NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month

[bionic sheep]

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Essentially, write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

It can be about anything you want, but speed is the key. You have four and a bit weeks to complete what can take authors years.

Last year I attempted it and failed abysmally at around 10,000 words. However, admittedly, I did only sign up to do it the night before it started, on a complete whim. This year I have a little more time to actually plan my novel, although I have no doubt I'll end up botching together a rudimentary idea the night before.

If you don't sign up, you're a pussy. Dooo eeeeet.

[katt]

Hmmmm i'd potentially write a tragic love story that ends with the love interest being carted off to rehab

[Purple Wabbit]

Hmm, this has piqued my interest. So much so that I just spent about an hour reading the site, and further wasting the precious little bandwidth my halss allow me - damn you bionic sheep, you win this time! *shakes fist*

I'm in two minds whether to participate though - on the one hand it sounds like fun - on the other I've just started a law course at uni and I'm not sure I'd have time, plus I seriously doubt my ability to churn out 50,000 words of anything that made even the slightest sense in a month.

I shall ponder this further, thank you for bringing it to my attention anyhow!

[katt]

i suppose a truly brilliant novelist would be able to craak out 50k of good stuff in a month. and then , that would depend on how long they had each day to devote to it.

[bmfy.]

Even though I probably won't try it, it has me interested. But after what purple wabbit said about taking an hour to read the site, I'm hesistating to click the link.

Edit: I only just realised it was an hour ago that I clicked the link, so I've actually read some of the site for an hour too :). Although after reading it, it does seem like fun, dunno if i'll give it a go yet though.

[Hydralisk]

I do have a few stories, but even if they have quantity I doubt that they will have the quality for this though. If you really want me to put them up though, let me know.

Good idea right enough though.

[Preasure]

I've got the first 3 chapters and a decent plot just stitting on my computer. I wish I had the time and patience to finish it.

[bionic sheep]

To be honest, it doesn't really matter if you don't finish it. It's just an awesome imperative to get writing. We're not expecting Dickens in days, and you don't win anything if you manage, except perhaps a book deal if you send it off and do all the leg work yourself. There aren't any prizes, except the novel itself.

Which, frankly, is awesome.

I'm hoping to do slightly better this time around. Last year I was in the middle of my mock GCSEs, and it was hellish, but I did it anyway. You should do it. EVERYONE should do it.

[Izarre]

Four weeks?

I end up hating each and every thing about anything I write by the end of a fortnight and deleting it all on a late-night whim. So I'm out.

Good luck to the rest of you, though.

[The Noise]

ill proly give it a try

[Digga]

hmm...i've wanted to write a book for ages and just never got round to it, so I guess this could give me more reason to actually do something about it eh?

The only problem being i wanted to write more of a childrens book, so I don't think 50,000 words is a really suitable amount,

[AngryPaul]

NOT THAT ANGRY, NOT CALLED PAUL
An Autobiography by AngryPaul

[Izarre]

The only problem being i wanted to write more of a childrens book, so I don't think 50,000 words is a really suitable amount.

It is if they're really patient children.

[Digga]

It is if they're really patient children.

they'd have to be REALLY patient because chances are at the end i'd run out of story and end up writing "i'm a fish" a few hundred times to use up the rest of the words :D

[bionic sheep]

they'd have to be REALLY patient because chances are at the end i'd run out of story and end up writing "i'm a fish" a few hundred times to use up the rest of the words :D
Haha. Apparently impromptu extras like that are a very common feature of NaNoWriMo stories.

You could try writing a book of short stories instead; then, you could set your own word limit for each individual story.

[Simon]

This sounds like a fascinating idea certainly, and Ive always wanted to write a novel. However if and when I decide to do it, it will not be this November. Intrigued as I am, a 50,000 word novel on top of 3 2000 word pieces of coursework (which are no laughing matter in history at degree level) is a little too much for me. Thank the UEA for giving me 3 pieces of coursework all for November.

[bmfy.]

I need an idea for the story....

[Hydralisk]

How about a street wise cop teams up with an Asian cop to take down some major drug running in the Triad sector of town?

No, hang on a minute...

[bmfy.]

That's an awesome idea. I hope it hasn't been done before.

[Sebas]

This sounds pretty awesome actually. I don't really have the time, considering schoolwork and such, but I think I will give it a try anyway.

Edit: Right, signed up. This will be the first time I write a story longer than 10 pages, so chances are I'll fail miserably. Never mind details, though.

