Writing NaNoWriMo in the playground 2014 [Archive]

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-13, 03:04 PM

Having waited until the powers that be were done with getting websites ready, and checked that we didn't already have a forum thread for this produced by someone more intrepid and dashing than myself (possibly Elan), without further ado, here's the thread for this year's National Novel Writing Month (http://nanowrimo.org/dashboard).

I'm planning on taking part again this year, going with fantasy rather than science fiction this time around the block, having relied on SF for most of my previous five outings.

This thread is intended as a central hub, where we can share encouragement, moments of triumph and despair alike, and brave new methods of procrastination (because we'll all end up procrastinating somewhere along the line).

-Sentinel-

2014-10-14, 06:20 PM

I'll be making my third attempt. My first two were unsuccessful - the first made it to around 40k, the second petered out early on. Third time's the charm, right?

Trouble is, I've got too many ideas and I don't know yet which one I'll be going with. Many writers get asked where they get their ideas; I, for one, wouldn't know how I would answer that. They just keep coming and coming and coming.

jseah

2014-10-14, 07:08 PM

I'm not planning to join officially since I don't want to write anything else than two of my currently running stories.

One of them just needs to finish then get polished until it shines.

Drakeburn

2014-10-14, 07:43 PM

I'm thinking about having a try at National Novel Writing Month for the first time.

Two ideas I have for that first novel: A magic forest, and dragons.

AdmiralCheez

2014-10-14, 08:50 PM

Gah, looks like another year I won't be able to do it. I have a week-long thing I'll be out of state for, and I really don't feel like writing a novel in a pocket-sized notebook on the road. Maybe I'll just try to finish one of my other projects instead.

-Sentinel-

2014-10-14, 10:01 PM

@ AdmiralCheez: If you really wish you could participate, just do it anyway and readjust your goal accordingly (say, 35,000 words). It's not like there's a prize for hitting 50,000. The goal is to create something and have fun doing it. :smallwink:

AdmiralCheez

2014-10-14, 10:36 PM

That is a good point. I can always use that random week for brainstorming ideas in my off time and then write it when I get back. A smaller word count goal, but a slightly higher quality end product should suffice.

The Extinguisher

2014-10-14, 11:33 PM

Oh it's already the middle of October.

I am woefully underprepared for it this year. Like always.

Lentrax

2014-10-15, 03:30 PM

I was going to, but school has decided to kick my butt hard this year, so I will sadly not be participating this year.

Steel Mirror

2014-10-15, 03:50 PM

I'll be participating for essentially the first time; I've tried to get started before, but never even gotten off the ground. This time I'm going to make it work! I'm working on some groundwork now, so that I'll be ready when the time comes.

FinnLassie

2014-10-15, 04:26 PM

I'm too intrigued not to try. I'll be aiming for the full 50k, but as it's my first try I'll probably not end up even near that. :smalltongue: Kind of unsure if I should write in English or Finnish... OR BOTH.

Grinner

2014-10-15, 05:44 PM

I wish you all the best. Pumping out 1600+ words a day for a month sounds hard. :smalleek:

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-15, 06:54 PM

I wish you all the best. Pumping out 1600+ words a day for a month sounds hard. :smalleek:

Speaking from experience, it really can be hard- but it's also very rewarding when you manage it...

And FinnLassie, whichever language you choose to write in, here's hoping you cross the Finnish line:smalltongue:

Alent

2014-10-15, 07:10 PM

I'm going to give it yet another shot this year, but I expect my job to go "Free time? whatchoo talkin' 'bout?" like it always does.

I've tried four or five times now, I at least know I can reasonably maintain the pace without interruptions, but I have difficulty covering lost ground when I fall behind.

Anyway, Best of luck to everyone else! :smallbiggrin:

Jordan Cat

2014-10-15, 10:48 PM

Having only found out about this about a week ago, I plan on trying it out. I don't have much hope in actually doing 40,000 words but hey, any writing is better than no writing! :smallsmile:

Sunfall

2014-10-16, 12:40 AM

Hey there, fellow Nanoists :smallbiggrin:

Welcome to everyone who want to try for the first time! 1.667 words a day does sound frightening, but experience shows that it's just the right amount. It's high enough to be a challenge, but it's very doable and even when you miss a couple days, you still have a chance of catching up. The hard thing IMO is to keep the flow going.

I've been with Nano four years now, won two, crashed and burned last time. That's when I found out I'm not a pantser :smallwink: From experience, I have to say that while winning in itself is rewarding, even if you don't, it's still tremendous fun because you do it together with so many creative people all around the globe.

I'm working on my outline right now, and it's the first time I'm trying out a story with multiple protagonists and story lines, so hopefully, when I get stuck on one, I can just continue with another.

Weirdly, it actually helps if you're busy at your job or with school. Chris Baty, the founder of Nano, once took the whole month off for Nano and found that having all that time really doesn't help productivity at all.

Now to see how I can embed that nifty word count thingy in my signature...

Durkoala

2014-10-19, 02:46 PM

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-19, 03:19 PM

What exactly is NaNoWrMo? I took a look at the website, but I'm still a bit lost.

I've gathered that you write a novel and try to reach a set wordcount on a website, but what else is there? Is this a charity thing or likely to help getting a book published? What do you need to do to participate?

This link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month) and this link (http://nanowrimo.uservoice.com/) may have some more answers, though I will endeavour to address your questions myself.

NaNoWriMo- or national novel writing month- began as a result of founder Chris Baty (and a few others) deciding that rather than trying to be writers 'one day' in the distant future, they would challenge themselves to write a novel of 50k words within the space of a month- which has been the challenge ever since.

While the possibility exists to give a donation towards the charity that has now been set up to administer NaNoWriMo, the office of letters and light (OLL for short), the challenge remains a creative challenge at heart- the competition, such as it is, being against yourself rather than anyone else.

To address the inevitable question of quality over quantity, the rationale is that obsessing over quality during the initial stages of writing is actually counterproductive, leading to the creation of a first draft taking anything up to several years to complete- only to then have to turn around and edit your painstakingly achieved first draft beyond all recognition because as John Green argues in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCTO91aBFXk) it is almost impossible to write a good novel in its first draft- to quote "books are made in revision".

As for the matter of NaNoWriMo leading to success as a writer, while still a small proportion of the overall number of participants, between self-publishing, print on demand and even more traditional publishing houses, anything up to a couple of hundred writers have managed to take books first begun during NaNoWriMo and publish them- with one example of this being "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, which spent a creditable period in the bestseller charts.

I hope all of this addresses your questions- but if not, please feel free to ask more and I will answer them as best I am able (or just find successful authors who can argue my case for me).

Alent

2014-10-19, 03:23 PM

What exactly is NaNoWrMo? I took a look at the website, but I'm still a bit lost.

I've gathered that you write a novel and try to reach a set wordcount on a website, but what else is there? Is this a charity thing or likely to help getting a book published? What do you need to do to participate?

It's a Sparkplug/motivational device.

The idea is more or less everyone has a novel idea, and they're usually so intimidated by the thought of actually writing a book they don't even attempt it. So NaNo is a bit of encouragement to just sit down and blitz through it, by setting a 30 day time limit and an achievable target word count. Sure, if you make it you'll run into all sorts of problems like needing to edit it, the fact that it probably isn't THAT good, etc... but in theory you've actually written it and see that it wasn't so scary after all. And even if you don't finish in time, you can still finish afterwards.

The NaNo group runs workshops afterwards on how to edit and pitch your novel. I don't know what those are like, but from what I've gathered they're basically social networking meetings where you get to know other authors and what the actual options are for getting published. (Or, more accurately, what the options are for even getting the time of day from a publisher/what to expect if you self publish via e-book.)

The only thing you really get at the end is what you wrote, but that is a cool reward. :smallbiggrin:

Personally, I've never made it past 24,000 words, but I've learned tons from every failed attempt. This year I think whatever I decide to write might stand a decent chance if my job and campaign setting project don't eat too much time. :smallamused:

Sunfall

2014-10-19, 03:47 PM

To address the inevitable question of quality over quantity, the rationale is that obsessing over quality during the initial stages of writing is actually counterproductive, leading to the creation of a first draft taking anything up to several years to complete- only to then have to turn around and edit your painstakingly achieved first draft beyond all recognition because as John Green argues in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCTO91aBFXk) it is almost impossible to write a good novel in its first draft- to quote "books are made in revision".

This. So much.

If you've ever toyed with the idea to write a book, Nano is the best way to finally get started. Ideas tend to grow. You have an idea that you think is good enough to turn into a book someday, but you hone it and treasure it and keep it forever in your heart until it's far too big to ever make it onto that terrifying white page. Nano makes you write, no matter what. Because it sets a deadline and gives you hundreds of thousands of other people taking the same road.

Yes, your resulting text probably won't be good. But it will be a point to start and maybe grow into something someone might probably want to read someday. It's better than keeping that idea in your head forever. And even if you don't make your set goal, it teaches you about how to keep up a story, and how to (hopefully) get into the habit of writing more often. Even if it's just once a year (which, for me at least, is a whole lot more than it was before...) :smallwink:

Durkoala

2014-10-19, 04:10 PM

Thank you for the advice and links. The only remaining problem is that I prefer to write on paper rather than typing up things, but that's my problem.:smallsmile:

Remmirath

2014-10-19, 04:46 PM

Assuming that I can finish the outline for my current project by then, I'll participate again this year -- doing NaNoWriMo gives me a good motivation to actually get down to business and make sure that I write every day, or nearly every day. Since tech week is going to be falling towards the beginning of it, that'll present a challenge, but I'll just need to factor that into my speed calculations.

Hopefully proclaiming that I am going to do it will also give me some motivation to finish the outlining work in the next week or two.

