# November NaNoWriMo 2016



## Chessie (Sep 27, 2016)

I know it's only late September but I'm excited about NaNo this year and wanted to get the thread ball going. Anyone thinking about doing it this year? The daily word count is 1700 for 30 days but it can be any amount that is right for you. The idea is consistent, daily writing. Maybe those of us who will be doing it can help each other prepare. Feel free to post your ideas & thoughts here. When the actual event comes, we can share tidbits of our work. 
:showoff:


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie (Sep 27, 2016)

My friend does this every year; I've considered it. I can manage 1,700 a day fairly easily.


----------



## Heliotrope (Sep 27, 2016)

I think I'm going to do it. This would be my first time. I actually have a decent WIP that I can see myself doing 1700wds/day (not going to say "no problem", but definitly consistantly).


----------



## Fluffypoodel (Sep 27, 2016)

I also plan on doing it this year. not sure what I'll be writing at that point. My plan is to finish my current wip by the end of October and then start of the next. Whether or not I hit that deadline, or I'm still writing the next project I have in mind, is still up in the air. Should be fun either way!


----------



## Chessie (Sep 28, 2016)

Fluffypoodel said:


> I also plan on doing it this year. not sure what I'll be writing at that point. My plan is to finish my current wip by the end of October and then start of the next. Whether or not I hit that deadline, or I'm still writing the next project I have in mind, is still up in the air. Should be fun either way!


Same here. My WIP is due at the editor's on Nov. 15th, which means I have to finish it by the 1st so I can get started on my NaNo project. I keep deleting shit so I'm crossing fingers that my projects won't overlap.

@Helio: consistency is the main goal, so you're good!


----------



## Fluffypoodel (Sep 28, 2016)

Chesterama said:


> Same here. My WIP is due at the editor's on Nov. 15th, which means I have to finish it by the 1st so I can get started on my NaNo project. I keep deleting shit so I'm crossing fingers that my projects won't overlap.



That sounds really exciting! Best of luck to you!


----------



## Chilari (Sep 29, 2016)

Yes, I'll be doing it. I'm torn between being impatient for it to start so I can start the story, and being happy we've still got another month because I've got a lot of worldbuilding and character development I want to do first. (I'm pantsing the plot, and have only planned out the general scenario and how my protagonists meet; the rest will depend on worldbuilding and characterisation to help me see where the plot will take me).

I don't think I'll manage 50K this year, but 30K is doable. I'm busy job hunting at the moment so with any luck in November I'll be busy getting to grips with a new full time job.


----------



## JediKnightMuse (Sep 30, 2016)

I'm _planning_ to participate. I'm saying "planning" because of the fact that it'll be November and I'll be busy with school work. At the moment, my syllabi for my classes make it seem like there won't be TOO much work for me to do during November, so I might be able to pull it off. I've been participating since, like, 2007 but still haven't won.  Mostly that's because of school, when I've had it, and because of just writing myself into a wall and not knowing how to fix it. My plan at the moment is to "rebel" and start writing it before November starts and then not put as much pressure on myself to reach the 50k and only count the words I write in November toward my November word count. We'll see how that goes, though. I would really love it if this year was the year I win, but I say that...EVERY year. -__- I just need to knuckle down and keep myself on track and write as often as I can during November. I have the whole first week of November off of work and will only have my classes, so hopefully that will be my main week where I REALLY write and can get my word count pretty high.


----------



## cydare (Oct 1, 2016)

I'm definitely going to be participating! November is going to be a month of work after work when it comes to school, but I've made a commitment to at least try my hardest to win. I need to develop a habit of daily writing and I want to write the project I'm currently planning. Nanowrimo is great incentive for both those things.

I just saw that the site is down for the wipe - I'm excited to get started on the fresh nanowrimo forums.


----------



## mrsmig (Oct 2, 2016)

I've done NaNo in the past, but I'm not going to be participating this year - my November is going to be extremely busy and I know I won't have the time, even if I had a project ready to go.  But I'll be cheering others from the sidelines!


