NaNoWriMo 2009

[madsommer]

Any one gearing up to do this? I wanted to try last year, but didn't have the confidence. Now that I'm really focused on getting back into writing, I think I'd like to give it a go this year. If you did it last year, do you have any tips you could recommend for getting started? Did you already have an idea or ideas set in place about what you wanted to write before the actual month started?

[allgirls]

Originally Posted by madsommer

Any one gearing up to do this? I wanted to try last year, but didn't have the confidence. Now that I'm really focused on getting back into writing, I think I'd like to give it a go this year. If you did it last year, do you have any tips you could recommend for getting started? Did you already have an idea or ideas set in place about what you wanted to write before the actual month started?

yes. I'm likely going to be doing this again. Just do it...make it a priority for yourself. It's very satisfying

[Aufilia]

I did it last year but this year I'll have an infant on my hands so I can't seriously see me getting any writing done at all, let alone on the NaNo scale.

[madsommer]

Originally Posted by allgirls

yes. I'm likely going to be doing this again. Just do it...make it a priority for yourself. It's very satisfying

I really am going to try...though like Aufilia, I will also have a newborn at the time.

Originally Posted by Aufilia

I did it last year but this year I'll have an infant on my hands so I can't seriously see me getting any writing done at all, let alone on the NaNo scale.

I'm in the same place as you...my daughter will be 1.5 months...but I hope to be able to still work on it. My local group is having a kick-off party and a prep session in October and then there are write-ins in my town once or twice a week during the month. Hopefully I'll be able to step away for a bit.

[allgirls]

ok..well with a newborn, that's a little different..not even sure I'd have considered it...but if you do best of luck

[midnightwriter]

I did my first NaNo when DS was 11 months old. The secret equipment is an exercise / birth ball instead of a chair, and a wrap instead of a sling, and you can gently bounce your way to 50 000 words!

Now, my DD2, hated the wrap sling...and hated the ball...So most of my writing is with her on my lap, as i type one handed (which i thought i'd never do because it. is. slow. But i'm getting better at it ).

Not sure if I'll do nano this year, but I'm there in spirit and will do lots of writing and probably will buy a t-shirt to be extra motivated, if it is in a nice colour

[puddle]

I won in 2007 with a 5-month-old, but couldn't handle it last year with a toddler. I don't think I'm up to it this year either since I'm currently using my limited laptop time for a part time job. With a baby it was actually a lot easier for me--I just typed away on the laptop while she was nursing.

What kind of preparation you do really depends on your writing style. For me, I honestly have to avoid too much planning. If I try to outline or something, then I end up rushing through the writing to get to the next scene, and then my word count is too low. It works best for me to have a basic idea and then just sit down and type and see where it goes. If you don't have a detailed plan, then you can always switch midstream if you get bored with what you're writing. If you get bored with your chick lit novel, throw in some zombies or aliens for a few chapters. Or kill someone off and then spend a few chapters trying to figure out who did it. For the chaos of nanowrimo, it works best to be flexible.

(If I do end up jumping in this year, it will probably be a love story. With zombies. Zombie robots, even. From the future. And aliens. )

[Aufilia]

I did a personal challenge when DD was about a year old and that was workable. I wish I could try it this year but I can barely remember DD's first 6 weeks, I was soooo sleep deprived when she was a newborn!

If you did it last year, do you have any tips you could recommend for getting started? Did you already have an idea or ideas set in place about what you wanted to write before the actual month started?

The first time I did NaNo (2001) I had a bunch of notes about the world and the magic system, and maybe a 1-paragraph description of the plot. That worked ok too, I got my 50k in.

Last year I had way more than that. I had most of the novel outlined -- one paragraph per scene in a spreadsheet -- and wrote from that more or less. I did make some changes as the month went on, and I definitely didn't have all the details and complications in place at first. In fact, I'm actually a gigantic NaNo cheater because I wrote 5k before November started (but I hit 55k by the end of the month, so I still got my 50k in in November!)...

