NaNoWriMo and you!

This is my 2nd year doing NaNo. I got to 42k last year, I fell behind around the 5th day and just never got caught up. :P However, I didn't discover the amazing power of word wars until the very last week, so I'll be making further use of those this time around. My novel last year was kind of a vague, genre-less type; combination YA/fantasy/adventure/romance. My novel this year still has all of these things, but I'm firmly classifying it as fantasy. It'll be interesting this year, what with me being in my first year of high school, an upcoming piano recital, and a 3 day trip to Texas. But I'll try my best!

-Sierra :)

2007: Runaways- Young Adult (42,076)
2008: The Other Side [working title]- Fantasy

Last year was my first year doing NaNo, and - surprisingly - I won. I don't remember how I found out about it - I think I saw a blurb about it in the newspaper - but after the first week I couldn't imagine life without NaNo. I was going through a rough spot in life (still am, but it's getting better...), but even my friends were wondering what the heck had happened to me when - on November 26 - I came to school grinning like, well, like a kid who had found out Christmas was coming early, or something. Frankly, NaNo changed my life. My family didn't know about it for the better part of the month, because I've always hidden away in my room writing and reading, but they got pretty mad when I ditched the family get-together at Thanksgiving to write. This year, I 'recruited' (slash bribed slash forced) my brothers to do it too, and so far they haven't stopped talking about it! Although I can't claim it's changed my experience as a writer, it's definitely changed my outlook on life - seriously, it's hard to be depressed and 'the world sucks, I wanna go kill myself' when there's a b'gillion characters screaming for you to tell their story. For me, NaNo has become the perfect drug - an addicting and euphoric anesthesia without the harmful side-effects.

2007: Angelus Lapsus {{Complete}}
2008: Silent Memories {{In Progress-ish}}

This is my second year in nano. I found out about it in a non-fiction writing class (of all places) last year, and I thought I'd give it a try. It was my first stab at fiction and after about 15000 words of "blah blah blah" I found that my mind would really space out and come up with some weird, funny stuff.

The story was (and still is) "blah blah blah," but I did win with 53k words.

I also met fellow writers who are great people and always help me to see my weak areas and do even better in my writing. (Even now, they're analyzing this sentence structure.)

For this year, I have a concept but I haven't broken it down yet. I hope to win again, but it will be challenging with several out-of-town work trips scheduled.

Good luck to all!

Bill

I'm going into my 5th November of insanity with one win (2006) under my belt, plus 2 successful Script Frenzies. I normally write whatever genre seems interesting at the moment, which has at various times been Sci-fi, Lit Fic, and Fantasy. NaNoWriMo made me realize that I can write (perhaps not well, but it's possible) and that writing is extremely fun, even for a guy who always considered himself more of a math/science type.

I'm a freshman at UC Davis, hailing originally from Santa Rosa, so this is my first year in the region. Because I want to do well for my first quarter of college I may not be quite as serious about wordcount as I have been in past years. That isn't absolutely certain, though. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to November!

~Darin Wick

73 for now,
~Darin Wick

Have a nice day!

This will be my hat trick (3rd year for non Hockey types). I stumbled upon Nano in 2006 while looking through life-lists on the web. One of the sites (can't remember which one) suggested Nano and I Googled it. That was Oct. 25, 2006. I had no time to plan, but dove in. I had an absolute blast and my wife decided to join me in 2007. Now we fight over who gets to write and who gets to watch the kids. But, it is so much fun. We're both ready to go again!

______
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
-Mark Twain

My Website
Blog 1

This will be my 6th year, and hopefully my 5th win (2006 sort of fell apart.) I don't recall how I found out about it, only that I did and my Novembers have never since been the same. Mostly, they're full of much more guilt than before. If I'm not writing, WTF am I doing?

My family is supportive while at the same time kind of tilting their heads to the side and say, "You're doing that again?" I debate with people about the meaning and purpose of it, once trying to convince somebody (don't know if I succeeded) that a shitty first draft or at the least 50,000 words of dreck were not to be disdained and worth something in their own right.

Anyway, am looking forward to it while at the same time am not sure what exactly I'll be writing. How exactly did it get to be October, AGAIN?

There are three types of people in this world: those who can count, and those who can't.

I came across the No Plot No Problem book at a bookstore (unnamed) back in 2005 and decided to try it that July on my own. I failed within 10 days because I got Iritis (inflammation of the eye) and couldn't see very well. I then promptly forgot about it.

In Oct 2006, I saw a sign posted in a Starbucks (not always an evil place) and I remembered the book. I then signed up and wrote over 80k that November for my first win. Last year, I repeated the win with almost the same amount, only a little more.

Nano has helped me finish novels, since I write a lot, but don't always finish. I've had a lot of fun and I hope to this year as well.

