NaNoWriMo Dreamwidth Writers

Day 11 - 20 days until the start of NNWM




Today Nano Writer, we’re going to do something a little different: we’re going to write a tiny biography based on mannerisms and disposition before trying our hand at crafting a tagline for our main characters. A tagline, according to Wikipedia is…

…a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product (like a film), or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product.

So let’s put on our Ad Man suit and tie, pour ourselves a martini (mock or otherwise, your choice ;-) and create taglines for our protagonist and antagonist that will make our characters ( memorable… )

Think outside the box, Nano Writer and never let ‘em see you sweat. Tomorrow, we’ll dig a little deeper… Until then, keep writing!

Day 7 - 24 days until the start of NNWM





So you’ve read through all the week’s post (you have haven’t you?) and tried all the exercises and you still haven’t come up with a promising premise that makes your girlfriend/boyfriend/mother/significant other sit up and say - without prompting - “I’d buy that book” then today’s exercise is for you!

Try an online Logline Generator! There are many but my favorite can be found on Brian Stokes’s Life Formz website:

Random Logline Generator!

Today’s index card shows one of the many humorous, thought-provoking and sometimes strange (which can be a very good thing) loglines/premises randomly generated during a recent visit. Give it a try! The suggestions might take you to fascinating places!

What logline did your spin of the wheel turn up?

On Monday, we’ll continue to develop our stories by taking a closer look at our characters to see what they have to say about it all. So until then Nano Writer, keep writing!

Day 5 - 26 days until the start of NNWM





Easy one today, Nano Writer! What’s your favorite genre? Or walk on the wild side and mix it up by picking one from column A and one from column B! How about a sci-fi mystery? Or a horror adventure?

One thing to keep in mind here however is that each genre comes with its own particular set of reader expectations. A mystery demands a crime and a detective. A fantasy usually involves a system of magic and magical creatures.

And while there’s no rule that says that you must write your story using all the expected genre conventions, be prepared to explain why (within the context of your story) to avoid confusing or alienating your readers.

Me, I love mysteries and fantasies… What genre is your favorite?

Tomorrow, we’ll try to assemble all of our efforts together into a sentence or two and write our story premise! Questions? Comments? Keep writing!

Day 3 - 28 days until the start of NNWM




Welcome, Nano Writers, to Day 1 of Fast Start for NNWM, a series of writing exercises that should take only 10 to 15 minutes a day to complete after which you should be in a better place to understand the who and what and why for your NNWM story and ready to give it your all November 1.

Today’s exercise is deceptively simple: make a list of things that are important to you or things that make you laugh or cry or otherwise provoke strong feelings.

That’s it. For me, I have a thing for loyalty which always seems to find a way into most of my stories. What about you, Nano Writer? As always, feel free to leave comments, ask questions or share your list! Keep writing!

Day 1 - 30 days until the start of NNWM!

For every hour you put into prep work on your story,
you save ten when it comes to writing, and rewriting, it.

— John Truby




Greetings Nano Writers! It’s that time of year again! Yes, it’s October 1 and the beginning of our 31-day countdown to NaNoWriMo 2011!

And stay tuned because this Monday will be the start of our annual Fast Start for NaNoWriMo series - short writing exercises and fun suggestions designed to help give you a “Fast Start” with your story on November 1…

Week One - we’ll look at ways to generate story ideas, talk about genre, and put together a short description for your novel.

Week Two is all about our characters as we look beyond the usual age/sex/eye color worksheets and dig into what really makes your character tick.

Week Three we play connect the dots and talk about eight key scenes that can pull your story together from beginning to end.

Week Four we do a little light housekeeping and look at calendars and titles and back cover copy - oh my!

And on Friday of each week, we’ll do something fun, a bit right-brained and maybe a little different…

So get out those index cards, notebooks and pens and pencils (the real deal or the digital virtual kind) and hang on Nano Writers because it’s going to be Fast Start for NNWM!

Until then, keep writing!

Day 30 - hours remaining

To finish is a sadness to a writer - a little death.
He puts the last word down and it is done. But it
isn't really done. The story goes on and leaves
the writer behind, for no story is ever done.

- John Steinbeck



And it all comes down to this: the last day of NaNoWriMo! The final word count is 50,000! We have many Nano Writers who have crossed the finish line (congratulations!) and others who are very close... To these members I say: don't give up! ( Keep_writing! )

Day 28 - 2 days remaining

The faster I write the better my output.
If I'm going slow I'm in trouble. It means
I'm pushing the words instead of being
pulled by them.

- Raymond Chandler



Today's word count is 46,667 - are you closing in on your story's climatic scene Nano Writers or are your characters still chasing after the bad guys? Perhaps it might be time to ( write_faster... )

Day 26 - 4 days remaining

Write garbage. Write, write, write. Then learn to edit brilliantly.

- CJ Cherryh



The word count today is 43,333. How is everyone doing? With four days left, this is the time to put away your red pens and as the lady says: write, write, write! Editing comes after you've crossed that 50K ( finish_line! )

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented
individuals from the successful ones is a lot of hard work.

- Stephen King



Today's word count is another milestone: 40K! How is everyone doing today? We have several Nano Writers that are close to the end and others working hard to ( catch_up... )