Who's planning for NaNo 2010?

[twistingthetale]

Hi folks, just a quick post to find out if any of you have started to make plans for NaNo this year? As yet I haven't made a start on 'serious' planning, but I'll be writing about werewolves during the Victorian era. This will be my third NaNo, and it will be set in the same location as my two previous novels even though they don't form a trilogy (although there is more than just the location that links them).

I'm also taking part in the Two Year Novel course (2YN) at the Forward Motion site, which is a lot of fun and very useful. Hopefully I'll be able to use what I've learned so far with my NaNo planning :) With the course work and other projects that I'm working on, editing last year's NaNo - and 2008's - has yet to begin, but after a thorough read-through once it was printed I have an idea of which areas are in obvious need of attention.

This community was a great source of encouragement last year, so if any of you are taking the plunge again this year I look forward to working with you again :)

Comments

[dragonscrawl]

I think it's too early for me to call if I will be participating for sure, but I'll probably be writing the sequel to last year's novel if I do. With that in mind, at least part of my preparations are already done.

[twistingthetale]

Sounds like a good idea to me :) You're already ready familiar with the characters, location and plot, so if you can stick with those and just fine tune and add to what you have, then why not go with it!

[naraht]

I've actually been thinking about trying to finish the story I was working on last year. I got to 50k on, I think, the 23rd of the month, which was exciting but after that I dropped it and it's still only about half finished.

I know this is not technically within the rules of NaNo but it would be a nice push to actually get the thing finished! It's still a long time till November though.

[senmut]

I don't think it is outside the rules, either, as long as you are adding 50k to it this year, not counting what you did last year as part of your word count. I'm in the same boat, never even hit the climax scene, because life drug me away from it after 50k words.

I'll probably start where I left off as Word One, finish it, then start the sequel or add in the bits I left out because I wasn't sure where I was going 100% when I was writing originally. I'd love to put this one to 100k, and then edit it to a manageable level from there.

[lurkingcat]

I was sure that I wasn't ever going to try to do anything like that again... but now I have half an idea and I'm seriously considering it ;)

[twistingthetale]

Half an idea is a good place to start :)

[dreamingpixels]

I always participate in NaNo - it's just how far I get that's the problem. I think that if I plan well, and actually flesh out an outline before October, I should be all set to write! Every year I get a little bit better at it, eheh.

[geminianeyes]

If it helps, it took me 4 years and some really awesome friends to get my Nano done. :D You can do it!

[ariestess]

I've participated every single year since 2002, and I'll participate again this year. As to what I'll do and how far I'll get? No idea yet...

[twistingthetale]

Well done for taking part since 2002 :) You still have plenty of time to find an idea.

[azurelunatic]

Since last year's didn't get off the ground, I'm planning on either it (which means I have to get Book 1 whipped into submission) or the completely-out-of-left-field Cookbook Review for the Terrified (working title). Unless something tackles me between then and now.

Oh help, I cannot be writing Cookbook Review. I can *not* be.

[twistingthetale]

I'm intrigued by the Cookbook!

[guardian_of_hope]

I totally plan on writing. I think I'm going to buckle down for Three Days in Hell, provided my laptop doesn't go crash bang boom like the last one did (at the end of the first week of NANO no less).

[twistingthetale]

Ouch, fingers crossed for your laptop. Hope you managed to save what you'd written before the other one crashed.

[ensoot]

I'm definitely participating, and hopefully this year, now that I'm actually out of school, I'll have more time to write. I'm determined to finally break 10k! Small goals, sure, but.

[jaaaarne]

Oh, lets make small goals together. :)

It's the first time I'm planning on participating, and up 'til now I haven't written anything longer than 5k. *gg* I'm terrified like you wouldn't say. *gg* Still I'm determined to do as much as I can. I have a story outlined already and am doing now more thorough planning. Hope it works. *crosses fingers*

[lassarina]

Yes, participating! I got bitten on the nose by a great idea in February, so I'll spend the next several months slowly percolating and planning :)

[twistingthetale]

That's what I like to hear (or read) :D You have to keep hold of those ideas when they bite!

[draigwen]

I would like to join in again although I'm not sure what I'll do. I could do the sequel to last year's, but I want to rewrite last year's first, and the rewrite just isn't happening at the moment.

[twistingthetale]

How about taking parts of last year's and writing a novel that's linked but not exactly a sequal? Perhaps you have a side character or plot that you were interested in exploring in more detail, but couldn't include everything last year.

[finch]

I have deadlines to panic about before then, but I'm vaguely trying to figure out what I want to do this year.

