One week to go any advice for newbies in the S'ton area?

My advice is to remember your goal is to reach 50,000 words, not to write a Booker prize winner etc. So don't do any editing, just carry on.

If you really change your mind just add a paragraph with your new idea whenever you think of it (no point in wasting words when you need all you can for the 50,000) then carry on as if you had already made the changes before.

Good writing is good editing, so give yourself lots of words to edit.

Ah, the most important advice of all, if you don't hit your word count for a day, don't give up. To be honest, even if you don't hit the 50,000 word mark, then don't stop going to the events or chatting on the board, as we're all here to encourage you and ...

...whisper this...

... even if you don't make the goal, you'll still have more words than you probably would have gotten in the month of November and that's enough of an achievement in itself!

The truth is that it's really upsetting watching the numbers at write-ins and meet-ups decline as people miss their daily goal, give up and skip out on the social side. No one's judging you, you know.

Oh, and the first weeks the hardest.

When stuck, describe the surroundings your characters are in. If that doesn't work, you can do what Raymound Chandler does and 'have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand'. Or you can do what I did in my first NaNoWriMo and throw in a pirate attack (you may have to make up the reason for all these attacks later!)

I found that the day I struggled most, I ended up having my main character waffling on about the trees around her (this was under the 'when stuck, describe stuff' rule) and that ended up giving her an interest in nature that rounded out her character a bit more!

Sorry if that was advice overload!

Ella (aka plv)

Oh, and the best advice, do word wars. This is where you join a forum or chatroom, chat to people for a bit, then have a 'write for x minutes none stop' challenge and then you all report the number of words you've written. Although I only won one once, I found the competition really got me writing and camaderie helps. If you go to write-ins you can do a similar thing over beer or coffee.

Ella

panic
blind panic
possibly nausia
okay enough about my plans

i found these two exercise have been firing me up, this first is where you write a letter to your characters and then get them to write you one back, which i have found kind of cool even if i haven't actually got around to posting mine yet
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3264932
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3273435

and there is this one which is to write out the numbers 1 to 20 and then write down just the bullitin points of your plot as much as you can. this is not set in stone and you don't need to go into too much detail so you can be flexiable, but it can stop you from getting too hung up on where to go next with free associating with the ploat
of course this one may not be for you because it could be to rigid and restrict the number men with guns walking into rooms or pirate attacks (both cool points by the by) but it stops me from getting to hung up on where the plot is going over all rather than writing.

hope that helps, i am off to panic some more :)

Andy

"If you don't jump, you'll never land"
-Lemn Sassy

Thanks for all the good advice - I will be deploying Pirates and men walking through doors with guns at the first sign of trouble .. failing that I will employ the describing things around you like a mad man strategy!!!.

panicking less....well a little !

also may I add you all as buddies ?

Yeah, you can add me, if you want.

@Smokeytheredhawk
I sort of did the letter thing for my first nanowrimo (I'm still using the same characters you see) on Halloween night I was all fired up thinking about NaNoWriMo, but went to bed before midnight and lay there writing the letter from my main character in my head and it did help a lot. It's a shame I didn't write it down actually, as it would be interesting to see how much the character has changed.

yeah feel free to add me

Andy

"If you don't jump, you'll never land"
-Lemn Sassy

@ plv
it would indeed have been interesting, especially as you're coming back to the same characters (I'm intrigued)
I am writing my letters tonight so i can read them at a writers circle tomorrow, should prove interesting as my main protagonist is jaded, insightful and anti authority figures... i am not sure he will have nice things to say :)
ps: mind if i add you?

Andy

"If you don't jump, you'll never land"
-Lemn Sassy

Hi all, it's my first time too - so thanks for the advice :)

I'd just like to ask what the buddy system does for us ... I'd be happy to buddy the whole of Southampton/Hampshire if it helps anyone - or in particular if it helps me - can anyone set me straight on what it's meant for?

Cheers - and good luck everyone - it's under 2 days now ::oo

Ruth

to be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting - e.e.cummings

The buddy system is IMHO to encourage writers. It helps motivation to buddy people who write at about the same pace as you do. Then yuo feel bad when you're behind.

'8: Interface Culture - Selbst die Zukunft ist nicht mehr das was sie einmal war (won!)
'9: Ytin'he'ny - those who are changed

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Back up your novel, now!