So; NaNoWriMo?

[panik]

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...

Comments

[rhianne.livejournal.com]

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*

[boogieshoes.livejournal.com]

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

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

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.

[hawk-soaring.livejournal.com]

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!

[earth2skye.livejournal.com]

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 ;-)