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HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
So what is NaNoWriMo?

quote:

National Novel Writing Month, is an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write 50,000 words from November 1 until the deadline at 11:59PM on November 30. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing and keep them motivated throughout the process.

Where can I register for NaNoWriMo?

https://www.nanowrimo.org

This is where you declare your novel and its genre, update your word count, get cool badges, (yes you can min-max NaNoWriMo) friend people with the Writing Buddies feature, talk on forums, and plan physical meet ups with other people in your city so you can get together and prod each other into writing.

I AM NOT YOUR MOM, I CAN'T TELL YOU IF GOING OUT IN PUBLIC IS A GOOD IDEA OR NOT. Use your common sense and measure your personal sense of safety versus your surroundings. If you're locked down because 'rona or you don't want Corona-chan crawling through your window with a knife then do not leave your house. There is a chat feature on the NaNo website so you can arrange things with your local group.

So why should I do NaNoWriMo?

This answer is sticky and varies for everyone. The stated purpose of NaNo is to gurgle out enough words and sentences that, lined up end to end, form a novel-length text. Then the follow-up months are dedicated to editing the vomit into something possibly coherent.

But NaNo is really about creating the all-important writing habit, Butt In Chair. If you want to beat NaNoWriMo then you need to sit your rear end down every single day and poo poo out enough words to carry you across the finish line with their cumulative weight. The goal is to hammer home the fact that when you're writing your first draft it is only a first draft. If you want to publish something than you need to have a first draft to work off of. And you need to accept that it will be pretty lovely.

NaNo is about letting go of that earthly attachment to your ego. If you want to beat that word count than you need to utilize self-discipline, write every day, and not worry about whether it's "good."

What am I allowed to write during NaNoWriMo?

Technically this is for novels but you can really write anything. Lots of poetry and non-fiction happen during NaNoWriMo.

Okay, fine. But how do I write the thing?

There are many tools available to write the thing.

* Google Docs - ever venerable, available on any internet-ready device that pulls a charge.
* Focus Writer - comes with sound effects in case you wanted that special cluster headache from using a typewriter.
* WriteMonkey - combines text editing with a side panel for outlining.
* LibreOffice Writer - another free alternative to MS Office, and let's face it, who the gently caress wants to pay for Office 365?
* iA Writer - available for Apple computers and tablets/phones. Also, Dropbox enabled.
* ZenWriter - I've heard good things.
* A pen and paper

Okay but is there anything special that will help me plan stuff?

Scrivner has a standing offer for a free trial during the month of NaNoWriMo!

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/nanowrimo

quote:

Special Trial Version
Scrivener’s trial normally runs for thirty days of use, but so that you can start using Scrivener before NaNoWriMo begins without worrying about the trial expiring part-way through November, the special NaNo trial available on this page will run from the moment you start using it all the way up until December 7th. So you can download it, get used to its features, use it for your writing throughout November - and if you like it you can buy Scrivener at a discounted price using one of the special offers below.

Purchasing for the Windows version: At this time, in order to purchase and activate Scrivener, you will need to download the normal version of the software. The installer can be run directly over your NaNo demo to convert it, without losing any settings or ongoing projects. If you haven't created your project yet, see below for how you can download the special NaNo template, with instructions for installing it into the normal version.

50% Discount for All NaNoWriMo 2021 Winners
If you achieve your word-count goal to become a NaNoWriMo 2021 Winner, you will be eligible for a 50% discount off the regular licence of Scrivener (normally $49). Details will appear on the Winner Goodies page at the start of December .

20% Discount for Everyone Else
Even if you don’t reach your target this year, you can still get 20% off the regular price of Scrivener by entering the discount code NANOWRIMO21 into the coupon code text field of our online web store.

Holy poo poo! That's a really good deal!

But I don't want to pay for anything.

Then use the free version of Scrivner, yWriter: http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html Recommended for PC users.

If you're not into menu-based battle systems than the free program Free Mind is available: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page I haven't used it but I've heard good things about it's ability to map ideas quickly and easily.

