# NaNo 2014



## Emily Logan (Jul 7, 2014)

I know it's early-ish (although, if you plan on ml'ing, better get those apps in!) to be posting for NaNo 2014, but I was just wondering

Who's planning on NaNo'ing this year?
Do you NaNo every year? Will this be your first?
Is any one planning on ML'ing? Or hoping to?

I'll start.

I'm Emily Logan (that's my NaNo user handle as well). Except for two years when I was simply not able to wrap my head around NaNo due to extenuating life circumstances, I have NaNo'ed every year since 06, when I discovered NaNo was a certain time every year. (I'd heard of it the year before, but didn't know the ins & outs; like, it happens during November.) NaNo is like a writer's holiday to me. I have no responsibilities to drag me down, like work or school, and challenge me to work around those issues. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

I've MLed once before, in 07, right before life got in my way. When I was able to come back, I found the guidelines for MLs had changed and I was unable to apply; by the time I discovered it, it was after the dead line. Then we had an ML (for a year any way) and I haven't been able to apply again yet. (No ML last year.) I just finished my application and can only hope they'll accept my application. Since I haven't been too involved in the world in the past few years, one can only hope. Maybe the fact that I've MLed once and won twice (of 6 times *sharp inhale, crossed fingers*) will help. I want to be of service if I can. The most important thing to me, though, is that I at least participate, even if I'm only responsible for myself.


----------



## aliveatnight (Jul 8, 2014)

It's something that I've been thinking about doing, and it'll be my first time if I do. What is ML'ing?


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 8, 2014)

Municipal Liason. It's the leader/s of your area. Mine is a bit unorganized. Last year, we didn't even have an ML. I would like to see NaNo succeed here. 

Haha. I may be the newbie on this forum, but our roles reverse when discussing NaNo. :tongue: That's ok; we're all new to something sooner or later.

So glad to hear you'll be joining us! If you don't have a story yet, no reason for concern. The best time for dreaming is in October; then you quickly write down what you can. I wouldn't recommend non-fiction for NaNo. It's more geared towards fiction books. No editing! Not a lot of research time- 50k words are the ultimate goal between midnight November 1st to midnight November 30th. Preperation work is allowed during October, but not a word in the book can be written before November 1st.


----------



## popsprocket (Jul 8, 2014)

I think I've outgrown NaNo.

As elitist as it'll sound, the crowd on the nano forum is a bit... well they're a fair way below the level of 'good' writers.


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 8, 2014)

Oh,  so you're a published author! Gratz pops. What books have you  written? Are they on the best seller's list?


----------



## J Anfinson (Jul 8, 2014)

Did it last year for the first time and lost* (didn't help that I started like 8 days late) but it was fun and I did get more words down that month than I ever have in a month before, so I'm sure I'll be giving it another go. Must fight the editing demons this time...

*Final word count ended up being about 14,000.


----------



## popsprocket (Jul 8, 2014)

Emily Logan said:


> Oh,  so you're a published author! Gratz pops. What books have you  written? Are they on the best seller's list?



Now, now, I didn't say it with the intent of offending, it's just an honest opinion.


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 8, 2014)

November isn't for editing, pops. Don't be so quick to judge. Books have actually been published out of NaNo. Water for Elephants being one of the many popular NaNo books. (And that one was made into a movie! Right quick, considering NaNo just started in '99.)

 Here's a few more.

11 NaNoWriMo Books That Have Been Published
14 Published Novels Written During NaNoWriMo

I'm not trying to be smart, pops. My apologies if I offended. I'm just curious who's interested in NaNo. If you don't want to participate, that's your choice. I'm just concerned a statement like what you said originally could damage someone who's loosely considering NaNo. I want to be encouraging, not discouraging. NaNo is one of my favorite events of the year. Only a rotten life event was able to keep me from it.

 J, I didn't win my first year either. But it was a learning experience; I learned what worked and what didn't, and I did eventually win a couple. I've seen a few who've won every year; but that's not every body. Don't let that fact discourage you. Do it every year, fight for every word and reach that 50k. You'll get it. Believe in yourself. 

