# NaNoWriMo



## pskelding (Aug 24, 2011)

I noticed that Nanowrimo is just over 60 days away and was wondering how many folks here are planning to have a go this year?  I will be participating and thought it might be a good idea to start a thread here and give each other support and encouragement during the month.  

I'm doing all the development work on the novel I will write for Nanowrimo.  I am intentionally not writing at all for this novel. I am only working on character profiles, synopsis, and I'm working on my scene list right now with POV.  I will go back and then do a few more character profiles because my POVs changed a bit.  Then I'll be doing the research on archery.  

Any takers for Nanowrimo?


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## Philip Overby (Aug 24, 2011)

Yes.  A thousand times, yes.  I've done NaNoWriMo three times in a row from 2008-2010.  Each time I've wrote utter crap, but had a blast.  And the utter crap is salvageable so I can ultimately use them in the future.  I think it would be great to extend some of our NaNoWriMo discussion to this forum.  The fantasy forum is always JAMMED over there and good threads get bumped and ignored a lot.  We have a good community here, so I'd love to see others give it a try.

For perfectionists, NaNoWriMo is a nightmare though.  You really have to just let yourself write or you will fail.  There's a lot of division about NaNoWriMo because some people say, "Why just write a sloppy mess?"  Well, why not?  People waste just as much time writing three perfect sentences that no one will ever read.

Sorry, off the soapbox now.

I love NaNoWriMo!


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## Ophiucha (Aug 24, 2011)

Good fun, NaNo. Never read a good first draft in my life (and I've read many books by authors who only do one draft, all of which only solidified my viewpoint), so I say "why not get it out and over with in a month?" One of the more active writing communities you're going to find - even in the "off season" - and I do love a bit of competition, it's something that really _motivates_ me when nothing else will. I'll be on someone's profile, "Ortensia has 4,592" words, and I'll set out to write 4,600+ words. Helps keep me from falling behind, though these days I don't really have that problem any more - I think this will be my fifth year, this November.

Not sure which of my ideas I'm going to go with, though. I have a couple. One is slice-of-life, lackadaisical, bit more like a collection of connected vignettes than a real novel. The other is a bit more straightforward, but admittedly not one I have as interest in. I love 'em both, sure, but the first one is entirely about _food_, so it's a tough pick.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 24, 2011)

I think I'm going to write a wrestling story this year.  I have a background in it (4 years independent) so I could probably do a good job.  And I've done fantasy the past three years, so I'd like to try something a bit more realistic . But if you know anything about wrestling, it's more like fantasy than reality anyhow!

I may start outlining in late September.  It's the only time of year I do outlining.  I don't know why because I actually like outlining...


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## Motley (Aug 24, 2011)

This will be my sixth NaNo, and I already have the basic idea for my story and the main character's already hanging out in the back of my mind. That's all I usually start with. I don't outline or make character sketches or anything. I love NaNo. It gives me too many first drafts to play around with though.


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## The Blue Lotus (Aug 24, 2011)

I have never heard of this...
What is it?
Is there a link?


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## Argentum (Aug 24, 2011)

I only did Nano once last year and didn't make it the full 50k. But for several years I did something like it during July or June instead and once managed 101k in a month. I may use my current work in progress or start afresh, but I do intent to fully take advantage of Nanowrimo and write as much as I possibly can, if not complete the whole book (whatever the word count ends up being). I've been doing a lot of preparation though. I've written so many notes I can almost fill whole notebooks with them. And I am pretty darn excited. I've planned on buying a netbook before Nano so I can better get to other meet ups at cafes because my laptop is a bit heavy and harder to lug around.

Blue Lotus, I'll send you the link!


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## Angharad (Aug 24, 2011)

NaNo is a lot of fun.  I've only done it once, in 2009, and I succeeded in spite of the fact that I'm a perfectionist.  It was the first time I was able just let myself pound out vast quantities of utter crap (as Phil accurately called it) but there were definitely a few usable specks of gold in all that raw ore.  I hadn't planned on doing it this year, but maybe I should.  My perfectionism is again preventing me from making much progress on my current novel.  According to the official rules you are supposed to only write something you haven't actually started yet, but I know a lot of people who use NaNo to give a nudge to their existing work, write short stories, etc.  It's just a good way to inspire you to get the words on the paper (or screen as the case may be.)


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## Amanita (Aug 24, 2011)

I may give it another try but I'm not really sure. 
The stuff I've done last year was no good at all and I didn't even make it to the beginning of the real story after 50 000 words. Therefore, I can't really use any of this for anything, but it helped me on the way of getting bored with the story in question. I still haven't managed to get much done about it by now.
I also got really annoyed by those many, many pleas for donations and the fuss made about them. (The reasons why I've posted in another thread.) At least to me, that felt as if someone who doesn't donate isn't welcome and this will probably make me stay off this time.
If we did a discussion here, this might encourage me to give it a try though.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 24, 2011)

We should totally do a discussion here!  I'm all for that.  Like I said before, it's a good idea to try to write in a genre you haven't written in before because it gives you a fresh outlook on your writing.  I don't mind the pandering for donations because I think it's a good program.  I never got the feeling I wasn't welcome even though I didn't donate.

I think it's worth it even if you bail out halfway through.  Like another person said, first drafts all suck.  So buckle up and give it a try.  Sometimes something you think sucks, other people may actually like.  But you would never know unless you finish it.


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## UnionJane (Aug 24, 2011)

*The book...*

I've picked up NaNoWriMo book from the library in preparation for November. I had read it once years ago but didn't take much away from it. Now that I'm trying to write more seriously, the encouragement and stories are pretty encouraging, and well written, especially for somebody who isn't make a living from writing.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 24, 2011)

I read a sample of the book on my Kindle.  It's called No Plot, No Problem.  What I read of it I really liked.  It's not really sage wisdom, but it's good to encourage you to just buckle down and write.  Which I would say about 97 percent of new writers (and even old ones) have trouble doing.  That inner critic does things like this:

"This sucks.  Why even bother?   Let's go play XBOX."

"Hmmm...my wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend/kids/dog/gerbil/dust mite is really distracting me.  I'm never going to get done.  Who cares?"

"Who wants to read this story about a time-traveling dog anyway?  Pftt...I give up."

"Must.  Sleep.  Now."

You know those sort of things.  I'm so happy because my new apartment has two rooms.  One room will be our bedroom, one will be my office/dungeon of mystery/Xbox room.  My wife is so awesome!  So I'll have plenty of privacy for those times when nature calls.  And by that I mean writing.


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## JCFarnham (Aug 24, 2011)

This November will be my first time, but I've been hanging around the Nano forums pretty much since it fiished LAST year. I do really like some of the discussions there, especially the scifi forum for research help [some SERIOUSLY knowledgable people hang out there haha] and the reference forum [if thats what they call it]... even if its not currently Nano its a resource I couldn't do without! haha. It does feel slightly impersonal some times... so a thread for us Nano-ers on here would actually be the shove and good number of us will need to get going and succeed [I'm specifically thinking about the week two blues here guys lol]

I won't be writing Fantasy this year mind you. Instead it'll be my other passion, soft science fiction.]


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## Chilari (Aug 24, 2011)

I've done NaNoWriMo four times and been an ML three times. I know what you mean about donations, Amanita. I get it twice as much as everyone else in all the ML-only emails. They ask us to encourage our region to donate, but I feel bad about asking my friends to donate too much. I understand why they need it - servers, domain, making the stickers and stuff (which are sent out for free). It's just difficult some times.

But I do enjoy NaNo. There's an atmosphere, a drive, that is impossible to recreate. Last year I did badly. I was busy with a lot of other things. This year is a different picture. I've got a story I'm working on, and no urgent responsibilities to worry about (well, none that will demand all of my time). And since I'm moving back to my parents' place, I probably won't be ML this year.

I don't expect to write something amazing as a first draft. That's what rewriting and editing are for. I just want to get something down, get myself started.


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## Kaellpae (Aug 24, 2011)

I heard about this here and on a couple of other forums. What is the goal word count?

I'm not sure if I would be doing it this year, as I don't have my own laptop and I sold my desktop. Maybe if I get a laptop I'll do my own personal NaNo or just wait till next year.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 24, 2011)

It's 50,000 words starting on November 1st and ending at midnight on November 30th.  So I would say it comes out to about 120 pages?  Maybe.  

In 2009 I wrote the majority of my NaNoWriMo on train rides to work on notebook paper then would transcribe it later in the night.  I understand most people really hate writing long-hand, but it's entirely possible.  The main goal is write 1,667 words a day, which isn't really that much when you think about it.  As long as you sit down and hammer it out.


