Resolutions for 2008 NaNoWriMo

Is killing teachers an option?
Or... Stop school for a month in the attempt to finish NanoWrimo?

*sighs*

I have three exams this week but I'll finish my Nano before studying ;) *she won't sleep for a week........ again*

I did some things right this year, including:

* give up TV time for Writing Time
* go to write-ins
* do some word wars at write-ins

Next year, I'll do more word wars - they are really awesome for boosting word count and for FORCING you to write a scene, no matter how much you're procrastinating.

I also want to remind myself to just WRITE the scenes I dread, not spend so much time worrying about them. Tempest in a teapot and all that. ;)

Make a coherent outline for NaNo 2008

I began this year's outline in late October, and had no idea of what I wished to write about. I ended up throwing together a wild pastiche of plot bunnies and half-formed characters and mythological elements two days before NaNoWriMo, and now my story, sadly, reflects the wandering, incoherent nature of my outline.

I know exactly what you mean about a detailed outline. I have a problem of assuming that whatever does not come to me while writing the outline will occur to me while writing the story, and that a general idea will help me along just as well as a detailed one. It's different for everyone, but for myself, I've discovered that such an approach it not the best to work by..

Be FREE in the writing!

Writing this year's NaNo is like wearing a straightjacket, because I was obsessed with crafting some readable magnum opus that I would show to my family in December. The result of this obsession was stilted writing, scenes, and character. With only a few days left to reach 50,000, I've officially given up on agonizing over the beautifully wrought sentence and witty allusions, and just write. I've ended up, in the last few pages of my novel, with a story that is far better than anything I wrote previously. I'm replicating that approach for next year. But with that in mind...

Write a coherent and readable story

My 2006 NaNo had a strong plot, but was perfectly illegible. My 2007 NaNo has a plot about as solid as diarrhea, but the writing's comprehensible. My 2008 NaNo will have both a strong plot and a legible prose. But that goes back to having a coherent/detailed outline.

Use dares!

I so wish I had discovered the dares thread before beginning my story. I'm going to try and include as many dares as I can into NaNo 2008, for the fun and the freedom of it.

And most importantly:

HAVE FUN

I actually forgot that this is one of the reasons why I love NaNoWriMo so much. For its fun aspect. I need to keep that in mind for next year. I have all year to be uptight about my writing. But not in November!

Next year, I will rest my hands more. I got behind for a few days because I'd been typing so much that my hands would cramp up and my wrists hurt. I will write some more out longhand and then type everything up in spurts to save the handpower!

Next year I will not go to Oklahoma to visit my family for the holiday. We had a full week off school and I lost most of it because I was dealing with my mother's insanity. Not again.

I will also kick the husband out of my office more so I can actually work.

> Write every day.
> Actually research what I'll write, and the time period.
> Include more ninjas.
> Lock Pliny the Elder in a bunker and drop him into the sea. On October 31st.
> Develop characterisation!!
> Add more heroic sacrifice.
> Buy Starbursts.

1.Set a more realistic goal and stick to it, rather than this open ended "Write until I can not see anymore" approach I took this year. It is taking its toll on me physically.

2. Have more fun (see #1).

3. Sleep 8 hours each night.

4. Make a detailed outline

5. Make character studies for each character, major and minor

6. Use dares, pirates, ninjas, whatever it takes to keep me laughing next year.

Next year I resolve to get started on my word count earlier in the day every day instead of putting it off till after dinner.

~she says as she puts off today's word count~

This my first Nano and I wish I'd read your resolutions before I got started.
I had the idea - in my head
I had the outline - in my head
I had the characters - in my head.
so I had lots to churn out. I still came to a go-slow and 'what the hell can I write next' moment. but as I don't subscribe to the belief in writer's block, I kept going somehow.

My golden tip to keep going is 'Shift focus'. iI doesn't mean cleaning the car or walking the dog. Just look elsewhere in your novel and focus on a different aspect to get your brain back into gear.

I have got seriously behind but am now in for the final uphill slog. Hope to see you all at the top!

Best wishes,
Palefox.

Tailor an outline more to NaNo's needs -- I've discovered that isn't what I originally thought it was. A good outline, in my case, would:
1. Have an estimated word count range that's actually accurate.
2. Give me ideas of what to write if I don't know what the next scene should be.
3. Include all the worldbuilding type stuff that slows me down -- names, characters that will be there, even if they don't say anything, magic systems, cultures, countries, what to call all the stuff in my fantasy world...
4. Include the overall structure of the novel and list every major point in the plot.

Next year I want to write something shorter -- writing a little for 30 days straight is hard enough without adding extra word goals.

Limit my major distractions -- drawing being the most major. Doing this right now, and it's agony and very helpful at the same time. :)

Aaand have a friend who supports me all the way, while they're plugging along at a similar rate.

a. Don't listen to music, watch TV, play video games, or read books while writing.
b. Don't procrastinate. Just get on the computer and hit out 200 words. Then break, and repeate.
c. Don't be afraid to finish the story at 50,000 words.
d. Have at least an inkling of what to write before November. (This one's important. Last year I didn't think of an idea until the fourth, this year the fifth. xD )

1. Do a more detailed plot synopsis and a *TIME LINE* for my novel before I start. This year, I had a general plot written out, but I left a lot of details blank that didn't come out too well when I was writing them (e.g, in my outline I had written "MC's mentor is killed for some reason, and MC vows revenge". Far too vague! I also found that I was having to go back and work out a timeline for my characters pre-story while I was writing, which meant far too much looking back over the novel to see who said they worked where, and when, etc.

2. Draw up full character sheets for my characters before I begin. Plot requirements can change aspects of characters, but it would be better for me to have known at least something about them before I began writing.

3. Don't fall days behind with my word-count. I had a few bad days this month, and did not write at all. Next year, I must do more to get ahead of the target so that even non-writing days dont put me behind. This year I was very much chasing the 1,667/day target, while I should have been aiming for higher.

4. Finish my novel before the 50k validator goes live!

I have one primary goal:
Don't bite off more than I can chew.
also:
Go to sleep earlier than I might normally, so that I'm not missing morning class, NaNo might have worked better if this was next semester. Oh well.
Keep Writer's Block article, it will come in handy.

The last three years I've tried to write a serious story. That meant that no matter how crappy the writing sounded if I was doing a historical fiction story set in England then I wasn't going to drop ninjas in my story. It also meant that I couldn't really look at the dares threads. Which sucks 'cause there was some really fun dares this year. Next year I would love to write a random story where I could do anything and everything. So...

1: Write a random story
2: Write up a brief outline anyway just to keep things going in case
3: Go for something nice an easy like 50K... this 200K thing is hard on my wrists as well as it takes up a lot of time which I should have spent with my family or doing work

Failing that I actually stick my what I said about doing some random and end up doing something serious:

1: Make a very detailed outline - this year's outline just didn't cut it.
2: Establish the main characters BEFORE November *kills minor characters who decided to be main characters*
3: Do more research before
4: Still go for something like 50K

1. Plan my story out somewhat before NaNoWriMo.
2.Try to stay ahead of my daily wordcount
3.Don't stop in the middle of the month because I'm too lazy/don't have ideas
4.Make it at least to 25k

1. Create a detailed outline. So many times this year I have said to myself, "What should happen now then?" A plan would really come in handy for that next year.

2. Flesh out my characters. Create complex and interesting characters with the help of character sheets and profiles. My characters changed so many times this year that I don't even know who they are any more. D:

3. Use Moshez's tactic for reaching a great wordcount in a short time. I decided to try this at the end of this year's NaNo! Fortunately it works really well for me so I plan to use it next year. (Y)

For me, it would be to NOT let myself wait until 10.30 pm almost every night. I think i lost more sleep this month than I had when I had serious insomnia.

1. If I finished early again next year continue to write each and every day, not just take a day off every single day after I finish.
2. No matter how tired I am, do NOT have a lie in any day - continue to get up early to meet the daily word count no matter one. Sleep can come again afterwards.

resolution for next year - write 50,000 words in a month, that's it - no research, no outline, just start on november the first, write 50,000 words and finish before the 30th

that's what i have done for the last 3 nanowrimos, hasn't let me down yet

-Start from day 1. : ))
-Know what you'll write beforehand
-Join write-ins
-Write at least 1K everyday

Set a goal for one story, not 50k each on two stories (which is obviously not happening). Get the boyfriend to do NaNo so that I don't feel guilty for writing when I could be chatting with him. Write an outline, it seemed to work well this year.