----------



## Heliotrope (Oct 2, 2016)

Ok, I'm all signed up  

I'm Heliotrope1, and my novel is *Blackbeard Sleeps in the Subway *


----------



## Garren Jacobsen (Oct 2, 2016)

I've signed up. Brianallen1315. The novel is A Fathers Love.


----------



## Chessie (Oct 2, 2016)

I'm curlytiwi over there and just signed up, too! Novel name: My Ludmila.


----------



## cydare (Oct 2, 2016)

I'm still cydare on nanowrimo.My working title is "Life Drinker" but it doesn't quite fit so that'll undergo some changes.


----------



## ThinkerX (Oct 2, 2016)

Yes, I'll be participating, though I've yet to sign up.  I am 'Thinker102' on NaNo. 

Last year, I fell about 1600 words shy of winning.  

I'll probably fall short this year as well, but that's because 'Empire: Judgment' is supposed to be 'only' 40-45K - then again, my current WIP, 'Empire: Spiral,' was supposed to be in that range, and its going to break 50K.  'Judgment' finishes out the 'Empire' novella series, which would be a nice cap to the year.  Next year...rewrites and edits.  Lots of rewrites and edits.


----------



## cydare (Oct 3, 2016)

I decided to put up a thread offering small nanowrimo character sketches in the artisan's forum. They probably won't be very good, but if anyone's interested, feel free to send in a request (though I unfortunately can't promise I'll get to them all).

http://nanowrimo.org/forums/nano-artisans/threads/383628


----------



## Fluffypoodel (Oct 3, 2016)

I'm still fluffy poodle over there. Don't have a novel in mind yet. In truth I'm not sure if I'll finish my current project before November hits... we'll see what happens though!


----------



## Chessie (Oct 3, 2016)

Two things:

1. Do any of you outline and would you like to do some brainstorming in this thread?
2. I wonder if we could use a private chat here on MS during NaNo for word sprints. Anyone down?


----------



## Ireth (Oct 3, 2016)

1. I'm outlining my NaNo. Hopefully it'll help. I'd love to brainstorm as well -- I have a lot of plot stuff to iron out.
2. Sounds like fun. ^^


----------



## cydare (Oct 5, 2016)

I'm outlining and would love to brainstorm! As for word sprints, I don't know if I'd be motivational except as a "well I'm doing better than her" kind of participant haha! I'm hoping nano can help me with my writing speed and stop me from being so hung up on every word.


----------



## ThinkerX (Oct 5, 2016)

Yes, I am signed up.  I am 'Thinker102' and my novel is 'Empire: Judgment,' sixth and last of the 'Empire' series.  (though for sanity's sake, I think of it as a novella.)

I outline -sort of.  Not massively detailed, just split into chapters with one or two short sentences to describe key scenes.  I often run into organizational problems a few chapters in and have to redo the thing.


----------



## ThaJakesta (Oct 5, 2016)

I plan on participating this November, even though I will be having a Factory job with more hours than I've ever had! I have an idea, and have started my outline, working title: Bastard Dragon. I would love to have a place where we can post some of our outlines and give feedback!


----------



## Caged Maiden (Oct 5, 2016)

I'm not sure I can write at all right now, let alone 50k in a month. I feel like I've been floating face down in the choppy ocean of writing for the last couple months, and i've never taken this kind of break before. If I participate in Nano, I'm sure I'll try my best but fall short of the word count.


----------



## Chessie (Oct 5, 2016)

Caged Maiden said:


> I'm not sure I can write at all right now, let alone 50k in a month. I feel like I've been floating face down in the choppy ocean of writing for the last couple months, and i've never taken this kind of break before. If I participate in Nano, I'm sure I'll try my best but fall short of the word count.


Why not just do a small one? Like 500 words a day?