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## JCFarnham (Aug 24, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> It's 50,000 words starting on November 1st and ending at midnight on November 30th.  So I would say it comes out to about 120 pages?  Maybe.



I heard somewhere on the Nano website that its more like 175 pages, in "normal" font, in "normal-sized" paperback. Maybe I'm thinking more along the lines of pages in a word processor... haha who knows. All I know is that I'm going to damn well try my hardest to stick to that daily goal. 

We'll see how that turns out in a few months


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## Kelise (Aug 25, 2011)

I've done and won NaNo since 2004, and been ML since 2005. I really quite love it. 

The fuss over donating is a real pain, but lately NaNo have been running in the black. As it grows bigger, it costs more money to run, yet I think they got less money last year than they did the year before.

I've also done and won Script Frenzy (the sister project, writing a script in April) since it began in 2007, but have utterly failed at Camp NaNo. It just doesn't seem the same at all. 

Having a place here to chat about it once November starts will be nice - the forums on the NaNo site are amazing, but oh so busy.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 25, 2011)

@starconstant:  You are responsible for a great deal of the early members here at Mythic Scribes.  Including me!  And all because of NaNoWriMo.  So thanks again for that if I haven't thanked you already.

I much rather discuss NaNoWriMo here than on the other forums.  I'll still go over there of course, but probably not as much as I did the last couple of years.  Like you said they are super swamped and threads get buried easily.  But it's definitely a great forum as well.  

I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, but like you said, it feels off.  Like having Christmas in July or store bought ice cream instead of from the ice cream truck.  Just not the same.


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## pskelding (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow seems like I struck a nerve in a good way!  Maybe we can get the all powerful overlord moderators to make this a sticky during NaNoWriMo.  I think if we support each other here in this forum we might be able to help more of us get over the 30,000 hump and hit the 50,000.  I also think we have a smaller more tight knit group that seems seriously interested in being positive. I can't really ask anyone to donate, that concept is utterly alien in China and with the recent Red Cross corruption there's no way. But I will donate a small bit instead of buying myself a birthday present that month.  

I'm still working on planning for what I will write. Scene list is done and now I'm revising some character profiles and have 2 new ones to create.  

Those who are worried that the writing will be crap I say this - Any writer who thinks their first draft is perfect are fooling themselves.  All first drafts have problems and usually the problems are quite serious.  It's not uncommon for a published writer's first draft of "An Award Winning Novel" to be utter crap and then through successive 2nd and 3rd drafts vastly improve.   A first draft should improve over it's course, that is to say the end should be better than the beginning as the writer works with the characters, plot lines, motivations, and disasters etc.  If this is your first draft then congratulations!  Now go back and fix the beginning and middle up through drafts 2 and 3.  Then you should have a "good draft" suitable for showing to an agent or editor.  

This will be my first "official" NaNoWriMo, I've done a few self challenges up to about 30,000 in one month but never gone for the 50,000 until now.


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## Kelise (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm very glad to see you all here! Thank you for clicking that link  I generally dislike advertising, and avoid it when I see it even more so... but I was so impressed with this site that I had to spread the word. So I'm glad those of you took the chance to take a look.

I'm getting excited for NaNo already. No plot, no idea what I'm doing there, but I'll be there 

A few months ago we had a 'NaNo' thread in the Off Topic section, where a few of us had a go at our own mini NaNo here. It'll be excellent being here during NaNo!


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## Black Dragon (Aug 25, 2011)

pskelding said:


> Maybe we can get the all powerful overlord moderators to make this a sticky during NaNoWriMo.



We can definitely do this.  We can also look at creating a NaNoWriMo subforum or forum in the Lifestyle section.

Any thoughts?


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## Amanita (Aug 25, 2011)

A NaNoWriMo subforum would be great. This might persuade me to join after all. I'll probably stay away from the side itself but this doesn't mean I can't try to write 50 000 words in November.


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## JCFarnham (Aug 25, 2011)

A Nano sub/forum would be excellent. It might even allow quick aid for those who need it during Nov! Which I'm sure the real site lacks sometimes.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Aug 25, 2011)

I need to come up with an idea if I plan on doing it this year.  I've done nano in 07, 08, and 09...and managed to finish in the odd years.  In 08 I didn't plan out anything and my initial spark fell apart about 1k words in.  

Just need a spark...

...and a few weeks of proper planning


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## Angharad (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm liking this idea more and more.  I need something to get me moving on my WIP.  I probably won't officially register on the site, but it would be great to have a group on here to encourage each other.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 25, 2011)

The only forums I checked when I signed up were the fantasy ones.  There are lots of other great forums though. Challenges, word battles, resources, etc.  So it's worth checking out the site at least once.  And it's good to see the chart of your word count.  That helped me a lot last year.

I'm getting excited too early this year!


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## JCFarnham (Aug 25, 2011)

Phil, I've been getting excited since the 1st-3rd of December, or when ever I signed up over there. haha =P


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## Kate (Aug 25, 2011)

Nano! Woo!
I love Nanowrimo, having done it for the last 4 (even if that first year I didn't even get close to winning). 
I think that high velocity novel writing can be harmful to the work sometimes, but I excuse that during November and just let words spew as fast as they can.  I've a small idea what to write about this November, so I'm double excited. 

I've handwritten the whole shebang for the last 2 years, but think I'll go back to the keyboard this year.


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## Kaellpae (Aug 25, 2011)

If I get to do it this year I'll be writing a story that I thought of a few years ago and wrote a short prelude to. I promptly forgot about it and when I found it I realized I didn't have any clue where I wanted to go with it. A re-imagining could help.

And a sub forum would be cool. Do we have a challenge for a certain month for our forums only?


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Aug 27, 2011)

this sounds fun, how do I enter?


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## Kelise (Aug 27, 2011)

NaNoWriMo runs in November, and you sign by going to the site: National Novel Writing Month and making an account, and signing up in November. They wipe the site in early October, so if you put anything in your profile Novel Settings before then, it'll be wiped.


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## Chris Conley (Aug 28, 2011)

I'm planning on it.  It will be my third year.


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## Shadoe (Aug 30, 2011)

Aw geez. I'm probably going to do it now too. I've got two stories that might work. One is almost fully outlined. At least I thought it was when I started polishing the outline this morning and found I needed to bring in a whole different storyline and toss another one out. And another one has possibilities too. So maybe I can get one of those ready in time.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Sep 2, 2011)

Two months to take the base idea, figure out what is going on, create characters, and figure out the plot...should be doable.


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## jackitsu (Sep 3, 2011)

I've done this for a couple years, and the only year I finished was with a fantasy novel so I'm thinking that will probably be my trajectory this year.

I love to do it even when I don't finish, though, because the forums really  hop with ideas and enthusiasm.  Its fun.  Recommended.


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## Shadoe (Sep 9, 2011)

So, I finished outlining the story I want to do. It's all ready to be written, plots and subplots in place and resolved. I've even got some extra stuff that could be worked in if I somehow come up short, though I don't see that happen. And just as I clicked SAVE on the outline... the phone rang.

I got a job. Not only will I be spending the next week or so frantically rearranging my apartment, making phone calls, getting plane tickets, and looking for an apartment in a state I've never been, but I'll have to work 10 hour days. And at some point in November I'm either going to have to make all the same arrangements again, or I'll have to move my son to Wisconsin with me. Four five weeks. ::sigh::


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## SeverinR (Sep 22, 2011)

I signed up yesterday,
found writing seminars in my area.

Not sure I am going to try.
I get a story in my head and it takes over, 
I don't know if I could wait to write it until Nov1,
or if I could work on this one alone and not the others I am working on.

Still undecided.
But you might find some help there.


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## EParadise (Sep 24, 2011)

@ Argentum...what was it that you did in june or july that was similar?


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## kuraimorgan (Oct 3, 2011)

I love NaNoWriMo it gives me the chance to ignore things I should be doing with a legitimate excuse


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## Mistresselysia (Oct 4, 2011)

I would dearly love to do NaNo this year (I've never done it 'properly', but have written a novel in 7 weeks after setting myself a 10,000 word a week goal, so I know I can do it), but having 2 small children (one clingy toddler and a 12 week old baby) means I really just don't think I'm going to be allowed to do it - each time I sit down to write, either the baby cries or the toddler wants attention! It's a shame, really, because my other attempts at getting involved in the past have been scuppered by work (November is a hideous month in teaching), but this year I'm off on Maternity - you'd think I'd have loads of time, being largely at home, but noooooo...