[twistingthetale]

Good luck with the deadlines, and I'm sure ideas will spring out of nowhere when you least expect them :)

[shiny_crystal]

I'm definitely participating again -- I've been doing NaNo since 2005 and I don't plan on stopping :) No complete outline yet (that one comes along in October, usually), but I have several characters, I know there will be telepaths, it might be set in Prague and I know some of the conflict. Totally looking forward to November!

[twistingthetale]

Sounds like a very interesting story and good starting points for your outline :) I'm looking forward to November too - and hopefully a good summer between now and then!

[dragonjournal]

I kinda sorta plan to? It's only May so the next six months might change my mind. But I'm kinda sorta planning to.

I've been getting new ideas about a story lately that are slowly coming together. Maybe I'll hold off on that until November. FIRST I have to get editing done, and yet another draft on my epic pain in the ass done.

[clare_dragonfly]

I expect it's going to be like last year... I won't plan to participate, because I have lots of other stuff to write and how can I possibly think of it, and then peer pressure will drag me in.

Maybe I'll finish (or at least continue) that novel I started earlier in the year but abandoned because another story was calling so insistently.

And I'm responding to your comment rather than the main post because I love your icon. That quote is going in my little book of writing quotes.

[limelight]

I am definitely participating. I've been working on my thesis novel throughout the past schoolyear, so NaNo hopefully will help me finish it so I can start editing it in Spring.

[twistingthetale]

Working on something similar does help I think, which is why I'm glad that I decided to take part in 2YN this year. Even though both novels are in different genres, planning and outlining both at more or less the same time will make the process easier I think.

[xyndarella]

It amuses me to see this post. A few days ago I had a dream that it was suddenly five days into November and that NaNoWriMo had started without me! I was in such a stressed panic that I hadn't thought of what to write about and I was already behind.

I would like to participate again this year. Last year was my first time and I had a lot of fun with it although it was very stressful in parts. I had reached the 50k line by the 25th but I never finished my novel. It ended up with a mind of its own and I just followed my muse.

I'd really like to continue on from what I was writing last year. Maybe add another 50k words but I would also really like to write new material. I see NaNoWriMo as a wonderful writing exercise that gives me ideas that I can maybe re-write later on. Nothing I ever write follows a proper layout.

I don't think I would have done very well last year without the support of this community and its members. The daily prompts for the word counts to keep you on track and the little quotes and questions were a wonderful break. They were also really inspiring at different moments. I hope that it will be the same again for this year.

[twistingthetale]

Yikes, being five days behind would cause a panic!

The first year is probably stressful for most people, whether they just run with an idea or plan ahead. I'd made notes and carried out research for months before I first took part, but there were quite a few times that I thought about giving up or thinking that I wouldn't reach 50k by the end. Last year was definitely easier though, and I think a lot of it came down to the fact that I knew what to expect in terms of how much writing I needed to do, and how much I could manage each day.

You're right about it being a useful writing exercise, and it's something I'd recommend to anyone who wanted to write a novel. As you say it can be added to and re-written at a later stage as you already have a good base to work from.

Joining this community made a heck of a difference for me last year as well, and even though the NaNo forum is good for support and finding help if you get stuck, being here was probably more helpful. Everything was in one place and it really didn't matter which genre you were writing, and the word count prompts were a great way to make sure that we kept writing without putting pressure on us to keep up with everyone else. Unlike the forum we all 'knew' each other, which made it easier to cheer people on if they were keeping up with the average word count each day, and encouraging those who had a few rough patches along the way. That's why I'm hoping that it'll be the same for this year.

[syderia]

I'll definitely participate this year. As for what I'll be writing, I have absolutely no idea. Considering that my most successful Nano yet - last year - happened with a story that showed up in my head on Nov, 14th without my having ever thought about it before, I think I'll go with the flow.

[twistingthetale]

Very sensible strategy - don't change it if it works :)

[jmz]

I'm definitely planning to take part this year. I've had an outline of what I want to write for a while and I already have the notebook I'm going to use. (I hand write then type it up.)

Last year was a lot of fun so I'm already looking forward to it. ^_^

[twistingthetale]

Enjoying it means that half of the battle is won I think, so it's important to make sure that you're having fun with your idea :)

[katycannon]

I'm certainly planning on taking part - I love November! No idea what I'm going to write, though. Whatever I haven't got round to before then, probably. I've been doing Nano for a few years now, and I always find it handy for writing something I can't justify spending more than a month on a first draft for!

[twistingthetale]

NaNo is very useful in that respect, and even if you have a longer novel planned it's a good way of getting the basics written.