----------



## Nimue (Oct 5, 2016)

I'm planning on a goal of 500 a day or so, somewhere in the vicinity of 12-15k.  It's possible for that to genuinely be an accomplishment too!  I'm pressing myself to write strictly daily during October to begin with, so hopefully I can work up to more significant volume during November.  I may not really keep daily word counts, as I find they can distract and discourage me from the real goal of writing as much as I can, whatever that may be.  But rest assured that they'll be lower than everyone else's. 

Nevertheless, I'd like to help cheer people on, post snippets, and maybe do some sprints, although I still write poorly under pressure even after years of going to a writer's group where we write flash prompts 90% of the time... Ah, dear.  Also, Cydare's portrait service made me think about offering something like that for us MS NaNo'ers?  If I've got the time, I'd love to shake some of the rust off my drawing skills.


----------



## Fluffypoodel (Oct 6, 2016)

My outlining has become haphazard of late. I start out with what I think is a strong outline and then scrap most of it for better ideas once I get into the actual writing. I will plan out the next few series of events but nothing extensive so brainstorming would work great for me. As for the chat, if I'm available I would love to do them!


----------



## Chessie (Oct 6, 2016)

I'm going to tackle this reincarnated love thing. Although I didn't care much for Dracula, I like the concept used for the romance. Hmm. Think I'll start outlining today because I'll be done by the first (it takes me that long).


----------



## Ireth (Oct 6, 2016)

Last night I discovered a ton of plotholes and questions in need of answering for my NaNo. It's gonna take me ages to sort this all out so I can actually start writing. >_<


----------



## cydare (Oct 6, 2016)

How much do you guys usually put into your planning? I've planned up to the end of chapter 8, and it's about 7000 words of just outlining, none of my wordbuilding or character notes included. I'm thinking I might be going a little overboard, though it seems to get me focused.

Also, when do you figure out pacing? I've been freezing up lately with the thought that I've crammed in too much or have too little substance (or both simultaneously) but I haven't even started writing properly.


----------



## Chessie (Oct 7, 2016)

cydare said:


> How much do you guys usually put into your planning? I've planned up to the end of chapter 8, and it's about 7000 words of just outlining, none of my wordbuilding or character notes included. I'm thinking I might be going a little overboard, though it seems to get me focused.
> 
> Also, when do you figure out pacing? I've been freezing up lately with the thought that I've crammed in too much or have too little substance (or both simultaneously) but I haven't even started writing properly.


That's a bit too deep of an outline for me. What I do nowadays since Scrivener is just line up the plot points on the corkboard, flesh out info on the protagonists/story line, write a synopsis, create scenes from that synopsis, which in turn allows me to write a couple sentences on the plot points to remember what goes on there. Then I just do a bit of prewriting before each scene to warm up. So I kinda know what I'll be writing about that day but not completely. I still get stuck a lot, too. Far as pacing goes, I just go with my intuition. I've written so much by this point I can tell if something is off and I either rework it in my drafting process or go back and change it later. I change many things later because I'm lazy lol.

By the way, I was on the NaNoWriMo site last night and noticed that they have several virtual write-ins on their calendar. Because I live in Alaska and our NaNo chapter is run by a graduate student, last year and this year we have had no local chapter basically. So I'll be doing the write-ins online...BUT...to those of you who have a group nearby, I highly recommend going to those write-ins. They're super fun and a great way to pump out the words. We can do some here, too, like congregate in chat when we're online or something.


----------



## cydare (Oct 7, 2016)

I've never actually been to a write-in, online or otherwise. I guess I've always been to nervous! I'd really want to try though. Seems like it'll be both useful and fun. I'll look up the write-ins for my city, and try to participate in any organised here.


----------



## JediKnightMuse (Oct 7, 2016)

Ireth said:


> Last night I discovered a ton of plotholes and questions in need of answering for my NaNo. It's gonna take me ages to sort this all out so I can actually start writing. >_<



If it makes you feel any better somehow, thanks to my having asked questions that have led to OTHERS asking questions (here in the thread I made and on other sites as well, including the NaNo forum), I've realized that there's a lot of...not necessarily plot holes, just unanswered questions that I need to try and figure out before NaNo starts (while also dealing with school -___-), and I think I'm going to struggle answering a lot of them. 

