Have a question about NaNo that you can't get answered by reading the FAQs or other information already provided? Confused by something in the forum? Wondering how to make it to 50K in 30 days but feeling overwhelmed by all the forums and threads?
Look no further - this thread is for anyone needing to ask something, or who can offer an answer, etc.
A few tips right now:
1) Make sure you've made Maryland your Home Region (Vickie will be posting on how to do that soon).
2) You can find our calendar under Regional Events on the View tab in the forum. Click on the scroll bar to see events, and you can click on events for details. Click again to close the details.
3) You can find links for our [STICKY] threads (the main ones for MD info) on the Regional Info tab.
4) Apostrophes reduce word count. Turn "let's" into "let us" or "don't" into "do not" - voila, double the words!
That's it for a start. Looking forward to a great season of literary exuberance!
Lee
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004
42,837 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 04 18
No questions?
----------Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com
50,063 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 17 37
could we ever have a, I dunno, virtual write in? I'm now in Cali but MD is like, my home so... And I feel really alone 'cause all the other people from MD at my school (the few I've met) are all like, "I don't like writing" T_T
----------~::||Overconfidence||::~
Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you.
Yuu_tan.InsaneJournal.com
6,332 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 18 29
Here you go - when would it be appropriate to add our proposed title to our page? And maybe a blurb...not actual text, mind you. I haven't started the thing, of course. But I think I might know what I want to call it. That could change, though. heh
50,030 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 18 59
I've got a super basic question.
For those of you who've done this and won, how hard was it, time-wise? Between school and my jobs, I'm nervous about over-extending myself, and I really want to get to 50k, at least.
22,306 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 19 32
Hey, Atlas Rambled! (You have a spiffy username, by the way.)
I won back in 07; I was a high school sophomore. I barely managed 50k, though in part that was due to a broken spacebar. (Talk about lame.) It's not terrible, but it definitely eats into your time. Forget a social life, for one thing. But if you count it as an obligation, I found that my schedule magically shifted to make room.
I didn't have too much homework, and I didn't have a job. However, I also didn't have an outline plot and I had the aforementioned technical difficulties. This year, I have about the same homework load, an outline, and (hopefully) a solid laptop that won't fail on me. I do have a new part-time job (as a writer! Yippee!) but I don't think that it will eat up too much of my time.
The biggest danger is always procrastination! If it helps, break your writing time into chunks. Or, some people work better if they just sit down once a day. Figure out which works best for you, and it'll make the month easier!
50,063 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 00 34
@ tootalltotango ::: If you got something, go ahead and put it up "D You can get feedback for that. I know last year, I had my stuff up a good month in advance, ha ha ha.
@ AtlasRambled ::: It's time consuming - there's no way around it, ha ha ha. But, yeah, have some sort of plan (but don't get too detailed, because we know how those characters like to run amuck). Try and write a little bit every day, even if it's a random scene, and not necessarily relevant to the plot. The average word count per day should be about 1667wrds, give or take.
----------Find days now when you can devote a lot of times for writing and which you can't, and try and work around them. And writing novels makes for looking like you're paying attention in class... Or keeping you awake for class, ha ha ha.
~::||Overconfidence||::~
Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you.
Yuu_tan.InsaneJournal.com
42,837 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 03 37
Great answers to both questions.
Me? I never add a title or blurb.
Time? I've earned a master's degree while moving and working full-time and still won. It was difficult, but I'm stubborn.
One thing that helps is having good people around you who keep you on task. Write-ins are great.
As to a virtual write-in: start a thread and see how folks respond. Many of our write-ins are held at places with wireless access, so it should be doable. The big problem would be the time difference and when you're available.
----------Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com
40,210 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 11 21
I won last year, my first year. Basically, I got organized. I did the math and found out how many words I needed to write per day to finish on time. Then I tried my best to stick to my quotas. When I couldn't write on a particular day, I tried to slowly catch up by writing more on the following days. It worked as well as you can expect. You just have to keep plugging away.
----------2008 Winner - Stray Kingdom
2009 - Stray Kingdom 2
52,120 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 12 40
@ Yuutousei - It turns out we have a chatroom set up by one of the other MLs (this was done for many regions). I'll post the info soon, then we can figure out usage!
@ tootalltotango - Add your title and your synopsis whenever you can - I find it energizing to have that going. I'll be adding my title, though I do not always add a blurb. Changes are no problem - we are talking virtual ink!
@ AtlasRambled - The best way to make this work is to get your research, planning, and outlining done ahead of time. Then plan your writing time, however much you can dedicate safely, and WHEN you will do it. Write-ins are great ways to get in tons of words in short amounts of time. Think of NaNo as part of your FUN time! Maybe after dinner give yourself a half hour or hour. Maybe carry a plain notebook around - write in spare moments then type it in. That will also get you going when you are writing. Shoot for 1700-2000 words a day (it helps to build up a "bank" of extra words so that if you have a short-word day, you know you have some extra to carry you through).
