Today's the first of November. Just a few days more before we turn the clock back. Not far from Thanksgiving. Depending on how you count the days, this is the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
And today's the first day of National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a worldwide challenge -- this year, more than 300,000 people are participating -- to write 50,000 words in the month of November. The challenge's few rules are very flexible: writers should be starting new works of fiction, although planning and outlining are permitted. Because it's a self-challenge, the idea is to end up with a reasonably coherent narrative, so there's no upside to writing the same word 50,000 times or copying takeout menus over and over again. At the end of the month, the prizes for completing the challenge include a printable certificate, bragging rights, and most of the first draft of a work of fiction.
This year, a few of us are taking up the challenge and making the long haul to 50,000 words. You can keep track of how we're doing with those little progress bars on the right, and each of us has dropped a comment below to describe our NaNoWriMo projects, other places you can track our progress, and maybe a word or two of NaNoPhilosophy.
Keep an eye on our cheering section over there, and feel free to cheer us on, make us accountable, or join the fun yourself!
I'll lead off here, since it looks like I might get a late start.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on a set of erotic short stories. Right now, I'm calling it The Book of Days; the collection follows three couples as they take a sexual journey of self- and other-discovery.
I am finishing the edits for Project NSA over the next couple of days, so I may be off to a slow start or a late start, but looking at that big ZERO in my word count is starting to bug me, so it won't be long before I start work.
Everyone's got a little NaNo advice. I could go on for pages with mine. The best I can offer you, though is this: Try to go for at least 2000 words a day. It'll keep you afloat on those days when the words won't come -- we all have those days -- and if all else goes well, you'll finish a couple of days early.
Enjoy the ride!
Ah. You know, I should mention that I'm JezBibi, shouldn't I?
DeleteI'm working on a sequel to my first romantic suspense (Surrender to Sanctuary, 2010). The new one is called Escape to Sanctuary, and we pick up with our fearless heroes -- FBI agents Anna Parker and David Owens. They've been banished from work for a couple weeks, after using methods that were less than protocol to solve the murder in book #1, and are planning on spending the time just hanging out, getting to know each other better...stuff like that. But of course the bad guys aren't ready to let them rest, and before they even have a chance to unpack, they're back in the thick of danger. (At least that's the plan.)
ReplyDeleteHave a written a word yet? No. Like Lexi, I'm working on other projects, but I plan to dive in this weekend.
As a one-time NaNo dropout, I have no advice, just many questions. We'll see how far I get this time. :-)
Lovely, Ladies. And yes, edits on other writing might not count for NaNo, but it counts in the world of professionals! You ROCK!
ReplyDeleteI'm working on a romantic comedy, KEEPING UP WITH MR. JONES. A middle aged "trophy wife" feels her world falling apart around her. Her teenaged daughter dresses like a hooker, her oldest teen smells like pot, and her pre-teen, her baby, has a penchant for killing small animals. To top it all off, her husband just called home to announce that he's leaving her for his secretary. (Evil bastard.) And despite her efforts to salvage her life, the quirky next-door-neighbor, Mr. Jones, seems to be doing everything in his power to ruin her chances of reclaiming the life she once thought she wanted.
On my site, it says I'm working on another book, but I've finished that one and like everyone else, I'm doing edits while NaNoo-ing. My advice: don't sweat it. It's just numbers. What's important is that you write - every day - all day - during meals, during sleep, on the toile...er, maybe not. Let's not get carried away.
I LOVE WORDS!!!!
You all rock. Too much going on in my life to join in but I think this is great and we are lucky to have each other. Maybe next year-
ReplyDeleteI am working on the follow up to my debut, Thou Shall Not, called Angels Cry. Yes, I've been working on this for a while, but am using Nano to force myself to get more words on the page. Should it progress as I see in my head, it could lead to me being able to start book 3 in my series (fingers crossed). Although I already have several thousand words done, I am only counting the new words. I think an extra 50k will help to get this story (these stories) back on track.
ReplyDeleteNano is always hard when life interrupts my good intentions. I've tried Nano before and it actually helped me to get a great chuck of THOU SHALL NOT done in 2009 - yes three years and many edits before it was released, but that November, the story took shape (at least one of its famous shapes). This year, with my characters and setting concreted in my mind, I feel a little more comfortable as a writer (and enjoy seeing the words pop up on my larger than life monitor). My biggest concern is to try to steer the story from being too dark, but I'm realizing that if that is what the story requires, then so be it!
Good luck everyone, and I'll be cheering everyone on as we churn out our next amazing adventures. :)
And btw, I'm listed as deutschegirl, if you are interested in following my progress. ;)
DeleteI am GAIASONG and I'm writing a fantasy story based in the same world as my Festival of the Flowers novella. This one involves Teller Eves, my hero's mentor and friend. Teller proved to a very encouraging and insightful companion to our stoic scholar, Reyst Andulon. Teller always showed up at the right moment to say or do the right thing to steer Reyst forward. One had to wonder how his timing could be so perfect. This novella will shed some light on our mischievous and mysterious Teller Eves.
ReplyDeleteOh! And NaNoWriMo Advice? BICHOK - Butt In Chair, Hands On Keys. Don't take it or yourself too seriously - this is rough draft. Give yourself permission to mess up, change your mind, whatever it takes to keep yourself racking up the word count. Finally, DON'T DELETE ANYTHING!
Delete