NaNoWriMo 2008

October 23, 2008 7:34 AM

Ah, Fall. The leaves start to turn brilliant shades of red and yellow, stores start to put up the Christmas displays, and our hands start to twist into claws of carpal tunnel syndrome pain. Guess that means another National Novel Writing Writing Month is at claw hand.

So who's in this year? I am. Post your WriMo name/ID here to so can buddy up and onlookers can lay bets on who crosses 50k first.

In previous years it was the constant need to beat cortex support by fellow MeFites that helped me cross the 50k finish line.

I propose a virtual gathering, hinging on this thread, for all us struggling writers to get together to crow about our victories and complain when words no don't not tell them what we wants them doing done.

posted by robocop is bleeding to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:34 AM (317 comments total)

I've been wanting to try this for a while, so just signed up. My username is cjorgensen (unsurprisingly).

I also fired up a website somedarkplace.com where I intend to try to do the whole process online, but don't hold me to that.

I haven't figure out the best way yet, but the cms I use allows versioning of posts, so I think I will probably make each writing session be it's own post, with all of the posts being assembled on a main page.

This way, if I go back to an early post, and make changes, it will automatically update on the main "body," and I can track the changes in individual posts.

That's the theory anyway. I'll probably fail.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:48 AM on October 23, 2008

I wish NaNoWriMo wasn't during finals month, but I'm probably going to go for it anyway.

My username is curmudgeon.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:53 AM on October 23, 2008

I strongly intend to beat my previous record of 2500 words.
posted by Plutor at 7:56 AM on October 23, 2008

Oh, yeah. This might be a better way to link to my userpage.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 8:01 AM on October 23, 2008

I signed up a few months ago with the best intentions of actually doing it this year. But now that we're nearing November, I'm a bit frightened of the monumental task. Now I'm thinking I just might start out with National Grocery List Writing Writing Month and see how that goes. Good luck robocop and all of you other crazy bastards!
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:01 AM on October 23, 2008

I keep feeling like I should give this another shot, and I keep not giving it another shot. I need a gimmick to get me into it.

What about a NaNoWriMo microserialization? 50,000 words at 25 words or so a pop = 2000 episodes.

Via twitter. Is what I'm saying.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:05 AM on October 23, 2008 [3 favorites]

cortex, you bad person. Now it must be done.
posted by Plutor at 8:10 AM on October 23, 2008

I won't be doing NaNoWriMo, but maybe knowing it's going on will get me to update my damn fiction/humor blog more often.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:18 AM on October 23, 2008

Well, I can certainly start in on it. The nice thing is this pretty much makes it impossible to consider editorial issues when I'm writing, which would take care of 90% of my burnt time, based on previous experiences. And I'm a lousy enough editor that that's pretty much a win.

I don't know. It's a terrible idea, but I like it already.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:20 AM on October 23, 2008 [3 favorites]

it was a dark and stormy night
posted 10 minutes ago by nanoauth0r

suddenly a shot rang out
posted 6 minutes ago by nanoauth0r

i'm on the shitter :)
posted 4 minutes ago by nanoauth0r

LOL
posted 3 minutes ago by nanoauth0r
posted by Wolfdog at 8:33 AM on October 23, 2008 [11 favorites]

It seems like NaNoWriMo is every other month. Or maybe it's just that people like talking about it more than actually writing their novels.
posted by smackfu at 8:42 AM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

I am joethedough and I am filled with good intentions, piss and vinegar.
posted by Jofus at 8:47 AM on October 23, 2008

Alright, I'm in. The chances of me actually winning are slim to none, but I guess that's part of the point.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:47 AM on October 23, 2008

First timer here, trying to overcome a years long creative block. Profile: desjardins

So do these get published on a website somewhere? I can't find the answer in the FAQ.
posted by desjardins at 8:47 AM on October 23, 2008

The only publishing that's been involved in the years I participated was the sort we call self-. You can keep it a secret, put it on your blog, take out an ad in the NYT, whatever. They did excerpt publishing on your nano site profile last time I checked; I don't know if they've expanded that at all in the last year or two.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:52 AM on October 23, 2008

Oh, Christ. I've signed up for the past three years running and never made it past...well, let's not sully it with numbers. THIS TIME IT WILL HAPPEN.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:56 AM on October 23, 2008

It's no BiMonSciFiCon... but I'll give it a try..
posted by nfg at 9:01 AM on October 23, 2008

here's mine.

The people that I've talked to about NaNoWiMo are looking at me like I'm crazy. Heck, the guy next to me just confirmed this.

Eh, how hard can it be?
posted by hellojed at 9:09 AM on October 23, 2008

I signed up, but it's becoming quite daunting as it moves up the calendar... I haven't had any good ideas yet, and am veering between the idea of doing something vaguely autobiographical or some sort of scifi. I am hoping that the mad effort of typing 1600+ words every day will help me break through some mental blockage on a number of levels.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:12 AM on October 23, 2008

The nano site is really pretty crazy slow this morning.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:13 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm in.
posted by mds35 at 9:20 AM on October 23, 2008

Do we get to read the novels or do we just use the honor system? Not sure which I prefer honestly. Unedited manuscripts are a lot like raw sausage.
posted by Mister_A at 9:25 AM on October 23, 2008

Can anybody recommend a broker who can hook me up with someone to write mine for me? GilloD only does term papers.
posted by nowonmai at 9:25 AM on October 23, 2008 [3 favorites]

Oh bloody hell why not?
posted by Mister_A at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2008

I'll have a go. Hopefully my two-dominated user number is some kind of good omen ... I'm not too confident.
posted by thoughtless at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2008

Neat! I'm tied with Desjardins and Plutor.
posted by Mister_A at 9:29 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm in.

twitanovel looks forward to your follows.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:33 AM on October 23, 2008

thoughtless, your number is definitely four-two-itous.
posted by Mister_A at 9:33 AM on October 23, 2008 [4 favorites]

(Also, someone had this idea a while ago and snagged the obvious handle, so they better step up.)
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:35 AM on October 23, 2008

Oh man, I totally forgot this was coming up. I don't even remember what my account was... I've tried this yearly for about three years now. I believe I hit about 20K first year, 5K second, and... yeah....

But sure. Here it is!.
posted by Phire at 9:44 AM on October 23, 2008

Do we get to read the novels or do we just use the honor system? Not sure which I prefer honestly. Unedited manuscripts are a lot like raw sausage.

I'll likely post whatever I get down to my blog. I mean, if Hodgman became a minor TV celebrity due to just going on TV, I'll become an author of minor repute by posting my generic fantasy story online. Literally fives of dollars will be mine!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:46 AM on October 23, 2008

I choked bad on 24 Hour Comics Day, maybe I'll try to redeem myself with this. The Twitter strategy is appealing.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2008

I did NaNoWriMo a couple years back. I even won, as I knocked out about 55,000 words of what is probably a 100,000 novel. Unfortunately, I've never written the other 45,000 words. I'm definitely not doing it this year, as I have way too much work to do. I will be happy to root you guys on, though.

Also if anyone comes up with something they're considering trying to get published, I'd be happy to offer my services as a freelance editor.
posted by Caduceus at 10:11 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm in with my 5 digit id! I'm so cool. Four years of making it to 1800 words or so.
posted by xorry at 10:11 AM on October 23, 2008

I did it in '06 and won, but I really feel zero compulsion to redo that fiasco. ~60,000 words, yes, but good/usable ones? < 10,000 at best and not even 10,000 contiguous enough to refashioned as a short story. I'm so disgusted with it I haven't been able to bring myself to fish out the ~10,000 usable ones. Maybe that should be my project this November.
posted by juv3nal at 10:32 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm here btw.
<vidgamegeek>...and besides, this is a deep vidgaming season: fable 2, fallout 3, midnight club la, dead space, nhl09 - and that's just stuff out this month!<vidgamegeek/>
posted by juv3nal at 10:37 AM on October 23, 2008

dead space is really good, btw
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:40 AM on October 23, 2008