I'll be in Oregon for Thanksgiving and I'll have to fight with my relatives for time to write. They seemed to be supportive, but i never get much down with them around. This year I'm going to be forceful!!!

I'm going to try something new this year, writing a 3rd person Urban Fantasy (I normally write 1st person).

Good luck to everyone
tama
aka Amy

---------------------------------------------
"Try to be one of those people on whom nothing is lost." Henry James
Too bad I have such a bad memory!

I learned about NaNo from one of my co-workers at the News & Review in 2005.

My first year, 2006, I was eight and half months pregnant. I lasted about seventeen minutes before I had to pee. And then I had to pee again. Then I peed some more. If you've ever been pregnant, you will understand this. If I'd had a laptop then, I might have written while peeing, but as I didn't, NaNo was not to be had that year.

My second year, 2007, I spent October telling everyone I knew and many I didn't that I was writing an entire novel in November. I kept solicitors on the phone to regale them with facts about NaNo. I bored people in line at the grocery store with my coming NaNo quest. At the Meet-n-Greet, I challenged Zombiegoat, heretofore unknown to me, to a duel. In short, I talked so much smack that, should I have failed, I would surely have found myself living as a marsupial in the rain forests of Belize to hide my shame. My husband was quite supportive for the first two weeks, and reluctantly so in the last two (our children were 11 months and 4 years old at the time). Fortunately, Zombiegoat proved a formidable adversary, and I, the relentlessly competitive challenger, chased him all the way to the finish line. Ruby Marks, a dark novel of religious adultery, accidental incest, and ritual cutting, was finally on paper.

This year, I am aiming for a much lighter, trashy romance novel. I have names for my hero and heroine, and a basic setting, and maybe a plot point or two. Mostly, I'm counting on them to tell me their story. I'm looking forward to coming up with endless euphemisms for his rigid virility and her inflamed desire. And I've already smacked Zombiegoat forward and back across the cheeks with my kidskin gloves, so what could now be considered a feud of the ages continues.

Melissa (Bebe)

2006: Ummmm...
2007: Ruby Marks (Winner)
2008: The Marriage Codicil (Presumed Winner)

This will be my second year. I heard about it last year through Flylady (a fun organizing site). They have a saying "you can do anything for 15 min". So someone wrote in and talked about Nano and how she did it by setting her timer for 15 min at a time. It was only Nov 3, so I thought it wouldn't be too late for me, so I jumped in. I finished my 50K, but didn't really have a complete novel. That is, I had beginning, middle and end, but lots of holes and lots of unresolved plot problems.
I began to take my writing seriously though and read lots of books on writing, then went to a fantastic seminar (Donald Maas weeklong Breakout Novel Intensive, based on his book). Still, I have had trouble making myself actually sit down and write. It remains to be seen if I can overcome my strong procrastination tendencies. I hope to do it this month, so I can take off with a completely new novel in Nov.

I tried two years ago NaNoWriMo with Tama but I failed hard. Last year I won. Yay! But my story was complete poopy; it made my eyes bleed. But it was fun to write!

:D

Have you heard the news that you're dead?
No one ever had much nice to say.
I think they never liked you anyway.

This would be my third year doing NaNo... but my first year in participating in the forums! I didn't ever win before (2006 and 2007) because I didn't have time to write with school, and I was writing a much more complicated story and my brain didn't want to take a break from it. This year, I'm writing the sequel to it in NaNo!

I was told about NaNoWriMo from a person that I met on fictionpress (the place where most of my work is published...) she encouraged me to do it... and since then I haven't heard from her!

Everyone knows about me doing NaNoWriMo but they dont really realize to what extent I'm going to try to win this year... I'm quite motivated and have ideas floating about my head so it should be good!

Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.
-Carol Burnett

This is my first year for NaNoWriMo, though I've know about the event for a couple. I told my wife that I'm doing it, but neither she (nor I) know what we're in for.

Roger D. Linder
Antelope, CA
http://RoCeMaBra.com/roger

This is my second year. My mentor, Michelle L. Devon, turned me on to it last year, I won and I love it!

Jennifer Walker
NaNo 2007: Flying Leaps Winner
NaNo 2008: Bubba to the Rescue

Second year. I was inundated with college application and school newspaper work (not to mention dead set in a veritable dearth of creativity) the end of last year, so I barely wrote 13,000 words. I rebounded the following semester, though, and ended up winning ScriptFrenzy.

After re-reading and editing the fruits of April's labor, I now know that this challenge is one that demands to be met: not only for the nurturing of diligence and writing ability, but for the self-satisfaction that results through reading 150 or so pages of one's own brainchild. It's an enrapturing feeling.

yeah, I'm doing it this year. I ordered my shirt, I've got a character blog, and my classes are pretty simple this term. I'm gunning for 50,000 words by midway - who's with me?