I have some basic outlines I'm happy to share.
Lee
----------Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004
50,030 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 12 48
Thanks for the replies, everyone! I really appreciate them, and it's good to know that people with hectic schedules still found a way to make this work.
Oh, and thanks, Kire! I take it you're not an Ayn Rand fan either?
50,046 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 18 56
@AtlasRambled
http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html <--- This pretty much saved my butt last year. I was writing 1000 words in 30min, sometimes more.
----------NaNoWriMo 2007 - Winner!
NaNoWriMo 2008 - Winner!
6,332 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 21 19
2007 - I didn't even start until the 13th, but I had such a story I wrote like a maniac - all from a 3-day weekend on which I based my story. It wasn't even close to what I had planned to write, and it was downright exhilarating.
2008 - I slogged along meeting the word count nearly every day - and ended up ending a couple of days early. Not a chore at all. I wrote all through my lunch hour every day at work. It was great. Everyone knew to leave me alone.
Here are the three best tips I was given, alas, at the beginning of year 2 for me. I blew it the first year because I didn't know:
1. Don't edit anything. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, nothing. Just write.
2. Write the part you want to write. If you're excited about a particular event, write that part. Don't try to be linear in your writing or you'll lose the passion. It's okay to write the end first. You can worry about getting it all in the right order and filling in gaps after November 30th.
3. If you're stuck, write your grocery list and make it your character's grocery list or describe your morning routine and make it your character's routine. JUST WRITE. Sooner or later you'll get back in the swing of the story.
To mod: Forgive me for jumping in on this one.
Edit: I just noticed that my "history" says I didn't make it in 2005, but I won in 2006 and 2007. 2005 is understandable since I didn't join until 2006 - lost that year, won '07 and '08. LOL - they're a year off on my tally. Must send an email to the masters, I guess.
38,325 / 50,000
Okt 12, 2009 - 06 59
Hello to all. I just joined this site and was wondering how I'm going to tackle this great task of writing 50,000 in 30-days; and if I really want to do it? Well, my answer is....I really want to do this! Currently, I have 11 half written novels and short stories in folders on my pc and laptop so I need to get my butt in gear and this just might be the kick I need to get started. Your suggestion of writing...even if its your grocery list is a good thought.
----------jeteakp
Freelance Technical Writer
751,009 / 50,000
Okt 12, 2009 - 07 12
So how hard was it?
I found that once the writing "zone" was established, and once I basically started using every spare moment I had to write, I kind of got into a rut. December was actually pretty difficult for me; I had time on my hands that I did not know what to do with.
And that, I have found, is the secret to hitting your 50K goal. Write all the time. Do not let the writer's block sneak up on you and the procrastination demon say "well you can always write later." Do it, whenever you have a free moment (waiting for a taxi, sitting on the bus/train, sitting in a meeting you don't need to pay attention in, whenever). It doesn't matter how bad the words are. It doesn't matter how stupid the character sounds. Write. Write. Write.
Hey, it worked for me.
----------34,069 / 50,000
Okt 12, 2009 - 15 31
http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html <--- This pretty much saved my butt last year. I was writing 1000 words in 30min, sometimes more.
That's. So. Cool.
50,063 / 50,000
Okt 13, 2009 - 10 54
@Wolf912 ::: Ha ha ha, this site.
Yeah, everyone's ideas are the awesome <3
@punahougirl84 ::: I think someone beat me to it, ha ha ha. Thanks though <3
----------~::||Overconfidence||::~
Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you.
Yuu_tan.InsaneJournal.com
42,837 / 50,000
Okt 17, 2009 - 08 22
Is everyone ok out there? Any more questions?
----------Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com
41,275 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 04 40
Hullo, newbie here. My question relates to the problem I've had with all my story ideas - I get a good basic idea, a whole bunch of outline for how it starts, and some idea of the ending, but then there's all this middle that needs to get written. How do you figure that out? I know point A, and point B, but totally not happens in between, haha. Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks!
14,114 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 05 41
Here are a few things that work for me. You can use any or all of these ideas to help you fill in the middle.
Pick up any book, open to a random page, glance down, and take the first few words of the first sentence that catches your eye and create a scene using those words that develops a character, the plot, or a location. Your first impulse might be to reject those words for something that you think will fit better with your story. Resist that impulse. Many surprising twists and turns are developed by letting go of preconceived ideas.
Take an experience you've had in the last few days or weeks and write about it but instead of you being the subject make it one of your characters. You can change the location of the experience to fit into your story.
Another trick I use is to pick six random words, again from various places in any book and write a story using all of these words.
