National Novel Writing Month 2009!

**youhas** · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3015 Location: Santa Clara, CA

Well, looks like it's just about that time again: November is fast-approaching, and with it, National Novel Writing Month! The goal of which is to write an entire 50,000-word novel during the month of November. (Yes, 50,000 words is sort of on the short side for a novel. No, your prose won't be anywhere near polished at month's end. This is not National Good Novel Writing Month, after all.

)

This is my ninth go-around at doing this. Been 8-for-8 at successfully getting to the 50K mark in previous years, though (a) it's really come down to the wire at least a couple of times and (b) I think I've only actually had the story concluded by the 50K word mark twice during that span. (Including, famously, the detective story where I hit the 50K mark, promptly killed off the protagonist, and we never did get to learn who committed the murder. Awesome!) This year, I'm going for a superhero story based in a world where superheroics are organized in roughly the same manner as professional sports are (corporate naming rights, territorial considerations, free agency, etc.), primarily following a group of minor leaguers hoping for their call up to service. Mystery Men meets Bull Durham!

Anyhow: anybody else on ScoreHero taking part in NaNoWriMo this year?
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**ManfredvonKarma** · Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Posts: 3783 Location: Toms River, NJ

Just got the e-mail reminder last night.

I definitely want to participate, but November is an awful month for me. I have three research papers to be writing. Getting almost 1700 words per day down is insanely difficult with that load of other obligations.

I suppose I'll put forth an attempt, though.

I'll try to have an idea by the end of the night.
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**thecaptainof** · Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 7571 Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯

I intended to do this last year after completely failing the previous year, but didn't - lucky, really, since I had deadlines to meet and then my grandma passed away so I had to deal with all of that nonsense. This year, however... I have no more grandparents waiting to pop their clogs and only one report to write rather than the three that I had this time last year. I mean, sure, there's two due in December instead, but I've always been good at bullshitting my way through essays at the last minute. I do have other things to be doing, a weekly neuroscience presentation foremost among them, but nothing that I couldn't catch up on later...

The big problem, as always, would be disciplining myself to sit down and do it. A great example being my own site - I've been in the process of relaunching for nearly a month now, when all it would really take is to sit down and write a couple of album reviews. Somehow, it always gets forgotten.

But, y'know what? I'm gonna give it a go. Even though I'll most likely be waking up some time around the evening of November 1st with a motherfucker of a hangover. I still have the vague idea for a plot that's been boiling away for two years now and I think it'd be a shame not to use it. Even after this long I'm still not sure how the hell I'm going to make that stretch to 50,000 words but, well, see above comment about being good at bullshitting.
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**reikonkeiri** · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:39 pm Post subject:

3rd year in a row that I've wanted to do this and the 3rd year in a row that I'm completely unmotivated. *SIGH* I honestly love writing, but I love doing nothing even more. Sucks, I wish all you guys doing this the best of luck, though!
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**freakinalex** · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 878 Location: Huntsville, TX

Every year I always consider doing it, then forget about it and never end up doing it.

This year, I'm probably not gonna even think about it, as I have to write 2 short zombie films, plus write something for experimental theatre this month.

I swear I'll actually attempt it one of these years.
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**youhas** · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3015 Location: Santa Clara, CA

If self-discipline is an issue, I cannot recommend strongly enough traipsing through the NaNoWriMo forums, finding some local people who are also participating, and attending some write-ins. If nothing else, it's nice to have people around who are under the same duress and to sympathize with; bonus points if they're folks you can bounce ideas off of, or use as subplot-spawning assistants, or engage in "OK, let's see who gets more word count during the next ten minutes!" mini-games, or what have you. Even the half-assed approached of putting up an "I will be in the following public location writing for the next N hours; feel free to come join me" works at times.

If time is an issue... well, there are fewer cool workarounds for that. But hey, if the research papers are being written during November, what the hell, just copy-and-paste them into your novel! Possibly by using the thinnest possible veneer of a transition! ("What's this?" said Duncan. "There's writing on that screen there!" The screen read as follows: [paper goes here] "Huh," said Duncan. "Sure.") I once had fully 25K of my novel as blog posts I welded on at the last minute; the segue was ~60 words long and involved a magical talking goat. Good times!

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**Wyatt965** · Joined: 21 Sep 2008 Posts: 477

I have an awesome idea based on a couple of my dreams this week. Real apocalyptic stuff, moon crashing down etc. Will try as hard as I can to do this.
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**GuitarZero132** · Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 1024

**sorasgoof** · Joined: 09 Mar 2008 Posts: 2314

I can't believe that with my literary background, I've never heard of this. How long has this been going on?

I'll see what I can do. The IB program is extraordinarily demanding these days, so I don't know if I'll have time. That seems to be the problem with most people, though, right?
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**FlimFlam** · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 1619

I've been waiting for the annual youhas NaNoWriMo topic. I might participate once I begin college; I've got college applications to do this year.

And when I do write it, I plan on expanding a story I wrote for English yesterday about three classmates who have a rap group. My story followed them through the Middle Ages, but I would just expand it to follow them through history. They're hilarious kids, so writing about them is hilarious too.
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**Twang** · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:18 am Post subject:

aw shit. I've been wanting to write some sort of book since mid summer, and it seems I may actually have the time to do so this month. Definitely something I want to do, but don't know if I will.

Question: does it all have to be one cohesive story, or could it be a series of short stories?

**sorasgoof** · Joined: 09 Mar 2008 Posts: 2314

**thecaptainof** · Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 7571 Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯

**woozerkristen** · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:10 pm Post subject:

I tried this back in 2004 or so but only made it about a week. I was thinking yesterday that I want to try it again now that I'm done with my coursework and don't have 2 to 3 20-page papers due during the month of November like I always used to. I've had several stories rattling around in my head for years and it's about time I made myself set one down. Here's to my staying healthy and not falling behind on my work-work so I can finish it this time.
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**Twang** · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:06 am Post subject: