so, what's everyone thinking of working on?

I haven't decided. I tend to write fantasy/adventure/RPG-esque stuff, but I want to try something different from my usual work.

Go wherever your heart takes you! ...But not that way!

Well, I'm not entirely sure yet. Maybe I could get some opinions? Here are my options:

1. Write the sequel to last year's NaNo, which was a suspence kind of novel set in both a high school and on the city streets. Pros: I know the characters well, I really love their story, and I have several ideas up my sleeve. Cons: I haven't finished the rewrite of the first one, and I don't know how much plot I might change and how that might affect the sequel.

2. Write a different novel, which I've had ideas for for a long time, but have never actually gotten around the writing. It's fantasy, set in an original world in the Middle Ages kind of timeframe. Pros: I get a new beginning, a new genre to experience, and more room to stretch my creative muscles. Cons: It's an entirely different story, I'm not sure where I want to go with it or whether I'll be able to win with it.

Let me know what you think, please! And I hope I get to meet some of you at write-ins! :)

2008 - Prayer of the Refugee (currently renamed Brick Walls and Stars)
2009 - Guardian Angel (tentative)

^My instinct screams option two because I love that genre, but instincts cannot always be trusted. I say go with option one. If you love your characters' story, then you obviously already have the motivation, motivation which could be lost if you work on something else for a month. And if you love your previous story, expanding it seems worthy of your time. Really, the only reasons I can think of to start something new are if you are burnt out with your other story or if you are satisfied leaving what you've done as it is and not expanding it.

Go wherever your heart takes you! ...But not that way!

No idea yet. Probably scifi or horror.

Am I the only one who knows exactly what I'm doing? XD;;

I have the story outlined already. It's a kind of love/hate romance story, I'm pretty excited about it. It'll be the first non-fantasy novel I've ever written, if I get it done. The only thing I'm really not sure about is the ending, but I'm thinking I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

@Tatsumi: My two cents is, if that sequal wants to be written, if it feels like it'll really add to and complete the first book, and if you think you've got enough ideas there for another 50,000 words, go for it! Starting something like your second option from scratch seems like it would take a lot of planning; world building is no joke, or so I'm told. But if that's what you're compelled to write, then do that instead. I'm something of a method writer; I write what I think wants to be written. Usually works out better than trying to force a story. ^_^

Hihi, NaNo's and WriMo's of RI,

I have changed my mind three times but I have decided to continue from were I left off on my last NaNoWriMo entry. To make sure it's not cheating I am not including a single word from the part I have already written. I decided to pick up where I left off for three reasons:

1) Because this year I have my novel loosely planned out
2) Because I need it for a class for the Institute of Children’s Literature
3) Because I want to publish it eventually - and you can't publish something that doesn't even have a first draft done.

So yeah, good luck to you all, and thanks for e-mailing me this year ^___^

Edit: Sorry for the atrocious spelling job earlier v.v Now it's fixed ^___^

"I don't care if some magical stupid thing happens if I got after her!"
- Amylee Skylar ~ Muse Lover ~ Part 1

Tatsumi...I say #1. Both because you sound fairly stoked to be in that world, so it should be good motivation, and because writing the sequel could help you in rewriting the first one.

Thanks for the opinions, everybody! It helped swayed my decision - I'm definitely doing the first idea. I'm too in love with those characters to NOT write that book! =D

2008 - Prayer of the Refugee (currently renamed Brick Walls and Stars)
2009 - Guardian Angel (tentative)

Howdy, all. I'm a NaNoWriMo newbie, though I've thought about it before. I'll be working on a hard-sf novel set during WWII. I've got an outline and have the first couple of scenes roughed in.

"Real artists ship" -- Steve Jobs
Blog: hard deadlines
Twitter: jmcdaid

I am going to work on book 2 of my young adult fantasy series.

I haven't read book 1 since February so I am doing that now to prep me for November.

Good luck everyone. I am ready for the insanity! Are you?

I'm thinking of doing something more fantasy related this time out. I'm thinking of getting back into D&D and have an idea for a campaign I want to run and think it will be fun to sketch the idea out as a NaNovel and then fleshing that out into the actual campaign afterwards.

Of course, if inspiration hits, I reserve the right to go off in a completely different direction.

My trusty laptop died a horrible death and I may have to slum it this year on my work laptop (read: Crappy) which means no Scrivener. What are decent writing tools under Windows?

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I'm thinking probably fantasy as well… just like nearly everyone else on this thread! Haven't figured out even a vague plot yet but I have every intention of attempting to outline ahead of time this year.

Nanowrimo Winner 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Script Frenzy Winner 2007, 2008

Most years, I have little or no idea until very close to starting time, about the same point where pre-race panic sets in. This year is no different. Looking back, I've had about equal success no matter how ready I was. (My first year, I got my idea less than a day out, and that's still one of the best I wrote. The second year's was good, too, and it was the most planned of all of them.)

My gut instinct is to go with something vaguely SF. I've been on a neo-Traveller kind of kick the last few years and haven't been able to shake it. Something about the gritty aesthetics really appeals to me.

I just don't have an idea for a story yet. But I'm sure one will come in time. It always does, somehow.

They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday. - Robert A. Heinlein

2002 - The Jesus Engine | 2003 - Shatter | 2004 - Алфавил | 2005 - Faith Island
2006 - The Headcount | [2007 - n/a] | 2008 - Abdication | 2009 - Night Class

Hello everyone,
I'm a newbie from the MA/RI border. I'm planning to write an urban fantasy. The main character is a shapeshifter, but I also have vamp and witch characters. I'm really excited to start it. But also nervous. I generally acomplish what I set out to do, but wouldn't mind community support. It looks like fantasy and sci-fi are the dominant genre ...and also happen to be my favorite. I'd love to hear more about what others are planning.

***fantasy_scribe***

Hello all!

This is my first year as a Wrimo and I'm really excited. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna do a Harry Potter fanfic ('cause I'm a dork like that). Something like an American at Hogwarts, which most stems from my over-active imagination and my dreams of getting my Hogwarts letter. I'm pretty sure it's going to be set in the next-generation era. I going to start outlining tonight. This is going to be an interesting month....

Naked people have little or no influence on society.
~Mark Twain

I think i'm going to do a scifi/fantasy as well... I got a few ideas I want to work on some of them stemmed off the novel I worked on last year. Of course I'll be just as excited if I sit down and end up coming up with something completely different

"While all Goals are abtainable, fate deems that life and every obstacle possible, can and will get in your way. We fail at our goals when we give up and feel remorse. Sucess is when while we are blind and cannot see the future, we keep moving forward.

I'm moving away from my normal fantasy/action with hints of romance... doing a suspense/thriller with a little supernatural thrown in for good measure. hah.

2008- "To Save Riggs Harlin" - WINNER
2009- "Never Look Back" (book 1) -

~Bree~

Hi all. I am also new to the NaNoWriMo scene and have been contemplating an alternate-history novel. Around which event in history? Not quite sure, but I plan on making it quite fun.

Hi there! I'm new to NaNoWriMo and I'm looking forward to it.

I think I'm going with a Fantasy novel.

I'm writing a book about a girl who was raised as a witch but with no special powers. Or, so she thought...

I'm still working on brainstorming some events I want to happen in the book. But I think I have my main character pretty well thought out in my head.

I'm going to do a YA story set in the overpopulated future. Everyone's chipped in to the 'mesh' and your chip/society privileges are determined by how many creds you have... If you're one of the have-nots, you're living in the basement levels, scrabbling to survive.

But it's not going to be as depressing as that sounds ;)

My heroine is going to stumble across the last wildlife preserve on the planet while trying to escape the evil mastermind (demoted chip tech) and his gang of thugs who are stealing chips and killing anyone who gets in their way... *insert evil laugh here*

I'm going to have some fun with it. :)

Christy

Hey all! This is my second year doing NaNo, and basically I'm "re-imagining" my story from last year. It's a fantasy novel, and after re-reading last year's version I realized... well, it's crap. Not complete crap, though. The idea is good. The execution was bad. Mainly because I just kind went with it and random stuff fell out of my brain. I realized that the first 8 chapters have exactly two mentions of magic, and the rest is some stupid high school melodrama crap (although it is fun, just not the story I wanted... but it was cathartic to write, anywho!). But about halway through it gets to an interesting point. What I realized, though, is that the stuff leading up to that interesting point failed. So I'm re-doing it. Now it will be a fantasy mystery, if that makes sense. Basically, FMC's boyfriend is found dead, it's ruled a natural death and nobody worries about it. She thinks that's bullcrap, and decides to investigate. And when she does, well... she finds out he's actually magic, and faked his own death. Good times, yeah?

