NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month

[Mouse]

Ok, I feel kind of guilty filling up other people's threads with questions, and really I only want to know one thing, but after that the thread is here for people to chit chat about it if they want

I started it as a thread in its own right, even though its totally off topic, because there do seem to be a huge number of not just writers here, but also writers who have previously taken part in NaNoWriMo. And, heck - fantasy maps and books are kind of inextricably linked from my point of view...

My question is - has anyone ever done this and succeeded in getting to 50,000 words while simultaneously working a new job where they are still very unsure about all the procedures and learning new stuff at the rate of a head full a day?

[tilt]

I'm sure someone has yes ... November is my busiest month of the year, and I'm working full time + looong commute and arranging and going to parties (job, friends, birthday, birthday), and developing a new website and making a design for my cousin fast food place ... and damn if I haven't joined NaNoWriMo again... outlining soon ... so come play along Mouse

[rdanhenry]

It is up to you to decide if you can make the time. I have several successes, but my first time was a failure (in that I did not get to 50,000, though I did get a start on a novel). It just turned out into a terrible month to do it. I had another failure when I signed up knowing I might have to drop it for another project, but I wanted to have the option of writing a novel if that project fell behind again I didn't get it for my work in time for November. As it happened, I worked on the other thing and never wrote more than a few paragraphs.

You can always shoot for writing, say, 20,000 words. That won't earn you a digital badge, but it is perfectly acceptable.

You could also get a NaNoWriMo account and not participate this year. You could still check out the forums and cheer on any friends who are participating. It would give you a change to learn about NaNoWriMo and see if you'd like to participate next year.

[Mouse]

LOL!

As you can tell, I'm severely tempted.

I guess I can plan the thing, and decide closer to the time if I'm going to have enough mental power left at the end of the day to... 'do my thing'. Depends a lot on how much more there is to learn at work, really - that and how fast I can manage to learn it well enough to do my job properly.

EDIT: Ninja'd by rdanhenry

You know, I might just do that

[Straf]

I think I first joined up in 2005. I tried to get going the first couple of years and then left it for a while but I've had another couple of attempts. I reactivated my account last year just after signing up on here but ended up not bothering. I may have a good crack at it this year though. I just need to sit and write.

[ladiestorm]

Would you believe I have never heard of this? I would love to hear more about it. Is this a website? You all speak of accounts... is it something you have to pay for? How does it work?

[rdanhenry]

Would you believe I have never heard of this? I would love to hear more about it. Is this a website? You all speak of accounts... is it something you have to pay for? How does it work?

https://nanowrimo.org/

It is free, although if you were to give a donation or purchase an item from their store, they'd certainly appreciate it, because ultimately nothing is free and that's how they pay for everything.

How it works is that you write at least 50,000 words in November and become a winner! Or you don't, but the only penalty is your own sense of dismal failure and self-doubt.

A somewhat more detailed overview appears at https://nanowrimo.org/how-it-works

[tilt]

Thought you'd definitely heard of it ladiestorm, with all your writing. But now you have, you have to sign up.. I need more writing buddies so I might feel pressured enough to actually finish

[Mouse]

Now listen, Tilt, this is mother/grandmother Mouse speaking. You WILL finish it!

[QED42]

The best I managed was around 23,000 words on Nanowrimo one year, my previous best was like 500 words or so. Still didn't get close to 50,000 though.