on a life of its own and was immensely fun to write. I usually go to the forums, pick up a ton of challenges, and see how many insane ideas I can fit into it. It can be a blast if you let it be and don't get bogged down in the fact that you really don't have time to worry about every word that goes on the page. Good luck, with your novel!
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posted by [identity profile] gillyp.livejournal.com at 10:45am on 16/10/2007
Well, I don;t need challenges; I already know what I'm going to write, I'm just planning and trying to work out the basics right now. I was just trying to decide, since I'm already writing this novel, if there were any advantages to signing up to NaNo...

Good luck, with your novel!
Thanks. You too!
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posted by [identity profile] earth2skye.livejournal.com at 03:57pm on 16/10/2007
I thought about it last year but then didn't go for it because I just knew I wouldn't have enough time, even though -- back then -- I was still good at producing humungous word counts in a rather short time. Sine then however, I've learned to be very wary of when this happens, because mostly the result is just crap. Also, while a bit of pressure is good to get me writing when I'm tired or would waste time surfing around because I don't want to force myself to concentrate, it's not good when it gets me writing when I just don't feel like it at all. For me, sometimes trying to write when it just doesn't want to flow is worse than not writing at all. Did this make any sense? Then again, you asked for my thoughts ;-)
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Too cool for subject

posted by [identity profile] earth2skye.livejournal.com at 04:00pm on 16/10/2007
Reading over the comments you got so far my own sense finally became clear to me;-) I guess what i was saying is that, if you have an idea that's very dear to you and want to give it the best you've got, maybe writing to a deadline is not the way to go...
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