[katt]

I've wanted to write a novel for a very long time but I honestly haven't had many ideas for good chracters/plots

Ever since i moved to alabama potential material has just been pouring in and i suspect in 10 more years i might actually write it.

[TJPlatinum]

I've signed up, and even convinced a friend to give it a try. I'll probably forget about it, though.

[Stealth Chimp]

Ever since i moved to alabama potential material has just been pouring in and i suspect in 10 more years i might actually write it.

Yeah and so will everyone else...

I'd love to write me a novella, but I can never be bothered or don't have any ideas I feel I could stretch to beyond short story. Whenever I try to write a history it ends up garbled, I'd love to be able to though.

[The Noise]

This sounds pretty awesome actually. I don't really have the time, considering schoolwork and such, but I think I will give it a try anyway.

Edit: Right, signed up. This will be the first time I write a story longer than 10 pages, so chances are I'll fail miserably. Never mind details, though.


Thats probably what im going to do. The longest thing like this I've written has probably been 8 pgs so I'll fail:rolleyes:

[basstard]

NOT THAT ANGRY, NOT CALLED PAUL
An Autobiography by AngryPaul

Watersports? Why, they're physical activities designed to encourage muscle growth
The sequel to AngryPaul's acclaimed autobiography

__________________________

I am going to sign up after posting this. Been wanting to do something like this for ages - have a couple plots in my head - but the minutae has always stopped me - one big idea does not a 50,000 word novel make, not without a bit of planning.

One thing that's always puzzled me - how long is a 50,000 word novel in terms of pages in a paperback?

I have lots of paperbacks of varying widths. How many words is in a 200 page paperback, roughly? In a 600 page Tom Clancy paperback? And so on.

[queenofself]

The only problem being i wanted to write more of a childrens book, so I don't think 50,000 words is a really suitable amount,

it depends what sort of age range you want to write for. the average 8-12 type novels word count (like lemony snicket or edge chronicles or michael morpurgo or something) is growing all the time, & of course the last few harry potters mustve been verging on 250,000 words.

if youre thinking about writing for younger childs i think the average 4-9 developing readers story, like horrid henry, captain underpants or daisy meadows' fairies are about 5,000 words.

then picture books tend to be less than 1000. i think publishers like little tiger press will only accept manuscripts that are less than 750 words long.
the book im reading at the moment is about 400 pages long & has a word count of around 105,000 words. so i guess 200 pages is about right for 50,000.

its only for chilluns books & meant for teachers but this site (http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp) will give you the word count of a book if you type in the title. its quite interesting to look about on.

as for if i ever write anything...i just want the characters to be good enough to encourage fanfictions. :isay:

although i think i could write decent description & characters, i would certainly have my doubts about sustaining plot.

[katt]

James herriot would always go around saying he would write a novel about his experiences and as he got into his forties wife finally told him he was never going to actually do it.

and that motivated him to start.

just a random story regarding people who say they will write a novel someday..

[JustEileen]

they'd have to be REALLY patient because chances are at the end i'd run out of story and end up writing "i'm a fish" a few hundred times to use up the rest of the words :D

People have done dodgy things like this to get their word counts up. It doesn't really matter, since you'll be editing it later anyway.
Entered last year, and won! I have high hopes for this year's novel. It's a mock-biography about a rock band and their families. Think "This is Spinal Tap", but on paper, and without the Stonehenge monolith.

[Sebas]

People have done dodgy things like this to get their word counts up. It doesn't really matter, since you'll be editing it later anyway.
Entered last year, and won! I have high hopes for this year's novel. It's a mock-biography about a rock band and their families. Think "This is Spinal Tap", but on paper, and without the Stonehenge monolith.
Will it blow up on-stage?

[Irvine Black]

Signing up for the hell of it. I have nothing else to do with my free time, and this sounds like it could be a laugh. It's reassuring that the site says it doesn't have to be good.

[Redux]

I am signing up.

I just thought about how many words I would have to write a day to keep pace. It's a staggering number for a lazy shit like me.

I think I'll write an erotic novel.

THE HOT CHICK WHO WAS ITALIAN, OR MAYBE SOME SORT OF SPANISH

[bionic sheep]

I am signing up.

I just thought about how many words I would have to write a day to keep pace. It's a staggering number for a lazy shit like me.

I think I'll write an erotic novel.

THE HOT CHICK WHO WAS ITALIAN, OR MAYBE SOME SORT OF SPANISH
1,667 words a day to be exact. I'd start thinking up different euphemisms for penis now. You're going to need them.

