Am I a Rebel? Find out here!
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Copyright © 2012 The Office of Letters and Light :: All posted novel excerpts remain copyright to their authors.
There are currently 15286 users online.
Copyright © 2012 The Office of Letters and Light :: All posted novel excerpts remain copyright to their authors.
Note: Please read before posting. This thread is JUST for asking about whether or not you're a rebel. If you'd like to introduce yourself or announce your clear rebellion, please head over to this thread. Off topic posts will be deleted.
Am I a rebel?
We get this question here a lot. The odds are not; there are some rules that people think are rules, but really aren't! So we're going to touch on the most commonly asked ones. The first rule of NaNoWriMo: If you think it's a novel, so do we. Some people like to know if they are or are not rebellious, though, so we'll let you know if you ask. If you'd like to know if something's against the rules or not, ask in the Rules and Regs forum.
Here are the basic rules for winning, as outlined on the How NaNoWriMo Works page.
* Write a 50,000-word (or longer!) novel, between November 1 and November 30.
* Start from scratch. None of your own previously written prose can be included in your NaNoWriMo draft (though outlines, character sketches, and research are all fine, as are citations from other people's works).
* Write a novel. We define a novel as a lengthy work of fiction. If you consider the book you're writing a novel, we consider it a novel too!
* Be the sole author of your novel. Apart from those citations mentioned two bullet-points up.
* Write more than one word repeated 50,000 times.
* Upload your novel for word-count validation to our site between November 25 and November 30.
What does being a rebel mean? Does this mean I can't validate, or use the site, or participate in NaNoWriMo?
Absolutely NOT! You are 100% welcome. In fact, you're so welcome we gave you this very shiny forum, where people won't accuse you of being a cheater or "not doing it right." Some rebels validate, others don't. We don't check, and we don't care! Some people feel that if they're not doing it by the book, they shouldn't validate. Those people will still get shiny green bars of completion once they hit 50k. Others feel they worked hard, and should get their purple winner's bar and winner's certificate.
Neither is wrong! This is a self-challenge. The REAL prize of NaNoWriMo is the accomplishment, and the big new manuscript you have at the end. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake.
I won't be writing crap. I'll probably be editing while I write. Am I a rebel?
Nope. Writing crap is allowed... not required. Chris Baty asks you to give yourself permission to write crap... but you aren't required to write crap to win. Some of us even manage to churn out pretty decent drafts! Those of you who edit... you're not rebelling either. Editing is discouraged, but not forbidden, and only because when you edit, you slow yourself down and may end up bogged down in worrying about whether or not it is perfect. Plenty of people edit, win, and validate!
I'm writing fanfiction. Am I a rebel?
Not even a little. The only rule we have for content is that it must be fiction. Beyond that...
I'm writing a collection of short stories. Am I a rebel?
Probably not. There's no actual rule on this one. We define a novel as "a lengthy work of fiction." However, we the moderators feel that since you find short story collections on the shelves alongside longer works of fiction, if they're related, they count. They need to have some common theme, or linking thread that weaves them together that makes them a single, "lengthy work of fiction." Which leads us to the next:
I'm writing a series of unrelated essays/short stories/vignettes. Am I a rebel?
Probably. Again, there's no official rule on this one, but if you're just combining unrelated work to get the 50k, it's probably not a novel.
I'm writing a memoir/biography/guide to Europe/creative non-fiction. Am I a rebel?
Yes. Nonfiction is outside the bounds of the NaNoWriMo challenge. If it's not fiction, then it doesn't fall within the confines of "a lengthy work of fiction." The exception to this is fictionalized memoir; we don't tell you how MUCH fiction you must include. It's up to you to decide. Fictionalized memoirs are okay, true, non-fiction memoirs are rebellion.
I'm continuing last year's NaNo, or another work I've been writing on before November. Am I a rebel?
Yes. You have to start from scratch... scratch doesn't mean with nothing (you can plan), but it does mean that you can't start writing before November 1. To win officially, you need to write your novel, or at least the first 50k of it, between November 1 and November 30.
I started this idea, but it never got far. I won't be using the stuff I wrote, but it's the same idea and characters. Am I a rebel?
