Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:56:16 +0100

Welcome to London Nano 2012! by Jenepel It’s the last week of October and our kick-off parties are almost upon us, so it’s time to get ready to write! Whether you’re a newbie, a second year, or veteran, there’s something in our region for you. We’re a diverse bunch, with native Londoners, many other Brits, and lots of people from various countries who are currently making the city their home. So whatever you plan to get out of Nanowrimo 2012, London is a great place for it, because... (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:15:29 +0100

The current LondonNano blogging theme is "Nano Preparation". If you write a blog on it, feel free to link in this thread!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:39:02 +0100

Music and Macguffins by holly6000 Not sure what you’re going to write for NaNoWriMo 2012 yet? Don’t panic, there’s still plenty of time to inspire yourself, and I’m going to let you in on a technique that’s worked for me several times in the past. First, pick up your MP3 player. I’ll do the same. Go on, put your headphones on, and hit “shuffle” across your entire music collection. Listen to the first few lines of every song, and if it doesn’t sound inspiring to you, skip ahead. Keep going until you’ve listened to something for more than thirty seconds. (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Monic Salavert Kraft — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:19:58 +0100

Hi, I am joining the London Forum for the first time. Hope to read and pick up some inpirational technique like above holly 6000, Thank you holly.

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Kaleidoscope27 — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 09:25:37 +0100

Discovering Your Novel by Kaleidoscope 27 One of the most common questions to be asked pre-NaNo is “how’s the planning coming along?” It’s a fair enough question and a great way to get people talking about their novels. But, what if you don’t have a plan? ‘Discovery Writing’ (or ‘pantsing’ as it is more commonly known in the NaNo world and thus shall hereforth be known) is the exact opposite of plotting your novel. It’s a method of writing which involves knowing very little about what you will be writing before you actually write it. Effectively, writing by.... (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Asphodele — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:41:25 +0000

Outlining Nerdiness by Claire Rousseau I must confess, I’m a complete outlining nerd. I scheme, plot, sketch and play around with my ideas pre-November, stopping just short of the ‘No prose before November’ rule. When I tried discovery writing (Nano ’09 and ’10), I found myself wandering aimlessly from November 5th onwards. Though I enjoyed these Nanos, I know that’s not what works best for me. That’s not to say discovery writing isn’t a good way to go (in fact it might be the best way to go for you), but simply that there are about as many ways to get ready for Nano as there are Wrimos. (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

laxmi — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:00:14 +0000

Hi music & word go hand in hand and in preparation for NaNoWriMo, have compiled my own spotify list of Music to Write to here http://open.spotify.com/user/1135012667/playlist/0dY0SBuw6mVsNCIKtmZHHw I tend to go more Electronica & trance when I write. Faster the music, faster the words flow Laxmi

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Nereti — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:15:04 +0000

This is my first nano preparation blog post (got a couple more to do this week) http://nowondiversion.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/getting-ready-for-nanowrimo-part-1-research/

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:48:00 +0000

Pep Talk #1: There's No Wrong Way to Nano By Jenepel Well here we are, two days to go, standing on the precipice of Nanowrimo 2012. Are you ready? Are you panicking? Or are you the steady calm of a stormless sea? Well, no matter, because I’m here to tell you it’s all going to be okay! You can’t screw this up. Whatever your previous Nano or writing experience, you’re going to be successful at Nano as long as you try. If you give any amount of time and attention and effort to Nano this year, then it’s going to work out. (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

ruthrjh — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 07:57:55 +0000

I'm really excited about NanoWrimo! I don't believe there's a right or wrong way to approach a nanowrimo novel and I blogged about two different approaches here: http://rjheald.com/two-approaches-to-writing-a-novel/

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

NickMB — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:14:12 +0000

My NaNo preparation, documented in blog form. For my sanity, if nothing else, although there is at least one okay joke too. And a photo of the massive pile of boxes in my room too! http://nickbryan.com/post/34697126719/nanoprep2012

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Asphodele — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:54:09 +0000

This week's NanoLondon blogging theme is "Wrimo Survival Kits". If you write a blog on it, feel free to link in this thread!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 10:01:37 +0000

New NaNo London blog post: Wise Wrimos' Survival Kit: Backups by Tom Wilkinson If you’re a long-time NaNoer, you’ve no doubt heard my tale of backup failures before. If you haven’t, then look no further than this blog entry from last year. Backup tools should be part of everyone’s NaNoWriMo arsenal, and there are a few ways you can protect your work from the unforeseen doom that is a broken computer, or a stolen tablet PC. The first thing to bear in mind is there are two different factors to bear in mind when approaching a backup strategy. Read more at nanolondon.org.