[CheHamstera]

Well, I've done the dirty deed and signed up. Worse still, in the heady few moments afterwards, I told my Mum. If I write what I plan to write - a novel along the lines of a popular Philip Larkin poem (http://www.artofeurope.com/larkin/lar2.htm), I reeeeally don't want her to ask to read it!

I'm on NaNo as Sarah Hamstera. What's everyone else writing under?

[Sebas]

OhLookBirdies.

[Sebas]

Sod, forgot it's november already.

I'll start tomorrow then, those 4 missed days shouldn't be catastrophic for the final result. As that will be bad anyway. :p

[Redux]

Writing is very, very hard.

I have written a paragraph, and it's pretty unremarkable.

[Sebas]

49,200 words to go. :D

Have the opening page of my novel:

Once upon a time, there was a lovely little sausage called Baldrick. Those of you familiar with the British humour television series Blackadder might recognize this particular sentence. However, that is purely coincidental. Because, you see, this story is actually about a sausage. Not about a scurvy manservant, as is the case in the aforementioned Blackadder episode. However, that is neither here nor there, so let’s skip the preliminaries, and start with the story itself.

So. Once upon a time, there was a lovely little sausage called Baldrick. It was a rather lovely sausage, as I believe I already stated in the previous sentence. It was not too fat, not too long, it had no unsightly bulking bits, but it was as straight and smooth as a really straight and smooth thing. However, as is the fate of all sausages, he was predestined to be cooked and eaten. Baldrick, however, was not so keen on being eaten. This might have had something to do with his fillings, because instead of the usual load of animal guts, Baldricks filling consisted mainly of horse brains. Now, it is said that horses are a noble kind of animal, but this is quite clearly nonsense. After all, if they are so smart, why would they allow hairless apes to ride them as they please, using them for sports, entertainment, and ultimately food? However, horses do have a certain rudimentary power of thought. And all that power of thought was now focused in Baldrick the Sausage. And because it contained a lot of brain and very little other meaty substances, it was a relatively very smart sausage. So smart indeed, that he/it (Oh well, let’s call it him from now on. That reads somewhat easier.) foresaw his fate of getting munched and eaten by an obese twelve-year old kiddie, after which he would get digested and, erm, well… Oh, you get the point. It has something to do with the exit of your intestines, and it involves something brown and sticky, which is not a stick. That is all I will say on the matter.

So, Baldrick saw all this, and he decided he was meant for greater things. However, escaping would not be easy. He was, after all, a sausage. And as some of you might know, if you have ever seen a sausage, sausages do not have limbs. So, whereas any animal might simply have hopped out of the supermarket fridge, Baldrick had to work a bit subtler. Using his brain to the fullest extent, he developed his psychic powers. Yes, he was a sausage, but he had psychic powers nonetheless. Calculating he had approximately two days before all the sausages above him would be gone and he sold, he worked on this tirelessly, not sleeping or eating all the time. Of course, sausages needn’t sleep or eat, but still, he was working on it very hard. It turned out his calculations had been rather accurate, and two days after his existential epiphany, he was picked up and put with all the other shopping of a young man. Losing no time, Baldrick started sending out brainwave-altering vibes. “You will become a vegetarian. The mere thought of eating meat will make you disgusted. You will buy me, but merely to save me. As soon as we exit the supermarket, you will set me free.” His two days of mental labour had not been in vain, because the young man almost immediately felt an aversion towards eating meat. He also felt incredibly protective towards the sausage safely in his shopping cart. “Shush now, I won’t let the mean people get you and eat you,” he comforted the sausage. Bending over the cart, as if to shield it with his body, he quickly made his way to pay for his purchases and go home. But first, he would release the sausage into the wild to live happily ever after. After not even five minutes, the man was out on the parking lot. “Here you go, little sausage! Fly free!” he said, putting the sausage on the ground. The sausage, incredibly happy, wagged his tail at the man and rolled off. I know, this would seem impossible, but out of pure happiness, Baldrick had developed muscles. So, he rolled over the parking lot and onto the street, where he promptly got hit and killed by a passing meat truck. This once again proves that fate is in possession of a sense of irony. However, this is not the end of the story, far from it. Because Baldrick was now flattened on the road, and very, very greasy, causing the driver of the next car that drove over him lost control of the steering wheel and smashed into a nearby tree.

[Mr. Maark]

I might start one and get part done or something. But it'd likely be about the antics of me, my mates, and too much swearing for our own goods. Yosh.