Okay, ummm, sounds good. What do I do if I want to edit my stuff without talking to people?

Hemingway is a free browser application that uses bright colors to highlight grammar mistakes, adverbs, and passive verbs. It's pretty nice: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/

Then there's also EditMinion which does something similar but has more detail: http://editminion.com/

But don't try editing while doing NaNo. The entire point is that you're trying to churn out as many words as you can. Quantity over quality.

Okay, I'm interested. Now what?

Now we use October to plan, think, cry, bitch, sleep, and drink coffee while the counter ticks down to D-Day. This thread can be used for all things NaNoWriMo 2021. Ask questions, bother people for attention, get help, fret about your word count, brag about your word count, get yelled at for having a higher word count than other people.

Okay, fine, but I'm going to complain the whole time.

You're out of excuses, now go write!

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HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
NaNoWriMo 2021 Winners

McTimmy
Chernobyl Princess
kaom
Leng
MJP
Nettle Soup
Enchanted Hat
Staggy
Sitting Here
Xalidur
DropTheAnvil
Pikestaff

HIJK fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Dec 16, 2021

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Sup y'all I'm gonna give it a shot too:

https://nanowrimo.org/participants/hijk/

baba booey

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Sent invites to the people who have posted so far, thank you to everyone who already sent me a buddy invite! However if you don't want to accept my invite then you don't have to, it won't hurt my feelings if you reject it!

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
The primary objective of buddies is for us to gather together into an online NaNo group if we want. There is a chat feature on the website now for that group if we feel like it. We could use it to schedule write ins if we felt like it, though admittedly this can be done just as well with a discord server lol.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I use a very loose outline on my stories but I still tend to get stuck sometimes. A loose outline works better since it gives me wiggle room to be creative. I like the idea of using chapter summaries though, that's a really good idea.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep

Wayfaring Stranger posted:

There are so many ace methods in the replies, I am very grateful to everyone who has shared their method - even the pantsers. Leng, your CC post and the resources therein are extremely my jam, so thank you especially for those. Also HIJK, I've been messing with yWriter the past couple days, so thank you for a solid OP with so many good bits in it.

You are welcome! I figure we’re all freaks for stationary both physical and digital, so the variation is a big draw.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Opinions time: does outlining count towards your word count?

Not looking for a definitive answer, just want to know your opinions. Personally I think it does.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
You wrote 'nano police' and now I'm imagining very tiny police officers with nanowrimo badges pushing half full coffee cups over bc of word counts

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

for Euro friends it has already begun

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I haven't written anything. Pre-schooler nephew sneezed and coughed on me and now I'm dead in the water. Tired and hurting all over. What great timing

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Am at the doctor being looked at and I have a mild fever of 99.3, no wonder I can't do anything 8)

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Finally turned a corner yesterday. Going to see how much I can get done in between bits at work.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I wrote 500 words two days ago. Then yesterday I was too dizzy to do poo poo so I didn't write.

But today is my day off so I'm going to buckle down.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
10187 words hahahaHAHAHAHhahah

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I am writing. I need to total my word count but I am writing.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
13,720 words total. bros...I'm not gonna make it...

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep

kaom posted:

Isn’t this only over like two days? Serious progress, I’m just glad you’re feeling better!

I wrote 5,075 words 27,638 characters today :staredog:

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I have Done Writing but i'm too tired to collate

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I'll post your names in the winner post this week, good job everybody!

I need to total up all the words I wrote. Did not win this year but I actually feel like I made a good effort this time which is a nice feeling.

Cephas posted:

it's 1 AM, I'm on page 29, and I spent over an hour writing a single page describing a dead gay prince's secret painting hanging on his knight's wall

i think i'm probably living the truest version of myself.

GJ to everyone who can actually keep to a deadline!

I feel this so hard

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
Will post up up the winners this Friday. I have 2 big grad school assignments due.

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
I updated the winners post, if you won but your name is not on the list please post in this thread and I'll add it.

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HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep
good job with Camp NaNo everyone!

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