No. Ideas are fine! When you make biscuits from scratch, you sometimes use a recipe, and you don't make the flour and water out of nothing! As long as you set anything you've written aside, don't refer to it, and don't include any of the original prose... it's fine.
What if I don't finish my novel at 50k? Am I a rebel?
No. 50k is a threshold... not a limit. If you're a vet, you may remember when Chris encouraged you to hit "The End" on November 30, but that's not even recommended anymore. It's a great goal, but if you don't finish, you're not a loser. The goal is to write at least 50k.
I'm writing a script. Am I a rebel?
Yes. You can join your fellow scripting rebels in the Script Frenzy forum.
I'm writing a video game/drawing a graphic novel/poetry/music. Am I a rebel?
Yes. While these are incredible art forms in and of themselves, we focus on novels. Graphic novels are novels, but we don't have a way to validate them... it has to be text.
I'm writing my novel in journal form/as a fictional guide/in verse/insert other strange form here. Am I a rebel?
Is it fiction? Then no! We don't care what the format's like. If it's a lengthy work of fiction, we don't even care if you write it on stone tablets in unrhymed verse... it still counts.
I don't have a computer, and I'm handwriting my novel. Am I a rebel?
No. In fact, we even have a special clause for you handcrampers out there to validate. Check it out the Luddite Clause.
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? I want to make 50 images for NaNoWriMo. Am I a rebel?
Yes. :) Images are outside of the bounds of the challenge. That is very clear rebellion!
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, because you guys always come up with something to surprise us. But feel free to ask your "am I a rebel" questions in this thread. We'll try to answer!
So if I refer to a previous work, I'm a rebel?
Here's the scoop: A novel came to me August 1, which wouldn't wait. So I had to go for it (I know my story peeps well enough to know they don't wait around), essentially doing Camp NaNoWriMo (& winning)...story finished at 600+ pgs. BUT....the idea was to also write the same story from the other main story person's POV, as a "dual novel" (which, in electronic form, will contain expandable paragraphs, to read the other POV alongside the main one).
So, timewise -- since I'm a single mom who works full time, commutes, etc. -- I need to write the other POV during this year's NaNo. What this will involve would be "borrowing" the dialogue from the first POV, which I could do via an outline, if need be. AND, the second POV will have different scenes than the first one, for story reasons.
Does that make me a rebel, then? Or...?
Yeah, I would say so. :) That's pretty clear rebellion, since you're including text from a previous novel.
Hmm, looks like I'm a rebel by definition, because of the way I make notes and "outlines" -- as snippets of dialog or description to prompt narrative and description. If I refer back to that, I'm automatically referring to previously-written material.
Oh, well. I'm primarily doing NaNoWriMo to get back into writing after a long dry stretch, and I'm not likely to change my methods of working at this time in my life!
Hmm...kind of a fine line, really---lots of people make notes & outlines beforehand, and I know I for one cannot ignore lines of dialogue that come to me whether it's "time to write" or not. They're like hundred-dollar bills floating past on the wind: grab 'em or miss out! :)
Kudos to you for staying true to your work method. Everyone needs to find his or her own and be true to that, whether or not others find it useful or not. (I'm a "pantser," so lots of people criticize my seat-of-the-pants method---which works beautifully for me.)
Planning isn't rebellion. NOw, if you use the snippets of dialogue or description in your novel, then that would be rebellion, but your way of planning isn't necessarily rebellion because you're prewriting some stuff. It's just like some people write little vignettes or practice scenes with characters that will never make it into the novel itself. That's totally fine. :)
Well, sometimes there's only one way to say something that gets the intended meaning across, so I may well use some of my "notes" dialog in the actual writing. So I'll put my notes in a separate file, and subtract that word count from my final verified total, and only claim winner status elewhere if that is over 50K.
That's what I've been toying with: Given the nature of this particular format (which came straight from my Muses), I *have* to use dialogue from the other half/first POV version of the novel. BUT, I plan to subtract that from the total word count, and only count myself as having won if I've written more than 50K NEW words. (Which, since this is my 9th year, 50K isn't that hard anymore. You kinda get better at it as you go along. :)
But since I'm such a purist when it comes to NaNo, I'm also toying with the idea of writing another 50k on a different, brand-spanking new novel at the same time, just so I can legitimately say I've stuck to the rules. Don't want to ruin my winning streak now!
