Age Group: 20s

I'm looking for some writing buddies, and I figured here would be a good place to look, since this group is full of twenty-something novelists! :D I'm 27, on grad school hiatus, and working on a novel that centers around internet romance, and I'm looking for some writing buddies so we can encourage each other, bounce ideas off each other, and make sure we're all alive at the end of November, haha.

Is anyone interested? Is this even the right place to post things like this? XD

Or wanting to do so?

I'm a beginning graphic designer. Recently made a fantastic commission working for a friend of mine and templating his new CD insert, but in my day job, I work in accounting. Truthfully, I'm doing whatever I can to make the graphic design my permanent job - and yes, maintain it as freelance.

So - who here is their own boss?

I guess I'm not the only one, who still needs to finish their novel - despite it already has more than 50k words. So, I'm curious, how do you find the inspiration/motivation?
After I hit 50k, I slowed down and hardly write more, though it'd be great to continue and finish (then possibly edit, because I want to use CreatSpace's offer), it' just... Life feels emptier after November the 30th.

This was my first Nano and I enjoyed it very much!!!
So, any suggestions, ideas...? :) Share your thoughts with your fellow i-hit-50k-but-still-need-to-finish nanoes :)

If you feel like you've gotten something out of this fabulous month of novel-writing chaos, consider donating to the Office of Letters and Light (the people who put on NaNoWriMo)! NaNo is a non-profit organization and runs ENTIRELY on donations. Right now it looks like 7.54% of WriMos have donated, but I bet we can get the percentage even higher!

If you actually have $10 or more to donate, that's awesome! Go to the Donation/Store tab and donate to get a halo and donor gifts! Hurray for you! :D Donate here!

If you have less than $10 to donate, that's totally cool too! You can donate directly through paypal! See this link for more information: Donating Less than $10 You don't get the donor halo or goodies, but you can know that even your few dollars are keeping NaNoWriMo going!

And even if you're broke, there are things you can do to help out the Office of Letters and Light (even something as simple as searching on the internet can raise NaNo money by using Goodsearch)! Check out this link for donating when broke: Donating When Broke

If everybody could donate (even just by using Goodsearch a few times), we'd have fewer server crashes, people would get paid, there'd be even more awesome features on the NaNo site, AND the future of National Novel Writing Month would be secure! So if you've had fun this month, please consider donating! Even just a few Goodsearches will help raise a couple of cents for NaNoWriMo, and if all of the WriMos raised just a few cents, we'd have a great big ol' pile of money to keep NaNoWriMo going strong!!! :)

This is the second time this has happened. My muse is apparently a fickle lover. This is first time I've ever written more than 20k words in a single story.that flittery bitch of a muse likes to give me new people/stories/plots at inopportune times, like driving on the highway, in church or in the shower. I get overwhelmed with ideas that demand to be put in print.

I developed a story to 1200 words the last time this happened only a week into nano, then put it aside as my muse was sufficiently sated and was able to go back to the nano story. She's done it again and I can't shake the thoughts of this new group of people that has nothing to do with the current story. This might be the reason I have about half a dozen unfinished stories on my hard drive. With only a few days left of nano, how can I get my focus back to my contest story?

I'm really curious to hear from you.

What school are you getting it from?
What's the program like?
What other degrees do you have?
What kind and how much writing did you do before getting into the program?
Have you ever been published?

And anything else you care to add. I'm thinking about going for a MFA after I get my BA in English.

I really do. I have a hedgehog on my shoulder under my shirt. If I move too much, she'll poke me. Why don't I take her off, you ask? If you know anything about hedgehogs, you'll know that they are not often cuddly. Well, I don't have the heart to put her back in her cage if she's cuddling on my shoulder.

So what valid reasons do you have for not writing?

So, I was writing what was supposed to be the end of one universe, which would turn out to be a 'memory' being viewed by people in the world that comes after. It's a long story. Basically, we had several characters facing The End. Not a Deep Impact end, but more like an Arthur C. Clarke end.

"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."

And this guy, who was supposed to be a throwaway character and had previously been described as essentially a street-tough and generally unflappable, breaks down. I mean, completely. One second he's sitting next to his best friend/best enemy (how or why, I don't know; it was supposed to be a lead-in), the next he's angry and crying - not prettily or quietly - and swearing and generally completely SCARED. Which makes sense, right? End of the universe. Let's move on to the next chapter.

Except, I can't. What should have been a page or two turned into pages of ranting, and the other characters all over the world, and centered on this one guy and his increasingly inane rantings: "I hafta-- I gotta date on Thursday! I catch the bus t'morrow! I gotta put the F*CKING FLOWERS ON THE WINDOWSILL!!!"

And for some reason, I started bawling.

And it became a whole new chapter.

And now the story's going in a completely different direction, because dammit, I want this guy to get a happy ending (even in another life).

Is this a 'Eureka' moment, or am I going nuts for letting a sixtieth-tier character make me sob like a baby into an entire box of tissues? Should I go with where the story's heading, or try and get it back into what it's SUPPOSED to be?

Anyone using real life people to base characters? Weirdest one?

Mine has to be my ex, as my MC's love interest (also half based on a tv show character I adore). I'm really trying to keep the character from becoming him too much, but still being able to draw on the ex's real life experiences (cause he sure did have some interesting stories that were worth placing into fiction) and create something new. I don't want my MC to get hurt like that. I want her to ruin him. :P

Share your story. :D

So who else has been thrown a curveball about their character's lives?

My novel is YA and as I was writing I realized that my FMC's mom needs to be pregnant. I also had character that was only supposed to be in a couple scenes that I realized needs to be a fairly major part of the book. I go with these as long as they feel true to the book and the characters.