If I were not in the CID, something else I'd like to be. If I were not in the CID, a window cleaner, me. With a rub a dub dub, and a scrub a dub dub, and a rub a dub all day long; with a rub a dub dub and a scrub a dub dub, I'd sing this merry song.

Hi all - this may not be the best place to ask this, but I don't see it in the FAQs, the site doesn't have a search function, and I've seen several references to it ... what's Script Frenzy, please?

And to stay on topic in the thread - I signed up once before, and my memory is so bad that I'm not sure which year it was - maybe 2006? Not last year, anyway. But I didn't actually do it; it may have been while I was in grad school, in which case I was insane to even think about it then. Regardless, this will be my first year of actually writing anything!

This is my first year, and I'm very excited (and a bit nervous) about it. I'm glad to see I'll have lots of support here in Davis!

~Shannon

Dusty (DB) Here,

Saw it a couple of years ago, got the book and then forgot about it. Found the book over the summer, thought about it and decided to do it. Been working ideas on a SF novel for the last almost 20 yrs. Originally thought up the idea at UCD and picked up snippets of background and info, but never took the time to do anything but say some day. I guess some day has come, cuz I'm going to give it a shot. I think I might have been gun shy since I wrote a non-fiction book on Education Corruption with my Dad back when I was in School and we self published. We did a big chunk of it over 3 months of summer and it totally burned me out on writing for a long time. But I guess I'm over it now. 8) Looking forward to getting something done on this idea that's been hammering away at me for soooooo looooong now. Anyway, looking forward to finding out more about the process and how it works.

DB

Wow, fourth year for me.
I won my first year, 2005, with a coming-of-age fantasy novel. My first real taste of writing. That novel is about 20% finished, and I am revising it pretty thoroughly.
My second year, I started my epic fantasy novel Apprentice Bound. It was too epic for NaNo, at least for me that year. I finished about 7000 words before my health took a turn and I gave up.
Not to be too discouraged, last year's 2007 NaNo, I returned to Apprentice Bound, and won at just over 50K. Not that the novel was done... Starting up at word 1, I pounded out the first Act (about a third of the planned novel), and since last year's NaNo win, I have added a chapter and cleaned up most of what I wrote. I have been debating between taking up Apprentice Bound again, starting fresh with Act 2, or starting in on a whole new project. The later finally won me over. It really came down to not wanting to keep responding to the question... "Wasn't that the name of the novel you wrote last year????"
So here I am, in my fourth year, and not only am I changing stories, I am changing genres. This year's novel is technically Science Fiction, but the majority of Act 1 is being written as Historical Fiction - a Western. Wowzers.
Now you will all be asking me... "What the heck does your title really mean?" or "Don't you think that is a really stupid title??" My response is... Its gonna change!
For now, I am scrambling around, doing loads of research, even taking day-trips to the locale (near Nevada City) where the novel begins. I am learning tons about the Gold Rush, the Native American Tribes of the area, even tidbits about the Chinese of the time (it plays an important part in the book at some point). I am truly hoping that I don't get so bogged down in the research that it brings the prose to a stand-still during NaNo November. Any tricks for dealing with missing research, or plugging on without facts, during the novel writing month is greatly appreciated.
One of the small wonders of my nano experience is that I originally discovered NO PLOT NO PROBLEM in the little bookstore on Broad Street in Nevada City in the spring of 2005. Parts of this year's project will take place in historic Nevada City.

Good luck to all of you!!

Mark

~Dream~

Like UnderPope, seventh year for me, although I've only won six of those. I didn't win first year because I didn't think I could do 50,000 words in a month. HAH! It's CAKE!

Okay, it's not cake, but I can do it.

For six of the seven years that I've done NaNo, I've worked on the same. damn. novel. This is, I hope, the last year I will be working on that novel. I will be pretending it's NaNoEdMo and putting in 50 hours of editing, and I don't care what anyone says about that. :P For me, 50 hours of editing is way harder than 50,000 words. Editing makes me cranky, so putting in a big chunk of time is difficult. I've been trying to "train" over the last couple of months, which has helped.

This novel would not be finished, nor would it have any hope of being finished, without NaNoWriMo. Most of it was written during different Novembers. Before NaNo, I would agonize over every word, try and get things perfect. And I didn't challenge myself over how long I could write. Now, three or four hours is easy for me, a thousand words a day isn't a stretch at all, and I can manage a couple thousand words or more without too much trouble. Once I knew I could do it, I started doing it, plain and simple. It was only my belief that I couldn't that was holding me back.

Solution to your problem: Get the kids involved. NaNo has a Young Writer's Program. Bribe them if you need to.

This is my third attempt at NaNo. I've won the past two years. I don't know how successful I'll be this year because I'm going through a divorce, I'm going back to school, and I have a 3-year-old. I just moved back to Sac after living in Santa Cruz for 18 years (I have a degree in Music from UCSC, thus the going back to school part). It's nice being closer to family and old friends for support, but I miss the ocean and the redwoods.