That's what I'm writing about. Well, that will be the backdrop for a love story. The South (or at least Texas) seceding from the Union as a result of the hijacking of the Republican party by whack-job fringe secessionists. I wouldn't even call it science fiction; I think we're about 2 years from this (fingers crossed!). Oh yea, and the love story will definitely be a lesbian one. Cuz that's how I roll.

~Kate

Cripes! Am I the only person here who writes present-day, totally believable stuff? LOL

Is that boring or something?

You're in Bristol? I'm in Tiverton! We should meet up in some adorable East Bay café during the process, especially if we're the only two NOT doing fantasy/sci-fi, which it seems like is true.

~Kate :)

Hey! Its been so long since everyone posted but I figured I'd post something here anyways.

I'm a NaNo newbie and wasn't originally planning on doing it this year but a couple friends talked me into it recently (read: today).

I'm thinking about working on a kind of espionage-esque based book. I'm still doing research but I don't have any classes tomorrow so I can probably get it all done then.

Are you talking to me? (It's kinda hard to tell, the site format is in order of the time it was posted, not who it was in reply to.)

If you are: I'd love to! In fact, I dragged a friend of mine into doing NaNo, and she's not doing fantasy/sci-fi either! =D We can all meet up. Have you ever heard of the Coffee Depot café in Warren? It's on Main Street, and it's a great place.

2008 - Prayer of the Refugee (currently renamed Brick Walls and Stars)
2009 - Guardian Angel (tentative)

It's been awhile since I've done an introduction for a novel writing group, so excuse me if there is awkward phrasing. I'm a junior at high school who manages to juggle academics and athletics as best as he can. It's my guilty pleasure to write in my free time, or more accurately to participate in online forums where writing is encouraged. Whether it be an RP forum or just a writing group, I've experienced many different genres of writing and have dabbled in a wide variety. Nanowrimo is a very different site for me in that I've never actually gone through the process of writing long pieces over a period of time. I'm more accustomed to grabbing a point in time, spending an hour on the piece and that posting it up for criticism. It will be exciting to get working on this dirty draft. Since I'm not restrained by my inner editor, I think it'll give me more flexibility in the story I'm planning. Hopefully I can maintain through through these four weeks and come out with a decent piece.

What I'm planning to do is use a very vague idea with no pre-writing beforehand. I work better when I can compulsively let the words flow from my thought onto the keyboard instead of stopping every few minutes to consider the scene. I think my stories flow better in this way as well.

In the first person perspective, my main character will be introduced through a series of questions asked by his optometrist. He'd been having difficulty seeing things at a distance for a year now and finally got around to visiting an eye doctor for prescription glasses. Naturally, everything in the first chapter, or the appointment goes as planned. The main character not only learns that he has problems with his far sight, but that his right eye has difficulty focusing. As his doctor explains, when a finger is pressed to the tip of his nose, only his left eye remains on it. Meanwhile, his right eye simply stays in this same position. The main character learns it's a common condition, and all that needs to be done is to order a pair of reading glasses on top of his distance glasses. Seven hundred dollars later he leaves the office and Chapter Two commences.

In the remaining chapters, the conflict begins as soon as the main character starts to put on his glasses. It is little things he notices at first. The nick on the side of his car undoubtedly left by his daughter who'd he let borrow for the weekend, faded graffiti on the side of his office or even the slight char reminiscent of his wife's mediocre cooking talent. Yet, it is these seemingly innocuous problems that force the main character to re-examine a life he once thought of as perfect. In no way is he prepared for the things his new glasses reveal, terrible secrets that slowly change the world around him into one of tension and lies. . .

Can I get some feedback on the idea?

i just joined, and on the sci-fi topic, i think im going to write about a dystopic world but everyone gets the swine flu, or something! maybe about surviving against odds, and such.

The truth of the matter is,
"You must become the change you wish to see in the world"
-Gandhi.

I'm writing an Urban Fantasy:

A clairvoyant sophomore exposes his family’s evil, risking his legacy, to topple a global enterprise.

2009 - Dust

Wow, I like just about everyone else am writing a fantasy novel!

I am writing the third and last installment of a modern day fantasy series. Last year NaNoWriMo I wrote Book 1 and was so inspired I just kept going and after November wrote Book 2. Now I am looking to wrap up the series. It is fairly exciting to pick up old characters, dust them off and play with them again.

Course once this series has run its course I will have to figure out something to write next year...eeeek

Good luck to all!