So long, 75k account.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:54 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm here, as wowkate. I had a "victory" back in 2005, but only stalled attempts (1k, 3k) since then. No excuses this year, really.
posted by nkknkk at 11:05 AM on October 23, 2008

I gave up on NaNo and started my own, for knitters: NaKniSweMo (knit a 50,000 stitch sweater in a month). We've got a group on Ravelry, too, oh Mefi crafters! From the looks of it, there's a lot of couples doing both (one's doing NaNo, one's doing NaKni...)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 11:14 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm officially hemming and hawing, having done it a couple of years ago, but I have an outline in my head and might as well do it again this year.
posted by dhruva at 11:35 AM on October 23, 2008

cortex: "I'm excited about the terribleness of this idea." (via twitanovel)

First, this is a sucky beginning. Second, you're not supposed to start until November! There's rules to these things! I'm reporting you to the moderators! twit post flagged!
posted by cjorgensen at 11:59 AM on October 23, 2008

I'm in. My first NaNo. I chickened out last year but I'm actually pretty stoked about doing it this year.
posted by MikeMc at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2008

Anything prior to Nov 1. is clearly uncounted prologue.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2008

Is there a MeFi group in the NaNo forums? We should have one, hell, even Disney Pass holders have their own board.
posted by MikeMc at 12:27 PM on October 23, 2008

Anything prior to Nov 1. is clearly uncounted prologue very extensive outlining.
posted by MikeMc at 12:28 PM on October 23, 2008

Here's my page.

This'll be my eighth attempt and probably my seventh loss.
posted by Lucinda at 12:42 PM on October 23, 2008

Here I am. Third time's a charm, right? Right?
posted by lovermont at 12:46 PM on October 23, 2008

Why yes, I am in, for the first time ever!

I even have a sort of a plot. And a setting!

You guys mind if I Writing Buddy all of you?

Should I go to write-ins and stuff? I do not write Fantasy.

I've never written a novel before, or like, fiction.

Halp.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:04 PM on October 23, 2008

PotomacAve, I'm in DC too, and I went to a write-in or two during my first NaNo, it can be awkward-at-first fun if you want to meet new people. Usually a few minutes of jibberjabber, then lots of concentrated clacking. Let me know what you decide, I'd be happy to join you as a friendly MeFi face.
posted by nkknkk at 1:14 PM on October 23, 2008

here's me, but every year i try, i've failed. maybe i'll fail at failing and actually do it this year?
posted by zorrine at 1:17 PM on October 23, 2008

That's the spirit zorrine. Throw yourself at the ground and miss.
posted by Mister_A at 1:23 PM on October 23, 2008

I don't suppose there are too many MeFi NaNo-ers in the Ottawa/Kingston area of Canada, eh?
posted by Phire at 1:29 PM on October 23, 2008

nkknkk: Everyday I thank god for my deep abiding love of awkwardness. It certainly got me though grad school! I'm guessing I'll go to one early on. I may even go to the kickoff party? Or is that pushing the awkward over the edge into masochism?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:30 PM on October 23, 2008

PotomacAve: I can't attend the kickoff, so much for my offer! Might as well go somewhere where EVERYONE will be dying of awkwardness, right? Go for it!
posted by nkknkk at 1:41 PM on October 23, 2008

Well, I can't honestly say I will follow through, but I signed up this time.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:42 PM on October 23, 2008

I'M IN FIRST PLACE BITCHES!!!!!!
posted by Mister_A at 1:43 PM on October 23, 2008

The awkwardness of cold NaNo kickoff parties is nothing to miss out on, really. There's a delicious kind of collective fright, of vibrating, poorly-contained energy waiting to escape into hurried prose and bad eating habits. Definitely worth attending.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:46 PM on October 23, 2008

MikeMc: It appears the only way to add a MeFi group would be to create a thread on the Writing Groups and Clubs forum.

