What brought you here? Why do you keep coming back? What perked your interest?
I stumbled across Nanowrimo back in 2001, but I didn't start participating until 2003. This is my sixth attempt (and hopefully 5th win). It seemed crazy to me at the time. But it stuck around in my head and I finally gave it a try. That's when I fell in love with Nanowrimo.
Why I come back has everything to do with the completion of a task. I start so much writing during the year and I never finish. For some reason, the 30 day sprint really helps me finish something. I like the satisfaction that comes with writing 50k in 30 days. I love how hard it is, how much it takes over my life for a month, how it forces me to put something on the page. It is a nice reminder that should I ever want to do something with my writing, if I want it bad enough I can do it.
And you?
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Robin, ML - Rochester, NY
"Fact is there's nothing out there you can't do. Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you." - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
0 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 21 01
I've been wanting to do this since '05, back when I first heard about it, but schoolwork always came first. Now that I'm taking a year off from UofR, this is the perfect time.
----------"Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together." --Carl Zwanzig
51,291 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 13 41
I've always loved to write and have been writing stories since I was a child. But, I was never able to finish a novel. I always got bored of them before I finished them and could never force myself to finish. I had heard about Nanowrimo my first year in college, but didn't actually sign up until I was a senior (2005). I promised myself for the first time I would finish a novel, and it would be in 30 days. Now that I've done it, I have been coming back year after year to do what I never thought I could: actually write a novel from start to finish. Once I start November 1st, I know that even if I don't sleep, I'm going to see that I reach 50,000 words. I agree, there's a satisfaction you can't match.
Good luck this November!
0 / 50,000
oct. 10, 2008 - 22 10
i figure i spend most of my time writing anyway, i might as well attempt some semblance of an actually cohesive work of fiction.
50,080 / 50,000
oct. 14, 2008 - 10 57
My cousin turned me onto it last year. I did it and finished. I thought it was a great challenge, which I am always up for. It's a good way to get a rough draft of your work out too!
11,545 / 50,000
oct. 14, 2008 - 11 44
Why not?
I needed to take a month off from my job anyway. >_>
----------~*Defy Gravity*~
2,603 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2008 - 13 58
I love writing and I love pushing myself to finish a novel in such a short amount of time.
21,084 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2008 - 16 50
I discovered it in 2004 in the middle of November, so I waited until 2005 to try. I hit 50K on the 22nd that year, so I tried for a higher wordcount the next year, and then even higher the next. I'm going the other direction this year; I'm going to try to write 50K good words. Not quite in line with the traditional nano effort, but if I don't challenge myself I probably won't even get the basic 50K, so hey.
I love nanowrimo because it forces me to sit down and write the same thing for a month. I have no problem writing lots of words; I just have a tendency to bounce from story to story, abandoning them halfway so I never manage to finish any of them. I don't consider myself having won nano unless I have a complete first draft when the clock ticks over to December. I've managed it three times, but this year will probably be hardest because I'll be holding myself to a higher standard of quality.