Thanks for the story descriptions. Good luck to both of you. I'm not a writer but if I were, this contest sounds like it would be a wonderful catalyst to keep me writing.

Glad to see some other participants! This is going to be fun.

I described my NaNoWriMo project last year as "Hogwarts meets graduate school." This year, I'm writing a sequel to that one in the same world. I worked on world-building some over the summer which I think will ultimately improve both books. NaNoWriMo is great for my first drafts. Someday, I want to figure out how to actually complete a second draft!

kaplods: I love your werewolf world! I would definitely read a novel with that premise!

sontaikle: what genre are you writing in? Hope your preparation is going well!

ICUwishing: yay for being a first-timer! Have you done any preparation or are you winging it?

djs06: any progress on thinking about what you're going to write about?

Serval87: happy to have you borrowing some of the NaNoWriMo energy to keep your project going!

Originally Posted by Serval87:
kaplods, your novel sounds really good. :) My novel is actually about a werewolf too, but I use the word Lycan and Anthromorph instead, because mine takes place in a fantasy universe, so there's all kinds of different species and magic. It's been fun writing it. :)

I'm also using lycan as the word that my werewolves most commonly use for themselves (there will be several - as I envision different clans and regions using different terms - especially if I decide to populate my world with therianthropes whose animal form is not canine).

Do you plan to publish when you've finished, kaplods?

Yes, getting published is my ultimate goal.

I'll chime in as well, having skirted the edges of NaNoWriMo for the past few years but never having actually given it a serious attempt. Looking forward to starting something creative to keep me focused when uni finishes and distracted when my first ever, real job starts.

Signed up =)

It is a long time since I have written a novel. I had four books published some years ago (Virgin Publishing and Hodder & Stoughton) but life intervened and I never got back to it. I was working on a synopsis for publishers and hoped to adjust it, having done a lot of work on it, but really it is too research demanding. I will simply have to fiddle around in the next couple of weeks for a new design and characters.

I do have a notion, based on my experiences of living in Bradford prior to moving to Germany. It was a horrible time, which resulted in my desire to leave Britain altogether and make a new life here - a correct decision. Anyway, while a horrible story I can fuss around it and make it less unappealing by adding a touch of magic.

Let's see if there is a muse around here ... I had mislaid it and hope I packed it up and brought it with me. Must be in a box in the cellar, surely....

Good luck, Sinoia! It's amazing that you've been published before. I've only had a couple short stories published, one of which I was paid a very meager amount (it's the one on my signature).

Unless you hit the big time, unfortunately, and churn 'em out, payment is mostly meagre :) A steady, non-famous but reliable novellist can probably expect to earn £5,000 a year, which is barely a living wage. I got a bit more than that but no second print, which was disappointing. I lectured a bit and got a little income from that too but really times were against me then.

Trouble is I am out of practice now. I am not worried about 50,000 words, that is okay, just the quality of those words. Still, I intend to have fun with it and hopefully this will be my springboard to get going again!

I read your story and enjoyed it :)

think I found my muse .... following the founding principle - write what you know about, in the third person. Basic but sound!

PS I hasten to add that I have not started writing yet, and will only so do on 1st November! But I found that plot and characters and they are alive and working on me to flesh them out. That is the best feeling in the world.

messycrayola: excellent idea to have something creative in your life as you move from uni to working.

Sinoia: yay for locating your muse!

Serval87: terrific world building in your story -- thanks for sharing it with us!

Sinoia, thank you for reading my story. :D

gardenerjoy, thank you! I find the world-building aspect a bit difficult, but when you're inspired, things change, and it's pretty amazing. :)

This may sound dumb but I cannot find the rules for this adventure. I see the panel on the site page but there is no live link to click.

I was looking for specifics, like format ... are we using publisher's requirements, as in double spacing, raw text or Word 2010? Must we submit chapters as we go along or simply transmit the whole at the end of the month?

I am sure there must be a page on it but for the life of me I cannot find it!

Sinoia: you're making it much too hard!

The verification in the end is simply copying and pasting your words into a little box that counts words--no different than composing a 3FC entry in Word and then pasting it into this little message box.

For the first 3 weeks or so, you'll just be typing your word count total in a box to show your progress -- 2021 on the first day, 3153 on the second, for example.

Around the last week of November, they will open up the verify box. The standard advice is to verify a couple of times near the end. Their word count software doesn't count the same way that Word does and you don't want to find yourself a few hundred words short at 11:45pm on the last day of November!

Is that clear? I remember being very confused by this my first year as well. So keep asking questions here and elsewhere until someone explains it in a way that makes sense.

Thanks Gardenerjoy, I think I have it.

I am guessing that the verify box is when you paste your actual words into the box to ... um, verify, your actual word count.

I confess this is usually the part I get all shy and uncertain and vulnerable about ... when it goes public!

What a horror if you have too many words!

I think my partner is more excited than me about this. She is my biggest fan and has been encouraging me for the last (gosh) thirteen years to write again. This could be the lead balloon of the century or a real boost to just get on and do it again. It is just a couple of days or so now that I can start. My characters are banging around in my head, desperate to escape, and keeping me awake. If nothing else I have to do them some justice. I know darned well that the moment I set them free they will do their own darned thing and surprise me in the end and one of them I definitely do not like very much at all!