I've succeeded in writing more than 50,000 words both the years I've participated so far, but this time I'll be trying to concentrate a bit more (although not too much, hopefully) on quality over quantity. I almost hit 75,000 last year, so it is my hope that I'll still be able to hit 50,000 while taking the speed down a notch.

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-19, 05:59 PM

Thank you for the advice and links. The only remaining problem is that I prefer to write on paper rather than typing up things, but that's my problem.:smallsmile:

For what it's worth, there are methods (http://nanowrimo.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/329177-how-do-i-validate-my-novel-if-i-m-writing-by-hand) for validating hand-written novels- though they do add a little extra complexity to the project, it's entirely up to you though- I'm just trying to lay out the options clearly here.

Duck999

2014-10-19, 06:21 PM

Sounds like something I would do if I could write more than a few thousand words before taking a one to 12 month break, and only occasionally coming back to it. I should start a thread of Duck's unfinished works, if I ever get around to it.I may try and even get to the 5k mark, but I don't think I could get much more than that. Maybe if I got a 5 month headstart...

Anyway! Maybe I'll try, maybe I won't. I have a lot of ideas floating around that thing they call a brain. I never run out of ideas, partially because I have and come up with so many, partially because I never use most of them, and partially because the ones I use are never finished.

Edit: Does it do the word count for you? If so, how does it count hyphenations and other punctuation? I have seen things that count hitting enter/return as a word.

TheEmerged

2014-10-19, 06:55 PM

This will be my third time trying it. My first succeeded, but my second flamed out miserably when that turned out to be a bad month at work. Currently I'm tossing back and forth between two ideas - a science fiction "closed circle" story and a revision of a story I lost years ago to a disk failure, I called the concept Multipath.

Multipath essentially involves several alternate timelines interweaving around a single point\character. The variant I'm currently looking for is that a "event" splits off several different timelines, which then begin to 'fight' for dominance. The original involved several pre-existing timelines that find themselves "seeding" each other when a character tries to invent time travel to ensure something happens - but instead discovers travelling to other dimensions without realizing it.

The "closed circle" story is the classic case of a group of people that suddenly find themselves isolated together - Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" being an example. Idea I'm running with now is that a "dropship" that gets separated from its "jumpship" during "hyperspace" and the characters find themselves "in trouble" and facing the idea that one of them is responsible for it. It's a bit trite though, and unless I can think of a better plot Multipath is probably what I'm going with.

Duck999

2014-10-19, 07:00 PM

So I've chosen an idea. An idea that I've actually had for a while, and almost made a webcomic for, but my art skills suck and I could never draw a webcomic.
Speaking of which, could anyone here draw me something for a cover photo, also just to see what it looks like because I think it would be cool.
Could I get a bracer with a wolf carved on it. Also, behind it have a falcon in mid flight behind it. If the bracer is not possible, a falcon with wings outstretched with a wolf behind it is acceptable.

Edit: Inspiration for my story needed: I need 6 animals. There will be 10 rings that turn into animals. I already have falcon, snake, mouse, and whale. I need 6 more to have a set of ten. Though I may only need 4, because who uses thumb rings anyway?

FinnLassie

2014-10-19, 08:29 PM

I have decided on a working title for my NaNoWriMo debut - I never left Glasgow. :smallredface: It'll be mostly personal experiences and stories from the city & the surrounding area, so a rather personal topic...

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-20, 04:13 AM

Edit: Does it do the word count for you? If so, how does it count hyphenations and other punctuation? I have seen things that count hitting enter/return as a word.

The site has its own word count validation tool- so you can just select all, then copy and paste into that. Hyphenated words are counted as a single word by their validator, and it does have known issues with quotation marks (particularly in Open Office), but to the best of my knowledge, it doesn't count hitting return as contributing towards word count (they've had about twelve years to work on their word counting technique, and they have a vested interest in making it work well)

As far as your need for animals is concerned, may I suggest the following: Octopus, Hummingbird, Hyena (that'll at least get you through half of your shortfall, while leaving space for other people to be inspired.

Duck999

2014-10-20, 01:25 PM

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-20, 03:31 PM

Thanks for the word stuff and the animals.

I might use hummingbird and hyena, though probably not octopus. That would be somewhat strange, and I want to limit it to one aquatic animal unless I am really inspired.

That's okay, I was trying to go with animals that were quite different to the ones you had already picked out, and was bearing in mind that with water covering as much of the planet as it does, aquatic creatures are an awful lot more prevalent than we like to think.

Duck999

2014-10-20, 03:57 PM

That's okay, I was trying to go with animals that were quite different to the ones you had already picked out, and was bearing in mind that with water covering as much of the planet as it does, aquatic creatures are an awful lot more prevalent than we like to think.

Absolutely true. It's just that most stories, this one included, take place on land. Many do take place in water, but I think more don't than do. Aquatic animals have almost no use out of water. I guess you could crush somebody with your whale, but that seems like an awfully bad idea... Maybe I will use that in my story. :small amused:

I think land walkers will be most common on land, so I will have mostly those.

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-20, 04:31 PM

Absolutely true. It's just that most stories, this one included, take place on land. Many do take place in water, but I think more don't than do. Aquatic animals have almost no use out of water. I guess you could crush somebody with your whale, but that seems like an awfully bad idea... Maybe I will use that in my story. :small amused:

I think land walkers will be most common on land, so I will have mostly those.

Could go with a toad instead- for a little extra land utility.

Duck999

2014-10-20, 05:33 PM

Could go with a toad instead- for a little extra land utility.

An amphibian could be useful, but maybe not a toad. Or maybe a toad because amphibian options are really limited. Unless I wanted a newt. That way I could do Monty Python jokes. When the ring turns into the newt the summoner yells "I turned it into a newt!" And when it is reverted to a ring, the guys says "It got better."

Helanna

2014-10-20, 11:23 PM

Well, today I decided I would give NaNoWriMo a try this year. I didn't even realize I was considering the option, but apparently I was.

Lately I've been feeling like I want to write. I used to write all the time, I used to love it. But a few years ago I just stopped. I stopped during NaNo actually - I suddenly realized that I wasn't having any fun and I actively didn't want to write. So I dropped my story and haven't written anything since.

But I sort of have an idea for a story now. Well, not even for a story. More like the idea for a setting. Well, okay, not even a setting, I just have a vague idea for a magic system that I really want to try. So now I've got ten days to finish figuring out my setting, my characters, and my entire plot before plunging in and sacrificing all of my free time to the story gods while wincing at my awkward, horrible, out-of-practice writing. Now it feels like old times! :smallbiggrin:

Talanic

2014-10-21, 12:39 AM

I wound up writing a short story over the past few weeks. Posted it on a forum (not this one, but once it's done I may crosspost it here) as I did so. 7,000 words (probably 8,000 when I finish it off)...and as it's drawing to a close I think I could make a decent series out of the protagonist's further adventures. The mythology-bending setting that sprang into being wound up being a lot of fun.

I've never really tried to do a Nanowrimo project, so this might be the opportune time to do so.

YoshiBoy13

2014-10-21, 12:42 PM

Second attempt - nervous.
My first attempt started horrifically when I only discovered NaNoWriMo eight days after it started:smallannoyed: and then lost all internet after the 20th. So no word count updating then.
And for this attempt, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to finish my first idea before it starts. Most likely, I'll just spin off into a fantasy/D&D/Runescape/Generic-Fantasy-With-Dragons-And-Magic-Stuff type story. It will be my first attempt at a full November contest, so fingers crossed!

asdflove

2014-10-21, 12:51 PM

Oh! NaNo thread! Hi! Another place to talk about NaNo is always good!
This will be my third time doing NaNo. I failed miserably last November, petering out at only 5000 words, but I won Camp NaNo in July! I have high hope going into this NaNo!
I'm writing a (sort of romance) gaslamp fantasy story that'll be mostly character driven.

Duck999

2014-10-22, 04:43 PM

My NaNoWriMo story is this:
A utopian world, or so it seems. Man has overthrown gods, but they have become corrupt. One person, who's village was burnt, is cast into the wild, and discovers humanity's true nature. He goes on a quest for 8 magic rings, hoping that he will be able to redeem the world with their power. The animals for the rings are: Falcon, snake, mouse, whale, monkey, frog/toad, rabbit, and I need one more. Any ideas?

Grinner

2014-10-22, 07:23 PM

Any ideas?

Is there any particular theme you're going after?

Edit: What about beetles? Or maybe some other sort of insect?

Duck999

2014-10-22, 08:33 PM

Is there any particular theme you're going after?

Edit: What about beetles? Or maybe some other sort of insect?

Insects or other bugs may have a small amount of use as spies, but some other animals can be used for that. No specific theme, but no extinct animals. Also, they should be slightly useful in some way. Also, no wolves. They have a special place.

Grinner

2014-10-23, 10:28 AM

Insects or other bugs may have a small amount of use as spies, but some other animals can be used for that. No specific theme, but no extinct animals. Also, they should be slightly useful in some way. Also, no wolves. They have a special place.

I had been thinking more that insects tend to be incredibly strong for their size...What about bears?

Sunfall

2014-10-23, 11:20 AM

Second Grinner. Methinks there's a mammalian predator missing, something good for self-defense, maybe. And bears are really rich in tribal lore. If not a bear, probably a lynx or mountain lion? Or, if you want to stay small, maybe a stoat or something like that…

(Great, now I hear the BraveStarr theme in my head…)

Dallas-Dakota

2014-10-23, 12:29 PM

After 6 years of not participating...(Has it really been that long? ah..yea..)I'l try my hand at it again.

Title: Audioblast.

