[kaplods]

Last year we had a NaNoWri Mo suppport thread, so I thought I'd start off this years. Anyone planning on joining? If you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, it's a novel-writing challenge done on the honor system every year.

gardenerjoy described it well last year, so I'll just quote her:

Originally Posted by gardenerjoy

NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, is November. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Details on the NaNoWriMo website.

This will be my fourth year of participation. It's a lot of fun and a great way to challenge yourself to do something a bit out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, there's a bit of a snacking culture surrounding the whole affair, so I prefer to get my support from my 3FC peeps where we pointedly avoid unplanned snacking and still find a way to write 50,000 words in 30 days. We show the world that great feats can be accomplished without treats.

So, who's in this year?

I'm a NaNoWriMo rebel this year (I'd never heard of it before, but someone in the NaNoWriMo group on Ravelry (a fiber arts crafting website) introduced me to it (anyone who is bending or breaking one of the "rules" of NaNoWriMo, but not the spirit of them. The most common form of rebelling seems to be doing what I am - finishing a started work. Though most rebels (me definitely) will only count the words we actually write during November (so I won't count any of what I've already written).

So anyone else participating this year?

I'm making the same plan this year as last year - trying to limit my posting on 3FC during November to reading and writing in this thread and PM's (Hope I have better luck with that this year than I did last year).

Something new for this year, I've decided to reward myself with a mug, t-shirt or maybe even the hoodie or some other prize from the NaNoWriMo gift shop.

If I get my 50,000 new words, I'll get a mug or a t-shirt, and if I not only get the 50,000 words but also have a completed first draft by the end of the month I'll maybe get the hoodie (or a mug and a t-shirt).

[Sinoia]

I will be entering again this year.

I also did Camp Nanowrimo in August, which was a lot of fun because you shared a virtual tent and campfire with four other writers. I finished the novel I started at the November 2011 Nanowrimo. It still needs editing but that will have to wait. It is cyberfantasy and a lot of fun.

This year I intend to write a very different, mainstream novel. I usually aim for 140,000 words in 14-16 chapters so if I do complete the 50k it is a good start and if I do the whole thing... well, goody. A lot of folk do reach the 100+ count in the month and I can do up to 8k a day if I immerse.

The book I have planned needs research. I have been doing it and every snippet I uncover is just the tip of the iceberg. I have to change the focus a little or I will need a degree in chemistry and I do not think that November will be sufficient time! I was also going to write in the first person. I have always taken the safe option and written in the third person so this will make life interesting.

However, also, this year I decided to learn German and French and the courses begin on November 13th. I am at the sharp end of a cluster bout and genuinely exhausted but at least the attacks are less intense and more shadowy at this stage and I am getting more sleep.

Good luck with it!

[sontaikle]

I did it a couple years ago. It was fun! Don't know if I'll have the time to do it this year, but I DID introduce it to my school!

We're having some of our students take part and while I think 50,000 words is WAY too much for a sixth grader, I think they can still get into the NaNoWriMo spirit!

Good luck everyone!

[themusicalfruit]

I've done it 3 years (this is my 4th) and I won for the first time last year.
I'm really excited about it this year! It's really time-consuming, but I want to do this professionally so it's great practice!

Best wishes to everyone doing it this year!

[kaplods]

When I found the CampNano I was really excited, because for me, every month can be NaNoWriMo. Really I have no excuse for not making every month NaNoWriMo (because I'm on disability and have a lot of time on my hands), except that the comeraderie really does help me be more productive.

The one thing I have to be careful with (that I'm already experiencing just taking plot and research notes) is that I end up in severe pain from sitting too long without moving enough. The first year (I think it was) that I tried to participate I only made it about ten days in before aggravating an old herniated disk injury in my back (and ended up on stronger pain meds and muscle relaxers - which was not conducive to writing - at least not anything that would make any sense).

[AmyAmy]

I was just about to make a thread, then I saw this. I did nano in 2010, but had to quit halfway through because I was falling behind in uni. Last year I was busy and sick, so I'm looking forward to doing it this year. I'm also really busy this November, but I've decided dangle it as a carrot. I'm only going to be allowed to work on it once I've done a significant amount of university work. I decided I was going to start at midnight tonight if I got a lot done today, and so far it seems to be working.

[ghost]

I'm doing NaNo again this year! If anybody wants to be writing buddies track me down, I'm alenahope on the NaNo boards.

[LockItUp]

OH MY GOSH, I just signed up yesterday after seeing a flyer in Starbucks! So glad to see this thread!

[Pink Hurricane]

Might give this a try, haven't done it before.

[AmyAmy]

I stayed up till midnight last night and started. Got a little over 1,000 words.

[Sinoia]

Busy day! But I managed just 1468 words, though I suspect I will rewrite them tomorrow. I am Sinoia for Nanowrimo.

Good luck all.

PS this is my brief. It would be great to see yours!

Your novel title: Bin Day
Link to the author's profile page: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/sinoia
Genre: Mainstream
Region: Germany
Brief synopsis:

(While distressing in this is based on truth)

Some children in old West Loram live in stolen wheelie bins. They are the product of neglect, of abuse and the progeny of drunken, brutal parenting. They are hungry, displaced, afraid and despairing and they cannot stay at home, they slip through the slats of the social welfare system and they are often drunks and drug addicts, some as young as six years old. They are not reported because their families do not care, or do not wish to compromise their child allowance payments. It is a relief to the parents when they go because they cannot afford to feed and house them and the children are difficult to control.

It never occurred to Dee that this sort of thing happened and especially not on her doorstep. When her bin is stolen, her call to the council opened her eyes. A boy called Daniel introduced her to the **** of the lost children. She tried to help them and then her bin was returned and the nightmare truly started. It held the emaciated body of an eight year old boy.

(ps Oh - interesting that one word is starred out is is just h e l l, the opposite of heaven)

[mnemosyne]

I love NaNoWriMo! I'm not doing it this year (I have a number of household projects that MUST GET FINISHED and am afraid that it would negatively impact my weightloss given the other things going on). I didn't do it last year, for other reasons. But I love it and will follow all y'all and root you on.

[midwife]

Sinoia, your plot makes me sad. Which is good! Means you are off to a good start.

I wrote 1600+ today. Hmmmm. This might actually turn into something.

[themusicalfruit]

I made it to 2k words today and I might try to get another 500-750 written before going to bed.

best tip for the first timers: get ahead the first week because the second week is rough.

[messycrayola]

I'd love to be able to finish the 50,000 words this year. I always seem to peter out well before the end of the month, however, as I never seem to become gripped by my plot. I love the idea of writing but the execution is lacking.

Still, as I have finished uni for the year and have no other commitments apart from working 3 days a week...It might be easier than past years when I was also trying to write assignments and study for exams.