NanoWriMo

PolarityMan

I have wanted to write a novel for years so Im considering trying NoNoWriMo this year, which is a yearly competition where you try to write a novel during the month of November.

Anyone up for it? Or got any tips? Perhaps our existing authors @samzadgan or @Dave_Vader ;

Problem number 1 is Im not sure what to write about, I would say naturally I'm drawn towards dark / deep scifi but I wonder if that might be too ambitious to keep track of everything for a first project so I'm thinking maybe a Philip K Dick style layered reality / drug influenced thing might be fun too.

CabbageCat

I have several friends in Nano. It's not for writing a good novel so much as practising writing. Quantity over quality.

My mother says that authors generally need to write a million words of unpublishable tripe before they can manage a good book and NanoWriMo is perfect for that. Having said that, one of her author friends writes a 50,000 word shell (a grown-up novel is expected to be 80,000 words plus nowadays) during November and then spends the rest of the year turning it into something worthwhile.

It doesn't matter what you write about. Write about why the dude didn't hold the door for you this morning. Words words words.

PolarityMan

CabbageCat said:

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My mother says that authors generally need to write a million words of unpublishable tripe before they can manage a good book and NanoWriMo is perfect for that. 

Do posts on here count?

CabbageCat

PolarityMan said:

CabbageCat said:

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My mother says that authors generally need to write a million words of unpublishable tripe before they can manage a good book and NanoWriMo is perfect for that. 

Do posts on here count?

No. They need to have a beginning, a middle and an end.

...having said that, if you think about varying vocabulary, punctuation and creative style when you are posting then you are polishing a few of the (iirc) ten skills needed for a good book.

fields5069

I have an unhealthy prejudice against "amateur" writers, although to be fair the only way to become a professional is to write.

My wife and I met a local "author" recently, and she told us about a group called Concentric that had put on a performance at the local ex-library-now-community-space. She told us we should look up the word "concentric". I understand now why some people become curmudgeonly in their old age. I should have said "Why, has the fucking meaning changed recently?", but I just nodded politely.

Anyway, good luck!

PolarityMan

People have an unhealthy prejudice against amateur originals bands too but that hasn't stopped me yet! I have actually been paid to write a book before though but it was a technical book rather than a novel and as such the plot was thin, there was way too much exposition and the characters were woefully under-developed. 

CabbageCat

PolarityMan said:

People have an unhealthy prejudice against amateur originals bands too but that hasn't stopped me yet! I have actually been paid to write a book before though but it was a technical book rather than a novel and as such the plot was thin, there was way too much exposition and the characters were woefully under-developed. 

There definitely was a heavy prejudice against self-published authors. In the olden days so-called "vanity publishing" cost thousands to get a printer to produce a small run that would then sit in a garage until they got eaten by rats. In order to get to that point an author would have to be pretty desperate (usually delusional as well) - and desperation is never attractive. Plus I think that getting published is so difficult that authors are pretty proud of that achievement - they didn't like it when people bought their way into the club (the Crime Writers Association used to be very picky about membership qualification).

Nowadays it only costs a few hundred quid to get an ebook hosted somewhere and some don't even bother getting a real publisher to look at their stuff (there are self-published folk here who can elaborate on cost) so I think it's seen more as a harmless hobby than an attempt to pay to win.

Dave_Vader

CabbageCat said:

 one of her author friends writes a 50,000 word shell (a grown-up novel is expected to be 80,000 words plus nowadays) during November and then spends the rest of the year turning it into something worthwhile.

That's exactly how I wrote my last book. Although not using Nano as a jumpoff point. I scrawl a shell, and then add jokes/descriptive bits/a whole new plot until it works.

TheBlueWolf

I'm up for it!

I'm a horror author so I'll come up with something depraved lol.

As for tips, I usually set a timer and see what I can write/brainstorm in that time period then reread it next day to see how it looks.

PolarityMan

Cool. I have the same user name as in here so give me an add if you go for it. Would be good to have some peer pressure from here to help me follow through .

TheBlueWolf

PolarityMan said:

Cool. I have the same user name as in here so give me an add if you go for it. Would be good to have some peer pressure from here to help me follow through .

Ok, I'm using the same name too. Add incoming

holnrew

I have a rough idea for a sci-fi story. If I could spend a couple of hours a day on it throughout november that would be pretty cool. It probably won't be good enough for publishing, but where's the harm in doing something creative?

samzadgan

PolarityMan said:

I have wanted to write a novel for years so Im considering trying NoNoWriMo this year, which is a yearly competition where you try to write a novel during the month of November.

Anyone up for it? Or got any tips? Perhaps our existing authors @samzadgan or @Dave_Vader ;

Problem number 1 is Im not sure what to write about, I would say naturally I'm drawn towards dark / deep scifi but I wonder if that might be too ambitious to keep track of everything for a first project so I'm thinking maybe a Philip K Dick style layered reality / drug influenced thing might be fun too.

this comes at a good point...I've actually got some ideas festering away in my head...so i'm up for it. I just signed up...samzadgan

PolarityMan

After casting around a bit I've come up with a good (well a suitably pretentious) concept on the way to work in the car this morning. 

fields5069

I was going to write a book about my wife's family, who are all bunny-boiler-grade nuts.

"Write about what you know", as they say. Hmm, maybe I'll try it in November.

PolarityMan

Cant see either of you as authors yet...might be a lag.

TheBlueWolf

@PolarityMan I searched for you and Sam last night but couldn't find you. I'll try again today.

I've been toying with an idea for a ghost story for a while which is what I've chosen for the competition. I'm going to have to tone down the gore though

CabbageCat

TheBlueWolf said:

I've been toying with an idea for a ghost story for a while which is what I've chosen for the competition. I'm going to have to tone down the gore though

"Be fearless".

Nano is an excuse to write things that you don't expect other people to ever read. You'll be a better writer if you write stuff your own way.

Drew_TNBD

Stephen King says write at least 1000 words a day.

PolarityMan

I feel like I can handle that for a month

fields5069

I think 1500 as a target is recommended for teh NaNoWriMo? I think Mr King is referring to EVERY day, 365.25 days per year.