# Talk About Your 2012 NaNo



## Philip Overby (Oct 11, 2012)

Hey guys, thought I'd open this up since we're probably all in the planning stage of NaNoWriMo.  For those that don't know, November is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) for short.  Some see it as an attempt to do a novel that they wouldn't otherwise do and some see it as just a fun time waster.  I see it as a way to temper my writing by practicing writing a significant amount in a relatively short period of time.  I always outline beforehand so it's not a complete mess.

As a promise to myself not to write any more "novels" until my WIP is finished, I've decided to do a framed novella, in a way, which is composed of several short stories within.  I did this in one of my earlier NaNos to mixed results, but I think it'll be better this time.  Here's my synopsis from NaNoWriMo's site.  It's called "The Dragon's Tonsil:  Tales of a Necrocryptozoologist"(yes, it's a mouthful )



> Ziegfried "Ziggy" Zapatta, a down on his luck cryptozoologist, has run out of money after spending his life savings on trying to create a failed museum that would feature pieces of legendary monsters from all over the world.  In his journeys, he has gathered a manticore's tail, a giant crab's pincher, harpy wings, and a myriad of other gruesome and bizarre "souvenirs" but the one treasure that always eluded him and left his collection incomplete was the priceless Dragon's Tonsil.  Ziggy travels across the world, trying to sell his stories, or even pieces of the creatures he hunted,  to fund one last hunt.  He must find a dragon and extract its tonsils, the rarest of the rare, the priceless prize that would be able to rekindle his dream to open his museum.  But while telling his stories of past hunts to pawn brokers, merchants, innkeeps, and pan-handlers, he runs into old friends and nemeses, including an albino goblin dentist, a treasure hunting wig-maker, and other various poachers, bounty hunters, and monster slayers.  He soon finds that he's not the only one trying to get a Dragon's Tonsil.  Namely, an ex-lover who will stop at nothing to make sure Ziggy remains penniless.



So the basis of the story is that one story will weave throughout a series of many short stories.  Some may be really short, some may be longer, but at the end of the day I think I'll have a completed project at around 50K.  

What are your plans for NaNo?  Like to share them here?  By the way, I'm PhilipOverby on the NaNoWriMo site.


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## JCFarnham (Oct 11, 2012)

Oh hey! You went with the framing device idea  Awesome.

I'm still doing mine:



> While investigating the strange rumours surrounding the Apollonian moon of Hawking, the USEF Swift Justice finds itself caught in a monstrous space-time distortion and irreparably merged with an unknown alien vessel and a flight of one-man Ch-lo bioships. These are the struggles of the resulting crew to co-exist and co-operate enough to find a fix for their troubles.
> 
> The "Halfling" ship is searching for something of its own accord--Crisis Points--taking its unwitting crew deeper and deeper into unexplored space.



Yep. Science Fiction (same setting as last years NaNo). Specifically in the tradition of 90s - early 2000's tv scifi shows. Farscape, the Star Trek franchise, Firefly, Stargate, you name it. I could have scripted it but I wanted instead to write each episode in proper prose. 

Funny thing is I'm getting really into my fantasy series at the moment thanks to some discussion on character over on the NaNo forums. It's threatening to derail NaNo for me haha. The problem is I won't be able to definitely sustain 50k on Faebound because I've already written about 20k of it. With "Convergence" I have no excuse. 50k should be about 16 episodes into the season, if I'm going by usual season lengths topping out at 23ish, I've got plenty of room to expand if needs be. I can just keep writing until I win!


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## Chilari (Oct 11, 2012)

I'm planning on continuing working on Jantia's War for NaNo. I'm starting to have doubts about it, to be honest. Wondering whether the morality is too simplistic, whether it's too influenced by my own political views, which I don't want to do. But I'm going to stick with it, and then once it's finished I can get some feedback to see if my fears are well founded or if I've just been overanalysing everything and becoming paranoid.



