How do I start writing?

open your local word processor and start typing . it's that simple. once you are ready to start updating go to your profile and start putting in the word count and excerpts of your work. ^_^ GOOD LUCK

oh ok so i dont need to upload my novel or anything like that? so basically people can just pretend they wrote 50,000 words??

thanks soooo much!

Hehe yes people can pretend, so the word count is really based on an honors system. Buti na lang we Pinoy Wrimos are honorable :) Write anywhere you like - computer, journal, at the back of receipts hehe.

Actually, at around the 25th of November, novel validation will be up, where to be declared as a winner, you have to upload your novel to the site to validate the 50,000 words (or more) you wrote. :) They won't get a copy of your novel, they just want to make sure you really did reach 50k words. And yes, that's where the scrambling of letters come in, but it's not really important. :) It's this process that turns your blue word count bar to a shiny purple winner bar. :)

yes that's the big happy thing. the purple bar.

Ok so first of all, have a change of heart. that's the first and most essential step. then everything else will naturally follow.

anyways, there are two ways to get you up and running.

get a pen ready, think about the things that happened in your life and plot a story
- write the names (invent invent invent)
- write the places
- write the chapters
- write the ending
- write the plot for every chapter
- write a schematic diagram for the characters and call it an entity relationship diagram
- write a detailed flowchart on how the story will go and call it the procedural story flow
- then you can write a novel.

the other option is get your MS word ready(or anything) and start typing the first thing that pops in your mind.
- could be what happened during a usual trip on a bus
- how your day does not seem to end
- you could write about how yr going to start a novel and the events that happen during the month of November.
- and of course, you could also write about a cute little hamster that transforms into a humongous fur ball and eats all the people in your village then bursts into a bazillion pieces turning into a thousand year long fall of cute little confetti.

this worked in the past when i used to help out my fellow wrimos at zamboanga last year. it should still work for you.

remember, everyone has a story to tell. if you do not make it, you could be throwing away a very important literary work.
just imagine if Shakespeare decided not to finish his stories. just imagine if you decided not to finish your story.

get inspired. get moving. get started and get it done. coz everyone wants to be in a race, but not all have the heart to finish it.

The validation is actually up now. I just validated mine!

yeah it is up! i had mine validated last night! hehe. good luck to us all.

galingan nating lahat!

wow. gee thanks! you're a lot of help!

now to get working on my novel ;D