All of these tricks create scenes which you can then use as you wrote them or rewrite to fill in the story. These exercises get your creative juices flowing. When doing an exercise don't think about where it'll fit in, just freewrite. See where your characters go. These techniques will usually take me in a surprising direction and create scenes for my story that I hadn't though of. It works for me everytime and the exercises are a lot of fun. I hope this is helpful.
Nancy
41,275 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 05 47
Thanks Nancy, I'll definitely keep those things in mind and will probably end up trying them out.
53,717 / 50,000
Okt 22, 2009 - 06 53
I have a purely technical question: is there some reason I'm not seeing the calendar? There's a nice blank space under the "regional events" heading at the top of this forum, and this is making it difficult to sort out whether there are going to be write-ins that I can get to. Thanks!
----------Wanting to do everything is no excuse for not doing anything.
53,717 / 50,000
Okt 22, 2009 - 06 53
I have a purely technical question: is there some reason I'm not seeing the calendar? There's a nice blank space under the "regional events" heading at the top of this forum, and this is making it difficult to sort out whether there are going to be write-ins that I can get to.
----------Wanting to do everything is no excuse for not doing anything.
53,717 / 50,000
Okt 22, 2009 - 06 57
ETA-- and apparently this was something to do with my computer, as not only did it feel the need to post this message twice, but now I've re-refreshed the forum page and the calendar is showing up. Sorry about that!
----------Wanting to do everything is no excuse for not doing anything.
751,009 / 50,000
Okt 23, 2009 - 11 19
One of the tricks I use frequently is what I call "high-point writing." In essence, when you build your outline, list all the cool high points. Fireworks. Rampaging buffalo herds. Deaths. Births. The time when the main character almost gets mowed down by an out-of-control pushmi-pullyu. You get the idea.
I generally find I need one good start, my bang-up ending, and about 10 middle-rank "high points."
Then when I get stuck, I skip to the next high point. I don't worry how my characters got there, I just write the high point. I expand, I use waaaay too many words to describe impending doom and heroic rescue. And then, I write until I run out of steam on that one and move on to the next high point.
In general, I find my beginning picks up a good 10K, my ending another 5K, and each of the high points about 2.5-3.5K. And there's your 50K. Tying strings together...that's too much like work. Save it for NaNoEdMo.
----------40,144 / 50,000
Okt 27, 2009 - 12 00
Does everyone go into November 1 without anything developed, maybe just an idea, or do you have your entire story and characters developed prior to starting. I didn't know if that's considered cheating, hahaha.
40,144 / 50,000
Okt 27, 2009 - 12 01
Does everyone go into November 1 without anything developed, maybe just an idea, or do you have your entire story and characters developed prior to starting. I didn't know if that's considered cheating, hahaha.
40,144 / 50,000
Okt 27, 2009 - 12 01
Does everyone go into November 1 without anything developed, maybe just an idea, or do you have your entire story and characters developed prior to starting. I didn't know if that's considered cheating, hahaha.
50,063 / 50,000
Okt 27, 2009 - 17 20
@Springfieldzoo ::: It really depends. I normally have highly detailed characters (I'm a roleplayer by heart, lol) and a good idea of where I want the plot I go. The latest I've ever started on working on a NaNo project in the last three or four years has been June. Some people go in with a vague, or even no, idea of what they want. It matters on what you think is best. Since all my info got destroyed when my HD crashed, I chucked the original one (because those blasted pdfs are so not going to be DLed again any time soon unless I need them for an RPG) and decided to wing a Cold War angsty romance this year. Let's see how it works out, lol.
----------It all matters on how you want to do it, so one person may say "get everything set as much as you can" while another says to just wing it. Just, if you plan on writing something in particular (pirates, mafia, Germany, et cetera) and you want it to be at least somewhat accurate, I'd do any and all research (at least, as much as you can) before NaNo starts, or you'll waste precious time trying to get that done.
~::||Overconfidence||::~
Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you.
Yuu_tan.InsaneJournal.com
42,837 / 50,000
Okt 28, 2009 - 03 02
Last year I actually had some of my novel outlined, knew where I was going, and on November 6th decided that I hated my novel, scrapped it, and went with something different.
----------Most years I just have a general idea and a list of possible names.
Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com
751,009 / 50,000
Okt 28, 2009 - 03 24
The NaNoHelper website (home to the Word War tracking software) is back up! Having undergone a few cosmetic upgrades, a large number of system upgrades and a move to a more robust server, it's back. What's more, additional functionality will be rolling out over the next week or so.
Track your challenges. Watch your Word Wars. Get characters, settings, and plot twists...
It's all here: http://www.fearingisland.net
*Note: final site archiving is still in progress and will be completed by Oct 31. Until then, you may still see an occasional 2008-era page. Rest assured that by the time that everything kicks off, that will be fixed.
Enjoy!
----------