 Let me tell you a little secret that's helped me. There are various groups throughout the internet- FB, Twitter, local (online) group chats, etc that get together for the purposes of writing as a team (each with their individual projects, of course, but working at the same time). I think the number one most important thing that has helped me to succeed is getting involved with these groups for the soul purpose of... WORD WARS! You can do it by yourself or with others. The point is to write as many words as you can in a limited time frame and see if you can beat that score. You can also try to beat others' scores. It's really challenging and helps you pound out that book quickly. There are also writing buddies on NaNo; I don't know much about them. I've been all about word wars.

 Also, as I have said previously, NO EDITING DURING NOVEMBER. Planning is for October. Writing is for November. Editing is for December and after. There's another site that does NaNoEdMo- National Novel Editing Month in March (looking it up; found hiatus for 2014, but they expect to return in 2015). Waiting til March gives people time to breathe and relax from the marathon in November. Remember, every failure teaches you how not to accomplish your goal and gives you an idea of how to succeed. How many times did Thomas Edison "fail" the light bulb? It likely won't take you that many times to succeed at NaNoWriMo, but the point is, each "failure" teaches you something. Good luck and have fun!


----------



## PiP (Jul 9, 2014)

Hi Emily, 

In answer to your questions...
Who's planning on NaNo'ing this year? _I'd like to but it really depends on other commitments._
 Do you NaNo every year? Will this be your first? _I've only participated in the NaNo Challenge once (2012) and I completed it._
Is any one planning on ML'ing? Or hoping to? _No, I'll hopefully receive some support with a group here. Last time I worked with a group of bloggers and we all posted the word count widget to our blogs so we could monitor progress._


Good Luck with your ML application.


----------



## bookmasta (Jul 9, 2014)

popsprocket said:


> I think I've outgrown NaNo.
> 
> As elitist as it'll sound, the crowd on the nano forum is a bit... well they're a fair way below the level of 'good' writers.



This. However, everyone needs to be begin somewhere.


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 10, 2014)

Thanks, Pip. I hope I get it too. 

I've heard schooling for pastors can be really tough. And yet we've had these same students do NaNo in the past. It depends on how much you feel you can handle, really. Founder, Chris Baty does not suggest waiting til you have a month to take off work to do NaNo. (See No Plot? No Problem!) Because when you have nothing to do, it's actually further grounds for procrastination. You'll find tons of other things to do with your time- rather then doing what you're really supposed to be doing and writing that book. It's when every thing is going on in your life you actually have more of a chance of succeeding- because you'll find every spare moment you can to write as much and as quickly as you can. Every one has a limit, of course, as I'm sure you know yours. Just food for thought. 

That blogging group sounds interesting. I've had a hard time setting up an author blog, though, because I can't seem to find a name that hasn't been taken. Aggravating. I'll keep that in mind in case I do find a name that works, though.


----------



## aliveatnight (Jul 10, 2014)

Emily Logan said:


> Municipal Liason. It's the leader/s of your area. Mine is a bit unorganized. Last year, we didn't even have an ML. I would like to see NaNo succeed here.
> 
> Haha. I may be the newbie on this forum, but our roles reverse when discussing NaNo. :tongue: That's ok; we're all new to something sooner or later.
> 
> So glad to hear you'll be joining us! If you don't have a story yet, no reason for concern. The best time for dreaming is in October; then you quickly write down what you can. I wouldn't recommend non-fiction for NaNo. It's more geared towards fiction books. No editing! Not a lot of research time- 50k words are the ultimate goal between midnight November 1st to midnight November 30th. Preperation work is allowed during October, but not a word in the book can be written before November 1st.


I see no reason not to try it. It sounds like it could be a fun challenge, and one that benefits you even if you lose. I'll definitely be keeping this in mind.


----------



## Bishop (Jul 10, 2014)

Hm. I've been considering this, mostly because of my novels written, both came in at 105K+ words, and each were written in less than 50 days. As I see it, writing 50K words in 30 days is 1,667 words a day for the entire month of November. Normally, I take weekends off from writing, taking away ten days in November of this year, meaning I'd need to write about 2,380 words everyday for the 21 days I would be writing in November; just 380 words over my minimum word count right now. Not very challenging, given some of my word counts go much higher than that (though, admittedly, my momentum comes in waves at times). 