Durkoala

2014-10-23, 01:05 PM

I was inspired by the coulrophobia thread (in friendly banter) to make a story about a vampire hunter who is also a clown. The trouble is, I don't know much about Clowns. Does anybody have any good links or videos about clowning to share?

Duck999

2014-10-23, 05:03 PM

Bear sounds good. I'll use that. Size matter not, after all, there is a whale. I will find an entertaining way to make a ninja use a whale.:smalltongue:
He will be a very sneaky ninja who as running away summons a whale and everyone is surprised.

FinnLassie

2014-10-23, 06:48 PM

Grinner

2014-10-23, 08:49 PM

Blaargh. I feel like my challenge is going to be writing about personal experiences without getting... too personal. Like, I think I'm going to lean towards a sort of fictionalised version of myself, twisting a lot of the stories with their details, but... At the same time I want to write crudely about everything, exactly like they were.

No one ever said it couldn't be an autobiography.

Moreover, since the only thing the website doohickey cares about is word count, you can simply set fire to your hard drive when all's said and done, and no one will be any wiser about it.

FinnLassie

2014-10-23, 09:04 PM

Hmm. I'll probably work on writing things as they are for starters. I mean, this whole process will be a first draft. After November I will likely push it under the bed for a while and then edit the crap out of it.

Alent

2014-10-23, 09:08 PM

Blaargh. I feel like my challenge is going to be writing about personal experiences without getting... too personal. Like, I think I'm going to lean towards a sort of fictionalised version of myself, twisting a lot of the stories with their details, but... At the same time I want to write crudely about everything, exactly like they were.

This is a big challenge when personal issues start to become so strong they overflow from their container. The best thing to do is put it down and sort through things.

Remmirath

2014-10-23, 11:10 PM

One week of October left. Hopefully I'll have time to finish that outline. I think it's been a problem that I'm trying to work on the outline for both this book and the sequel at one time, so I'll concentrate on this one for now.

I was inspired by the coulrophobia thread (in friendly banter) to make a story about a vampire hunter who is also a clown. The trouble is, I don't know much about Clowns. Does anybody have any good links or videos about clowning to share?

Most of what I have is in book form, but I'll see what I can do. A basic explanation would be that, aside from the clown character/persona (and somewhat including that), clowning has a fair amount in common with both stage magic and with comedy in general, especially more physical or slapstick comedy. The Wikipedia article isn't a bad place to start, if you haven't already looked at it.

Here are some links I found that might be useful for you:

All About Clowns website (http://www.allaboutclowns.com/) (not the best laid out website, but if you dig there's information)
Clown Forum.com (http://www.clown-forum.com/) (a forum, so again, would have to dig for specific information)
A .pdf which seems aimed at teaching kids basic things, but could help (http://4h.wsu.edu/em2778cd/pdf/em4882.pdf)

I did clowning for a year or so, as my theatre had a clown troupe associated with it for quite some time and I wanted to give it a shot, but it really wasn't a good fit for my personality (I'm generally rather shy and introverted, and distinctly uneasy in crowds). I might be able to answer more specific questions if you have any, though.

ShadowFireLance

2014-10-26, 04:01 AM

I'm going all in this year as the second time, after (I think, can't remember) skipping last year. Mine is a Space opera, set in the world of my novel but not actually in it.
Basically, Mass effect meets 40k. It's going to be sort of Generic but with my personal twists and now I'm rambling.

ANYWAYS. I have a sacrifice volunteer to bother me each day I don't send them something to read for that day, so I hope to actually complete it. And now on to the point, I forget how to do that little sig thingie you guys do with the word count, how does that happen?

TheEmerged

2014-10-26, 07:21 AM

Well, I think I've nailed down my concept - and just like the first year, it comes from merging two existing ones. I'm going to be combining the "Multipath" and "Gamer" concepts. The witty title is still pending, though. And I'm committing to this enough I haven't purchased CIV:BE yet :smallwink:

The gamer is sitting down at his computer trying to decide what to play first for a planned three-day weekend gaming binge when he is struck by Movie Lightning(tm) and finds himself IN the games - plural. Adventure, romance, danger, and hijinks ensue - until the worlds start colliding (I'm thinking more metaphorical than literal). It seems only one of them can be the "real" him. Which is it going to be, and/or can "reality" win out? I don't know either, yet :smallamused:

Next on the agenda will be hammering out which games it is going to be. Since this is just for my own amusement I don't think I'm going to bother with more than one-offing the games in question - to the point my notes read NotQuiteSkyrim, NotQuiteMajesty, and so forth. I'm thinking there will be six or seven of them (out in front right now is "Six with the possibility that the original reality is in fact NotQuiteTheSims").

Sunfall

2014-10-26, 02:08 PM

@Duck999: Heh, whale shapeshifter. Reminds me of way back when we used to template all kinds of shapeshifters for (I think it was) Shadowrun (yeah, we were young and we had plenty of time to waste). We used to joke around with a shifter changing to Blue Whale form while engaging in combat with his enemies - in a small room. Splat.

Good times :smallcool:

@ShadowFireLance: There is an entry called "Word-Count Helpers" under the "Inspiration" category in your Nano portal. There, you'll find quite a few nifty Word-Count Widgets that you can embed here. You'll have to play around a bit with the HTML tags, though, until they're displayed properly (at least I had to).

@TheEmerged: Love that idea! It's like "Choose Your Own Adventure" meets Tron! That could turn out really funny, while still being suspenseful and containing at least a bit of find-yourself wisdom. And you can include oodles of Shout-outs and Lampshades :smallbiggrin:

Duck999

2014-10-26, 05:53 PM

Alent

2014-10-26, 09:46 PM

Zrak

2014-10-26, 11:50 PM

I was thinking of doing a fairly caustic satire whose Pynchonian conspiracy pileup centers around a possible covert alien invasion. The only forms of preparation I'm allowing myself are pretending going to corn mazes counts as "research" and watching a bunch of movies about alien infiltration. My list so far sub-genre staples like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Body Snatchers, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Invasion, along with a few movies not named some variation on "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," like They Live, The Thing, The Stuff, and Slither. Any other suggestions?

Grinner

2014-10-27, 06:47 AM

Any other suggestions?

Nothing specifically relating to aliens, but the Coen Brothers' films seem thematically relevant, yes?

Talanic

2014-10-29, 12:23 AM

I wound up making my synopsis today. Tried to aim for a back-of-the-book style blurb, since there's no guidance or apparent judging on what it's for.

Most rough weekends don't wind up making you immortal.

Sam's weirdest Saturday ever saw her slip from the woods of Wisconsin to an ancient Sumerian giantslayer's enchanted home. A few new friends and a dead enemy later, she limps away as the newest of the Heroes of the Ancient Ways: the immortal guardians of humanity.

Her powers - absorbed from her first kill - are just barely beginning to grow, and she's not even sure what she's going to become - or if she'll have the opportunity to try. Sam's now a mystical beacon in the mortal world, drawing attention from anything that slips in from the other realms - because for the first year, anything that kills her will steal her newfound power.

On top of that, the end of her mortal existence doesn't mean her life has stopped. She just has to juggle her training with her job.

In the end, all she can do is hang on. It should get better - they've assured her, the first century is usually the worst.

Sunfall

2014-10-29, 01:41 PM

@Zrak: Man, it's been ages since I saw They Live... That's the ultimate alien infiltration movie - should be all you need :smallbiggrin: That and the brain slug episode of Futurama, perhaps.

ShadowFireLance

2014-10-29, 03:15 PM

Actually really happy I found a title for my novel; "The Stars are Old". It's weird being happy about such a small detail.

asdflove

2014-10-29, 03:42 PM

Actually really happy I found a title for my novel; "The Stars are Old". It's weird being happy about such a small detail.

It is not weird to be happy about that. I have been agonizing over the title of mine. I've gone through 3 working names now, and I hate all of them. :smallsigh:

That's a neat title.

Drakeburn

2014-10-29, 05:53 PM

Yeah, the best I can come up with for my title is Dragonwood, but I feel as though there should be something else in the title as well, but I cannot put my finger on it.

Talanic

2014-10-29, 10:21 PM

Right now I'm using an interim title - Myth Taken - which may or may not be what I use permanently. It fits really, really well, but Myth-Taken Identity by Robert Aspirin would drown it without even trying, as my real name is also Robert.

-Sentinel-

2014-10-30, 10:36 AM

To me, the title is often little more than an afterthought. When I finish writing a short story, I'm often like: "All done! Oh wait, I need a title..."

TheEmerged

2014-10-30, 02:54 PM

Well, the witty title has been decided upon. I'm going with <inhale> "Seven Lives for Sven Brothers."

\rimshot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Brides_for_Seven_Brothers)

I'm still hammering out the games. Right now my list of "NotQuite<insert here>" contains 6 RPGS, 3 RTS\TBS games, and TheSims (which I will be toying with whether or not he's in TheSims or the real world \ whether or not his original world was in fact TheSims). So somethings got to go. I'm probably going to combine two of the RTS\TBS games since both are fantasy (Majesty and LordsOfMagic), and I may combine the space-based RPG with SMAC (the third RTS\TBS). That would leave me with...

NotQuiteSkyrim
NotQuiteFallout
NotQuiteZombieGame (heavily leavened with the board game Last Night On Earth)
NotQuiteLOM+Majesty
NotQuiteSentinelWorlds+SMAC
NotQuiteTheSims
NotQuiteGrandTheftAuto

I'm a little worried about GTA & TheSims being too similar, but this is looking more and more my direction.