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## mythique890 (Oct 4, 2011)

Mistresselysia, I know what you mean.  I have a 17-month-old and an almost-4-year-old.  I stay at home full time (at least until winter puts an end to my husband's road construction job) and I feel like I can never get anything done.  Every time I sit down to write, I can't help thinking, "I should be cleaning," "I should take my kids outside," "I should get dinner started," "I should be working on their Halloween costumes or finishing that baby blanket for my friend," etc.  I hate it.  If I try and do everything else, by the time I'm ready to write, my husband is home from work.  He's working such long hours right now that some nights he doesn't even see the kids, so I feel like when he's here it's good for our marriage for us to hang out.   

At the same time, whenever I'm not writing I feel bad because this is supposed to be my attempt at making money from home.  I can't win.


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## Philip Overby (Oct 6, 2011)

Site opens up in several days!  I'm super pumped.  I've once again changed my idea, so I have to outline quickly before November comes.  Should be a blast as always.  I need to buy some new notebooks to keep with me when I have spare time so I can scribble away.  Hope everyone else is gearing up!


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## JCFarnham (Oct 7, 2011)

The site is open right? I've been on and posting since last november, Though I imagine you mean the wipe happens soon [on the 10th I've heard]

Still I'm raring to get started on my novel again--yeah I am cheating a little bit, but I envision no other way to get this damn thing going hehe--I'm also going to make a list of awesome threads to restart, so we don't miss out this year ha!


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## Shadoe (Oct 7, 2011)

I'm going to do this. I'm probably going to die in the attempt, but I'm going to do this. 

My boss has me working 12-hour days. I've had to get a bunch of fake dollar bills and paste them around my apartment to remind me why I'm still here. But I have an hour a day to play with, darn it, and I'm going to WRITE during that hour!!!


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Oct 7, 2011)

That's the spirit, Shadoe!


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## pskelding (Oct 7, 2011)

I'm in training for the event right now.  I'm using 750words.com to write 750+ words a day. I'm on a 7 day streak with almost no distractions and getting the words out in under 30 minutes per day.  I am not writing my Nano story though, working on something else that will finish in under 30,000 words.


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## Philip Overby (Oct 8, 2011)

@JCFarnham:  Yeah, I was talking about the wipe on Oct. 10th.  That is when I can update my profile, etc.  So I'm looking forward to a clean slate.

@pskelding:  That's a great idea for "training" for NaNoWriMo.  Like any marathon, it's a good idea to get some practice in before the big run.  I may try to do that as well throughout October.  

One thing that always is disappointing for me during NaNoWriMo is the number of friends I see fall by the wayside.  I encourage everyone to stick through it even if you real life is crushing you under its weight.  The sense of accomplishment really has been a boost for my writing over the years.  I tend to write more and more and I think it's mostly due to NaNoWriMo.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Oct 9, 2011)

I am as psyched for this as I am for Legend of Zelda Skyword Sword. BRING IT!


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## Amanita (Oct 11, 2011)

The new page is online now.
And I'm glad that all the "old baggage" from me is gone now. 
Now I have to decide if I want to do something this year or not...


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## Lord Darkstorm (Oct 11, 2011)

I have a general plot, and some major plot points, and working on my characters.  Will need to get all my scenes defined by the last week.  If I can do that, it should be an easy one this year...well, I hope it will be.


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## pskelding (Oct 14, 2011)

I'm still training for the event and am still on a 14 day streak of 750 words a day or more! Yay go me!  11,000 words of a fun Chinese fantasy themed novella. 

The Nano project is shaping up nicely, scene list is done and now making some storyline and plot adjustments.


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## Johnny Cosmo (Oct 14, 2011)

I'm thinking of taking part. I've got a lot of university work so I probably won't, or at least, I won't do anything with a extensive outlining and world-building. Perhaps I'll betray my instinct and just write freely.


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## myrddin173 (Oct 15, 2011)

I've decided to tweak the rules for myself.  Since I have a number of large essays due in November, they are going to be counted in my wordcount.


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## Dragonie (Oct 15, 2011)

I'm not going to participate this year. Normally I at least give it a shot, and I get a good chunk of something done, but by about the halfway mark I'm wiped out and hating myself/my book/etc. This year I'm just going to cheer others from the sideline, and continue working on my stories at my own pace.


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## Linqy (Oct 20, 2011)

I just decided I'm going to be participating again this year to take the pressure off of my main project XD


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## Shadoe (Oct 23, 2011)

I wrote 1726 words today. NaNoWriMo is so totally gonna kick my ass.