I don't even have my _magic_ figured out. Like, I don't even know what kind of magic my two main characters use at the moment. -Face palm- this is going to be fun. -__-


----------



## MAndreas (Oct 8, 2016)

This will be my 8th Nano! I'm being a rebel, and will be working on a project already started (I can't stop the current books to start something new) BUT my word counts will ONLY be the words in November.

For folks who are still deciding- DO IT!!  This changes your entire way of thinking about your work- plus it's fun to tell friends what you're doing .

If anyone wants to buddy me, I'm listed as mandreas there too 

Marie


----------



## Kingly342 (Oct 10, 2016)

I'm doing it


----------



## mulierrex (Oct 14, 2016)

I'm doing it, and it'll be the first time. I thought about it before but ultimately decided I didn't have enough drive to write all that in a month. But now I realize that really, if I don't finish, it won't be the end of the world, so I'm gonna try. I've been planning my novel for about a week now. It's gonna be about zombies; cliche, I know, but I hope my choice in characters will make it less tacky. It's a bit nice to take a break from fantasy for a bit.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 19, 2016)

So I am going to join in, for the first time... I have no clue what to expect.


----------



## Chessie (Oct 19, 2016)

Gribba said:


> So I am going to join in, for the first time... I have no clue what to expect.


You should expect...fun! Lots and lots of fun!  Oh, and a finished manuscript in the end. <3

Gais...my outline is 10 pages. Holy heck.


----------



## Addison (Oct 19, 2016)

I tried NaNo last year and realized you don't really get to write your story on the sit. You have to tally your progress on your Microsoft Word, or Pages, Scrivener, whatever you use, and then save your progress on the site. But at least this year I'll have plenty of time to prepare for NaNo and work on it-sort of. I'm not sure how productive I'll be as I recover from surgery. I've never written while A.) in pain, or B.) on vicodin. At best I guess I'll write something funny. 

Also, I'm posting a thread on Characters in Writing Questions that may be useful if anyone's having problems with characters.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 20, 2016)

Chesterama said:


> You should expect...fun! Lots and lots of fun!  Oh, and a finished manuscript in the end. <3
> 
> Gais...my outline is 10 pages. Holy heck.



OMG! now you are scaring me... outline 10 pages... 
I have not made up my mind what story to write... I have 3 very different stories and I can not make up my mind!


----------



## Gribba (Oct 20, 2016)

oh, that is good to know, I thought one would write on the site... thanks... one less thing that will surprise me when I begin.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Oct 20, 2016)

Gribba said:


> OMG! now you are scaring me... outline 10 pages...
> I have not made up my mind what story to write... I have 3 very different stories and I can not make up my mind!


Well, then there's only one solution.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 20, 2016)

Svrtnsse said:


> Well, then there's only one solution.



You are killing me... no help at all...


----------



## Chessie (Oct 20, 2016)

Gribba said:


> OMG! now you are scaring me... outline 10 pages...
> I have not made up my mind what story to write... I have 3 very different stories and I can not make up my mind!



Hah nooo....I kinda went overboard and the book will be more than 50k anyway. 

I discovered that my local write-in IS meeting after all! Woop! But...sigh...they're meeting in a town 45 mins from my home and although it's pretty easy to get there, it snows heavily during November and I'm not sure how willing I am to make the trip. Especially when the stupid moose like to be all over the road licking gravel. We'll see. I do love the write-ins though.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 20, 2016)

Chesterama said:


> Hah nooo....I kinda went overboard and the book will be more than 50k anyway.
> 
> I discovered that my local write-in IS meeting after all! Woop! But...sigh...they're meeting in a town 45 mins from my home and although it's pretty easy to get there, it snows heavily during November and I'm not sure how willing I am to make the trip. Especially when the stupid moose like to be all over the road licking gravel. We'll see. I do love the write-ins though.



