A Post About NaNoWriMo

Currently Listening To: Psycho, by System Of A Down

This post is mostly for my non-NaNoWriMo buddies who wonder why I torture myself with writing a novel in the course of a month.

Let's start with the basics.

• What is NaNoWriMo?
  To quote the website:
  

  National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

  Something to note: Your story doesn't need to be constrained to 50,000 words. If you have to go over that...that's good! The final product of 2009 NaNoWriMo was about 90,000+ words. Of course by the end of November I was at 52,000.
  
  
• Who can participate?
  Anyone! You do not have to be an English or Creative Writing major to play! Just have the drive to write! If you have some idea for a story...well then November is your chance to try it out!
  
  
• What's the prize for winning?
  
  A cool looking certificate you can print out. This year, if you manage to hit 50,000 words, you'll be able to get a free proof copy of your book. Essentially, it is a copy of your book that would be published. You use it make sure the design of the book is perfect. Overall though, I say the biggest prize is the feeling of "Holy cow...I just wrote 50,000 words for a novel!".
  

Now, I know lots of people who say "well, I could just copy a word 50,000 times." Hey, go ahead and do that. I don't know what kind of gratification you get for doing that (other than having a Word Document that has the word "the" copied 50,000 times).

I know when I took NaNoWriMo seriously last year, it was a very rewarding experience. Knowing I could manage my time and still output a decent story was something I don't think many people I know can brag about.

Plus I've met a lot of friends through doing NaNoWriMo. It's a very social event. You talk with others about your characters, your plot, etc. It's like going to a club about something you like: you meet people with similar interests!

I also have to add that no one is expected to have a polished, ready-to-publish novel by the end of November. For many folks, this is a first draft. December and beyond is for editing!

Overall, I feel that people don't take NaNoWriMo seriously because of the lack of a monetary reward. I personally do a lot of things without thinking about the money I could/could not be getting. It's all about how I feel in the end, which is something many (but not all) of my friends never understand.

(Oh, and expect a post on Sunday about what this year's novel is going to be about!)

Planning Round 3: Software

Currently Listening To: Diagla/Palkia Battle from the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl


So for the past three years I used word processors only to write out my NaNoWriMo novels. First two years was Microsoft Word. Last year I used OpenOffice, but the word count it gave was slightly higher than normal.

However, it made it easy for me to create PDF files.

This year I am trying something different:

yWriter5.

It's free novel writing software!

To quote from their website (http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html)

• Organise your novel using a 'project'.
• Add chapters to the project.
• Add scenes, characters, items and locations.
• Display the word count for every file in the project, along with a total.
• Saves a log file every day, showing words per file and the total. (Tracks your progress)
• Saves automatic backups at user-specified intervals.
• Allows multiple scenes within chapters
• Viewpoint character, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene.
• Multiple characters per scene.
• Storyboard view, a visual layout of your work.
• Re-order scenes within chapters.
• Drag and drop of chapters, scenes, characters, items and locations.
• Automatic chapter renumbering.

Sounds useful eh?

It will be interesting to use software that focuses on writing scenes. In fiction workshop, we always talk about balancing scene and summary, so I can focus on that with yWriter.

Again, it's free!

Planning Round 3 - Warm-up

Currently Listening To: A remix of the Pokemon Gold Kanto Gym Leader Theme

Yes, in just over a week NaNoWriMo will be starting!

So in order to get pumped for it, I am working on my fiction workshop piece! It's going to mimic the style of writing I will be using to write this damn thing.

It is going to be beautiful. BEAUTIFUL I tell you!

Planning Round 2: Clean and Build

Currently Listening To: Mr. Crowley, by Ozzy Ozborne


Applying for jobs while planning a novel? I must be insane!

Anyway, so at this point I am cleaning up the wiki I made for myself. Articles are scattered everywhere and some are still empty! My thoughts will be slowly converging together to form...my novel!

At this point though, I am more concerned about getting comfortable in a writing style. This is why I am going to take advantage of my fiction workshop piece and write it in the way I plan to write this year's NaNoWriMo novel. If I am comfortable in a style, then I can write it faster (meaning more words!)

On a different note, I am going to be writing against twelve other insane people who think they can write novels. Handful of them are good friends of mine, so it will be great.

One thing that keeps bugging me: Should I be planning out a cover? I am willing to spend money on a copy of this book, and I've seen people already make some well-designed covers.

Cheers.

Planning Round 2 - Procreate.

Currently Listening To: Heroes Of Our Time, by Dragonforce

Sorry for not posting in a while. I had exams and other school assignments to worry about. However, I have made lots of progress in preparing for the book.


Here's the list:

• Characters - This is the section I am working on. I have drawn out the main character in my story. The next task is creating the supporting crew. In finishing the plot, I have created a bunch of new characters. Now I have to give them some traits!
• Plot - I think I have nailed down a solid plot through the development of the protagonist. The story seems very believable!
• Setting - I have begun the observing phase of my planning stage. No...I am not stalking people. Just observing my setting. It is crucial for this story.

 Also, I've worked on various writing exercises to get comfortable in writing in the first person. It's my first time attempting a story in the first person, so I want it to be good.

Once I get paid, I can also begin stocking up on necessary goodies to get me through November.

Expect more posts as November 1st gets closer!