Has this been done in the past, veteran MeFi NaNos? Would any of you current participants be inclined to use such a thread if it were created? (It'd be nice to have, but damn, those forums can be slooooow!)
posted by lovermont at 1:55 PM on October 23, 2008

I don't know how much uptake the official forums have had in the past. I dislike 'em for their slowness and forumy-ness, personally, but I don't spend much of my nano months in forums anyway. We've treated the announcement thread (e.g. this'n) as a sort of open thread in past years, which is good enough for me.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:59 PM on October 23, 2008

Good to know -- I'll just bookmark this here thread, then. I'm counting on all of you to kick my ass. (If not into finishing, then at least in word count.)
posted by lovermont at 2:03 PM on October 23, 2008

On these rules and such - I don't have a lot of time to research this right now, so maybe somebody can tell me off the top of their head - can one participate in an official capacity if the novel is a continuation of a previously started but unfinished story? I'm tempted to use this to jump-start and expand on my ill-fated P-Virse story, but if it's frowned upon to include pre-written material, I'll probably pass and pick a more convenient time.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:25 PM on October 23, 2008

I just signed up. My username is peacheater there as well.
posted by peacheater at 2:30 PM on October 23, 2008

Flo, the rules such as they exist are an abstract constraint. I'd make the argument that insofar as a rule would prevent you from buckling down and doing some writing next month, the rule is a piece of poop worth being flung bodily from your person without hesitation.

So don't worry about it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:33 PM on October 23, 2008

National Novel Writing Writing Month?

Trying to pad your word count already?
posted by Navelgazer at 3:08 PM on October 23, 2008

Okay - I signed up as IRFH. To be fair, I'll only count words written in November. Although, I decided to break down and sneak a peak at the FAQ after all, and it specifically says they'll have me killed if I use pre-written material. Why does cortex want me dead? We'll see what happens.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:36 PM on October 23, 2008

This November's going to be difficult (there, there's my bet-hedging), but I'm in.
posted by cog_nate at 3:47 PM on October 23, 2008

Here I am. This is during my first year of grad work, though, so I'm not sure if I'll actually do it. But hey, signing up and failling is better than never signing up at all, or something.
posted by SNWidget at 3:54 PM on October 23, 2008

I'm still waffling -- I lost a couple of years ago, and was otherwise engaged last year. but I'm considering taking another run at it this year. I'm on there as regis.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:38 PM on October 23, 2008

Last year I didn't do it, and greatly regretted my decision. So I've signed up. I still haven't decided if I will use the month to try to complete my existing magnum opus (which is about 30,000 words off target) or write something different. But it's good to be signed up.

It will be an interesting experience, because I find fiction comes agonisingly slowly to me.
posted by WPW at 5:14 PM on October 23, 2008

Consider yourselves embuddied.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:39 PM on October 23, 2008

DUDE! I have buddies! I should go do that.

Also, yeah, my NaNo this year will be springboarded off my magnum opus (sitting proudly at 4,000 words), and they can pry the epic introduction out of my cold, dead hands.
posted by Phire at 7:06 PM on October 23, 2008

I'm in , in a fit of post-uni-stress-induced pique
posted by prettypretty at 7:10 PM on October 23, 2008

Three minutes ago I said, "oh, why not?" and signed in as "Empress-on-Clinton."

And for the past two and a half minutes I've been curled into the fetal position on my couch and whimpering, "what did I just do?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:26 PM on October 23, 2008

Three minutes ago I said, "oh, why not?" and signed in as "Empress-on-Clinton."

30 seconds ago I "buddied" you. I'm shooting for the "Double Double Ultimate" 50K words and 50K Writing Buddies. Okay, maybe not 50K buddies. That would probably result in my "knowing" at least 49,000 people with a higher word count than me.
posted by MikeMc at 7:34 PM on October 23, 2008

I failed at WoAdWrimo. I can fail at this too.
posted by ktrey at 9:08 PM on October 23, 2008

I slogged through 10% of my "novel" last year before throwing in the towel, but... eh, why not? I'm in again.
posted by vespertine at 11:51 PM on October 23, 2008

Me!
posted by divabat at 2:01 AM on October 24, 2008

This is me. First offence. I've set up a dedicated blog to contain my effusions and enhance the shame of failure.
posted by Phanx at 4:36 AM on October 24, 2008

I failed at WoAdWrimo. I can fail at this too.

Aww, I was hoping that was Woad Writing Month. The goal would be to paint at least 30 mighty warriors to bring to the Allthing on November 30th. There, your warriors would battle other participants' hordes on the Fields of Wodin and you would feast on the hearts of the fallen as your prize.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:53 AM on October 24, 2008

I am here!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:48 AM on October 24, 2008

Aww, I was hoping that was Woad Writing Month.

Let me know when that rolls around, I have the soundtrack for that already loaded in the Zen...
posted by MikeMc at 6:42 AM on October 24, 2008

There, I've buddied all of you. That was hard. I think I might give up now.
posted by WPW at 6:26 AM on October 25, 2008

Is there a MeFi group or something I need to join?
posted by WPW at 6:26 AM on October 25, 2008

Is there a MeFi group or something I need to join?

This is it. There is no MeFi group in the NaNo forums that I'm aware of. Like someone said above, the NaNo site is sloooow so we're probably better off bookmarking this thread.
posted by MikeMc at 8:32 AM on October 25, 2008

*waves* Yeah, I've tried it before and now I'm trying it in the midst of grad school and working two jobs. So, you know, THIS'LL BE THE YEAR BY GEORGE.

I'm insane. Please send help.
posted by fuzzbean at 8:25 PM on October 25, 2008

Is it too late to say "Me too?"

By which I mean: Mean too!
posted by logicpunk at 11:24 AM on October 26, 2008

I'm going to try my little heart out.
posted by erpava at 12:43 PM on October 26, 2008

I'm hoping for a bit more plot to go with my word count this year...

This is me.
posted by jaruwaan at 2:33 PM on October 26, 2008

I'm on for this year, since I was able to come up with (well, steal, anyway) a decent concept ahead of time that doesn't require any plot, which has always been my downfall.

Here's me.
posted by padraigin at 3:08 PM on October 27, 2008

I'm in
Kids, two jobs, back in school.... bring it on!
This will be a test of my theory that if you are about 10% overloaded with stuff to do, anything is possible - or as my grandpa used to say "Stick a broom up my ass and I'll sweep the floor, too."
posted by readery at 6:43 PM on October 27, 2008

How do you download these word count widgets when there are no links on the page? What am I missing here?
posted by desjardins at 7:33 AM on October 28, 2008

Oops, I just realized that I failed to link to my nano profile in my previous comment. Maybe this could be added to the social networking links on our MeFi profile page?
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:37 AM on October 28, 2008

desjardin, the "widgets" in this case are just dynamically updated single images hosted on the nano server. In most cases, you just copy the <img src=...> html tag for the widget in question and paste it into your blog/website/whatever where you want it to appear—the image served to that will be in theory up-to-date every time the page is viewed.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:48 AM on October 28, 2008

Thanks. I was thinking there had to be some javascript involved there somehow.

Speaking of java... wanders off to find caffeine
posted by desjardins at 8:08 AM on October 28, 2008

Ah what the hell. If I'm terrified about unemployement, I might as well be terrifed about the novel I won't finish.
posted by OrangeDrink at 6:45 PM on October 28, 2008

Damn I wanted to write the thing in longhand, but I guess I can't upload it if I do so.
posted by dhruva at 7:08 PM on October 28, 2008

dhruva, you can use lipsum.org to generate your 50,000 words. According to this part of the FAQ right here.