Duck999

2014-10-30, 06:02 PM

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-30, 06:13 PM

I have heard NaNoWriMo be called how not to sleep for a month. It looks more and more true. The calendar they emailed says to startmwriting at midnight, not when you wake up. So should I be up at midnight? Is that what they want?:smalltongue:

It's entirely up to you, though many of us with our schedules already tending towards nocturnal activity do make midnight starts (though I am debating whether or not to do that this year, and I could probably make good use of the sleep).

asdflove

2014-10-30, 07:54 PM

I have heard NaNoWriMo be called how not to sleep for a month. It looks more and more true. The calendar they emailed says to startmwriting at midnight, not when you wake up. So should I be up at midnight? Is that what they want?:smalltongue:

My schedule is so screwed up that I likely will have a midnight start.
I want to get more than is required on the first few day so I can have a bit of leeway later on.

Alent

2014-10-30, 08:17 PM

It's entirely up to you, though many of us with our schedules already tending towards nocturnal activity do make midnight starts (though I am debating whether or not to do that this year, and I could probably make good use of the sleep).

I'll probably be doing a midnight start, personally. Between a sleep disorder and a major computer build for a client that all the parts finally arrived for, I'll be up late, anyway. There's something to be said for "Running out of the gate", as it were.

I think I'm going to write a story set in the Steampunk/post-apocalypse campaign setting I'm working on. At the moment I'm thinking of calling it "The law of the land" as a working title, since it's about my Sheriff-ish paladin order.

Now for the agonizing task of naming the main character.

Duck999

2014-10-30, 08:25 PM

My schedule is so screwed up that I likely will have a midnight start.
I want to get more than is required on the first few day so I can have a bit of leeway later on.

I'd try, but November 1st I'm going on a hike most of the day, and celebrating a cousin's birthday. The rest of the month doesn't look great either. I plan too much, especially for someone who plans so little. I just so happen to have 2 or 3 trips scheduled.

Now for the agonizing task of naming the main character.

Oh gods. I just skipped that completely, grabbing a random name. For video games, I generally translate something into latin with google translate, but I just chose randomly for this one. It will probably change. There is always find and replace.:smallwink:

Remmirath

2014-10-31, 01:22 AM

I'm not quite done with the outline, but I think I'll go ahead with this anyhow. I'm still hoping I can finish it by tomorrow, but I may have to start out with a day or two's lag time. I should be able to make it even so, and the actual writing should go faster if I have a decent outline this time, so I think I'll be fine.

I have heard NaNoWriMo be called how not to sleep for a month. It looks more and more true. The calendar they emailed says to startmwriting at midnight, not when you wake up. So should I be up at midnight? Is that what they want?:smalltongue:

I usually go to bed around two or three AM, so that's just my normal schedule... but I haven't really had to change my schedule for NaNoWriMo before. I try to work up a bit of a cushion prior to tech week (tech week for some show always seems to fall during NaNoWriMo time), and then I make up any deficit afterwards.

Duck999

2014-10-31, 05:44 AM

Haha! Outline! I skipped that completely. All I know is that I want a item grab every 5000 words or so. Each 5000 words, main character gets a ring. Probably won't work out, but I can try.

Sunfall

2014-10-31, 10:24 AM

Can't do without an outline, as I painfully experienced last year. Had my last great plot idea today - and just in time, too... Now all my protagonists have a reason to show up for the great showdown at the end.

I'll start tonight, too. It's good to get a bit of a head start, especially since I will lose some days towards the middle because of a business trip. But I won't write until dawn. Usually I get in an hour or two before I'm too tired to go on. My attention span isn't much longer anyway.

Heh, show up for the showdown :smalltongue:

Piggy Knowles

2014-10-31, 02:28 PM

I hit the 50k mark last year, but didn't actually finish what I was writing. I was so uninspired by what I had after re-reading it that I never bothered to complete it.

This year I have absolutely nothing planned, and I wasn't planning on participating, but this past week I've been considering just doing it anyhow. I have one ongoing writing project that is in its early stages, but I'm hesitant to give a work I actually care about the NaNo treatment. I suspect I'll pants it come tomorrow and start on one if the half-dozen plots I've got bouncing around.

Mercenary Pen

2014-10-31, 08:24 PM

For those that have a burning need to procrastinate (because we've all been there) (http://nanotoons.net/)

bryn0528

2014-10-31, 11:28 PM

I'm silently screaming in preparation (and perhaps a bit outloud too). This is my first year at NaNo, and I really have no idea what I'm getting into. A good number of my friends are likewise making their first attempts as well (it only took one facebook post to snowball out of control). I just hope my tablet works out well enough, since both of my laptops died and I'm definitely not writing this by hand. My story idea is based loosely on a Lords of Creation game that took place a couple of years ago that amounts to: "The world didn't end in 2012, but instead gods from another universe suddenly appeared. Not much changes. Sheningans ensue regardless." I may be afraid of the likelihood that it'll devolve into smut. :smallredface:

ShadowFireLance

2014-10-31, 11:32 PM

Azurefenrir

2014-11-01, 12:47 AM

I've failed the challenge for at least four years now, so I don't have much confidence that I'll succeed this time. I do have an idea for a story, though.

Sunfall

2014-11-01, 05:04 AM

Oh yes, do! If you have the idea and the drive, then write :smallsmile: Even if you don't make it, you'll have written more than you'd have done without Nano, won't you?

Aaaand… they're off! Woohoo! :elan:

Duck999

2014-11-01, 07:51 AM

I wake up, and off to play video games! Wait, let me check GiantiTP first. Oh yeah! NaNoWriMo! Forgot about that. Nanowrimo, video games, nanowrimo, video games, NANOWRIMO!

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-01, 08:14 AM

I wake up, and off to play video games! Wait, let me check GiantiTP first. Oh yeah! NaNoWriMo! Forgot about that. Nanowrimo, video games, nanowrimo, video games, NANOWRIMO!

Oh wait, let me spend time procrastinating instead of building up a buffer against the complications that the rest of the month is going to bring- because that'll really help me.:smallsigh:

Dienekes

2014-11-01, 08:41 AM

I've wanted to do this for years, unfortunately November has consistently been the month where I get dumped my worst workload of the year. Maybe I'll try my hand at my own novel writing in January or something. Ahh well, good luck to you folks.

Duck999

2014-11-01, 09:07 AM

Oh wait, let me spend time procrastinating instead of building up a buffer against the complications that the rest of the month is going to bring- because that'll really help me.:smallsigh:

yeah... I did half of my daily 1666 so far. That would be 800 and some. And I'm going hiking later.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-11-01, 01:55 PM

Aaaaaaaaaaand a humble 618 words into my story. Planning on hitting 2K today. We'll see how that goes. Right now, I'm planning on 25 chapters of 2,000ish words apiece.

Remmirath

2014-11-01, 06:38 PM

I did finally manage to scrape together and finish a decent outline, so I'll be hoping that will help me make up lost time later, as I'm now starting a bit behind. We'll see if I can manage to get at least something written today...

Duck999

2014-11-01, 08:26 PM

I'm going for my 1666 today. Despite a canceled hike, I had not as much time as I expected. I need 200 isn more words, and I need to go to bed soon.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-11-01, 10:22 PM

I was hoping for 2K, but I'm playing Civ V with my lil' bro, so I only got down 1,713. Maybe I'll build a buffer tomorrow!

The Extinguisher

2014-11-01, 11:42 PM

I feel like I won't hit 50000 words. Not because I can't write that much (well I might not because of that too), but I think this story might be shorter than I thought it was.

I only got to 650 words and I'm already ahead of where I thought I was going to be. Even after just cutting the introduction I had planned and starting later. Oops.

Talanic

2014-11-02, 12:08 AM

I started off with a thousand words, relating the tale of the Three Little Pigs as told by shapeshifters.

Remmirath

2014-11-02, 01:44 AM

So far, so good! The prologue was somewhat difficult to write, but once I got past that, the first scene was much easier and (at least to my current, somewhat sleep-deprived state) turned out rather well. Hopefully I'll still think that when I come back to it in the morning, but in terms of wordcount at least, it's a good start.

I'll have to work up more of a buffer than this to get through tech week without any lag, though. I don't know that I'll make it to that point.

Duck999

2014-11-02, 08:10 AM

I made it past my 1666 mark yesterday, but I really want to try to build up a buffer today.

There is an even I have been planning since the beginning, that I can't wait for, but can't happen until much later. I didn't know I could feel suspense while writing the novel.:smalltongue:

asdflove

2014-11-02, 08:25 AM

There is an even I have been planning since the beginning, that I can't wait for, but can't happen until much later. I didn't know I could feel suspense while writing the novel.:smalltongue:

It's okay to write out of order. You could write that scene right now if you wanted too (But I know that feeling).

TheEmerged

2014-11-02, 08:38 AM

Actually did better than my goal yesterday (I nearly hit 2200). I should be good today as well. The real bell-weather is going to be the early part of the week, since I'll be at work and that's when I faltered last year.

I did hit a bit of a snag I'm not sure what to do with though - how much of the games' introductions should I cover? I started with NotQuiteSkyrim and quickly found myself wanting to use shortcuts* instead of costing myself time transcribing from the game. That feels like I'd be shortchanging people that haven't played the game yet, even though my "readers" are imaginary :smalltongue: For the second part (NotQuiteSMAC) I'm trying to be more explicit, and as a result I'm 750 words in and they haven't separated from the Unity yet.

The chopping block, the interruptted last rites, the dragon screaming fire at everyone - it all seemed so much more epic and less oh-shift-what-now when it was a controller vibrating instead of his clothes trying to catch fire. He dove to the ground to roll them out, then picked himself up and started running toward the tower.

Also, the song playing in his head as he went through the all-too-familiar leaps, dodges, darts, and ducks was less John Williams and closer to Yakity Saks. He was happily surprised when he *didn't* break a leg jumping out a window...

RE: CIV. See, that's why I haven't bought CIV-BE or Wasteland 2 yet despite having looked forward to both since they were announced. I'd sit down to play CIV-BE and then the month would be over.

