First let me say hello to everyone and good luck. I only found this website recently and after much pondering I've decided to give a shot. What do I have to lose except thirty nights of sleep right? I did the math and I (we) have to write almost 1700 words a day every day. Wow. I'm going to use an outline, anyone else doing this or are you just gonna do it on the fly?
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Jas
25,743 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 17 27
There were several people in LR doing NaNo last year. We had a couple of get togethers. I live in the boonies so I go to both Conway and LR meetings if I can.
LR isn't far from Conway either, if you'd like to make the drive! They are a lively bunch there! LOL
Shayla
----------Shayla Kersten
www.shaylakersten.com
Past Lies (2007 NaNo Novel), Ellora's Cave, Available now
A Helping Hand, Ellora's Cave, Available now
Double Happiness, Ellora's Cave, Available now
Keket's Curse in Masters of Desire, Kensington Aphrodisia, Jan
0 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 18 09
Jackson-villian here. :) This is my first year. I have done the math, too and it's a little daunting. :( 1,666.67 or something. I have a calculator on my desk at work so PLEASE forgive. I have a few stories in mind, that are just in my mind at this point. I find the idea of winging it exciting, but I am not sure that I could wring 50k of verbage out of my everday encounters. I'd have to go OUT a lot more than I do now to pull that off and then when would I have time to write? :) I don't know yet what I am going to do or write about. :(
50,412 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2008 - 10 36
Jas & Cathy:
FEAR NOT!!!
Just have fun.
Welcome aboard from one who's a relative newbie herself. Hubby likes to remember last November, as he would sit and watch me pound the keyboard as I laughed deliriously at my own silliness. Or maybe he merely enjoyed the time without me pestering him .... anyway, it was a great experience and I truly hope nothing gets in the way of a repeat for this year.
I do plan to outline, but do NOT plan to stick to it. The Outline will only be a life preserver in case I get stuck. I fully expect my characters to hijack the plot and take it to places and themes unknown. IMO, that's why God invented the subconscious. :-)
One thing I learned last year, and have applied since then, is: write the Fun Parts first. May not work for you, but it did for me, even in non-NaNo-related writing efforts. If doing this causes the Fun Parts to morph under your very fingertips and you have to go back and wrangle some other scenes -- hey, it's all in the word count, so no worries, mate!
1700 words really isn't as many as you think. Really. The most difficult part is getting your family or whomever to let you have the TIME to sneak off into your little fantasy world. That's where the creativity comes in, ha ha! Since last year's NaNo, I find myself easily knocking out 2500 words before I can figure out where the time went. Not that I'm a good writer, but we all gotta start somewhere. There will be LOTS of encouragement from the WriMoRadio, pep talks, forums, and folks on your buddy list. These can be distractions, yes, but they can also be great motivators!
Last year I attended a write-in (or whatever the correct term may be), but I didn't write; I schmoozed and plot doctored with some others (while Shayla and a couple people diligently pecked away at their novels) and it was a time full of encouragement and enthusiasm. I hope hope hope we can do it again this year.
Maybe we could set one up at a library (having it at B&N made it a bit hard to hear, although on the plus side people could have beverages and snackies). Is this s/t I'd need to suggest to a ML, or is it something the Peanut Gallery could arrange amongst themselves?
Okay, start scribbilng down all those ideas, and maybe pick three that seem to hold promise; spend a portion of three or four days this week doing a very rough outline of where they might go, what you might want to say with them, and why the characters interest you. Then pin 'em up on the wall and throw some al dente spaghetti at them; the one with the biggest gob of pasta stuck is the best idea.
Cheers!
----------^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.
42,526 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 06 00
I'm in Little Rock, too, and I would love to meet other NaNoWriMo participants.
Last year I worked alone in my solitary attic garret (that would be the sunny alcove off my kitchen) and while I managed to hit 50k, I didn't come anywhere close to finishing my novel. I've worked on it intermittently over the past year, but haven't given it the concentrated effort it's going to take to finish it. Maybe this year, as I write "Book II," I can get it into shape!
Who's the ML for Little Rock's environs? And when and where do I show up to meet everyone?
----------Anne
The Wench of Aramink
http://aramink.multiply.com
50,103 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2008 - 12 55
I, too, live in the boonies. LR mtgs might work the best for me as well.
When? Where?
Can't wait. I had a great time last year and want to do it again. Now that I've done it I can be excited and let go of the fear that I won't finish.
Looking forward to meeting other nanowrimo's this year.