linky

Well, it's not long now!
I found out about it half way through the last one, but have crap despite thinking about it for ten months.

Anyone else planning to join in?

probably wont. i didnt get finished last year and this year i have comic stuff to write.

I'm going to start writing something on the first, but with moving back to Buffalo midway through this year's competition, I doubt that I will actually enter this year.

not 100%, but there is a good chance i'll do it.

can't remember how i first found out about it. first couple of times i just read people's works in progress. which i found fascinating.

the first time i took part was 2003. i got to 17000 words and gave up. had no idea where i was going. 2005 and 2006 i past 50,000. which is the point, but different from finishing a novel.

my advice to anyone doing it, build a support group. one, because its a good way of building friendships, reinforcing existing, and creating new. two, because its damn easy to give up when you do it yourself, and support and encouragement can make a hell of a difference.

2006 was the first time the WGB created a serious pool of writers and we cheered each other along.

there are all sorts of ideas of how to write, hot to tackle this, how to get passed plot issues. i'm happy to ramble like dullard with anyone that ones to get my ill informed opinions on the matter.

I can't wait! I am a terrible, terrible writer so it's a great excuse to write something and then when it's crap say "oh, you know, it's just for this thing..."

*mentally writes random scenes*

word count is all that matters

wtf?? wasn't that like last month...

dammit... maybe?

nah, its november every year.
with the plan that you plan in october.

How far do you guys plot in advance?
How much of the structure/story is already in your head when you start writing?

*still undecided*

in theory you can start as far as you want.
the site suggests that regulars will want to take october - do a rough plot outline, do the research, the basics that give you an idea of what you want to do.

personally it varies. 2005 i ended up doing it by accident. i told a friend who had started a writing class that it was on, and she signed up, then invited me along to launch night, so thought i better do that if i was going along. ended up basing it on the most random dream, and making it up from there. 2006 was better planned. took two characters i had been sketching out and used them to build a novel. i usually have a point where i know beginning, middle and end to at least some extent.

connecting the dots is the bit that always turns out to be hard than it looks, especially while maintaining any kind of logic that you don't feel like you are tripping over.

i try to do breakdowns, partly based on another guy's structure plan i had read.

part 1.
-characters.
-start
-middle
-end

part 2.
flesh it out into rough "chapters"
-introduce character 1
-introduce character 2
-reveal how character 1 likes character 2.
-character 2 oblivious goes out on great dates.
-character 1 gets depressed, has wretched one night stand.
-something bad happens to character 2
-character 1 distracted by own problems
-character 2 has increasingly shitty time
-character 1 notices, panics
-more of the shitty.
-riding to the rescue.
-the end. happily ever after/apocalype, which ever comes first.

i find that inevitably these things change, as you spot the flaws, as your idea develops and twists. for me, part of that has to come through the writing process, though i know folk do plan out the minutest details and if you can do that then you certainly save hassle.

i write in non-linear form. so that any time i hit a block with chapter 1, i'll switch to chapter 5, or whatever. i find that good for keeping the pace going rather than getting bogged down. but i think it takes a particular kind of madness to keep track of it.

I can't decide what person to write in. I think I'll end up doing first-person, because it'll be easier to write with a 'speaking voice' and I'm less likely to sound wanky.

*ponders*

is anyone going to read it?
does it matter if it sounds wanky?
you could write a bit in different persons, see what you like best, then keep them all to contribute towards the word count

How much time does one need to have per day to even have a chance to reach 50'000 words? I would only have weekends & not even those full-time, so it doesn't sound very feasible to me.

quote:

is anyone going to read it?
does it matter if it sounds wanky?

no!

yes!

in terms of daily writing, if you wrote 1667 words a day then you would hit target. which isn't that much, you probably do that already. of course, focused writing it can seem like a mountain. i would tend to suspect that with only the weekends you would not have enough time. but, i always fall behind, and always make a big push at the end. so you can never underestimate what actually is possible.

So... 1667 words is approximately how much in terms of pages if we speak Times New Roman 12?

um. roughly 3?

i have an idea!!

i'm starting to plan!

usually i don't do much plannign which is why i only get 1/5 in and DIE!

I would love to do this. I even have an idea that would work for something like this. I just don't think I have the time right now. Between work and my masters degree...I might start just to start, but I expect to fail miserably. I do want to start writing again. I know the only way I'll get better is if I practice.

I'm going to register and keep in touch with the nano community, they were way helpful last year, but I'm not writing a novel. I need to write a lot of short stories and polish them up as quickly as I can. Nano sounds like a good place to get started.