RE: Writing out of order. See, that's one of the charms of using MS One Note instead of MS Word for me. The multiple pages & tabs makes it a lot easier for me to write what is urgent in my head and then fill in the gaps later. I'll confess it's an issue convincing myself to fill those gaps at times...

Duck999

2014-11-02, 09:08 AM

It's okay to write out of order. You could write that scene right now if you wanted too (But I know that feeling).

I thought of that, but it doesn't help. I know what will happen in the scene, but not the context. I don't know if the characters will be in the woods, or in a city. I am going to figure that out by the time I get there, but I don't know yet. I like being able to write as it ones to me.
The biggest problem with my writing is that I don't give characters enough character, and I mess up my tenses all the time.
Edit: I'm already planning on going back and writing the prologue later, and probably adding more to the beginning.

Sunfall

2014-11-02, 09:30 AM

Alent

2014-11-02, 11:33 AM

I had hoped to build a head start, but yesterday ended up being a terrible day for me. I barely slept, had work, and was so out of it I couldn't find a voice until it was just about time for bed, and by the time I had about 910 words down sleep caught up with me early in the night for a change.

On the bright side, even though I ended up spending more time than I'd wanted working on the outline and naming everything, I did get every main character named and a good twist set up. Naming everything usually slows me down, so getting it out of the way and ending up with a pool of spare names was pretty significant.

I also ended up with a major system build on the clock for monday, so I'll probably just try to keep pace until Wednesday and then crank up the intensity a few notches to get a buffer going. Really hoping this job doesn't backfire on me the way the first job of November usually does.

Glad to see there's at least one other OneNote user in the thread. :smallbiggrin:

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-02, 11:54 AM

I know about those scenes you're really looking forward to. But usually (unless I've got a brilliant idea that I'd probably forget until I'm there) I don't write them out of order, because whatever you write before might transform them once you're there. And it's always good to have something to look forward to, for those dreary times when going on gets harder.

Building a little head start is going well. At the moment, this thing is practically writing itself. But for how long? I really hope I can keep this up as long as possible. I'm still in the prologue, introducing my protagonists. This whole affair might take considerably more than 50,000 words… :smalleek:

Don't worry about your novel taking more than 50k words- many novels clock in at about 80-100k words, and in genre fiction, the word counts can be even bigger than that... there's a reason that the powers that be at NaNo use examples like The Great Gatsby for a 50k word novel rather than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

About writing out of order, I don't do it either- I think that tends to be preserve of people who plan their stories out in minute detail ahead of time, considering they can be relatively sure of not only where their novel is going but how it intends to get there, which allows them to skip difficult scenes without worrying that the plot will diverge behind them and leave them without a story.

AdmiralCheez

2014-11-02, 12:14 PM

In a bizarre twist, I'm having more success writing a primer for the setting of my story than I am writing the story. I think I might just focus on that this month, and save the real one for when I have more time. I will say that's it's quite fun writing an introduction to the setting from the point of view of the conquering villain. He has a lot to say about certain things, and it's helping me develop his voice.

Sunfall

2014-11-02, 12:50 PM

@Mercenary Pen: Oh I'm not worried about the story having to be told in more than 50,000 words. If you've ever entertained the thought of actually putting your work before a publisher, here's a bit of advice: 50,000 is kind of a bad inbetween-ish length - too long for a novella, too short for a novel (one exception: it just might work for children's lit). But it's a start, and it probably won't be that length at all once you've properly reworked it.

Funny you'd mention Harry Potter, though: The first one is at about 75,000 words, so that's not too far off (and it's a relatively thin book).

No, my worry is this: Up to now, my stories (at least those from the years I managed to win) would all have needed more words. But, as the end of November nears and the 50,000 words are finally there, I always throw the whole thing in a corner because I simply cannot see it anymore. They stop just in the middle, or maybe just before the great showdown at the end. And there they lie, every single one unfinished because I can't pull myself together and work on them some more. Guess it's a problem of attention span :smallsigh:

Well, maybe after this Nano, I'll take a look at the one from two years ago… Maybe this time… *fingers crossed*

Duck999

2014-11-02, 06:17 PM

I wrote my words for today, but I can't seem to ever get ahead. It is a part of my basic brain functions to procrastinate.:smallyuk:

bryn0528

2014-11-03, 12:14 AM

Well, after the monumental decision to scrap my first novel and to return to my original idea, I'm very behind schedule at the moment. But, I feel more excited about my new plan, and I think it's turning out better, for what it's worth. Still afraid it'll turn into smut at one point or another, though. :smalleek:

:smallamused:

Remmirath

2014-11-03, 03:24 AM

Hopefully I've managed to get enough written prior to tech week that I won't lag too far behind from it this year. Regardless, actually having a decent outline has been working well for me, so I'm optimistic that I'll be able to make it back up even if I wind up lagging behind a bit next week. I feel like I'm managing to turn out better quality this year, as well; hopefully that's not just the lack of sleep talking.

Sunfall

2014-11-03, 01:00 PM

Looking at your word count, you should be OK. If you can start again by the 7th, you'll not even be behind one bit :smallsmile:

JediSoth

2014-11-03, 02:59 PM

I'll be participating again (and blogging about it throughout the month at http://vffpublishing.com). This will be my eighth time participating (nine if you count Camp Nano in July). I have a few pages of notes, and a couple of thousand words written already (which I won't count in my Nov. word counts), but most of my prep has been in my head.

I "won" in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 (and this summer). This time, I will be writing the bulk (or at least the first 50,000+ words) of the second novel in my new fantasy trilogy, Scars of the Sundering. I wrote the bulk of book 1, Malediction, during Camp Nano and wrapped it up in August. It ended up around 110,000 words, so I have no illusions that I'll crank out a complete book 2 in November, but I reckon I'll get most of the novel written. Book 1 is with an editor right now and I'll need to write book 3 in the spring if I have any hope of having the trilogy available during Gen Con '15.

Scars of the Sundering, book 2: Lament
After a long winter in Almeria and the coming of spring, the trio hits the road again, intent on reaching Muncifer before Spring Dawning. They must clear Pancras's name before the Archmage sets his Slayers after them. En route, they discover the shadow that plagued them in Almeria is far more dire than just some petty, errant demon.

Scars of the Sundering, book 1: Malediction
Pancras, First Necromancer of Drak-Anor learns the Archmage of the Arcane University considers him a renegade. Intent on clearing his name, he departs his home with the drak twins, Kale and Delilah. When they are trapped by the winter snows in Almeria, they learn a shadow of chaos is dogging their steps and must deal with that while inadvertently becoming embroiled in a local power struggle which could change the course of Almeria's government.

I hate writing blurbs. When these novels get done and are for sale, I'm sure their descriptions will be wildly different than what I've typed here.

Duck999

2014-11-03, 03:20 PM

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-03, 04:05 PM

Okay. I got about 1400 words ahead yesterday. SO I need to do a whole bunch today if I went to get ahead again. Still just as busy as I expected, meaning too busy to be trying this. But I will try anyway, and probably forget a whole bunch of other responsibilities in the process.
Is there a reason, other than hyphens, that a word count would be three off when switched from google drive to the NaNoWriMo word checker?

I'm not aware of anything in google drive, though there is a long-standing issue with Open Office where if anyone has "Curly quotes" enabled, it will count them towards its word count.

Duck999

2014-11-03, 05:06 PM

I'm not aware of anything in google drive, though there is a long-standing issue with Open Office where if anyone has "Curly quotes" enabled, it will count them towards its word count.

I need to share this with someone I know. They spent a while trying to figure out why different word counters were different. I also know this has nothing to do with any punctuation, as there are many more than three punctuation marks, thankfully.

Edit: Where do you get that fancy thing in your signature?

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-03, 07:33 PM

I need to share this with someone I know. They spent a while trying to figure out why different word counters were different. I also know this has nothing to do with any punctuation, as there are many more than three punctuation marks, thankfully.

Edit: Where do you get that fancy thing in your signature?

Word count widgets can be found here (http://nanowrimo.org/widgets). You'll need to tweak the tags slightly to replace the html tags with [img] tags, but there's a link at the bottom of just about any forum page that should help with that. Mine also functions as a link to my profile page on the NaNo website.

TheEmerged

2014-11-03, 08:25 PM

So far I'm keeping pace, but much more barely than I care for. A virus on the laptop yesterday cost me about half a day's quota, eating up the buffer I created on day one. Today was busy at work but I still got my cap in.

I'm finding some of the sections moving much faster than others, but I suspect this will balance out over time. Most of the material so far has been in NotQuiteSkyrim and NotQuiteSMAC. Today was mostly NotQuiteFallout with a series header on NotQuiteZombies. Hopefully tomorrow I can actually get some material going on NotQuiteGTA & LOM\Majesty crossover.

bryn0528

2014-11-04, 12:26 AM

Word count widgets can be found here (http://nanowrimo.org/widgets). You'll need to tweak the tags slightly to replace the html tags with [img] tags, but there's a link at the bottom of just about any forum page that should help with that. Mine also functions as a link to my profile page on the NaNo website.

Thanks! My new button is much shinier than the link I had before (and shows off to the world just how behind I am!). Tomorrow's word goal is to double what I already have. :smalleek:

UPDATE: Doubled my word count and then some. I'm feeling very confident at the moment, since my estimated finish date is now Nov. 29 (again) and no longer Jan 5. :smallbiggrin:

Admiral Squish

2014-11-04, 04:30 PM

Hello people, I'm doing nano this year for the first time! Some of my short stuff I've been posting online has gotten some really amazing response, so I figured I might give something a little more involved a shot this time.
I would post a more detailed thing about the story I'm working on, but I'm already like 4000 words behind my goal, so I probably shouldn't even be taking the time to write this much. I'm mostly tagging the thread so I can come back when I'm a bit more caught up.
I will say it involves werewolves.