I just am not fond of flipping back and forth, though, since I immerse myself in my novel-world while writing, and I don't change mental gears very fast. :::sigh:::
Then again, I've always been a rebel at heart, which is one reason I'm also a pantser---if somebody says "this is how it's done, by writing an outline, synopsis, etc., planning it all out" then I'm going, "Oh yeah?! Watch me!"
I'm the same way, actually. I plan by just drafting out on paper, then retyping into the computer, and I have long snips of a novel idea I've wanted to finish for years. I'm just not planning on validating, but I desperately need the motivation here to make it through a working first draft.
I've already started my novel, I'm about 36,000 words in. However, when I reached the point I'm at now, I hit some major writer's block, and now I'm using NaNoWriMo to get the words flowing again. That being said, I still have a goal of writing 50,000 words to finish.
So what can a cheater do?
First, don't say "cheater." You're a "rebel." The wording is very important, you see.
Second, check in right here if you want to talk to other people doing something similar.
Third, have fun! This is NaNo. =)
I'm a semi-rebel. I'm going to do two novels. One has a few chapters already written. The other is started from scratch. Yes, I'm going for 100K. I hit 75K once. And that's 100K in November, not counting the words already written.
But I love being a rebel anyway. Whoo-Hoo!!! Viva La Rebellion.
Terri
If you hit 50k on the one you're starting from scratch, provided you don't start it until Nov. 1, you can still use that to win in a non-rebel matter. It doesn't matter if you're working on another project during the month as well - the rules don't say anything about that, they just say you have to finish the first 50k on one novel during november.
I imagine this must have come up before, but can't for the life of me find the answer:
Would writing an interactive novel make you a rebel? You know...those things where you get a choice of pages to turn to (or a choice of hyperlinks), and the story develops differently depending on what you pick. I imagine people are probably more familiar with gamebooks where there's also some stat building and dice rolling involved (and I'd quite like to know your thoughts on this), but for the sake of argument let's assume it's more of a story than a game.
The main reason I wonder is because a 50,000 word interactive novel could well be less than 5,000 words long when you come to read it. It's a comparable amount of work, and you could check the word count in much the same way, but looking at it from the other side it's not really novel length.
You mean writing a "choose your own adventure" book? That's defintely allowed, as those books are shelved as novels. As long as the word count of the entire book is 50,000 or more, you are a winner.
Ah, fantastic! That's good to know. :-)
And you're not the only one doing a gamebook / interactive novel...
Oh dear. Should I tear up the last five winner's certificates??
Six Nano's ago I started a fantasy tale. I won me a winner's certificate. But the next year the characters were so insistent I should continue...
This year I am on the final volume of the second trilogy about the same characters and world. I think that puts me firmly in the rebel camp, although I never think of the characters from one November to the next.
We do not require you do validate or not, get a winner's certificate or not. :) NaNoWriMo is a self-challenge.
At any rate, sequels are not rebellion. Reusing characters is also not rebellion. From scratch means you start a new book... not a completely new idea and characters. :)
Thanks for that!
Certificates - you are safe up there on the wall with your collection of lurking dust bunnies!
Now on, on, to the first few thousand words!
Pretty sure I qualify as a rebel. I'm working on a story started before (and completely outside of) NaNo. I'm not including my word count written before (to the tune of 20,000 words-ish) in the 50,000. I'm only counting the 50,000 that I write within this November towards the word goal...
Yes, that's rebellion.
Throwing this out there. I'm rewriting (as in completely from scratch) a novel I finished a draft for two years ago. This is my first time doing this and I gutted that novel so many times. I could have done something completely new but really want to see if I can make the idea work. It still has the same main characters and some of the same plot and the world system. I'm re-using a lot of the ideas, but (honest to goodness) will not even LOOK at the old ms the entire time, except maybe after for revision to see if there's anything I want to use from it, like some location descriptions.
Does this make me a rebel? I literally saved a back-up of old novel, then select all and delete and kept the title and that's it. Wrote a whole new plot outline, a complete new structure on November 1st, and I'm already veering off that too.
