Any other first time nano-ers out there?

I'm a first-timer too. Whilst I'm fairly used to writing short stories and poetry, this is my first stab at anything of novel length. It's a terribly daunting prospect!

However I've got a calendar by my PC with the required word count for each day up to the 30th written on it and I'm finding that an absolute lifesaver. When I'm feeling disheartened I can look to the required total and tell myself "only another thousand words to go today, then you can stop" and when I'm feeling inspired it's great to watch the word count zip through.

I am very much enjoying the process, even though it is a lot of hard work, and I'm discovering things about writing that are, as you say, quite exhilarating.

Hi, I'm not in Brighton, but East sussex is a bit thin on the ground, so I've come to the nearest town I know :-)

This is my first official NaNo, but I tried it out with a writing buddy from the States back in March. Then I managed to pour out the words and ended up with a grand totall of about seventy thousand, but this time...every single incy wincy word is having to be plucked like thorns and hammered into the text...somehow. So different. But I'm determined to see my first official NaNo through to the end, so I'll write whatever it takes!! :-D

Glad I'm not the only first-timer though :-)

Well, you've already got nearly 29,000 words, so you must be doing something right!

Did you plan anything before you started or have you just sat down and started typing? (Which is what I've done - I'm hoping I've thrown enough scraps to tie together into something meaningful by the end, because I've got no idea what the ending will be like)

Looks like whatever I'm doing you're managing to do as well - a cool 28K as well!!

The novel I wrote back in March I had banging round my head for some time, and the night before my unofficial NoWriMo started I sat down with some yellow cards and quickly did a 30 chapter storyline (one per day :-) ), which I stuck to because it seemed to flow right.

This time, I haven't even managed to write a plan further than the chapters already written (ie I update it as I go along, but haven't planned ahead). This is so frustrating as it really is being allowed to go where it wants to, and each time I sit at the computer I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to write. I just sit there and tap away until an idea comes to me!! :-S )

I prefer the first way, but since there's a block on imagination right now, I'll just keep pumping out whatever comes to mind. Trouble is, like you I don't know the ending, and I don't see how I'm going to end it by the end of the month if I have no idea where it's going... more than frustrating, it's wince-inducing like you said in the first post !!

Still, time to plug on now... good luck with your weekend writing!

First time NaNo-er here, I'd heard about it a few years ago when I still lived in Canada and have always considered it but this year I've made a lot of effort to actually sit down and write the stories that have been kicking around in my head for ages.

It's been up and down but mostly up, I had a rough start and early this week was a bit of a trial but I'm really getting into things now. My laptop's been a lifesaver, the ability to disconnect it from the internet and take it somewhere without distractions is a huge bonus. That and the fact that I made sure to blab to everyone I knew that I was doing this, so I get reminded about it every time I go to work or sign onto MSN Messenger.

I've not got the word count down on my calendar but I certainly keep loading up the Windows calculator and working out where I should be at the end of the day. I'm a bit behind because I went out to see a film Thursday night and didn't get much written, but this week is entirely free and I'm sure I'll catch up.

My 50000 words will only cover the first five or six chapters and I know roughly what happens in all of them and where things are going, though not in huge detail beyond those chapters. I have four point of view characters and switching between them has been a bit of a blessing and a curse, it gives me fresh perspectives and characters to introduce but both the ruts I've fallen into have been right at the start of chapters where I'm trying to get into their heads. Looking forward to the end of the month where I'll sit down and actually work out an outline for the rest of the story!

First timer and I only joined because my husband talked me into it. He's going to win and I'm not as you can see - unless I can get hold of a time machine in the next few days - but I don't care.

I'm a terribly slow writer because I'm a damned perfectionist - so I have three unfinished novels on the stocks and until this month would spend a whole evening just getting a paragraph right. The experience of NaNoWriMo has given me the encouragement to just get the story told and then worry about the perfect prose.

Also I'm addicted to radio - particularly BBC7. Not a great help to writing. It's too late to get a laptop for this NaNoWriMo, but as soon as I can I'm following SD's example and will in future remove myself as far away from internet temptations as possible!

I've learned a lot this month. I've not quite got the hang of it yet, but next year... :)

Yeah, it's taught me a lot about not having to get everything right first time too... have you read 'No Plot? No Problem!" ? It's an excellent way to get into the mood of writing everything and anything and not caring too much about what's coming out (until later)... gives you great perspective on the whole thing... Well worth reading if you haven't already :-)