I hope to write a funny, dark humor type of book on divorce this year. Past years were used as therapy to help me get through everything.

I never thought that I'd be able to write 50k words. The first year was difficult, and I had to stuff my novel with sex scenes when I had writer's block. I did much better last year -- only one sex scene! ;) I have an ending for this year's book but nothing else. I really need to start planning. I like to have a few characters sketched out and have a short outline of the arc of the book. This hasn't produced anything worth reading yet, but at least it serves as a creative outlet. It's the one time of the year when I write and don't make excuses for why I can't take the time out for myself.

Looking forward to meeting some of you at the write-ins.

I'm a...(drumroll please)...well, going to be an EIGHTH YEAR NANO this year. *bows* I started when underpope did, but didn't skip a year, though 2002 was the one year I didn't win. Anyway, this is the one time of year I ever get anything done, so there you go.

I am currently debating between three(!) plots to do. I am brilliant at thinking up interesting beginnings and then not having so much for the middle or end, so either I will put up a vote as to which of the three to do, or I do the one that I can come up with the most middle and end to write about.

I am, however, worried that the last four days of NaNo fall on Thanksgiving weekend. Among other factors, having the last few days of NaNo going on during Extreme Family Time (TM) was one of the reasons why I bombed in 2002. Especially difficult when you have to use someone else's computer to go online and syncing is not cooperating. I fear I will have to make damn sure I finish before Thanksgiving this time.

NaNo novel blog: http://fullmoon.typepad.com/nanowrimo/

This will be my third year doing NaNo, and I am the person who always beats the "preparing is the key to victory" snare. My goal the first year was simply to finish, which I did while holding down a job and doing a home improvement project as well. Things got hectic toward the end. Last year, I hit 50K on November 21st, took the next week off, then came back to top off another 8K to finish the whole book.

The goal this year is to have the entire book done and in the can by Thanksgiving morning; I've arranged to have the day before Thanksgiving off of work to assist in this goal, but I honestly don't think I'll need to take advantage of the time. Ideally, I'd like to be sitting in the Starbucks that morning with a really decadent drink reading over the finished product and enjoying it rather than banging away on the keyboard.

First year: sci-fi. Last year: sports. This year: again, sports. Next year: not sports.

Jesse L. Cairns
Annoying the literary snobs since 1986
NaNo 2006: The Phoenix Initiative (science fiction) WINNER
NaNo 2007: The Final Nine (literary fiction) WINNER
NaNo 2008: Living After Midnight (literary fiction)

This will be my fourth year in Nano. My first year I was determined to do it and managed to talk my Mom (Lynbosky) into it about three days before November first. We've participated every year since and have developed a writing rivalry that's helped us both win all three years so far. My poor Dad's become resigned to it, rolling his eyes and saying, "That time of the year again, huh?"

This will be my second year. I'm hoping things will turn out quite well this year, compared to last that is. Last year I was at a plce where everything I wrote disagreed with me. I was discouraged early on and gave up. A bit pitiful I guess.
Anywho, I was turned on to Nano last year by sister in Ak. While she's a great mentor and sounding board, I'm really looking foreward to write-ins and such. I'm in Vacaville, so if there are any other Solano County folks out there!

I can't wait.
And despite my tag . . .er . . .name: browniechicago . . . I'm not there. I'm just Brownie.

~~~
Brownie

I’m two cups into my coffee break.
I’m sitting alone in the café front way,
Reading all by myself.
I’m turning my cell off just to breathe,

And got some godawful amount of words.

I hope you still have your spaceman pen. :)

-kat

Kat Templeton, Sacramento Region co-ML * http://www.retstak.org
"If I have weaknessess, don't let them blind me now." --Paul Simon

Script Frenzy is sorta NaNoWriMo for screenplays. It's run by the same folks that do NaNo (The Office of Letters and Light) and was done in April last year. It's writing 20,000 words of screenplay in a month. I think the lesser number is because writing a screenplay is that much more technically difficult (novels involve words; screenplays involve words in a STRUCTURE), but I've never actually tried. The website for it is scriptfrenzy.org

Hope that helps!

-kat

Kat Templeton, Sacramento Region co-ML * http://www.retstak.org
"If I have weaknessess, don't let them blind me now." --Paul Simon

This is my first year. I have no real idea what I'm doing! But that's okay (I think anyway!;). I just heard about it on a website dealing with Jane Austen (pemberley.com) and decided I could do it! Then I read the FAQs and realized I couldn't use my partially finished book - and spent most of last night trying to come up with an idea that I could fly with. I've never written like this - totally off the cuff and without a sound idea of where I'm going. I'm looking forward to trying!