There is a write in or kick off, about 45 min from where I live, but it is from 16-19 and well, I have kids to feed and to put to bed so I can not go. Mommy is often a popular person around here... 

I see your point, 45 min away is not that bad but with snow and mooses going wild, I can see why you might drop taking that on.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 20, 2016)

I have decided, the fantasy story, I am not doing that one, now I have 2, I need to choose one... 

I find it hard to choose, as one is a story about how vaccinations were used to trigger ability's in people and after the revolution there is a new and different system in place. And how it divides people but also that in the future the people are being born without any powers as the vaccinations were destroyed. People without powers are disappearing and the MC gets involved in the fight for justice. 

The other story is, set in this world, where the MC is working at a mental asylums were the patients all have this one thing in common, they all have been seeing/talking to and living with their dead relative for years. Two of the patients start confiding in the MC and she then begins to see things and starts to figure out what is actually happening.

now what to do?


----------



## Ireth (Oct 20, 2016)

Gribba said:


> I have decided, on one, that I am not doing, now I have 2, I need to choose one...
> I find it hard to choose, as one is a story about how vaccinations were used to trigger ability's in people and after the revolution there is a new and different system in place. And how it divides people but also that in the future the people are being born without any powers as the vaccinations were destroyed. People without powers are disappearing and the MC gets involved in the fight for justice.
> The other story is, set in this world, where the MC is working at a mental asylums were the patients all have this one thing in common, they all have been seeing/talking to and living with their dead relative for years.
> Two of the patients start confiding in the MC and she then begins to see things and starts to figure out what is actually happening.
> ...



I vote for the one about ghosts.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 22, 2016)

So when you are doing NaNo, do you share here on the forum, how it is going and some of the text or? and do you add each other as writing buddy's on the NaNo website?


----------



## Chessie (Oct 22, 2016)

Hi, Gribba. You can do both. I typically only use the site to store my word counts then post here to check in with other folk also participating. I've been thinking...perhaps we could use the site's chat to do word sprints when people are online/available. They're fun and get the blood pumping. There are also virtual write-ins on the NaNoWriMo website. The point is community, and we all encourage each other.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Oct 22, 2016)

I'll probably just use the forums here. I'll post my word count in my Writer's Work thread and I'll add some comments about how it's going.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 22, 2016)

Chesterama said:


> Hi, Gribba. You can do both. I typically only use the site to store my word counts then post here to check in with other folk also participating. I've been thinking...perhaps we could use the site's chat to do word sprints when people are online/available. They're fun and get the blood pumping. There are also virtual write-ins on the NaNoWriMo website. The point is community, and we all encourage each other.



Explain using the site's chat to do word sprints... word sprints? (still new here)


----------



## Chessie (Oct 22, 2016)

Gribba said:


> Explain using the site's chat to do word sprints... word sprints? (still new here)


Word sprints are when you set a timer and write as fast as you can before the alarm goes off. They can be done for the same time frame, like say 25 mins with 5 mins break, or at varying times which is what I prefer. So first sprint can be 15 mins, then 20 mins, then 35 mins, and so on. It really helps if you can figure out how many words you produce in an hour, then set your timer according to your word count for the day. That's also the anal way of doing it.  But really, they are very helpful when you need to produce mass words. Some people question the quality of those words, right? My experience has been that the more you do the sprints, the better your quality gets because you're writing in tune with that creative voice instead of that internal editor, which we all know can be a real jerk sometimes.


----------



## Gribba (Oct 23, 2016)

Chesterama said:


> Word sprints are when you set a timer and write as fast as you can before the alarm goes off. They can be done for the same time frame, like say 25 mins with 5 mins break, or at varying times which is what I prefer. So first sprint can be 15 mins, then 20 mins, then 35 mins, and so on. It really helps if you can figure out how many words you produce in an hour, then set your timer according to your word count for the day. That's also the anal way of doing it.  But really, they are very helpful when you need to produce mass words. Some people question the quality of those words, right? My experience has been that the more you do the sprints, the better your quality gets because you're writing in tune with that creative voice instead of that internal editor, which we all know can be a real jerk sometimes.