[Mamja]

I attempted last year, but with a 1.5-2.5 month old, I didn't get much done. Maybe like 5k words? I plan on trying again this year.

[hannahi]

Yes, I'm planning on doing this to jump-start my writing. I want to have at least a rough outline of the plot before I start and that's what's the hardest for me at this point!

[eastkygal]

I think I might try it this year. I have two novels that are already in the works as far as planning goes and such. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and I homeschool. I'm also growing my blog, and trying to post there 5 days a week. I'm not sure if it would put me in over my head, but I'll try - I think. November right?

[Rigama]

I've done this the last two years and didn't get very far either year. Yet I'm doing it again because it was so much fun. I can't wait to get started! Go for it, even if you're overwhelmed with a million other things. It's a wonderful experience!

[Pernwebgoddess]

Always. I've been at it since 2002, and I've won some years, lost some years. In fact, I was on the forums so much, they hired me. Now I actually get paid to do NaNo every year!

I actually had my daughter in the middle of the month in 2005 - I still managed to pound out 18k, though!

[notjustmamie]

Dh signed up last year and that was the first I'd heard of it. He got about 25K written. I have been debating back and forth this year about doing it, and finally today I decided I'm going to go for it!

I'm excited. :

[MrsAprilMay]

I've been seriously considering it. I have the No Plot No Problem book on reserve at the library. Although I have a plot formulating. I just started a novel this month, though. If I'm finished with my first draft by November, then I'll give it a go.

[fullofgrace]

I'm thinking about it. My issue will be having the discipline to write something every day rather than let myself get distracted by other things. I am a multitasker and for this, I need to try to be a unitasker. Something I am working on anyway. Maybe NaNoWriMo will be a good push for me.

[Pernwebgoddess]

Try practicing now! i've started writing every day before bed... my husband and I lay in bed, I write, he reads. I bought a blank book, because when I try to write seriously on the computer, I find my distraction level goes through the roof. I've actually been writing every day for three weeks... it's been great! My problem is that I have to read all the forums (I work for them) and as a result... computer time in November is usually take up by forums!

This year, though, I'm going to be good about writing daily. It was hard last year, when Rebekah was six months old. Now she's a year and a half, and actually semi-autonomous! (Here kid, have some cheerios... mommy has to write!)

[madsommer]

:

I'm so happy to see so many of you doing this again this year. I have a very loose plot working in my head, so maybe something will come from that.

[fullofgrace]

Those of you with plot ideas already floating around -- are you outlining?

Does anyone find the special programs for writing useful? I've just been using NeoOffice (OpenOffice for Mac). I've tinkered with a few before, but I'm wondering if software will help me be better organized.

[Pernwebgoddess]

I don't outline anymore. Every year I've ever outlined, or done any plotting beyond basic idea percolation... I've failed. I just do best on the fly! Obviously, that doesn't work for everyone. Different methods and all that.

As for programs, I LOVE Liquid Story Binder. It's got a bit of a steep learning curve, because it doesn't work like most programs, but it's SO powerful, it's got so many features, and you can run it off a flash drive. I got mine from giveawayoftheday a couple years ago.

It's a bit pricey, but they have a 30 day trial (and what do you know... Nano is 30 days) and usually he offers some kind of deal to NaNoWriMo participants.

If you want to try the writing environment, you can try momentum writer. Free, very no-frills, saves in plain text format, uses full-screen mode (one of the best features about LSB is the ability to run it in full screen mode, so there aren't formatting bars or other distractions around.) and you can also disable your backspace key. Particularly useful for word wars, although I always have to turn mine on, because I type faster when I'm correcting than I do when I'm forced to keep going forward.

I have totally fallen in love with this program. The customer support is second to none, and I love all the extra features. Dossiers, image galleries, timelines, outlining tools, and more stuff I haven't even figured out how to use yet.

And no, I'm not an advertiser. LOL. I just really love this program. It's great for the free-for-all nature of nano.