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:53:49 +0000

NanoLondon Blog Post Wise Wrimo's Survival Kit: Fitting Writing Into Your Busy Life By Jenepel So we’re almost a week into Nano. How’s it going? Are you pretty tidily managing your 1667 words a day? Or are you struggling, and suddenly realising how BUSY your life is?! The thing is, we’re all busy. We work, we study, we go out, and we live in a huge city that always has something ready to tempt or distract us. So how do you fit that 1667 a day around all of that? Well, in my opinion, the best thing to do is to make your busy life work for you. (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Kaleidoscope27 — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:26:54 +0000

NaNoLondon Blog Post Wise Wrimo’s Survival Kit: The Bare Necessities by Suzanne / Kaleidoscope27 "“Look for the bear necessities, the simple bear necessities, forget about your worry and your strife!” And I’m proud to say that I typed those lyrics from memory. Who doesn’t love a bit of Disney on a cold November day? (It’s also kind of a good NaNo mantra if you think about it.) If you ask any NaNoers (or non-NaNoing writer) what they need before they can start, what’s in their “writing kit” or “survival kit”, you’re more than likely to get a longish list involving one or more computers, notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, post-it notes, chocolate, candy, carrot sticks, pretzels, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, scented candles, their pet parrot…(read more at nanolondon.org)"

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

technothrillerben — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:21:52 +0000

Writing without tea?! What kind of dark magic is this!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:33:53 +0000

Pep talk #2: Random Strangers on the tube by Tom Wilkinson Once upon a time, it was very nearly the second week of November, and NaNoWriMo 2012 was already almost a quarter complete. But don’t panic! By writing your novel during the month of November, you are guaranteed to win accolades from friends, family, and most especially those random strangers you lock eyes with on the Tube in order to tell them, “I’m a novelist, you know." Read more at NaNoLondon.org

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

fairyhedgehog — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:42:48 +0000

What a brilliant pep talk! It brought a smile to my face and made me wish I was writing on the train and not in my pleasant, sunny front room. But only for a split second! (The wanting to write on the train was a split second; the smile lasted much longer.) This year I'm enjoying the pep talks by the MLs much more than those by the "famous people" that I've never heard of!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Kaleidoscope27 — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:35:09 +0000

NaNoLondon Blog Post Coping With NaNo: Fawning For Forums by Suzanne / Kaleidoscope27 "If you haven’t checked out the NaNoWriMo Forums already, why on Earth not? The forums are your Number One source for all things NaNo and novel writing. Go, go now! Well, read my blog first… The forums are a huge part of the NaNoWriMo world. You can get literally anything you need on there. You want to celebrate? There’s a forum for that. Moan? That too! Need help researching? Yup, got that. Want to hang out with NaNoers your age? All there!...."(read more at nanolondon.org)"

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Scminka — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:03:07 +0000

Could anyone tell me how I can upload a photo of myself, I can't find the option on my profile page.

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:21:35 +0000

Really, this request is somewhat off topic; this thread is for NaNoers (and MLs) blogging about the NaNoWriMo experience. The answer to your question is in the Tech Help forum

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:03:07 +0000

NanoLondon Blog Post Coping With NaNo: Charting Your Way To Success By Jenepel I’m not sure how many of you know this, but I work in accounting. Numbers are a comfort zone for me in the same day words are. Throughout all of November, not only do I pretty obsessively track my word count on the Nano site, I also use an excel chart of my own to look at various other stats. Nothing gives me more pleasure then typing in my wordcount for the day and looking at how it all measures up. I even have a comparison between where I was at each date during my previous Nanos, so I can measure patterns and see if I’m beating my past self! I’m proud to say for 2012 I’m ahead of my wordcount from any other year at this date. Maybe I'm getting better at Nanoing?! (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

destinyischoice — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:02:56 +0000

If anyone's interested, I'm writing some blog posts about NaNoWriMo on my blog, Cats and Chocolate - http://catsandchocolate.com - if you want to have a read! It's my second time doing NaNoWriMo, quite a different experience for me this year!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

technothrillerben — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:08:41 +0000

Thanks, Jenn - now using your spreadsheet. Remind me tonight to ask you a question about it.