HAHAHAH... yeah total jerk, often! 

I can imagine it is fun. I used to edit as I went a long but found that it interrupted my flow. So one day, I removed the spelling check, because it often made me look at a word that was spelled wrong and from there I began to edit, one word was enough and I am dyslexic, so you see my problem. 
Now I just write until I can not write any more then I do the spellcheck and editing. It works well for me to do it that way, I enjoy letting the words just come and the thoughts just run free.


----------



## psylenda (Oct 25, 2016)

Last year I tried Nanowrimo. I got about 25,000 words into a story but got bogged down by school work and couldn't go on. I think I can do it this year. I've planned out a loose narrative to write around and have an end in mind, unlike last time. Of course, I'm not expecting to have anything publishable by the end of the month, but 50,000 is better than nothing.


----------



## Michael K. Eidson (Oct 25, 2016)

If I can finish editing my WIP before the end of October, then November would be the perfect time to write the first draft of the sequel. I already have some of it written, but I'll consider it a win if I write 50K new words in November. I just have to get on the ball and finish editing first. I've got a week to go, so it should be doable.


----------



## ThinkerX (Oct 26, 2016)

Started the outline for 'Empire: Judgment' tonight.  The tale looks a bit murky - I have mental movie clips for the middle, and know how it ends, but things get blurry connecting the various clips together.  Real blurry.


----------



## Tom (Oct 30, 2016)

Yeah, I'm jumping down the NaNo hellhole once again. Maybe this November will be what I need to finally finish Southerner. I've got it all planned out, with extensive notes, I've just been dreading the moment when I have to stare down a blank page and start writing it again. This is going to be a fun month...


----------



## Garren Jacobsen (Nov 1, 2016)

[video=youtube_share;xSLlZh9yelk]https://youtu.be/xSLlZh9yelk[/video]

It's NaNo time. Time to get off my sorry butt and get to writing.


----------



## Codey Amprim (Nov 1, 2016)

Good luck everyone, and may your fingers never tire of punching the keys!


----------



## Chessie (Nov 1, 2016)

Good luck everyone! May it be a fruitful month for all!


----------



## Heliotrope (Nov 1, 2016)

Can we make a new motivation thread? One where we can post bits of our writing or say what we accomplished every day? I'd like a running motivational thread and I'd love updates on how everyone is doing. I'm not interested in the nano forums, as I already like you people on this forum


----------



## Svrtnsse (Nov 1, 2016)

Sure, go for it. I'm also not on the nano forum, and not signed up to anything but here. I'll be up for sharing my accomplishments - or lack thereof.


----------



## Chessie (Nov 1, 2016)

Heliotrope said:


> Can we make a new motivation thread? One where we can post bits of our writing or say what we accomplished every day? I'd like a running motivational thread and I'd love updates on how everyone is doing. I'm not interested in the nano forums, as I already like you people on this forum



That's why I made this thread ^^ Unless everyone rather post in a new one.


----------



## Heliotrope (Nov 1, 2016)

This one was already seven pages, so I thought it might be nice to start a fresh one for day one  I'm excited about my coffee shop time tonight!


----------



## Caged Maiden (Nov 1, 2016)

Good luck wrimos, rebels, and everyone else. I threw my name in the hat, but I haven't written in more than three months...so it's not looking good for me this season. Still, I might as well try, right?


----------



## Chessie (Nov 1, 2016)

Heliotrope said:


> This one was already seven pages, so I thought it might be nice to start a fresh one for day one  I'm excited about my coffee shop time tonight!



Oh, yeah! Lol Let's start fresh. <3


----------



## Phin Scardaw (Nov 1, 2016)

I just signed up. This will be my first time. 

Write On!


----------