I suppose I probably will be doing NaNoWriMo, if nothing else for the fact that I know I can accomplish it. But as for actually posting to the NaNo site and all that jazz... eh. Not so sure. If I do it, it'll likely be for myself and my own word counts, not posting my numbers to their site.


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 10, 2014)

You have some impressive numbers there! Pushing myself HARD, I think I've gotten 7k; but it's an exhausting exercise to try that many. The only reason I did it was because I was running behind; although there might have been a day (maybe the first time it happened?) that I got it by accident. I was just pushing to get the word count out and discovered that I made a high number. I haven't been able to do 10k. I'd have to "train" for that. (Again referring to No Plot? No Problem! Baty compares writing for NaNo to running a 5k marathon. It takes practice!)

By the way, Bishop, if the numbers are too easy for you- no one said you had to stick to the 50k number. That's just a general word count goal. You can set the bar so it challenges you more. There are crazy numbers people set for the first day alone- the more you write in the first couple of days, the less you have to worry about for the rest of the month I believe is the idea.


----------



## Bishop (Jul 11, 2014)

Yeah, I can always beef it up. I just don't know about going to the NaNo site and registering and putting my word count up everyday... that's the part I'm kinda "meh" about.


----------



## J Anfinson (Jul 11, 2014)

Actually you don't have to go there every day. Technically you could register and come back  on day 30 to report your 50k+, validate it with their word count tool and still win.


----------



## Emily Logan (Jul 11, 2014)

Woohoo, Anfinson! Well spoken!


----------



## Miles-Kirk (Aug 29, 2014)

I always pondered on the idea of joining in on the NaNo fun, but never had the gusto or even time to try. Now that I have, I will be partaking this year.


----------



## Silver (Sep 1, 2014)

Hello, hello. This year will be my ninth year (almost consecutive) of NaNoWriMo. It's been a bit of a rush the past couple of years, as November is when my classes finish up. 

I'm not sure what I will be working on this year. I think not knowing is part of the fun.

I am 'JM' over there.


----------



## columbo1977 (Sep 2, 2014)

I have tried for 4 years and failed for 4 years, I always had something on. Mainly Uni, full time job, 5 kids etc etc...

this year I have finished Uni so I have the time and I am determined to get it done this year, I hope to get to some writing events. Either online or in person as I have found this to be very motivating in te past.

Graham


----------



## spartan928 (Oct 2, 2014)

Hey Emily, tossing my hat in this year. Spent September weeding out ideas and settled on a synopsis. This month I plan to write each day to limber up and have the novel all mapped out ready to go for November 1. Doing mainly because my daughter and I are both participating and for the challenge of it. Also, to motivate my arse a bit. Good luck!


----------



## Pluralized (Oct 12, 2014)

Also going to try again this year, having 'won' last year. I don't really see it as winning, however, since my 50k was basically a steaming pile of forcibly written poop. I'd recommend to anyone considering this, make sure you know your story going into it. If you're a die-hard pantser, it's rough to manage those thirty days' worth of momentum into something useful. It was fun, though, and certainly gave me a lesson in stamina and dedication. 

This year, I'm spending a lot longer on my outline and hoping to have at least the first ten or so scenes in my head. Would be way cool to end up with a piece of work I can use after the fact. With crazy work demands, small children, and my unabashed love of writing short stories, it might be the only thing that gets me to buckle down and write the novel. I learned a lot last year.

Onward!


----------



## InstituteMan (Oct 12, 2014)

I am tempted to join in for the first time this year, but but knowing what I already have on my calendar for the month of November has forced me to conclude that I can't realistically participate with any expectation of finishing a novel in the month. I will use the concept as motivation to focus on my primary novel WIP, but between work obligations and volunteer work that really comes to a head in November, I barely have half a month to work with. That doesn't mean I can't write, just that the volume produced will be a bit lower.


----------



## J Anfinson (Oct 23, 2014)

I'm sure it'll be a pile of crap that never gets published, but I gotta prove to myself that I can write a pile of crap to start with so let's do this.


