# 50,000 word challenge for March - National Novel Writing month



## Fodwocket (Feb 24, 2011)

Not sure if this was the right place to post this, so feel free to move the thread.

Anyways, if you're not familiar with NaNoWriMo, it's National Novel Writing month, and it occurs in November - the aim is to write a 50k word novel in a month.  I had no time for it last year (laziness gripped me in what time I did have), so a few friends and I have decided to do it again in March.  

Just thought I'd let you guys know, in case anyone wanted to join in ^_^  We have a little spreadsheet for tallying words and such, should be fun!

Cheers,
Alanna


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## Kelise (Feb 24, 2011)

The more people who join Alanna and I, the more likely we're all to stick to our goals and get some writing done. We can cheer each other on and such ^^

As it's not NaNo, we could always have different goals, if your goal is higher or lower than the NaNo standard. I suppose most here would already have their March set in plans?


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## Behelit (Feb 24, 2011)

I'm interested in the details of how it works. Perhaps you could link me to an external website that explains the rules.

Is the "national" in regards to Australia? How does that work if you aren't a citizen of Australia? 

How does one adhere to the deadline? Couldn't you very well start working on an outline+ before November?

Thanks.

_Note: I do believe this is the most appropriate category for this thread._


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## Kelise (Feb 25, 2011)

NaNoWriMo - http://www.nanowrimo.org/

It's 'national' wherever you are, or that's what the mods at NaNo say - who are based in the US - because the event really is international now.

We're only using the general idea for March though  We're basically challenging ourselves to write 50,000 words on what we're already working on.  We're not using the site (it's only available in November currently) but like NaNo, it's a self challenge. You can work on whatever you like, in whatever way. Just write 50,000 words. (For NaNo, you're supposed to start a new project, but not everyone does. After all, there's no prizes. The only prize you get is what work you do, so if you're happy with what you get done, that's that's all that really matters after all!)

Basically, we're just doing that, and we're going to cheer each other along and keep each other on track. That's it, really. Our goal is 50,000 words in March, and we hope to get a few others interested so that it's more fun, and more of a friendly competition


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## Legerdemain (Feb 25, 2011)

50,000 in March?  I'm game, let's start a thread or something, eh?  Maybe within the Showcase or whatever... BD, Juice, Behelit, ideas?


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## Black Dragon (Feb 25, 2011)

Behelit said:


> _Note: I do believe this is the most appropriate category for this thread._


 
I concur, as it doesn't quite fit anywhere else.  

So...  those who are interested can use this thread to express their interest and/or public commitment to this challenge, as well as the frustrations that may follow.  

Something else that you may consider doing is updating your signature to show a running tally of your word count.  That could prove helpful in keeping the motivation going.

If there's enough interest, we can temporarily make this thread a "sticky," so that it will stay at the top of the chit-chat forum throughout the month of March.  I can also post an announcement about this in the News & Announcements forum, and direct folks to this thread.

I'm also renaming this thread to make its subject matter more obvious to the uninitiated.


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## Fodwocket (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks for renaming the thread, good idea ^_^

And yay this is sounding like it's going to be fun, thanks for joining us with such enthusiasm and sharing the idea.  And the sig idea is great, it shall be done!


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## Chilari (Feb 26, 2011)

I know of someone in the UK who runs a similar thing in April, called April Fools, where you set your own goal for writing. But April this year is kinda a busy month for me, so March could work better. If I can work out the kinks in my planned novel before, uh, Tuesday, I might give it a shot.


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## Kelise (Feb 26, 2011)

The April is also Script Frenzy, where the same people who run the actual NaNoWriMo run an event where you write 100 pages of a script. I find it awesome for writing a novel in script form, to plot out scenes and direction of a novel ^^

Glad you're all joining us  March will be awesome.


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## LadyPamela (Feb 28, 2011)

I'm in! Timing is right for me to crank out a draft. I'm not sure if I'll do 50k, or something else, but I'm definitely up for the challenge!

I haven't done Screnzy. Maybe someday... but I just enjoy the novel format so much, it would take some heavy convincing to get me to do it.