> After learning that someone she sentenced to death was innocent, magistrate Jantia questions the legal system she works under and exposes a generations-old cover up that reveals precisely how the laws became so unfair in the first place. In trying to campaign for the repeal of unfair laws that prevent poor defendants from being able to actually defend themselves, she finds herself unwittingly at the heart of a revolution that threatens to overthrow the king - and her own lifestyle.


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## BigBadWolf (Oct 12, 2012)

Here's the little blurb for my urban fantasy.  It's just a place holder until I get the details sorted out.  Still in the middle of that.



> A man finds himself drawn into the world of the supernatural and becomes an operative of a clandestine organization that shields the mortal world from the most dangerous of the supernatural threats.


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## Centerfield97 (Oct 12, 2012)

> Ramos of House Xavi is a foreigner in the ancient city of Andor, and dreams of marrying the beautiful and wealthy Katrina of Great House Marui. However, cartel kingpin Lysar Gret has other plans for Katrina, forcing Ramos to decide how low he is willing to fall for love and power. Meanwhile, Aldrendrer the Visionary has claimed himself prophet of a new age, seeking to reveal the Faith's corrupt ways and take Andor for himself.



A rewrite of my WIP from the start, I'm excited for November!


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## shangrila (Oct 13, 2012)

> The Decks have shaped the course of history on Stravia. Giving their owners unique and powerful abilities, they have been desired by king and peasant alike for centuries. They have caused and ended wars, taken and given life, but all of this power comes at a price.
> 
> Lugubellanus Salathiel is the current owner of the Deck of Madness. Slowly driving him insane, he wishes nothing more than to be rid of the thing. But among its seven cards lies the secret to the Deck of Souls, the lost power of God Herself. With it, the world could be saved. Or enslaved.
> 
> ...



I've got a few ideas tumbling around inside my head right now not related to my WIP, but I think I'll do this one for NaNo. I'll have to do more planning for it though.


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## Centerfield97 (Oct 13, 2012)

shangrila said:


> I've got a few ideas tumbling around inside my head right now not related to my WIP, but I think I'll do this one for NaNo. I'll have to do more planning for it though.



This sounds incredibly interesting.  If you need or want someone to read your stuff as you go along I'd love to!


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## soulless (Oct 13, 2012)

I intend to, somehow (its going to take some forcing), take part this year for the first time.


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## M.L. Leigh (Oct 13, 2012)

> Alene Gaven has lived all her short life in Vorel until the Empire sets their sights on her small city in the North. During the attack she is kidnapped and dragged halfway around the world to be bought by Lysandra, the Emperor's favourite prostitute and mistress. Lysandra raises her in the brothel, grooming her to be a prostitute and master assassin for the nobles of Sonticus. Alene dreams only of one thing...revenge for the death of her family. Four days after her 17th birthday she finally gets her opportunity. Emperor Klaud's nephew requests her services and she is more than happy to oblige.



Hi! I'm new. Also my first NaNo haha. All of your ideas sound great!


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## Jabrosky (Oct 13, 2012)

Mine's a historical fantasy with a setting based on the ancient Near East, with emphasis on Egypt and Israel. The working title is _The Pharaoh and the Bandit_, and here's the synopsis:



> Asethotep only wants to serve and protect her people as Pharaoh of  Kametu, but she has made some powerful enemies. Not only do rebels in  the kingdom's north threaten to splinter off with force, but her own  priesthood schemes to dethrone her and seize control. Once tragedy  strikes her family and drives her away into the desert, Asethotep must  reclaim her place and restore order, but her only ally is a wandering  cutthroat who has his own life in danger.



Cast of Characters

Map of the Setting


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## Zero Angel (Oct 14, 2012)

I've been kicking around a novella for the last year or two and I'd really like to release it in time for Christmas. Although I wrote a first draft a while back, I trashed it (and it was only about 4K anyway), so I am starting fresh! I think NaNoWriMo is the perfect time to really kick into high gear. 



> Kyden is the youngest dragon to ever sit on the Yoka High Council. Brash and headstrong, but powerful and calculating, he is the planet's last hope. Rimasl, the Shodaiarch of the High Council, has grown mad over the millennia. The saurian race is in ascendant and no longer worships the dragons as their gods. Rimasl seeks the Heart of the World, Wochan, to undo the magicks that created the saurians and wipe them from the planet--even if that means destroying the planet along with them. Will Kyden be able to stop Rimasl? Or will Rimasl realize Kyden's intentions first?


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## gavintonks (Oct 14, 2012)

I am writing a Vampyre story Vampyres are feeding on humans when they dream and harvesting their life force


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## Sinitar (Oct 14, 2012)

I'm not entirely sure why I decided to take more liberties with this year's Nano, but I'm going to write a fanfic. Its plot is captivating, the characters have been adapted to my writing style and I'm simply thrilled to finally have the opportunity to work on it. For my previous works, readers and critics acted as my source of motivation. Kind words are the perfect incentive to keep going, and critiques are even more so. This fanfic, however, will only have one reader(which is me), so I'll rely on the word count wars for my daily dose of motivation.


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## Sparkie (Oct 14, 2012)

I'm revisiting an idea given to me by MS member Elder the Dwarf.  He told me almost a year ago that I should follow up on my observation that, within the realm of Fantasy, you can 'write the story of the best swordsman in the world from the sword's POV.'

Thus, here's the synopsis I just posted on the NaNo site:

_Imagine the story of the best sword-fighter in the world. Now imagine how the sword would tell the tale.

This is the story of Grace Swift, soldier and acknowledged Master of the Rapier among her peers at the Guild of Swords. Her unnamed blade serves as the tale's first-person narrator.

When the current Guild Master is killed alongside her in battle, Grace faces criticisim from her Guild rivals Tor and Raj. In response, Grace invokes a Right of Challenge on the eve of what may be the battle that makes or breaks her nation. Before a day passes, a legend will be born._

Maybe It'll work, maybe not.


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## Amanita (Oct 15, 2012)

I'm already working on two projects at the time, so I probably won't start anything new now. Therefore, it won't be a real NaNo this year, but I'm going to try and find the discipline to actually write 50 000 words during november.


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## J. S. Elliot (Oct 17, 2012)

I've come up with a way of working/satisfying my Writer's ADHD while still managing the 50k minimum, provided I can just get the words out. The Pandora Compendium will be a collection of relatively short chaptered stories, perhaps five chapters each. Here's the summary I just wrote for the NaNo board, though it could apply to the still unnamed but planned original novel:



> Roughly one in one hundred survived the initial outbreak. Fewer survived the following hours, the following days. Especially since their new reality is riddled with predators among a deadened flock. Predators, though, aren't their only worry. Thieves, thugs, and even those that are supposed to protect them. Rules of the old and new realities are required to mesh in their minds if they want to survive, for it won't always be the fittest.


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## soulless (Oct 19, 2012)

I have been working on my own fantasy world for way too long now with little actual writing and may push one of the two big (novel length) stories I have planned to do for NaNo.  A few days ago I thought of doing a tale much earlier in the history of my world but there's really not enough to make 50,000 words, it could a novella at a push, but likely a short story.  I've been contemplating writing my earlier of the two before the later for a while, but tonight it has really hit me that the later would probably be a better tale to write first, not least because I know where I want it to end up, which I haven't got quite as fleshed out in my head for the earlier.


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## wildink (Oct 22, 2012)

I have only done nano once before so I don't really have a system of getting ready but I did decide that since I am going to have the time in November I would give it another shot however the only things that I really have ready is an image that I have had i my mind for awhile which did develop a small idea that I am not sure is going to work out.  I have a couple of characters and the first two chapters sort of in my mind so I am hoping that once I get started the characters will start talking.