EDIT: OH! I just realized this is a perfect place to ask this question.
Which title are you more likely to pick up off the shelf: The Fenrir Strain, or The Cerberus Complex?

Duck999

2014-11-04, 05:25 PM

I like the cerberus part, but I don't think it works out well with complex. I would do Cerberus <Something else> maybe.

Sunfall

2014-11-04, 05:31 PM

Duck999

2014-11-04, 05:32 PM

I have heard that the first five days are very slow because so many people try to use the site at the same time.

Also, any ideas for how I would differentiate two first person narrators in one story?

Admiral Squish

2014-11-04, 05:42 PM

The Cerberus Contagion, maybe? Not quite so good...

I have heard that the first five days are very slow because so many people try to use the site at the same time.

Also, any ideas for how I would differentiate two first person narrators in one story?

You could divvy them up by chapters, and indicate who's talking at the start of each one.
If you need to have them both talking in the same chapter, well, that's harder. Maybe you could write in different fonts, with breaks between? I dunno, honestly.

Duck999

2014-11-04, 05:48 PM

I was most likely going to break them up between chapters, though I have seen it done mid-chapter. Do I just say the name of whoever is talking at the beginning of each chapter?

Piggy Knowles

2014-11-04, 05:51 PM

Well, I was already trailing behind (~3500 words), and my laptop just does. I suspect that is the nail in the coffin for this year's NaNo...

Admiral Squish

2014-11-04, 06:11 PM

I was most likely going to break them up between chapters, though I have seen it done mid-chapter. Do I just say the name of whoever is talking at the beginning of each chapter?

Well, mine's in third-person limited, but focuses rather narrowly in on one character per chapter. I'm putting the character's name and the date at the start of each chapter, along with a more poetic title.

asdflove

2014-11-04, 06:26 PM

I like The Cerberus Complex, but then, I'm always a sucker for alliterations.

Is anyone else experiencing the Nano portal as really unstable ATM? Most days it's hard to update the word count, but today I couldn't even load the site.

I'm having that problem too. It's quite frustrating.

On the bright side I'm shooting way ahead in word count! :smallbiggrin:

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-04, 07:04 PM

I'm having that problem too. It's quite frustrating.

On the bright side I'm shooting way ahead in word count! :smallbiggrin:

There is indeed an issue with the site- and according to their facebook they are aware of the problem and are working to try and fix it- I would counsel patience, after all, time spent complaining about the website is time that could be better spent writing.

asdflove

2014-11-04, 11:10 PM

There is indeed an issue with the site- and according to their facebook they are aware of the problem and are working to try and fix it- I would counsel patience, after all, time spent complaining about the website is time that could be better spent writing.
Yeah. Today when the website was being slow while I was trying to update my word count, I just went and wrote more. Which paid off as I wrote 3,830 words today! :smallbiggrin: Week one has been really good for me so far!

Duck999

2014-11-05, 09:13 PM

Yay! I'm actually on track. I migh try to get a day ahead, but I feel like I will not be able to do that much.

FinnLassie

2014-11-06, 02:59 AM

Alent

2014-11-06, 05:23 AM

I think I'm going to toss in the towel on NaNo, but keep writing. I'm just not going to get anything written this week between job stress and the sleep disorder cranking it up to 11.

I've been trying, but all I can think about is the enormity of everything going on IRL and how to get all the people off my back before any more of them get angry. :smallfrown:

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-06, 05:51 AM

Life happened, and I haven't even started this, and it's pretty much impossible for me to catch up on stuff now. :smallfrown: Sigh. Maybe next year. I'll try to get some short chapters, blog-post type stuff done though, and maybe publish it, but no proper NaNoWriMo'ing. :smallsigh:

Don't worry about it too much, the feeling of actually making 50k words is amazing, but it isn't the be all and end all of the experience- and any words you do write are, in some respects, a bonus over what most of us would normally end up writing. Sure, if you decide you haven't got the time, that is your decision and yours alone to make, but winning by the metric of reaching 50k words is no more valid a win than getting down 3k words in a month when all the odds are stacked against you.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-06, 08:46 AM

I made some amazing progress yesterday, almost doubling my word-count. I had to turn off my wifi for six hours to do it, but I did it.
Unfortunately, today, Saturday, and Sunday are all looking like I'm gonna come up short of my goals due to various obligations... I'll just have to keep grinding away to keep ahead of the goal.

TheEmerged

2014-11-06, 08:32 PM

Well, as feared work took a turn for the worse. So far I'm still slightly above quota (1744 words a day on average) but I'd really rather that figure be closer to 2000. I haven't gotten much into the NotQuiteGTA or "Is This Reality?" threads, so far my biggest ones have been the NotQuiteZombies (a surprise) and NotQuiteSMAC (not a surprise). I'm aiming at NotQuiteGTA for tomorrow.

NotQuiteZombies is a surprise because it's not normally a genre I'm fond of, but I have to confess I got going on it and the next thing I knew I was up to the third "stage" - where Sven and a few survivors have to try and rescue a besieged group of survivors. The only other one out of the first stage is NotQuiteSMAC. Both of them are following the path where Sven hasn't realized he's in a game yet. NotQuiteLoM\Majesty will hit the second stage soon.

I think I figured out what I'm going to do with Skyrim. I'm not going to worry with making the introduction too close to the initial run-up. Hopefully I can get back to this one.

Duck999

2014-11-07, 08:47 PM

I'm still on track, though I am doing my writing fairly late at night. At least later than I should be doing it. The fact that I'm typing does not help either, because video games are a constant distraction. If I was hand writing it would be worse. My hand would cramp, and I would keep needing to read through previous pages to fact check, when I am just using find on the computer. Though I dod like writing on paper, it is not for me in this large of writing pieces.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-07, 09:18 PM

I actually put out a bounty on myself to my FB friends to keep me on track. If they find me online between 10 AM and 5 PM on weekdays, they are permitted to slap me, first online, then in person on their next occasion of seeing me. I've been turning off my laptop's wi-fi to enforce the ban my myself. It's been quite helpful to my word count since I started it so far, on all the days I did it, I've been able to crack 2000 words, and on days with no distractions, I did more than 4000. If I can keep this up, I might even be able to finish early.

Remmirath

2014-11-08, 01:22 AM

Grinner

2014-11-08, 07:07 AM

asdflove

2014-11-08, 10:27 AM

Sunfall

2014-11-08, 02:46 PM

Despite tech week, I've done well on my word count (and, I think, at least decently on quality this week). However, my actual goal of "trying to get this whole book written this month" is looking increasingly less likely, considering that I'm still only on the third chapter, which leaves thirty-six planned chapters to go...

I hear ya. I've got a progress board on my wall detailing how far I've come plot-wise, and up to now, it's about 15%. I fear this thing is going to take even more than 100,000 words. Right now, I'm trying to psych myself into keeping it up trough December because if I walk away from it on November 30, it'll never get finished.

Although, on a good note: Everyone here with word count widgets seems to begetting along just fine. Great first week, folks! :smallcool:

Admiral Squish

2014-11-08, 04:59 PM

I had to break my original plan into three books, which is a little intimidating.

Sunfall

2014-11-08, 05:20 PM

Admiral, you've won. Hands down, you've won. :smalleek: :smallamused: :smallbiggrin:

Admiral Squish

2014-11-08, 05:43 PM

Well, it was originally going to have three big sections to divide the spread, the crisis, and the aftermath, all from one another. Then when I started to actually think about the chapter lengths and characters I realized that trying to cram that much material into 50000 words of space would create something entirely irreparable. So... I just stepped up the divides and added a few more characters to fill it out.

bryn0528

2014-11-08, 05:56 PM

It's an incredibly intimidating process. Though for me it has more to do with being pretty under goal at the moment. A few lazy days in a row didn't help. But now that I've cleaned the house and sold the stove, I plan on sitting in front of completely mindless television and hustling up again, which is pretty much my strategy for most things.

Mercenary Pen

2014-11-08, 07:07 PM

-Sentinel-

2014-11-09, 03:59 PM

So I finally decided to drop my novel (the fun was just gone, after trying to write the same damn story for 3 NaNoWriMo's in a row) and go full-on NaNo Rebel. I'm now homebrewing a Sailing and Navigation expansion to the rules of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 2nd edition. It should include short stories, however.

Duck999

2014-11-09, 07:46 PM

Finally managed to pull a day of writing that got me 3k words- now if only I can manage to keep up something a little better than barely scraping the minimum words to finish on time, then I'll be laughing.

I also am right above the right amount. Every day I write 1500-2000 words, and never fall behind, but I don't push ahead.

Remmirath

2014-11-11, 03:43 AM

I've managed to pull ever-so-slightly ahead of the game again, although I wasn't doing so well there for the last couple of days. Shows were worse for my writing productivity than tech week. I expect the same thing will happen next weekend.

I do have my outline split into three sections, so if it comes down to it I can split it into three books... but I think that it should still end up more in the 100k range when I'm done, which isn't unreasonable. Definitely going to be more than 50k, though. If I don't finish in November, I'm going to try and keep going next month, so that I don't lose whatever momentum I have.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-11, 05:40 PM

5427 words. Six straight hours. I am exhausted.
On the plus side, I broke the halfway point on my word count, and I'm 3000 ahead of my own benchmark of 2k/day.

Duck999

2014-11-11, 05:43 PM

I fell behind yesterday, and I am hoping to make up for it either today or tomorrow. I am at one of those boring parts of the story where words come slowly, so i hope to get ahead as soon as I get to a part that is more interesting to write.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-12, 06:28 PM

5001 words today! I am on fire!