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## myrddin173 (Oct 31, 2011)

Less than five hours to go here on the East Coast.  Anybody staying up to start writing at midnight?  I'm sure not, I'm hoping to get over a cold as soon as possible.


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## Shadoe (Oct 31, 2011)

I pondered staying up. But my alarm goes off at 4am. So I'm just going to get up early.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Oct 31, 2011)

I have to get up at 5:30ish so I'll start around 6:30 after I finish what needs doing.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 1, 2011)

1024 words tonight...


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## Amanita (Nov 1, 2011)

I've gone to sleep at my normal time. I wouldn't be able to write anything decent in the middle of the night.  But now 1th November is there, and I might start soon.


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## Shadoe (Nov 1, 2011)

2188 words, according to MS Word.


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## Angharad (Nov 2, 2011)

Here's a link to a NaNo word tracker.  I haven't tried it yet, but thought I'd pass it along.
NaNoWriMo 2011 tracker by =SvenjaLiv on deviantART


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## pskelding (Nov 2, 2011)

1431 yesterday for me... will try to hit 3200 today as I'm not working and so far my 2 week old son has seen fit to increase the amount of sleep he wants today...


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## Angharad (Nov 2, 2011)

1640, better than I expected.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 2, 2011)

3185 so far, If I can keep this up I won't have any problems...if, if, if...


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## pskelding (Nov 2, 2011)

2835... finished at the end of a scene and didn't want to start the next as the POV character changes. I need to think about it a bit tonight. 

Good job everyone!! Let's keep it going!


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## Philip Overby (Nov 3, 2011)

I'm at 5060 after a bit of a slow start.  Looks like I'm up to snuff for the time being.  Keep in mind I'm a day ahead of most people probably.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 3, 2011)

4082...would have been closer to 5k if work hadn't intruded on my writing time.  Ah well, paying bills keeps the things on that let me write.  So I'll just grumble a bit and go on.


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## pskelding (Nov 3, 2011)

5230 words... I'm on target finally and today was the strongest writing yet for me.

I hope everyone is still with us, today is 10% of the way there, time and word wise!


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 4, 2011)

7015 is what I ended up with last night.  I was quite happy with the progress.


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## pskelding (Nov 4, 2011)

6432 for me, short by about 230 words from par but I'm still very happy with my progress also. New scene is good and working from my scene list is working well.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 5, 2011)

9652....I didn't hit 10k...


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 5, 2011)

that''s alright Lord Darkstorm, we will hit 10K tomorrow then we will be 1/5 the way through this madness. I am at 9570.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 6, 2011)

11,434 so far tonight....still have an hour or two to get more.

12,836...and I'm done for the day.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 6, 2011)

You guys are killing me.  But I'm determined to catch up.  I had a bad day today with my internet acting sketchy and then trying to transfer my file so I could work on another computer.  I was going to do long-hand, but then I just went to buy a router for my computer so now I have wireless!  I have to catch up!  Probably around 7,000 now.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 7, 2011)

15,111  I got my goal!  For this weekend at least.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 7, 2011)

finishing today at 13,192 my main character is dead now the focus shifts to his children and with that the back story to all the later events is set in place. it is now that all the fun happens.


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## Linqy (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm at 10181 now! (love that)
So that means I'm still on schedule, and going strong!


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## Shadoe (Nov 7, 2011)

I lost the weekend, so I'm way behind. But at least I won't be missing next weekend. Spent the entire weekend on the road. ::groan::

Now I'm up to 9163 words.


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## Amanita (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm in trouble. 
After 5000 words I've decided that I'd rather work on my main story after all and now I'm far behind. I've made 5000 words for my main story now, but I doubt I'll make it in time.
Doesn't really matter though. It's not about 50 000 words but about getting a foundation for the story and maybe, finally finishing it.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm stopping for today at 15,101.


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## Shadoe (Nov 8, 2011)

I've got 11,423 words. Right now, I'm really hoping my weekend will be productive. Oh wait. I have TWO weekends!


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 8, 2011)

Currently at 16,003 didn't get that much done last night.


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## Shadoe (Nov 9, 2011)

12312 words. Even further behind. There just wasn't much going on this morning.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 9, 2011)

18,570 as of last night, still keeping ahead.