Nope, you're starting from scratch. It's even in the FAQ. Sorry, you're not a rebel this year. :)
Since NaNo is about challenging yourself, I decided to give myself a real challenge: I am world building. I normally suck at detail and scene description, so the entirety of my 10k words so far is a very shaky premise of someone being given a tour of a town based around the Steampunk and Gothic Lolita subcultures. There is no action, no real dialog beyond the narrator inferring that the person getting the tour wants something, and the only characters are people they run into on their tour.
Am I a rebel?
Nope. We define a novel as a "lengthy work of fiction". We don't care about the content beyond that. :)
Ah, that's a bit disappointing! I wrote part of a novel three years ago, but I never quite completed it, and I absolutely loved the idea, so I wanted to use it again. Plus, I had changed quite a bit as I'd continued on with the plot, with some characters' names and personalities changing completely, and well as the identity of the antagonist. Initially, I was just going to rewrite it without using my original version at all, but I hated my first few words so much that I finally decided to go with the ones in the first version. My second chapter was entirely original, however, but now, on the third, I'm using it again.
I wouldn't have used my original version if I'd realized I couldn't win "officially", but I don't regret it anyway. I'm pretty far behind now as it is, and if I hadn't used snippets of my old draft I probably would have never caught up.
So, yeah, I'm a rebel. Glad there's at least a place for me here. :)
I've read the rules and some of the posts and am still a bit unclear. I started out writing one novel this month, and have decided that it would be more worthwhile to pursue a novel I've been planning for the last year and a half. The thing is, I've written small one-to-three page excerpts as practice throughout the last year. I wouldn't use this text at all, but the scenes would likely be pretty similar.
Rebel?
Practicing is fine. What's rebellion is any kind of actual text you intend to include or refer to when creating new ones (specifically rewriting something to include). Planning, however, is fine. You don't sound like a rebel to me.
Okay, just to verify and not cheat... (Please forgive me if this is covered/asked already--I've looked, but really need that warm fuzzy that I'm worthy of "winning" when November 30 hits.)
I started with a brand new idea and novel on Nov 1. Having never written fiction and doing some research (it's gone from main stream to sciFi after the research) I've realized the plot idea is not one I'd even want out there. I'm working on morphing it, but needed a few days "away" from it first.
Loving the support and word count idea, I added an Act IV where the author breaks the 4th wall and explains how the previous 15K words were a joke and now the real novel will begin.
Breaking the rules? Yes! Still able to count words (including the original 15K) and know that I'm a true NaNo winner or not? That, I turn to the NaNo Gods to answer. Can I include the author parts talking to readers professing my errors and slaying the demon of doubt (jumping into fantasy)? There's words. They're new, they're fresh. But definitely not a single coherent novel.
Many thanks!
4th wall part seems to make it two seperate novels, or two different versions of the same novel, and both are borderline rebelling at best. The best way to do this by the book is to put after the 15k or so words that all the characters woke up - making the previous 15k words a dream. You can then start the new story at that point. Leave out the long-winded author explanation. Just write into the story, in the normal style of the story, that the characters woke up from a dream - the dream being the "old" idea, and then the rest of the story can be the "new" idea - then it will be fully by the book.
You're not a rebel. :) That's still technically part of the novel, after all, and you even linked them together into the "same" novel. I mean, maybe not a "by the spirit" win, but by the book? Sure. Coherency is optional. LOL.
Ask yourself this question: Will you, on DEcember 1, feel like you've written a novel and can claim you've done so?
If so, then you're fine. If you really, really don't feel like you've written a novel, then you're a rebel.
Basically, turn the NaNo mantra on its head: IF you think you're a rebel, so do we!
Hi There:
Query: I wrote from scratch from day one but I started another story at work because I got this beautiful inspiration from a bit of history someone told me about where I was working; it is completely different ( a romance) from one at home (a general fiction or mystery) so, I thought to myself, "self," how can I take what I wrote at work and make it become part of my novel that I wrote at home?" " Why," I answered myself, "because my protagonist is a writer and he wrote it as part of the novel!"
So, as they say, the question is begged: am I a rebel or just a sleazy character (i.e., cheat)?
Thank you,
xvii
Nah, you're not a cheat. You're not even a sleazy character, nor a rebel. You consider it a part of the novel? So do we. :)
so i'm writing two novels for camp, does that make me a rebel? oh & i wrote 300 something words for one of them, before camp started, but upped my word count goal to make up for it.