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## Drasn (Oct 23, 2012)

This will be my first NaNo, was going to start pantsing an idea i had a couple weeks ago. Found out NaNo was November so I also decided to write my first outline. Pantsing always leaves me feeling overwhelmed because I feel the need to fix everything as I make story changes. I'm hoping that working on NaNo deadline, having a detailed outline, and even using a quick storyboard I put together will allow me to push out a decent first draft by Nov 30. Best of luck to all of you guys that plan to tackle NaNo


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## JCFarnham (Oct 23, 2012)

Drasn said:


> This will be my first NaNo, was going to start pantsing an idea i had a couple weeks ago. Found out NaNo was November so I also decided to write my first outline. Pantsing always leaves me feeling overwhelmed because I feel the need to fix everything as I make story changes. I'm hoping that working on NaNo deadline, having a detailed outline, and even using a quick storyboard I put together will allow me to push out a decent first draft by Nov 30. Best of luck to all of you guys that plan to tackle NaNo



I can't stress enough how outlining has helped me. For NaNo, it a requirement of mine. Pantsing is fine in most other cases I suppose, but of the people I know who have won NaNo, more or less all of them have at least _some _outlining done. That doesn't mean you're copying out your story again, nothing is set in stone until you post that sucker (most common complaint against outlining...). I think of them as signposts. Knowing what could happen, knowing the characters and how they'd react... these are all things that can help smooth out those times when you're wracking your brain on what to write next. 

Why not make is easier on yourself?


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## Zero Angel (Oct 23, 2012)

Drasn said:


> This will be my first NaNo...


I was looking back at past years and realized that this will be my first official NaNo! I've never even registered before. I just always did it on my own.

...and I am setting myself up to fail because I have a LOT on my plate this year -_- oh well!


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## soulless (Oct 23, 2012)

Been looking through my notes today, fixed a few problems.  Gonna start fleshing out my outline soon, maybe tomorrow if I get through the rest of my notes.


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## Hypervorean (Oct 24, 2012)

Hey, I have a question!

I am seriously thinking about doing this nano thing this year (for the first time), but do you need to start a new story or does it still count if you write 50,000 words on your ongoing novel project? 

I was at first thinking about writing something completely new, but I would really rather focus on my current WIP, I think.

And maybe I should work on the number of times I say "think" in one post. I really do think too much..


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## Zero Angel (Oct 24, 2012)

Hypervorean said:


> Hey, I have a question!
> 
> I am seriously thinking about doing this nano thing this year (for the first time), but do you need to start a new story or does it still count if you write 50,000 words on your ongoing novel project?
> 
> ...



I believe they cover this in the "rules" of NaNo. My understanding is it needs to be started and ended in November. But unless you are trying to "win", then my opinion is feel free to use NaNo as inspiration to do your 50K add-on to your existing.


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## wildink (Oct 24, 2012)

Yep you have to start something completely new for nano but you can be a rebel and work on something you have already started.


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## Hypervorean (Oct 25, 2012)

Okay. Thank you for clearing that up for me!

I will just be jumping forward to the second part of the story then and write it like it is going to be a separate book (which it actually might be depending on the length). Not that it should matter, but I do like to try and follow the rules when I play a game


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## Graylorne (Oct 25, 2012)

Hypervorean said:


> Okay. Thank you for clearing that up for me!
> 
> I will just be jumping forward to the second part of the story then and write it like it is going to be a separate book (which it actually might be depending on the length). Not that it should matter, but I do like to try and follow the rules when I play a game



Don't worry, NaNo doesn't mind. They even have a forum for so-called Rebels (NaNo Rebels | National Novel Writing Month). 

I checked, as I'm doing exactly like you. I can't afford to start yet another novel to go with my Scarfar WIP and the works I'm having real deadlines for.

So read the forums, write write write, validate and be proud of yourself


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## Zero Angel (Oct 25, 2012)

After visiting the forums Graylorne just linked to above, I stumbled upon the special offers.

There are some relatively nice special offers available, that become EXTREMELY nice if you are a NaNo winner (20% to 50%). I haven't really evaluated many of these programs, but just the fact that they are available is nice to know and something to strive for.