----------



## Bishop (Oct 24, 2014)

All right, dammit. I'm in. The Bishop will write a novel in this month of November.


----------



## Kenneth Sunov (Oct 24, 2014)

A combined orgy of delight and agony, for me at least. Missed out 2013 due to sudden arrival of a friend in need (or, was it subconscious commitment issues? Hmm...) but to sacrifice next month to the great writing god means extracting the digit and a whole lot of learning about my writing self. Nothing to lose, but much to gain regardless of the outcome.


----------



## CraniumInsanium (Oct 29, 2014)

I've been debating doing this as well. Seeing as how much time I am actually capable of devoting to normal writing.....well. Who knows. nanowrimo might be something that forces me to write. Just out of curiousity, what ideas are allowed? I have plenty of ideas just waiting to be fed, but I always got the impression it had to be on Nov 1st, thats when you start with a new, virgin and totally untouched idea. Which incidentally is what I may do if I partake. Seeing as how their is several days before it starts, I can brainstorm and have a vague outline in my head of the are I would go in.


----------



## CraniumInsanium (Oct 29, 2014)

Curses! I've already been sucked in and created an account before I knew what my fingers were doing. So, Just out of curiousity, whats the 0% chance of winning deal if I don't make a novel announcement. Thought that had to wait till Nov 1st and all.


----------



## J Anfinson (Oct 29, 2014)

CraniumInsanium said:


> I've been debating doing this as well. Seeing as how much time I am actually capable of devoting to normal writing.....well. Who knows. nanowrimo might be something that forces me to write. Just out of curiousity, what ideas are allowed? I have plenty of ideas just waiting to be fed, but I always got the impression it had to be on Nov 1st, thats when you start with a new, virgin and totally untouched idea. Which incidentally is what I may do if I partake. Seeing as how their is several days before it starts, I can brainstorm and have a vague outline in my head of the are I would go in.



You can outline all you want before Nov 1st. Just can't write the actual book until then.



CraniumInsanium said:


> Curses! I've already been sucked in and created an account before I knew what my fingers were doing. So, Just out of curiousity, whats the 0% chance of winning deal if I don't make a novel announcement. Thought that had to wait till Nov 1st and all.



You'll need to click the button to create your novel's profile. You can do that before Nov 1st as well. It's just to show what idea you'll be working on and you can upload a book cover and all that if you have one. I'll be pantsing mine so I just put "There Is No Plot" as the title and "No idea what the book is about" or something like that in the synopsis. It's all up to you how to fill that out. Then on Nov 1st your word count tool will appear.


----------



## Mistique (Oct 29, 2014)

I am thinking about joining NaNoWriMo (actually I have already put that 'create a novel' thing in there). I do have a fully worked out novel idea (scene by scene) so I guess it can be done, but I also have MS so I am doubting if I have enough energy to be able to get enough work in. Maybe I will just start and see how far I will get.


----------



## Bishop (Oct 29, 2014)

Mistique said:


> I am thinking about joining NaNoWriMo (actually I have already put that 'create a novel' thing in there). I do have a fully worked out novel idea (scene by scene) so I guess it can be done, but I also have MS so I am doubting if I have enough energy to be able to get enough work in. Maybe I will just start and see how far I will get.



I would challenge you to see how far you get with no plan at all


----------



## Mistique (Oct 29, 2014)

Bishop said:


> I would challenge you to see how far you get with no plan at all



You are kidding me, right? A controlfreak like me without a plan? You do know that I make lists and time scedules for something as silly as cleaning my livingroom, right?


----------



## CraniumInsanium (Oct 29, 2014)

Thanks J Afinson. So just to get it in there, and I'm not too late and all I'm going to throw a random title in. What about the genre? I suppose as a first timer, I'm curious to know if I shall be able to edit my title, genre and synopsis. Don't want to put myself down for say a fantasy, then find out my idea is sci-fi. Thats all. Thanks agin for da feeback 

- - - Updated - - -

Never mind. Just looked through the FAQ's. It's kind enough to let me know that I can indeed change all that stuff anytime I'd like.

http://nanowrimo.uservoice.com/know...w-do-i-post-edit-or-delete-a-novel-excerpt-or


----------