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:07:37 +0000

NaNoLondon Blog Post Coping With NaNo: Forced Isolation By Tom Wilkinson There's just one small problem with sitting down to write your novel, and it's the same all year around, though the issues seem to arise even more than they usually would in November. And just as soon as I've taken a look at the NaNo forums, I'll tell you what it is. Read more at nanolondon.org

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

fairyhedgehog — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:06:52 +0000

I'm enjoying the ML's pep talks much more than any of the others!

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 03:19:24 +0000

Pep talk #3: Listen to Your Characters by Mark M (yowhound) It’s that time of the month, when your plot starts running wild and you have no idea where your novel is going any more. The eager pounding of the keys as your novel flows from mind to screen has given way to a hesitant hunt and peck as you desperately try to work out what has happened to your beautiful novel, and how to fix it. You are on the verge of despair here, looking down into the deep, craggy pit of NaNo failure. Chill out, we have all been there. Just relax. Take a deep breath and close your eyes a second. No, don’t fall asleep! Sure, I know you are tired now, but don’t! Just listen. Hard. Keep listening. (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:28:50 +0000

New blog post: Tom's Mid-month status report So how is NaNo going for me? Well, that’s an interesting question. This time, for the first time ever, I planned out everything ahead of time. I have a notebook, which contains character sketches, chapter headings and scene notes. Each chapter has a minimum word count, to be divided bwetween the scenes as I see fit. So far, so good, I hear you say. And that would be fine... (Read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Asphodele — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:40:37 +0000

Status Report: Claire We are nearing the end of Nano and I am behind – so, so very behind. I am about 10K behind on my word count, I am writing this blog post about a week late and I don’t even want to start on the state of my living room. Chores are for December. So far, so unsurprising – this just happens to be how I do Nano. Every year, I try to keep on top of my word count and every year, I end up with stats going up in a very gentle slope for the first three weeks, and shooting up madly in the last ten days or so. Last year was the first time that I lost in four years, so my main goal for this year is to win and I think I’m definitely on track despite being behind. I’ve got some time off work and I’m at a really exciting part of the story, so it shouldn’t be too hard to catch up. (Read more here!)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:02:14 +0000

Because we forgot to link them before, (whoops! argh, November...) here are Suzanne & my status report blogs: Status Report : Jenn Status Report : Suzanne

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:58:03 +0000

London Wrimo Profile: The Overachiever Name: Karl S. Green Nano Username: ksg1981 Twitter: @KarlSGreen How many years have you done Nano? 2012 is my sixth year. How many years have you won? All six! :o) Why did you decide to do Nano? (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

holly6000 — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:22:14 +0000

London Wrimo Profile: The Veteran Name: Lily Nano Username: darklily How many years have you done Nano? Every year since 2002. With the arguable exception of 2005, when I made a start and stopped again after just eight words. Read more at nanolondon.org

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 04:14:18 +0000

Pep Talk #4: A Sense of Community by Patrick Kidd (Shiiuga) So, the final week of NaNoWriMo 2012 is upon us, and hopefully by now you will have something approaching a first draft of a novel, whether you're aiming to hit the 50,000 target before the clock strikes midnight on November 30th, or, like me, you have decided on a more masochistic, higher goal. As I'm writing this in October, I for one hope that I have managed to push myself that extra mile, and am on target to reach the goals I set myself at the beginning of the month. In case I haven't, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell future Patrick to buck up his ideas! (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:54:20 +0000

London Wrimo Profile: The Newbie Name: M. J. Starling. It's a pen name, mostly because people have trouble spelling or pronouncing my real last name. Call me Matt. Nano Username: MJStarling Twitter: @MJStarling on Twitter; variations of the same in every corner of the internet. The centre of the web is MJStarling.com How many years have you done Nano? This is my first time. Why did you decide to do Nano? (read more at nanolondon.org)

Re: Blogs & Pep Talks

Jenepel — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 06:20:02 +0000

London Wrimo Profile: The Rebel Name: Ben Ingber Nano Username: Enzo Twitter: @FallibleBabble Games blog: www.falliblebabble.com How many years have you done Nano? This is my seventh year. How many years have you won? I've won four of six. I won't win this year because I'm not going for 50,000 words, I'm what the site calls a 'NaNoRebel'. Why did you decide to do Nano? (read more at nanolondon.org)