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## soulless (Oct 25, 2012)

I was under the impression, from the NaNo site, that previous working on a story for which you already have outlines and planning are ok, as long as you haven't yet gotten underway with the actual prose.  Did I misunderstand something?


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## Zero Angel (Oct 25, 2012)

soulless said:


> I was under the impression, from the NaNo site, that previous working on a story for which you already have outlines and planning are ok, as long as you haven't yet gotten underway with the actual prose.  Did I misunderstand something?



I think Graylorne's link covers this. Planning and outlining is fine, but the question being asked earlier was about continuing an additional 50K in an ongoing novel, which is why we said that is "against the rules". Even then though, NaNo is relatively flexible. Read the "Am I a Rebel" forum sticky (recalling title by memory, so may be slightly different).


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## MAndreas (Oct 26, 2012)

Ah, the smell of NaNo madness in the air! This will be my fourth naNo, but my very first book EVER that I'm plotting....as in big board with sticky notes, 3 act/8 sequence structure, the whole shebang...it could turn really really ugly (am I kind of freakishly liking my sticky notes and board though- could be psychological issues on my part- and act 1 has been revamped 4.5 times already-LOL.).
Any way here's a blurb for what it is...now anyway .  Yeah, pretty pat at this point, alot more going on in theory-LOL!  You can find me on NaNo under the same name as here (mandreas)  just look for my ice bat logo )

The Four Dragons of the Apocalypse 
When a fallen female knight gets set up for murders she didn’t commit, she thinks her life is as low as it can get; then she finds out how wrong she is. Betrayed and shipwrecked with three heroes of the realm, she and they have to find away to liberate the world from an ancient force of evil. Even if that means destroying a kingdom or two along the way.


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## Drasn (Oct 26, 2012)

This is the blurb I'm working with at the moment:

Two sisters flee their homeland into a broken world. The girl's arrival gives weight to a thousand year old promise, filling many with hope and even more with fear. Pursued by forces from both worlds, the sisters work to undo the damage they have caused while desperately trying to keep each other alive.


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## myrddin173 (Oct 27, 2012)

This year's NaNo project for me is actually last year's NaNo project.  Since I ended up failing spectacularly, only finishing about 13,000 words, I plan on continuing from where I left off.  Naturally I won't be counting last year's words and when I finish I plan on going back to the beginning and re-writing the scenes I wrote last year.  That way I don't feel bad about breaking the rules.

Oh I should talk about what it is about, shouldn't I?  Well, the world that the protagonist is lives in is part of the seal of a prison full of people that interfered with the Deep Magics.  However there is a faction that wants to destroy the seal sending the inhabitants of the prison and the protagonist's world back to the dimension they originally came from.  In order to prevent this from happening the protagonist leads an expedition to recreate the spell that created the seal in the first place which will require a piece of magic from each of the seven tribes.  First up are the Dwarves and their Stone magic.


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## Leif Notae (Oct 29, 2012)

Mine's not fantasy (shock and surprise) so it doesn't qualify on a fantasy board. Sci-fi metaphysical thriller... With shiny puppies.


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## A. E. Lowan (Oct 30, 2012)

My writing partner and I are splitting off and working on 2 completely separate projects this year.  This is her first official NaNo, and my third (though I failed spectactularly last year, so maybe I shouldn't count it  ).  I am continuing our WIP, while she is doing something completely new, and as of this writing only half plotted (eek!).

My WIP is the first book in our urban fantasy series involving the fictional city of Seahven, WA, _Faerie Rising_.  Winter Mulcahy is the last wizard in the city and all that stands between the fractious preternatural population and total chaos.  Barely holding the city together by the skin of her teeth and the blood of her friends, the young wizard is approached by a pair of Sidhe lords who claim that her city is harboring a fugitive who has kidnapped a Sighe prince, and that they are on a mission to rescue him.  Winter must investigate this fugitive and get to the truth of the kidnapping, and in doing so uncovers a plot years in the laying to rip Seahaven from the fabric of the mortal realm and forge it into a Faerie Realm here on Earth.