If I can pull off 4k/weekday, I can be 100% done with book one by the end of next week! Or, more unrealistically, if I do 5000 each day, I can finish on Sunday!

SowZ

2014-11-12, 06:38 PM

I should be wrapping up my fantasy novel in the next week or so.

5001 words today! I am on fire!

If I can pull off 4k/weekday, I can be 100% done with book one by the end of next week! Or, more unrealistically, if I do 5000 each day, I can finish on Sunday!

Jeez, that's a great day!

Grinner

2014-11-12, 09:43 PM

5001 words today! I am on fire!

Take care that you don't burn out. :smallamused:

Duck999

2014-11-13, 09:22 PM

I'm falling behind bit by bit. I will try to go up to 25000 this weekend, as I should be doing anyway. I may try to push ahead another 5000 words to 30000. Still only one day behind, or close to it.

Edit: If I wanted to kill off two or more characters, what would be an appropriate break between them? I don't want to kill them one after the other, but I want them both relatively near the middle of the story.

JediSoth

2014-11-14, 03:45 PM

Broke 40K today. I don't think I'm quite halfway through my story yet. It's important I stay ahead (which is why I've been busting my butt to do so) because next weekend we're doing a Gingerbread House, then the weekend after that is Thanksgiving, of course. There's also my regularly scheduled D&D games (tonight and on Nov. 28), a cake tasting for my step-daughters wedding, and my day job.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-14, 06:28 PM

Made some good progress today, not as good as I would have liked, but still good. A little shy of 3k. I am really gonna have to rework the last bit of the chapter, though.
Having a bit of trouble making a character who has a lot of lady friends not come off as a total creep.

Sunfall

2014-11-15, 07:20 AM

So, the business trip is through, and I've only managed a bit more then 1,000 words during the last week. To be frank, I'm glad I was able to write at least a sentence every day so I hopefully stayed within the flow.

Took a few days off during the coming weeks - hopefully I can reclaim my leading position during those. I'd really like to finish November with more than 50,000 this time...

Duck999

2014-11-15, 09:53 PM

I am no longer behind! For now. I had a 4000 word day today, despite some (many) interruptions and distractions. That is impressive for me. I am now 300 words ahead until tomorrow.

Nai_Calus

2014-11-16, 01:40 AM

I've been doing it this year. Mine is trite D&D fanfiction set initially in my 3.5 homebrew world, though after a few chapters it's moved to Planescape and they're currently in Arvandor. The main character is a half-elf bard who tragically doesn't know he's not actually half-elf, and it's not going to go well for him once he finds out what he really is. :smallamused:

Tried to do NaNo once before in 2009, but I had to move early in the month and my computer died driving across the country and I lost what I'd started.

I fell woefully behind starting about the 11th and didn't update my wordcount after that until today, writing fitfully at a near-standstill, until today when I just got into it and wrote, I kid you not, over 7000 words. I am now not only back on track, but slightly ahead at 26,096 words. Woo?

Of course the bigger problem is the fact that I'm halfway through and only just now starting the characters on the main quest... :smalleek: There's a lot of setup involved in getting the problem established and getting them out where they need to be and figuring out how to try to fix it. The multiverse isn't in any immediate danger of falling apart, but billions of souls are being destroyed back on the Prime Material Plane by this annoying barrier the BBEG has managed to erect sealing it off from the rest of the multiverse after he became a god. Whoops. They have a plan now, but it's not going to be easy or fun to get what they need. :smallcool:

Also my character names are horrible. I'm not sure whether 'Velachthrael Theryn' or 'Xybapi Saernos' is a worse name, but both are horrible. The first one sounds OK until you try to spell it, but the second is just awkward.

Zrak

2014-11-16, 02:21 AM

Nothing specifically relating to aliens, but the Coen Brothers' films seem thematically relevant, yes?

Yeah, definitely. I hadn't actually thought about some parallels to Burn After Reading and my Coenesque nods to screwball comedy until you mentioned that, but absolutely.

@Zrak: Man, it's been ages since I saw They Live... That's the ultimate alien infiltration movie - should be all you need :smallbiggrin: That and the brain slug episode of Futurama, perhaps.

I hadn't actually thought about the Futurama episode, that's pretty solid. I should think more about TV in general next time I need to procrastinate. A couple of the goofier X-Files episodes ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space") could work, too.

At some point, I really need to figure out if I want there to actually be an alien infiltration or not.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-17, 05:49 PM

So close... So close I can taste it. 5,414 words to go. If I can stay productive and on-task, I can finish this book TOMORROW.
Of course, then there's the editing. And shuffling some chapters around... And rewriting the thing top-to-bottom... And then the next two books of equal size...
*goes fetal*

Zweisteine

2014-11-18, 06:59 AM

So close... So close I can taste it. 5,414 words to go. If I can stay productive and on-task, I can finish this book TOMORROW.
Pffff amateur. I finished mine two weeks ago.

Sort of.

JediSoth

2014-11-18, 12:35 PM

Just hit 50,000. I'm only about halfway through the novel, though, so I can neither stop nor take a break. But at least I won't stress now if I have bad output days due to Thanksgiving.

Sunfall

2014-11-18, 02:17 PM

I hadn't actually thought about the Futurama episode, that's pretty solid. I should think more about TV in general next time I need to procrastinate. A couple of the goofier X-Files episodes ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space") could work, too.

One more idea: Twin Peaks comes to mind. And I bet there's a couple of Twilight Zone episodes that would also fit your theme really well. OK, two ideas :smalltongue:

Congrats to everyone who made it! And I hear you, JediSoth - I'm seriously considering of going straight on into NanoCamp in December… But first I have to find back into my flow, because I kinda seem to have lost it at the moment. Right now it really takes effort to even get to the daily minimum. Ah well, now, let's throw in that Norah Jones DVD and make good on some words! *determinedpose*

Admiral Squish

2014-11-18, 05:38 PM

I stalled at 48700...
At least the story can be done pretty much right there, though the other books will have to come out at some point.

I just have to figure out how to end this with sufficient hookage to set up the sequels.

I actually made myself cry as I finished chapter 9. I don't know if I managed to get the emotion down on the page, though.

Duck999

2014-11-18, 06:47 PM

I can't put that much emotion in my book. The characters are not enough of characters for that.

If you are stuck that far in, make sure there are not any plot holes there that you need to go back and fix. Also, if you want to and have not already, you can go back and write a prologue.

Talanic

2014-11-18, 08:22 PM

I've been bouncing around above and below the overall quota. Another thousand words tonight and I'll be back on track.

I've added a couple sideplots that I didn't expect, but it's juuuust about time to get to the (foreshadowed-but-heavily-misdirected) main conflict.

Duck999

2014-11-18, 08:58 PM

I started to realize I had actually had a small outline. It was simple.
5000 words, protagonist unlocks first piece needed.
10000, second piece...
Every 5000 words until he has all eight, then onto the next part.
45000, protagonist defeats miniboss
50000, protagonist defeats boss
It's simple, but so far I have followed it well.

About that piece I had been waiting to write: it was a good thing I did not go ahead and write it early. I had an idea for the longest time of how and where it would happen, then changed it before it happened because it worked better somewhere else.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-19, 01:03 PM

*breaks through a wall kool-aid man style*
OH YEAH!
Victory is achieved! 50,611 words, an entire gorram book, done.
The whole experience has been..very different than I expected. I learned a lot, but it wasn't really about the writing itself, it was more like, how to work to get things done, how much you can do when you devote yourself to the task properly, and such.
Still plenty of things for me to do... but now I'm much more confident that I can do them.

TheEmerged

2014-11-19, 08:15 PM

Well, so far I am still on pace - barely. I'm at 1689 per day.

Results for each of the seven lives are very different. GTA-ish has caught up a bit, but "reality"\TheSims is badly behind. I'm going to have to do something different there, I think.

The crossover has started - the superhero has shown up in Skyrim, and the SMAC hovertank has shown up in the zombie game.

In hindsight? I might have been able to do this with just SMAC or the zombie game (which again, is a surprise since that's not normally my thing).

Grinner

2014-11-19, 08:17 PM

The whole experience has been..very different than I expected. I learned a lot, but it wasn't really about the writing itself, it was more like, how to work to get things done, how much you can do when you devote yourself to the task properly, and such.
Still plenty of things for me to do... but now I'm much more confident that I can do them.

I'm working on a game design project, and that's slowly becoming apparent to me as well. I've spent the last two weeks making notes on mechanics, but I realized today that I'm at a point where I need to just sit down and pound out a first draft of the rules.

Anywho, congratulations. You finished with ten whole days left. That's quite a feat. :smallsmile:

Now, if I may direct your attention to the NaNoWriMo special offers (http://nanowrimo.org/sponsor-offers), you might note that Lulu.com has an offer for a free hardback copy of your book.

Duck999

2014-11-19, 08:28 PM

How do the prizes work? If you complete and verify your novel, do you automatically get access to all offers?

Grinner

2014-11-19, 08:34 PM

Looks like each one has specific redemption instructions. For the Lulu.com one, you need to enter the code NANO14 on the order page. Haven't used it myself, but I suspect it's not going to be totally free. They're going to at least charge shipping and handling.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-19, 09:01 PM

Grinner

2014-11-19, 09:33 PM

Thanks!

Those are some durn fine offers... The problem is until I can get back to it later and rework the text, it's not really a great book. I have a handful of sections in here I just wrote in [CHANGE THIS LIKE X].
Oooh... Here's an idea. If I whup nano again next year, and have this book all written an edited by then, I could put the now-finished book in to get print-ified.

That's understandable. It is the product of a twenty-day writing spree, after all.