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## Chilari (Feb 28, 2011)

Oh it's March now isn't it? That came quickly. I'm gonna have to bail on the challenge. I've got an assignment due in two weeks and another one due at the start of April, and I need to bring my marks up a little. Good luck to all those going for it though.


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## Kelise (Feb 28, 2011)

Yup, it's begun!

Just when I got Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Pokemon comes out in a week, Script Frenzy Prep (for those who work for the site) begins, and I have a convention I'm working at in a month... WOO! What better time


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## Philip Overby (Feb 28, 2011)

Ok, sorry I double posted!  I'll post any updates on my word count and such here instead of the other thread.

Good luck!


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## LadyPamela (Feb 28, 2011)

Oooh, some of you are started already?!!

It's still Feb. here in West Coast USA, so I have a whole night to wait! (I'm not one for staying up until midnight.)

@Phil the Drill: I'm glad you found this thread; I was going to direct you here for March!

Happy writing!


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## Legerdemain (Mar 1, 2011)

Good luck everyone!  I've gotten to a pretty good start so far today.  I hope to get about a dozen pages done today, and edit down... should I count pages I've written, or eliminate words when I edit?


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## LadyPamela (Mar 1, 2011)

Legerdemain said:


> should I count pages I've written, or eliminate words when I edit?


 
Good question! I suppose it is up to you! (I know that's not much help, is it?) You could keep track of both, tallying total pages and then edited word count. 

I'm editing as I go, and only counting what I keep on the page after editing. 753 words so far today. Not Nano-speed, but it usually takes me a few thousand words to get the juices flowing, so I'm not too worried.


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## Philip Overby (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm working on multiple things at once, so I am having trouble keeping up with word count.  Suffice to say I did some writing today.  Some on a "blog-o-novel" I'm doing that everyone can see.  If you want a link, let me know and I'll send you the link.  It's pretty silly.  

On top of that I'm working on various other stories.  Not sure which one I'm going to focus on as of yet.  So I'll give a concrete update when I make a concrete decision.  Or I may wing it!


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## Kelise (Mar 1, 2011)

I only got 700 or so words, my head just wasn't in it. I'm using an excel spreadsheet to keep track of my words - it tallies them up and such. I think there's ones out there that are made for multiply projects, where you can add your total daily words in each project column, and it adds it up for you?


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## Mythos (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm going to try and participate. I just got a story idea that I hope get the rough draft done by July at the very latest. This should help me get through the first part. I probably won't write 50,000 words, but I will try to set my goal for at least 35,000.


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## Donny Bruso (Mar 1, 2011)

The official standpoint of NaNo when I competed last year is no editing. Sit down and write. Doesn't matter if it's utter fecal matter coming out of your keyboard, just get it down, you can always polish it up later. Of course that is NaNo itself, since this is an independent challenge, you can do it however you like. Good luck to all of you who are competing.


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## Mythos (Mar 1, 2011)

I won NaNoWriMo last year, but I want to try to get something that is more readable this time.


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## Donny Bruso (Mar 1, 2011)

As did I, but aiming for perfection in a rough draft is a quick way to drive yourself crazy, my friend. Once the ideas are down it's a lot easier to polish them up and make them presentable than it is to sit at the keyboard agonizing over something that just won't come out right. Just my 2 cents. Whichever way you choose to do it, good luck.


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## Black Dragon (Mar 1, 2011)

Donny Bruso said:


> aiming for perfection in a rough draft is a quick way to drive yourself crazy


 
Amen, Donny!

My personal approach is to write a chapter, and then do a very rough edit and move on.

When completing my first book my motto was "write today, revise tomorrow."  By tomorrow, of course, I meant several months down the road.  This kept me sane.


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## Mythos (Mar 2, 2011)

Well I meant I would try to have more thought about what is going to happen next instead of charging into every scene.


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## Fodwocket (Mar 2, 2011)

That's the whole point of NaNo, to get you to write, anything at all, rather than worry about it being good.  No editing allowed, hehe.  You can edit when you have your first draft done.


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## Kelise (Mar 3, 2011)

I've done nothing since my initial 700ish words. I'm recovering from an illness that lasts a few months (Ross River Virus. Don't look it up.) so I just want to sleeeeeep as soon as I get home from work, and any spare moment at work results in just lazing about and drinking way too much water.

So I'm miserably behind, haven't plotted my new novel idea out enough, and wishing I understood males a lot better. On the plus side, I'm organising my trip to London and I bought tickets for my boy and I to go to the Doctor Who Experience, so life is pretty awesome.


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## Chilari (Mar 3, 2011)

London, hey? Cool. I actually went to London yesterday, but then it's not such a difficult journey for me. 3 hours each way by coach rather than 24 hours by plane. Three hours is enough though. Next time I'm taking the train and booking far enough in advance I can actually afford it, and then it'll only take a little over an hour. Doctor Who is epic, though.

Understanding men is, indeed, tricky. They constantly surprise me with the way they think and act. Even my fiance (though not in a bad way), who I have known since I was 5 years old and to whom I have been engaged for nearly 4 years.


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## Kelise (Mar 3, 2011)

I utterly adore London - this'll be my third trip. Train prices can be crazy sometimes - my friend and I were going to go somewhere last time and were going to book two months in advance and prices were say, 12 pounds each. We forgot about it, tried to book with a week to go, and they were then 40 pounds each. Oops >_<; (In Australia, if anything, tickets get cheaper that close to travel lol) But I understand why it happens over there.

Wow. And here I was hoping they would make more sense the longer I was with him. Still, he can get away with it (the terrors of liking someone). You're so lucky though (blessed? Lucky might not be the right word - luck had nothing to do with it, I hear cried sometimes), that must be amazing to have known him for so long


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## LadyPamela (Mar 3, 2011)

As a Nano veteran (4/4 wins), I embrace the Nano philosophy... in November. This month, with this particular novel, I am trying to balance the whole quality vs. quantity thing. So I have about 1000 words written. I like the writing, but it isn't going the way that I envisioned. So do I scrap it and start over, save it in another file (because I do like the writing, he he) and then start over, or just run with it Nano-style? I wrestled with these thoughts yesterday and got no writing done at all. But today is a new day! It's going to be a great day! (I'm going with option #2).

So, all, just remember, it's only March 3rd! Don't give up on the month yet! Go write something... NOW!

*Heads off to take one's own advice...*


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## Chilari (Mar 3, 2011)

Four wins out of four attempts? Impressive. I've got a 2/4 won/tried ratio. This last year I really struggled, but my excuse is that I'm a postgrad student now and as such have a LOT of reading to do, not to mention bigger assignments for which I choose the topic and thus select topics which I am passionate about; and it's really hard to be passionate about, and give due attention to, two or more projects at once (for me at least).

But that won't stop me from working towards the novel this month in the planning stage. None of the assignments I have due in the next few weeks are anything I expect to get really excited about. One of my modules is an undergrad module with an extra assignment for postgrads, so the first essay for that, due March 14th, is set questions to choose from, at an undergrad level. None of the questions are that exciting really, so I doubt I'll spend much time thinking about it when I'm not working on it.

But I've got a LOT of planning to do for the novel before I start writing it. Already, in the last week, the plot has changed a lot and I need to sort out what certain characters I've so far neglected are going to be doing.


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## Philip Overby (Mar 3, 2011)

Not sure what my word count is, but you guys can check out my blog-o-novel link in my signature if you want to read what I've got so far.  It's pretty silly and stupid, so you've been forewarned.


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## LadyPamela (Mar 3, 2011)

Chilari said:


> Four wins out of four attempts? Impressive.


 
Thanks! 



Chilari said:


> I've got a LOT of planning to do for the novel before I start writing it. Already, in the last week, the plot has changed a lot and I need to sort out what certain characters I've so far neglected are going to be doing.



Planning is an essential part of my writing process, too. I try to be flexible and not plan too strictly, but I need to know where I'm going! I started my novel over today, and I like it much better! Happy day.


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## Fodwocket (Mar 3, 2011)

Good luck everyone, as LadyPamela said, it's early days yet so we have plenty of time.  I'm a little over 2k words in - have only really had time to write since my working week ended, so, yesterday) so I'm behind too, but just the fact that I'm writing makes me happy.  Would anyone like to share what they're writing about, new or old project, etc etc?