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## pskelding (Nov 9, 2011)

I hit 10347 today after no writing for 2 days due to my son having colic. It wrecked my night time writing schedule. I made up a bunch of ground today and will be making up more tomorrow.  I started taking the word doc to work and was able to get a few hundred down on lunch hour and during breaks between classes. Glad to see many of us still in this thing!


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 10, 2011)

18,485. tomorrow I will get to write the most touching scene.


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## Amanita (Nov 10, 2011)

After two extremely busy days, I'm very far behind. I highly doubt that I'm going to make it, but I don't think I'll mind that much.


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## Shadoe (Nov 10, 2011)

15816 words. Not quite on track, but I'm gaining on it. Had a very successful morning so far. Now I just need to do that a couple more times and I'll be caught up.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 11, 2011)

21,185  not as many as most days, but I'm still ahead...yah.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 11, 2011)

finishing today with 20,171. I'm quite pleased with the way things are going.


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## Shadoe (Nov 11, 2011)

Almost 3000 words today for a grand total of 18,805 words. Now officially back on track.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 12, 2011)

stopping today with 22007. heh 007, WIN!


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## Kelise (Nov 12, 2011)

Did a 5k day to get back on track with 20k. THink I'm just too ill for this year, but I've won NaNo since 2004 and don't want to quit now


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## Shadoe (Nov 12, 2011)

5,000 words today so far. I think I need to take a shopping break. Then back to it. I want to get in at least another 6,000 words this weekend to get me to the halfway point.  If it goes as well as this morning, I'm going to make it with a couple days' of words to spare.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 12, 2011)

good job everyone! I'm at 23,716. Tomorrow, I hit the halfway mark!!!!


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## pskelding (Nov 13, 2011)

14,454 words and I'm still working today. Got a lot of catch up to do. The Nano site is down as of this writing. 

I'll hit 20,000 by the 15th and push on my day off to get 5000 words in that day. My son is definitely not cooperating though! Ack, I'm happy to have him but the first month is basically torture sprinkled with happiness and exhaustion!


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 14, 2011)

FINALLY! I am more than 50% finished! There is still plenty of plot too


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## pskelding (Nov 16, 2011)

19800 words, behind but working on the catch up. Ran into a big plot issue and will be skipping 2 or 3 scene and picking back up.

I'm still in it! I'll get the 50k!


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 16, 2011)

goooooooooooooooooooooooood pskelding! I believe in you! I'm at 29574. I tanked yesterday, only getting about 500 words


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## Shadoe (Nov 18, 2011)

I'm at about 33,000 words. I really wanted to be further at this point. Hoping to get at least 10,000 words in tomorrow. Love to work on it Sunday too, but I gotta work. And I'll probably be working 14 hour days next week too. What a mess.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 19, 2011)

I'm at about 28,000 now.  So I'm a little behind.  But I have a weekend to get caught up and a day off in the middle of the week which will help too.  I dig the story so far, and I'm thinking of working on it more after NaNoWriMo.  Try to make it about 80,000 to 90,000 words.  Yeah!


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## Shadoe (Nov 19, 2011)

Great! Keep going!


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 19, 2011)

come on guys only 11 more days, we can do this!


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## Shadoe (Nov 20, 2011)

41,171 words so far. Not quite where I wanted to be about this time. And this week is all 13-14 hour days and then the holiday shuffle. I probably won't be able to get my computer out at all.

But on the good side, the end of the tunnel is in sight. I'm down to 12 more scenes.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm at 36K now, still not completely where I want to be.  But it's still going good.  Curious to know what you guys are doing to boost your word counts?  I have a day off tomorrow so I'm going to try to blast through and get 5K or so, I hope.


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## Shadoe (Nov 22, 2011)

Until now, I've had a routine of prepping the next day's writing after work, then getting up at 3am so I could write for an hour or so before work. Now I'm too tired to get up any earlier than I have to. So I prep at work and write at night. Now I'm exhausted.

The weekend is my friend too. I try to do a lot of writing on the weekend in between naps. But I did have a detailed outline to begin with, so that helps. I don't spend nearly as much time staring at the blank wall trying to think of what I'm going to do with the scene as I usually do.

I'm at 44,955 words tonight. So tired, too. I'm hoping I'll be done in the next couple days.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 24, 2011)

come shadoe, you are nearly there! I believe in you.