*Write every day, even if it's just 10 words.
*Try out the word wars
*Spend less time on the internet

I have a couple of things, which I may or may not even remember next year. My initial thoughts are:

1. Either plan better, or don't plan at all. This year I had an outline but it was quite vague, and while I knew roughly where I was going for the early stages of the story, the middle was a complete mystery to me. This resulted in 50,000 words of 'early stages of story' because I was putting off getting to the bit I hadn't planned. If I'm going to have a plan, I need to have a detailed one that'll see me through to the end. Next year, though, I might just try starting off with a completely random idea and seeing where it takes me. Writing the whole thing completely on the fly. That would be something, for me.

2. Be more social on the forum. I've posted, but I haven't really engaged with people this year and I feel as though I'm missing out a bit. I'm in England so my time zone is completely out of whack with most people's, but even so, other Brits have managed to make friends here, so I have no excuse!

3. Write a better novel. Not necessarily obsess over quality, but churn out less dross. If a scene isn't working, I need to end it quickly and painlessly and move on to the next one, not plow through pages and pages of dull crap and then justify it in terms of the word count. Sadly I went for the latter option this year.

4. Try to manage my time better so that I actually get enough sleep. Hopefully I won't be as out of practice at writing by next year's Nano; this year, I was coming to it from a block that's lasted several years. In fact, pretty much since my last Nano in 2003.

5. Donate to Nano. This year I think I'm too poor. Next year, hopefully, I won't be in such dire straits.

6. Throw in a ninja. Maybe. :D

Don't wait till Thanksgiving weekend to start -- even if you do have it off.

mine is

attempt a horror and maybe a triller
try to write two complete stories in the month.

but in the end just reaching 50k will make me happy

1. Don't change ideas half way through the month - as satisfyingly constructive as writing 10k in a day feels, it is not good for my fingers.

2. Plan out what I'm going to write first.

3. Write a story using original characters rather than a FanFic novel.

4. Take things in stages - for every thousand words, watch an episode of an anime
4.b. Find another long anime to get stuck into.

5. Spend less time creating a soundtrack for my characters and more time working on a coherent plot.

6. Remember to sleep more than seven hours a week.

7. Keep up with both my word count and my homework.

8. Try not to get sick in the final week. *sighs*

9. Sign up once more and have fun! NaNo is brilliant; I love November!

1. Take time off from work in November (if possible). I just happened to have the first week of November off this year for no particular reason, and that got me off to a great start even though I didn't join until the 2nd and didn't start writing until the 3rd.
2. Aim for 60K or more. I wrote a lot faster than I thought I would, and when I got close to 50K and after I went over, I slowed down and felt miserable - because I felt like it was over too soon, or the pressure was off too much, or I was missing all the wonderful misery everybody else was going through, or something. Now that I know I can write 60K in a month, aim for that from the start, and hope for more!
3. Plan my daily word count based on 26 days, and plan for a day off each week. That leaves room for sick days or other day-long obligations, or just a day to rest my brain and my hands. I know that goes against NaNo philosophy, but there's a point where writing more just digs me deeper into a psychological hole. It's okay to take a break, really.
4. Go to more write-ins. The few, small ones I attended were great.
5. I'm considering starting with less of a planned plot and being more random next year, but I'm not committing myself to that yet.

*Just sit down and write
*Give up TV time for more writing
*Make a more detailed out line

and last but certainly not least...

*Actually MAKE IT to 50,000 words. *sigh*

A more detailed out line would be good. Some actual research of my subject matter-- In other words a actual plan.

More SEX scenes, lots more sex scenes.

-Write 1667+ words EVERY DAY. No matter what. Even if you're on a tripp to the States for shopping, and you're having too much fun to be bothered with NaNo.
-It DOES NOT MATTER if you think that your plot is crappy, your dialogue stinks, you hate your characters, whatever. WRITE. JUST WRITE.
-Don't go through the plot so quickly. Yeah, I know that this part that you're writing right now is boring. DON'T rush through it. You'll end up being at the climax at only 20,000 words. Not good.
-Don't send a nasty (and a tad embarassing) email to someone the month before NaNo, especially if this person has a lot of friends that will most likely find out about it. Then you'll be too preoccupied with your life to be concerned with the life of your NaNoWriMo novel.
-Don't use the "99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall" thing. Or the song that never ends. Or a mystical fairy land with unicorns and fairies (if it's irrelevant to the plot, of course). None of that crap.
-JUST WRITE!