My project is old (been writing it since I was sixteen, which is... 12 years ago, but have about 10 solid years in there where I didn't write a word on that story).  I'll be so very excited when I finally finish it.  Have lot's of other projects to work on, but I have promised myself I won't touch them til I finish this.


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## LadyPamela (Mar 9, 2011)

Anyone still cranking away? I'm having a challenge meeting the challenge! I want to write meaningful prose, so I slow down, and yet if I go too slow, there is no progress! Balance, balance... 

I decided to take a step back and work on my synopsis today. My novel is complex, with a lot of intertwining pieces, so it really helps to look at the bigger picture. I feel good about working on this instead of prose today. Well, any day that I can work on my book, no matter what part I do,  I consider a good day!

Happy writing all!


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## Chilari (Mar 9, 2011)

I might still do the second half of the month after I hand in an assignment on Monday. I'm nearly at the point where I can start writing. Just need to finish off a few things with the plot and get a better feel for the characters.


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## Fodwocket (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm slow, but getting there.  10k so far.  Good luck to you both, I agree, any writing is good ^_^


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 10, 2011)

are there guidlines to this? I have trouble with multiple websites running at once.. my pc sucks.. I won't get into it. I'd like to play.. could someone message me exactly what the contest is and the rules for it?


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## Kelise (Mar 10, 2011)

There are no rules. You write 50,000 words in a novel in a month, and that's it  We discussed it on the first or second page.


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## LadyPamela (Mar 23, 2011)

Ok, so it's clear to me by now that I won't make it to 50k this month. I've been distracted by stuff, not sure where to begin, too picky for word choice, etc. All the stuff that writing for Nano cures us of! But I (finally) have found the right way to tell the story. So I am hopeful to continue in this manner, enjoying the process until I have a draft!

You?


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## Fodwocket (Mar 24, 2011)

Nice work ^_^

I'm having a similar problem as I have a shop's worth of stock to make by Supanova (which starts April 1st), so I haven't had much time to write.  But I've written about 15k words, and have filled a lot of gaps and gotten past a part of the story that I'd been stuck on for over a year.  So even though I won't make it either I'm very happy, and hope to continue my progress.

Good luck to you ^_^


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## Kelise (Mar 24, 2011)

I did utterly nooothing. Well, 735 words. Re-reading Rothfuss and then his new book, pokemon black and problems with the boyfriend... and then illness practically rendered me worthless. And now we have Script Frenzy in a week!

Though the start of the month will be interrupted by travelling to stay with Fodwocket for Supanova convention. We're going to two writing workshops with author Jennifer Fallon (Australian, so I doubt anyone's heard of her, she's one of my favourites though ^^) so... some writing will be done at least.


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 28, 2011)

LMMFAO I wanted to do it and yeah no time >.< I really need to invest in a second pc so I CAN do some form of writing when I can't be at this pc >.<


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## Kate (Apr 14, 2011)

Disappointed I only found this thread after the event.  I've done and loved Nanowrimo for a few years now, and have done a couple of "off season" Nanos.  It's just sooooo much better when you're writing as part of a community so I'd be keen, if anyone likes, to start this challenge again in May. Any takers?


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## Kelise (Apr 14, 2011)

I'd love to, but I'm in London until the 9th. While I did NaNo last year in the first week (and got RSI, I think) I'd like to have the full month ^^ 

But I shall seeeee on my return. I'll probably try and do this in June, though ^^


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## Fodwocket (Apr 15, 2011)

I'll be keen to try again in May, but I'm also happy to wait til June, if you want to delay it til then.


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## Kate (Apr 15, 2011)

June is fine, in fact, June is better. Yay June!!!!  

Anyone else?  This could probably use its own thread.....


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## Kelise (Apr 15, 2011)

Or if the title could be edited? *flails at mods* =3


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## Black Dragon (Apr 16, 2011)

Hey guys,

It is probably best to start a new thread specifically for June.  If a newcomer were to start reading this thread from the beginning, they would likely end up confused.

Go ahead a create a thread for June, and I'll make it a sticky.


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