I started a second book to the one soon to be published. I wanted to work on the second book during NaNo so I can get 50K words, which I hope will be the finish. Am I supposed to tell someone? How does it work for me if I continue with this book for NaNo?
Continuing a already started novel is rebelling. Provided you write 50k during November, however, you're still allowed to validate and claim a win.
There is no need to tell anyone. :) NaNoWriMo is a self challenge. You do whatever suits you! You can participate as normally, validate or don't, it's all up to you!
Thanks for all replies. Sounds like a plan.
I was planning a steampunkish novel but have switched to creative memoir; mostly factual, but the names and places changed for the safety of the innocent, with a bit of fictional embellishment added in for flavor. Would this be rebelling, or just on the edge of fiction?
From the initial post:
I'm writing a memoir/biography/guide to Europe/creative non-fiction. Am I a rebel?
Yes. Nonfiction is outside the bounds of the NaNoWriMo challenge. If it's not fiction, then it doesn't fall within the confines of "a lengthy work of fiction." The exception to this is fictionalized memoir; we don't tell you how MUCH fiction you must include. It's up to you to decide. Fictionalized memoirs are okay, true, non-fiction memoirs are rebellion.
I'm writing a collection of fanfiction short stories, they are all going to be from the same fandom and all stand alone - the only common thing across all of them (with the exception of a few) is that they will include the same pairing, but other than that each story is completely different.
Does that make me a rebel?
If the short stories feel interconnected, then you're fine. If not, you're a rebel.
What it comes down to is this....at the end of the month, will you feel like you have written a novel?
Well, probably not. It will feel like I wrote a lot of short stories for a lot of words. I mean, the only thing that's consistent is the characters because I'm writing for my fandom and my ship. Each story starts a new plot - it's very much stand alone, with maybe one that has 2 parts - and some are vary different from the other.
I will be having at least 3 AU ones a lot future ones and I think a few past ones, all the others are set in the current time frame. There is one where I have the characters happy and get married, then I have one where one dies and they weren't even in a relationship, others they are just friends, other times they don't talk to each other at all.
So, from where I stand and my speculation, the only way it will feel interconnected is because it's from the same fandom..
Then they're defintely not interconnected. Enjoy rebelship!
I look forward to it, Should be fun :D
Thank you for your help:)
I'm collaborating. Am I a rebel, or just doing it wrong?
That depends. Having the same plot as another person/swapping ideas with another person is fine as long as you are each writing your own novel. If you mean 2+ people working together on ONE novel (not 2 identical ones) then you're a rebel.
Oh, and by the way, rebel, cheater, and doing it wrong are pretty much interchangeable - except the Staff don't use the word cheater.
It isn't cheating.
Cheating would imply the points mean something and there's some kind of contest. And that's just not it.
We're not competing. We're writing stories, and encouraging each other on the way. Saying "cheater" makes it sound like we're dishonest rule-breakers. Saying "rebel" makes us sound like Star Wars heroes.
The only thing I might call "cheating" would be to validate something even though you have not either written, edited, drawn, etc. anything that would have been worth 50 000 words.
Someone may have done that, but as it does not harm anyone, why care?
Another thing would be if it really would harm someone. Years ago I played some Internet chess. The server kept "ELO counts" for people based on their games played there. I was a lousy player, wanting to play with other similar newbies, so it did not touch me, but there were complaints about people who let a chess computer do the playing for them to boost their "ELO". It was harm as most people logged in to play against people, not computers.
I'm writing a non-fiction work, very definitely not a novel. It's a re-work of a dissertation, and I'll be happy if I make 30k words. I guess those things surely make me a rebel? Looking forward to it!
Reusing old ideas is fine, just set aside the old work and don't refer to it or use it as an outline.
Writing non-fiction though, defintely makes you a rebel. Enjoy rebelship.
Good to here that. A bunch of writers I network with are doing the non-fiction route for the challenge. For me, it's my first e-book. I did complete NaNoWriMo in '07 and that was for fiction. Looking forward to Nov. 1st.
I was glad to find out I am "legal" rebel. I'm working on a memoir.
Remember, in order to be non-rebel, your memoir has to be fictionalized.
I have a few novels that I've written and validated in the past, but I feel that the end product didn't live up to their full potential. If I was to take one of those ideas and rewrite the novel for NaNo, would that be rebellious?
If you set the old work aside and start from scratch with just the idea, nope! We allow reuse of ideas.
I'm planning on writing my Visual Novel, which is somewhere inbetween a "choose your own adventure" book and a script. There is some narrative, but it's mostly dialogue and has a branching story. Rebel?
Our rules aren't really that specific. Do you feel like it is a lengthy work of fiction? Is it being written from scratch?
Well, depends on how you count it. Because of the branching story I expect it to be much longer than a typical novel but if you only read one path it'll be pretty short. I guess the real question is if Choose Your Own Adventure novels count. It will be from scratch, I've only got an outline and some artwork right now.
I would say it does, if you write ONE branching story (if you write several, you get short stories which most often IS rebelling) . Would the result, if published be ONE book, or could it be split to pieces that function standalone as well?
(interconnected short stories are borderline)
Yeah, the result would be one book, it wouldn't work split up.
I want to divide the 50K word count into two different works. The first a story set in the 1920's. Hopefully to become a novel later. The second an adventure video game set in modern times.
Rebel! You have to get 50k on one novel.
This is my first year actually participating in NaNoWriMo and I am a little lost as to what genre my plot idea falls into.
I posted this in the Horror and Supernatural sub-form as well, but I am still wondering.
In large part the majority of what I want to write is based on actual events. The girl whom the MC is portraying is real and experienced the events I would like to write about.
The main focus of the writing is following my MC and her journey through heavy physical and sexual abuse from age 12 - 15 and how it has effected her adult life.
There are heavy overtones of vampirism (Although not vampires in they way most would think *ie super powers and living forever.) and BDSM.
Originally like I said I posted this in Horror and Supernatural because I did see this sub-forum and i didn't think one could write about actual events. . .So I was going to tweak the vampires a bit, but honestly I would prefer not to and try and stay as true to events as possible.. . .
Gods I feel like I am rambling. . . essentially I guess I want to write a biography.
Can I do that?
There's a genre identification thread in other genres here. If you're writing a biography, that's probably rebellion, but read the first post:
I'm writing something that I guess could be called a memoir. I'm always making comparisons to my husband and Sherlock Holmes, because of his mannerisms and attitudes--not to mention their annoying use of observation and deductive reasoning. My plan is write a very fanciful collection of our many adventures together, as sort of a biography of the two of us, mixed with my own weird fantasies. Which, I guess, is sort of like a fictionalized memoir in that a lot of things I'm going to write may have only happened in my head, but the events are entirely solid history that did in fact happen.
Am I a Rebel?
As noted in the first post, fictionalized memoirs are not rebellion. We don't define how much fiction you must have to count. You're probably not a rebel.
About two weeks ago I wrote a short piece of flash fiction but it developed into something more. Its nearly finished as a short story at about 7,000 words.
The thing is it would make a great basis for a novel.
I would not be copying the prose from the story, but using the charcters, scenes, plot etc. I guess I would be including all of the stuff that I have left out to keep it short.
Is this cheating? Am I a rebel?
We don't use the word cheating. :) But no, this would not be rebellion. Reusing ideas, characters, scenes, and plot is all just fine!
OK, that's good to know! Thank you.
Yes, exactly!
I gather I'm a "percolator" rather than a true "pantser" --- but I could never write from an outline, because knowing exactly what was going to happen would make the writing so boring it'd never get done. I've done five novels and a bunch of short stories, all in my Terran Empire, this way, so I'm not about to change now. This isn't even counting the fanfic (ST & SW) I started my writing with!
Considering continuing on last year's 13,000 words (aborted as my 96 year old mother wanted to go on an eco tour of costa rica, great writing opportunity, of the truth stranger than fiction variety)....love the novel and want to finish it...it I continue on without looking at what I did last year (as I don't know where a bit is going until I write it) and I get my 50,000 words is that REBELLION?
If you continue a WIP that is rebellion. If you'd rewrite the stuff you already have (that stuff serving as "false start" or "planning" then you are not.