So far I am about 8 chapters in, so I won't be officially competing this year, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and feverish inspiration that comes from playing the NaNo game!

I am also aelowan on the NaNoWriMo site.


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## Weaver (Oct 30, 2012)

This will be my first time doing a story for NaNoWriMo.  A friend asked me to be his writing buddy, and it seemed like the right thing to do.

Mine is fantasy, at least on the surface.  Pseudo-medieval setting and everything.    Is it possible to have a true fantasy novel that's connected, directly or indirectly, to stories that are science fiction or thrillers or whatever?  The one I've chosen to write for NaNo is, as I told Loyal Reader/Writing Buddy, the other side of the coin for my sci-fi WiP.  I'm writing it now because I am going to _need_ that story soon anyway: it's backstory for characters who will appear in the sequel to the sci-fi novel (and who have already appeared in a couple of my short stories as well as one of my clone-sibling's novels). 

For those who care (I'm sure there are people from Mythic Scribes who would welcome the chance to see me publicly humiliated when I fail), on NaNoWriMo I'm going by my real name, Thomas Weaver.  The title of my novel is _Changing Magic_.


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## Jes (Oct 30, 2012)

My NaNo, The Poison King, is a traditional high fantasy novel, set in a world where there are only four races - two of which are of my own creation. A synopsis:



> The Canil Academy is the most prestigious learning center on the continent. The solitary instructor, Aslm Canil, chooses eight elven children to become his students once every century. He is an ancient creature said to have sold his soul to the very Spirits of the land for longevity so that he may continue to teach the elven youth of the forest for eternity.
> 
> The newest group of students to join the Canil Academy soar above the expectations of their proud and noble families. Before their long-awaited graduation ceremony can take place, however, chaos consumes their forest home and leaves death in its wake. Leading figures are assassinated. Students are murdered in their sleep. Those left behind mourn in bitter confusion.
> 
> When all seems lost, whispers of a great evil reach them on the lips of criminals. The Poison King has set his sights on the elven forest, Cathe'enall, and delivers a simple message: the elves will submit to his rule or find their minds enslaved by the dark sorcery he wields. Guided by the power of the All-God and the Spirits of the land itself, the students of the Academy must gather their strength, knowledge, and allies if they wish any hope of preventing the complete intellectual annihilation of their people.



On the NaNoWriMo site, I'm simply known as Jes Peterson.


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## Philip Overby (Oct 31, 2012)

I changed my idea.  I think my original idea is maybe too ambitious for NaNo (I'm going to save it for when I have more time), so I'm going to try something simpler, I hope.  It's about a pacifist sword swallower who wants to ingest all the weapons in his area so that there will be no more war.  He must confront a warlord weaponsmith and a mythical creature that absorbs dead bodies into its form. 

And he can regurgitate metal creatures after swallowing the weapons.  Kind of weird, but whatever.


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## Sparkie (Oct 31, 2012)

Phil the Drill said:


> Kind of weird, but whatever.



Anything goes, man.  Anything goes.


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## theoddsock (Oct 31, 2012)

I've done NaNo a couple of times, but only won once.
In an effort to write something a little less dark than what I normally manage, this year I'm going to do a love story about two dogs, aimed at fairly young children. This is completely new and scary for me, so we'll see what happens. I suppose it's fairly loosely fantasy if you count something like 101 Dalmations as fantasy. 
Everyone else's ideas seem really interesting, I want to read them all! Good luck everyone, not long left before it starts here.


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## Zenke (Oct 31, 2012)

Mine is just an experiment with the steampunk fantasy genre. Never tried it before, so writing the story is going to be as entertain as some of the interesting machines i come up with. The story is based in a city called Kellthrone, the capital city of somewhereland, and the protagonist finds himself helping a loyalist faction to take back the city after the king dies. There's also giant bug things called skerim, just buzzing around causing chaos across the river.


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