Thing is, there's no guarantee that they'll make that offer again, or that you'll remember to take advantage of it. Could you take the remaining time to get it into better shape, or are you burnt out for the moment? No one's expecting a masterpiece, and this is more of a trophy than anything else, anyway.

Duck999

2014-11-19, 09:38 PM

I do not expect my novel to be perfect, but I will try to get it in novel condition at least for the printed copy. After all, if I did this again next year and they had the same prizes, I would have another novel I would want a hard copy of. You could get the first version printed once if you really wanted, just in case you cannot next year, or something else prevents you from getting a newer copy later. Also, it could be a great item to keep for posterity.

Admiral Squish

2014-11-19, 10:31 PM

That's understandable. It is the product of a twenty-day writing spree, after all.

Thing is, there's no guarantee that they'll make that offer again, or that you'll remember to take advantage of it. Could you take the remaining time to get it into better shape, or are you burnt out for the moment? No one's expecting a masterpiece, and this is more of a trophy than anything else, anyway.

I really doubt I could get it in paper-worthy shape within the month. I'm expecting the word count to increase 10-25% in the rewriting process, even if I managed 4000 words a day I don't think I'd be able to make it by the end of the month.

Hmm... Well, if there's no way to guarantee an offer from year to year, then I suppose there's only one way to make it work, and that's to get it all at once.
I hereby declare what may indeed be an absolutely crazy course of action. Before the arrival of NaNo next year, I shall strive to write, edit, and rewrite the other two books of my trilogy, and THEN knock NaNoWriMo out of the park.

Grinner

2014-11-20, 05:47 AM

Hmm... Well, if there's no way to guarantee an offer from year to year, then I suppose there's only one way to make it work, and that's to get it all at once.
I hereby declare what may indeed be an absolutely crazy course of action. Before the arrival of NaNo next year, I shall strive to write, edit, and rewrite the other two books of my trilogy, and THEN knock NaNoWriMo out of the park.

I'm not sure what that will accomplish, but good luck! :smallsmile:

Admiral Squish

2014-11-20, 01:23 PM

I'm not sure what that will accomplish, but good luck! :smallsmile:

If there's a similar nano-completion offer next year, which seems reasonably likely, I can use that reward to make a print copy of the completed three-books-in-one, which will, hopefully, be the quality of book that I'd like to be able to put on my shelf.

Duck999

2014-11-20, 07:36 PM

I am kind of curious. How many people win NaNoWriMo each year?

Grinner

2014-11-20, 07:57 PM

I am kind of curious. How many people win NaNoWriMo each year?

That's a good question.

The language seems a bit vague, but this is the best I could find.

During NaNoWriMo 2013:

310,095 participants started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Duck999

2014-11-20, 08:19 PM

Grinner

2014-11-20, 08:34 PM

That is kind of a few different jobs they included, but it sounds like they said that many people won. I'm not sure if only that many people won, but it seems like at least that many did. Also, it seems like a random number for being an "at least" number. Numbers that specific are usually exact, or close to it.

I'm pretty sure the auto-mechanic part was just a rhetorical statement. What concerns me more is if that number represent the number of people who submitted something or the number of people who actually hit fifty thousand words.

Duck999

2014-11-20, 08:40 PM

I'm pretty sure the auto-mechanic part was just a rhetorical statement. What concerns me more is if that number represent the number of people who submitted something or the number of people who actually hit fifty thousand words.

Well, in my area alone, 19,000,000 (million) words have been submitted, and the month is not over yet. I feel like one year is a short period of time for the number of people submitting anything to jump from 300,000 to 19 million words worth in one area alone. I assume it is people who won.

Sunfall

2014-11-25, 12:37 PM

Well, what can I say… Life intervened, sent a loved one to the hospital (again :smallfrown:) and me to the verge of calling in sick at a time where I not only can't afford to stay away but also have to drive three hours a day to get there. I hate my life sometimes.

So I'm trying to stay afloat, and I'm still on the minimum quota (barely), but my nice beautiful head start is gone like a snowman in summer. And December isn't shaping up to be any better. At least there's still one more long weekend to go before November is through, barring any further catastrophes...

On a slightly more… schizophrenic note I've had an epic (EPIC!) idea today how to save my Nano novel from three years back, which I had resolved to never touch again. My muse is really a… not a very nice person. Ah well, I'll write the exposé down and just add it to my word count. Maybe next November...

bluewind95

2014-11-25, 03:53 PM

I just passed the 45k mark. I am so close!!

This really has been a long and painful journey. I got the bright idea of writing about my experiences with severe bullying and the effects on my life. Digging up those memories hasn't been easy.

Duck999

2014-11-25, 06:02 PM

I fell behind yesterday, but I am hoping to catch up when I am less busy tomorrow. It was a very inopportune moment to miss a bit of writing, but it happened. I am almost ready to start writing for today.

TheEmerged

2014-11-25, 09:17 PM

Still just barely above pace here, it's looking like I'm going to make it though. I've hit the point in the plot where one of the realities has figured out how to get to the others on purpose (turned out to be NotQuiteFallout that fit it best).

Duck999

2014-11-26, 10:23 PM

I caught up and got 1k words ahead today. It's a good sign, but I need to be writing more each day.

Duck999

2014-11-29, 08:35 AM

I finished my story yesterday, just barely over 50k words. It was a good thing I finished because I did not expect much more spare time.

Grinner

2014-11-29, 09:30 AM

I finished my story yesterday, just barely over 50k words. It was a good thing I finished because I did not expect much more spare time.

Well done. :smallsmile: Are you gonna get that book made?

Duck999

2014-11-29, 08:26 PM

Well done. :smallsmile: Are you gonna get that book made?

Yeah. A friend already requested a copy:smalltongue:
Prizes aren't gotten until December 1st, I believe.

TheEmerged

2014-11-29, 09:22 PM

Well, cleared the first hurdle - currently sitting at 50127 words. Now to actually finish the story :)

Duck999

2014-11-29, 10:32 PM

Well, cleared the first hurdle - currently sitting at 50127 words. Now to actually finish the story :)

Your lucky. I was tryig to avoid having a 6000 word long fight, and ended 4 worda above minimum.
I feel like 6000 words would be a bit of a stretch.

Sunfall

2014-11-30, 08:45 AM

Congrats everyone!

So I've slinked across the finish line this morning. The last few days have been hard as my scenes became more and more haphazard and my red thread started to unravel. And there's still maybe a bit less the half of the story to go. I guess I'll take a few days off from writing and try to get my plot back in line. The elements are all there, I'll just have go get them to make sense. And then hopefully I can keep it up during December. The new goal is to finish this thing before the year is done.

At least November's won for now :smallsmile:

Duck999

2014-12-01, 09:47 PM

So I started to do the stuff to put my book into a printed copy and got stuck almost immediately. I have the words and the series name, but a severe lack of a title. My book doesn't have a name...

Grinner

2014-12-02, 06:34 AM

So I started to do the stuff to put my book into a printed copy and got stuck almost immediately. I have the words and the series name, but a severe lack of a title. My book doesn't have a name...

What's the series name?

And what actually happens in this book? You mentioned some of the classic hero's journey stuff earlier in the thread, but that's about it.

Duck999

2014-12-02, 04:51 PM

What's the series name?

And what actually happens in this book? You mentioned some of the classic hero's journey stuff earlier in the thread, but that's about it.

The series name is The Feral Rings. The main character comes from a village that was burnt down. He is on his personal mission to stop an evil organization from dominating the world. To do so, he collects eight magical rings that each turn into different animals. (Frog, Rabbit, Falcon, Whale, Monkey, Bear, Snake, Mouse).

Grinner

2014-12-02, 06:02 PM

The series name is The Feral Rings. The main character comes from a village that was burnt down. He is on his personal mission to stop an evil organization from dominating the world. To do so, he collects eight magical rings that each turn into different animals. (Frog, Rabbit, Falcon, Whale, Monkey, Bear, Snake, Mouse).

Does this all occur within the first book? Or is that the overarching plot of the series?

Duck999

2014-12-02, 06:21 PM

Does this all occur within the first book? Or is that the overarching plot of the series?

The collecting of the rings and the evil organization are in the first book. The rings will be a big part of the second and third book, and so will the company, just not as an evil company.
I ran into the problem where all of the main themes show up in the other books. The only kind of title I can think about is something about burnt down villages/cities... It happens three times, and to both of the narrators.
Edit: It could be like the Hunger Games, which has a title the same as the series and as a recurring theme in all books. I still can't think of a name.

Grinner

2014-12-02, 10:12 PM

I've got nothing.

Are there any particularly significant moments in the book? A lot of movies, books, and such derive their titles from a phrase or word that parallels a particularly significant moment in the book. Game of Thrones does this. I'm sure there are others as well, but their names escape me.

blacklight101

2014-12-03, 11:22 AM

What about Time of Cinders, especially if its a WTSHTF scenario later on.

Thats just my two cents. I know I wasnt in the NANO or anything like that, but congrats to you that are capable of that level of writing. (Heck, even this post of mine might be considered a little intrusive, sorry if it is!)

Even being able to commit to 20k words is more than I believe myself capable of, so, yeah. Super congrats to everybody.

Duck999

2014-12-03, 06:41 PM

blacklight101

2014-12-03, 08:24 PM

You are not at all intrusive, this is a forum of participation.
I probably won't use that title, but I may use something similar. My best bet right now is to base it off the company (Capital Tech), since that is a main plot point and the enemy.

Well, I'm happy I wasn't intruding.

Maybe the title will come to you in a dream, silly thought maybe, but possible. I know I'm not great with titles since I have maybe three names I fall back on all the time. Maybe I was trying to play off the main character's home being burnt too heavily.

Either way, good luck figuring it out!:smallbiggrin: