I signed up in the NaNoWriMo thing… came up with a name, a blurb, even a cover picture. But it turns out that you don’t write the novel there. You do it somewhere else.
So now I have questions…
1. Can I do it in Microsoft Word?
2. Do I send chapters over to the NaNoWriMo thing as soon as I finish them, or do I have to write the whole novel and then send it over?
3. How do I get feedback, and should I post parts of it here?
4. Should I do a free-flowing stream of consciousness writing, or try to have it make sense as I write it?
5. Why am I so stupid when it comes to everything involving computers?
Pouring My Art Out 
I think i got here too late to help but if I can let me know. The answers have been given.
Like your idea of fan fiction – I signed up with just a quick A4 story map and think I will have to go back to the planning board before the month’s out – talk about seat of my pants – I am freewriting it too. One thing about EDITING – it is banned for NaNo (one of the many reasons people slate the challenge. Just write – if you make 50K before the end of Nov start there.
The reason is obvious really the more you cut in edit the abacus falls the other way. Reaching 50K would potentially take longer. So kill your inner editor – and leave your characters safe until DEC! 🙂
Thanks… it is hard… I started, and I keep wanting to back and make changes… after only two pages…
RESIST – that is the main point of the NaNoWriMo write – you don’t look back and don’t edit, don’t even spell check *(I do correct typos) keep moving forward. You will get used to it.
I post a daily blog article tracking my NaNo write and always include tips.
Main advice to you is DON’T EDIT…. 🙂
Well I just posted the first chapter, and it is pretty higgelty piggelty
I save each of my chapters in separate files/ docs. the edit can be a nightmare tangle after the event otherwise…. cracked 10,000 tonight – feels good 🙂
I am half way through chapter three… I should do a word count…
Definitely and enter it – I am guessing you created an account/ registered at http://www.nanowrimo.org
sign in
click update tab at top and enter your current word count.
I will try to do that… wait… you just enter the number of words, not the actual words?
you enter the manuscript at the end of the challenge to validate…. you can update the word count as frequently as you want – I enter it everyday to see the daily stats on the graph (you get a page of stats pop up once you have entered the word count). You don’t need to paste any of your writing anywhere at this stage.
If you plan to base it like fan fiction and have blog followers submit ideas/ make decisions then you will obviously post some of it on here.
Okay, I get the first part… but the last part, what do I post here?
you are amazing and good luck…
and you are not stupid at all…
Just in some ways… but thanks.
http://awritersfountain.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/2013-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-4/
She’s doing the Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-goodbye-goodbye thingMay be an idea chatting with her. She’s a previous winner as well.
I feel like the crack squirrels are all running in opposite directions today… I forget when I ask for advice here I actually get it.
LOL. You are used to asking and then the odd tumbleweed flitters past
And then I either ignore the advice because I get distracted or it overwhelms me…
haha too many shiney things
My brain is noting but trouble.
😀
See… I spelled nothing wrong
I thought you did that on purpose lol
I might have said notin…
Haha or is tat aa 😉
ta ta?
ATAT
At At
aatt
I been tattered, battered all over… Manhattan…
You win lol. I’m off to my sleepiebyes
nitey nite
🙂
My advice can be simple – but just want to point out that Al has sent you a link to the Writer’s Digest Poem A Day challenge – which I am also attempting this month!
http://awritersfountain.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/day-4-nanowrimo-an-early-start/
and then just use the menu at the bottom of the page to search NANOWRIMO and get all related posts including links to resources.
Whoops sorry. I just thought I would link to your latest post.
No worries – I wasn’t sure if that was the case – and I didn’t want to cause anymore confusion by sending someone off to the poetry challenge! 🙂
But I want… oh… man… sigh…
This is all confusing me big time.
Oh man… I want to do the poem one even more than the novel one…
I’m doing both 😉 ….. you get to edit your poems!
I already missed the start…
well with the PAD challenge that doesn’t matter in the slightest – you only have to write 7 poems to catch up (Robert threw us 2 prompts on Tues. today)….
I think you are brave to jump into NaNo a few days late – even a few days is over 3000 words….
No pressure – I think 1 challenge is plenty and I am insane for doing both!
I might just wait till next time to do both… when I start early and am not writing a type of novel I never tried before.
awwww try the nano – you already started – you’re 3 chapters in. 🙂
I am going on with the novel, I just wont try to do the poetry thing now. I write it when I feel it. Can’t do it every day.
Ans. for point 5. Because you are old. I expect I’ll be stupid about operating time machines when I’m old and I’ll have to reach out to my buddies in Mars for answers. As for the rest of the stuff, i tried NaPoBloMe and you’ll know how that turned out if you read my post. So Nanondsir is beyond me. I’m taking a day off. It’s been too much pressure. I’m a quitter.
I might just start posting the chapter here…
Good luck. Do your thing.
I think I will… whatever my thing is…
Maybe this will help http://nanowrimo.org/forums/newbies
I started to poke around… I guess I will have to figure a bunch of stuff out… forums and mentors and stuff… oh my…
1. Write with whatever program you like. Save the manuscript on your computer (back up in the Cloud) every.three.minutes. Or not – live dangerously 🙂
2. You can post excerpts on your NaNo profile. Or not. You can verify your word count at any time, but you only “win” when you reach 50,000 words and verify it at the NaNo site.
3. You can have Writing Buddies on the NaNo site, post bits in the forums, ask for readers, post here, print it out and give a copy to the bum that hangs out next to the bus stop, whatever.
4. You can write anything you want to. The object is to write 50,000 words in one month. December is for editing 🙂
5. You didn’t read the directions, did you?
umm… no… I never read directions… thanks…
You could write your novel here as a series of posts, copy and paste them together on Nov 30 and verify at the NaNo site. Feedback, writing with a familiar program, wordcount per post, finished project at the end of the month, nothing new to learn 🙂
Oh man… that is bloody brilliant… ha… got to get used to the writing like an Englishman thing…
Yeah, I rock! 🙂
Yeah you do…
Art,
I like turtles.
Le Clown
PS: Don’t ask me to tweet this wisdom. It is only for you.
I will cherish this bit of insight into your personal life…
Looking it up. I have vertigo- feel appropriately sympathetic.
I was hoping to have people reading along with it… not just start a random extra project.
Oh dear, maybe next year?
I may just start pumping out words and see what happens… I don’t know.
Yes, that’s the spirit- jump right in, do not procrastinate!
I can always procrastinate tomorrow… ooh… I need to tweet that…