I am planning on writing a play or a script. I know ScriptFrenzy is gone so I figure I rebel since I suck at novel writing.
Script Writing is Rebellion.
(sings)
WI-I-I-LD REBELS!
(does anyone else remember that MST3K episode?)
Anyway. I am finishing *Death Train.* There are AT LEAST 50,000 words to go, so no problem there. However, it's entirely possible that some of this material already existed. ;) The way I conceptualize my writing, though, is that all of the events already happened. The characters are now showing me everything. So wouldn't that mean that THEY cheated, too?
Dang! There's that white van again, and they have the straitjackets in the back. Now they're getting out the butterfly nets... (laces up running shoes.) See y'all later!
From my synopsis: I'm teetering on rebellion. But, I'm hoping this is my first year to get to 50,000 and win. Am I?
As a single working mother I know one thing to be true: no matter what you do, you are doing it wrong according to society, your kid, your mom, Ann Coulter.... So, I'm writing a guide to single motherhood, witty, funny, full of crafty projects to scar your kids for life (and cocktail recipes for those late nights when your feet smell like someones vomit). Part fictionalized autobiography (because my parents are still alive so I'll need to shroud truth is lies so I don't lose custody of my child to horrified Grandparents), part non-fiction, part how-to (also mostly fiction, lol). Fun for the whole family (not really, pretty much only fun for the slightly inebriated parents who do it alone).
We don't tell you how much fiction you have to include, and you have some there, so that's okay. But the nature of the work isn't so okay. A how-to book/guide isn't really a novel, as it doesn't really tell a story, it just tells you how to accomplish a task. Typically, guides are found in a section of the bookstore totally separated from novels, usually over by nonfiction books. A how-to book isn't something that has the true feel of all the aspects that make up a novel - from conflict to climax to falling action.
I'm sorry, but I'll have to say rebel.
Actually, I've changed my mind about considering myself a rebel because of this: From Rules and Regulations
NOVEL: "a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes."
FICTION:
1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, esp. in prose form.
2. works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.
3. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story: We've all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.
4. the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.
5. an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.
6. Law. an allegation that a fact exists that is known not to exist, made by authority of law to bring a case within the operation of a rule of law.
I think points 1 and 3 cover my bum on this decision. Just because the title says how-to does not mean its going to be very helpful in reality...it is satire after-all.
Well, if it's not an actual guide and feels more like a story than a manual of sorts to you, then I guess I can put it up to borderline rebelling - that means that the rules have no clear ruling on it and that you may consider yourself as either rebel or non-rebel.
I'll always be a rebel at heart...
The more I outline, the further from non-fiction it gets. Its like...fiction in non-fiction format....
You still have a while before nano to outline :) - see where you are in a few days and check back with us.
Wait... "we"? Do you work for NaNoWriMo? Were you the one who determined the rules? I'm confused by your language here.
I am self-diagnosing myself as a rebel! I started NaNo last year but got landed with a huge work project - I'm self eolmployed and that took over my life for six weeks, ruling out any NaNo-ing!
Thing is, I have a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days - NaNoWriMo is on there, and the list runs out on Jan 4th 2013, so this is my last chance.
But I have been planning a non-fiction book - it's autobiographical, my experience of parenting my son, who has ADHD. I am really enthusiastic about this book and have even booked a couple of days away early in November to get started on it, away from family stuff and client work .... but I can't possibly do a fictional book at the same time, so I thought that was my NaNoWriMo chance gone ....
until I found this forum and realised I can still do it, simply by being a rebel! So that's the plan :)
(Presumably I can still submit my book and get it validated on word count, even though it's non-fiction?!)
You can still validate even if you're a rebel. And what's the big problem with doing NaNo again in 2013? There's nothing special about Jan. 4th.
Because winning NaNoWriMo is on my list, and I want to get as many things done on the list before the deadline of 4th Jan 2013. (The list is 101 things in 1001 days) - hence wanting my book to qualify for NaNo 2012, even in a rebellious way!
Hi all
I am doing a blog for my progress (or approach) here:
http://story-software.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/rebels-writing-novels-zx-spectrum-and.html
I think I am a rebel! And I only wanted to belong boo hoo!
Yes, you're a rebel. You can announce your rebellion here.