I am at 40800 or something like that. I just had an idea of where everyone should be and they are all far apart right now, but they will be coming together soon for the final battle for TolÃ¯ś Castle, but I wont be finishing in november.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 26, 2011)

I'm at 43K.  Still on track.  Glad to see some you other guys are doing great too.  Hope your novels turn into awesomeness!


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## Kelise (Nov 26, 2011)

Finished today by getting just over 50k by a hundred or so words. Phew. Never had a year as hard as this one. 

Stupid illnesses.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 27, 2011)

only 4,600 words to go, so says one program. The other says I have 6,400 words to go.... I'm going with 6,400 to go just to be safe.


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## Kelise (Nov 27, 2011)

Check it against NaNo's validation counter maybe? That's the one that deems a win or not


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## Shadoe (Nov 27, 2011)

This weekend, I wrote a grand total of 206 words.

I also traveled 2,000 miles, spent the better part of a day in airports, realized that all hotels are now using the same bathroom supplier, realized I should never again leave my car in a place without Writing It Down, spent a couple thousand dollars on crap I don't need, and read the new Janet Evanovich novel. I've decided to blame Evanovich for my lack of productivity.


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## JCFarnham (Nov 28, 2011)

DONE!

If anyone is having trouble with word counts, paste what you want to add writing wise into this page Word Counter is get a total before you add that to Nano. I don't think I had any discrepancies. Even considering I was writing with OpenOffice.

And now we return you to my previously schedualed celebration ...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[p.s. I'm not trying to rub it in, or anything, genuinely. This was my first Nano and I was almost certain I would only get 30k done.]


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## myrddin173 (Nov 28, 2011)

Congrats! Sadly I fell out of my grove a while ago and haven't been able to get back into it.  I think I reached about 15K which is about 15K more than I have written in a continuous story, ever.  I am reminded of a fortune cookie I once ate, it's fortune was "Do not let ambitions overshadow small successes." Anyways I'm just proud that I even attempted, hopefully I will do better next year.


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## JCFarnham (Nov 28, 2011)

You will. That's what I've been telling myself all through November: "You WILL do this", "You WILL win". 

^_^ Good luck to everyone else who has yet to finish. You can do, I know you can!


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## Shadoe (Nov 28, 2011)

Gah! I'm at 49,852 words. 148 more words to go. One more scene to write. And I'm suddenly out of words.


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## myrddin173 (Nov 28, 2011)

Kill somebody with a shovel.  Somehow, someway death by shovel.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 29, 2011)

My last paragraph after hitting the 50,000 mark tonight was this:

"I can't.  I have a mummy horde with me."

And with that, I "won" NaNoWriMo for the fourth year running.  I must say, it is becoming easier and easier every year.  It's always an uphill climb, but I think the main thing for me is just having the discipline to sit down every day for an hour or two and just pound it out.  And so far I think I have a pretty decent 1st draft.  Lots of glaring errors, disconnected plot lines, and boring presentation, but other than that, it's fixable.  So I'm pretty excited to see where the next 30 or 40 thousand words take me to finish the thing for good.

I'm going to start a thread discussion NaNoWriMo triumphs and failures.  I think it would be a fun place to share what worked and what didn't work for you this year.  

Anyway, thanks for all the updates.  It really helped keep me motivated!

Cheers!


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## Kelise (Nov 29, 2011)

Congratulations  Even though you've done NaNo before, each year is still very much a triumph of dedication and hard work, so yay you


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## Shadoe (Nov 29, 2011)

Phil the Drill said:


> My last paragraph after hitting the 50,000 mark tonight was this:
> 
> "I can't.  I have a mummy horde with me."



LOL!

Congrats!


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## Shadoe (Nov 29, 2011)

myrddin173 said:


> Kill somebody with a shovel.  Somehow, someway death by shovel.


Oh great. I've got the big barfight scene coming up and somehow, that's going to have to go in there. Oh! And I think I know where...


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## Shadoe (Nov 29, 2011)

Done! 51,267 words and still counting! Haven't killed anyone with a shovel yet, but that's coming up.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks starconstant and Shadoe!  Congrats on finishing your own NaNos!  Get to smashing with shovels!


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 30, 2011)

I finished mine I've got about 50,300 words, mine 50000th paragraph was:
“I agree and I want to get home... well back to the east the at least. Home will have to wait a little bit, I think.” VÃ«rÃ¯nia said.
with VÃ«rÃ¯nia being the 50,000th word. Congrats to everyone else who made it! we all worked hard on these.


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