It’s that time of year! Time for the ambitiously creative and the creatively ambitious to abandon their hobbies, social lives, family members, basic hygiene, and episodes of Modern Family (OK maybe not episodes of Modern Family), in order to pursue the ultimate goal:
Writing a novel.
In a month. In a month with a major holiday. In a month with a major holiday with only thirty days. (Tell me again who picked November?)
The novels that have been spawned by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) are legion, and some have gone on to great success, including Water for Elephants.
Are you going to NaNoWriMo it up? And, hopefully, after you NaNoWriMo it up, will you NaNoEdMo it up in December? (That’s National Novel Editing Month to you).
I’m hard at work on Jacob Wonderbar #3, so while I have a head start and probably won’t finish in November, for all intents and purposes I am participating.
And this week I’m kicking off Year 2 of NaNoWriMo boot camp, including topics on how to start a novel, how to stay motivated, how to find the time, and much more. Stay tuned!
Last year’s boot camp topics:
Choosing the Right Idea
Goals and Obstacles
How Do You Power Through?
Editing As You Go
I'll be participating! Probably won't finish the whole book, but my goal will be to get a good portion of it finished. It's my first time EVER, so we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
Happy writing!
Yup. I'm doing NaNoWriMo. This is my third year. Not sure about NaNoEdMo in December though. My last two books each took another six months to edit. I was pretty happy with the end result on both of them, but no way could I have edited them in a month.
Yep. This will be my third. I just hope I don't hate my story by January. Again. Good luck everybody!
I'm like you in that I am *sort of* participating in NaNoWriMo, in that I'm working on something I already started. But I am a firm believer that NaNoWriMo is whatever you need it to be, and right now I need it to help me get through some tough chapters I've been avoiding. I am looking forward to going to some write ins though.
After several (four?) years as a local author panelist in my library's NaNoWriMo series, I'm finally doing it for the first time — as a nonfiction "rebel."
I'm in the auxiliary corps, too. My writing partner and I outlined a sequel to our sci fi novella Death by Chenille and wrote the first two chapters, so we're not officially registered. Still, we are definitely using the energy of NaNoWriMo for inspiration.
I'm doing it, though there's never been a worse time for me to decide to start Nano-ing. I've just been totally bedridden and brain-dead for the past week from Influenza, I'm finishing up my last year of graduate school, I'll be traveling across the U.S. middle of November, I'm moving, Christmas-rush at my job…oh yeah, and I'm getting married mid-December!
There's never been a better time to super-glue my pants pockets to the chair and get writing (sarcasm?). But I'm not starting a new novel, just trying to sit and write every day on my current WIP. That's it. Small goal, but really, it's huge…
Well, I've been writing a novel for about the last six months, at a pretty steady clip, with some time off for travel (I've traveled a LOT this year). I'm at 48K right now. My goal for November would be another 15K words, putting me at, well, still not done. But I plan on writing as close to every day as I can, so I'm with you in spirit! Just not in word count…
I won't be participating because of the month-of-November-has-a-holiday problem. I really, really wish this took place in January or February. Good luck to all who are participating!
Third year for me. I love NaNo – it's the one time of year when I feel like being a writer is a team effort 🙂
I am going to check it out but probably not participate. I just put a novel and a short story out and am about 80 pages into the novel's sequel which I do hope to have out by the end of the month. I just have to get the characters to cooperate since sometimes they go off in unexpected directions on me.
Not this year. I'm currently revising my WIP, so I don't want to take time away from that. I am planning on participating next year though! The community of writers who participate is the coolest part to me. I can't wait to be part of that next year!
*looks at clock* *counts fingers* *goes back to bed* Me? Participation? Haha let me sleep on that! 😀 Thanks for offering all the great resources!
No, I've never understood the appeal. But then, I've never had any trouble writing prolifically, either. Besides, I always seem to be in the middle of a project when it comes around. Three years ago, I was writing a play, two years ago I was big into poetry, last year I was writing my first novel, this year I'm working on my second. *shrug* Just not for me I guess.
The Night Circus was a nanowrimo book too.
I write all year long anyway, but I take advantage of nanowrimo by going to the meet-ups and meeting people. It makes writing much more social.
I'd love to participate in it this year–unfortunately, I'm a grad student with a major paper due in mid-november, so most of my time will be spent on that miserable piece of work.
No, but my husband is. If you see him, could you tell him his dinner is getting cold? Thanks!
Nano is not my muse.