I'm planning on writing parts of mine in longhand when I don't have access to a computer. Also, if I'm not too embarrassed I'm going to try to record my voice and use some software to transcribe the mp3s.
posted by erpava at 9:06 PM on October 28, 2008

Here I am. Anyone who wants rah-rah or occasional competition support, just holler.
posted by gnomeloaf at 9:19 PM on October 28, 2008

My god, the NaNoWriMo site is so slooooooooooooow. I can't imagine how bad it will be once November actually arrives.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:54 AM on October 29, 2008

In past years, I remember it getting a lot better once November kicked in—the furious, anxious spinning of wheels on the site and in the forums gave way to folks either writing or hiding out of guilt that they weren't writing, significantly reducing the load on the server.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2008

One day to go. I'm really excited about this, and I can't wait to get started.
posted by WPW at 5:36 AM on October 31, 2008

With the assistance of some Crystal Head Vodka, I did some brainstorming the other night. I woke up with a hangover, a page and a half of a vague outline, and a bunch of characters named after objects I saw from the living room couch - including Wall, Hue, and Hobbles*.

* I think I stubbed my toe. My foot also hurts.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:25 AM on October 31, 2008

I have not yet begun to drink. And I still need to put up my corkboard.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:38 AM on October 31, 2008

Good thing I turn 21 on the 2nd of November, otherwise I don't think I'd stand a chance.
posted by hellojed at 8:47 AM on October 31, 2008

Good luck, everyone! Go easy on the booze and coffee!
posted by erpava at 10:50 PM on October 31, 2008

You aint teh bosh of meh!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:26 AM on November 1, 2008

1,105 this morning! And no coffee yet, either.

The Nano site is slow as molasses.... (go write your novels, everyone).... so I am posting here.

Good luck MeFi Wrimos!
posted by jaruwaan at 7:07 AM on November 1, 2008

Yeah, and I can't seem to upload my work for counting yet. Weird.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:13 AM on November 1, 2008

349 words so far, and it sucks already!
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:40 AM on November 1, 2008

2,557. Can't get into the site at all.
posted by Phanx at 9:47 AM on November 1, 2008

I lost my character list and family tree, and now I can't remember any of their names.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:48 AM on November 1, 2008

It was on the coffee table.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:00 AM on November 1, 2008

I haven't actually ironed out the process for going from Twitter to word count yet, so I have no idea how much I've written, but I'm positive it's less than my daily quota.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:04 AM on November 1, 2008

I haven't actually started, as I'm pretty sure NaNoWriMo is not a legit reason for not having written my paper, but I have about 2 days worth of "buffer" work from ... last year.... so. Yeah. *crosses fingers*
posted by Phire at 11:18 AM on November 1, 2008

I can't get onto the site at all. I'm at ~400 words and it really does suck so far, so I'm hoping to pull it out of the suckage before the site comes back online. I really had no idea how difficult the beginning was going to be; I'm thinking of teaching my cats to type the next 1000 words, then I'll pick up where they left off.
posted by desjardins at 12:16 PM on November 1, 2008

Woo hoo! 2,500 words in two hours! Coffee works in magnificent ways.

But I wonder if I'll even want to go back and read it in a month...
posted by erpava at 12:26 PM on November 1, 2008

Phire, you're not the only one. I just finished working on a review of the Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions for class. Once again, this is less fun than it sounds.
posted by fuzzbean at 12:28 PM on November 1, 2008

It sounds a tad more interesting, at least, than performing a marketing analysis on industrial cleaning products. I get that the case-model of teaching is beneficial and everything, but for the love of god, can't we get some cases that aren't mind-numbingly irrelevant?
posted by Phire at 12:43 PM on November 1, 2008

Don't start at the beginning - start at the best part, the most interesting part, the thing you are ready to write this very minute.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:43 PM on November 1, 2008

Every part should be the most interesting part!
posted by erpava at 2:25 PM on November 1, 2008

And if it gets boring, kill someone off and introduce a mysterious stranger.
posted by fuzzbean at 2:38 PM on November 1, 2008

Meatbomb - that's the way I always wrote papers in school. I could never write one in order. Paragraphs are like puzzle pieces to me, and I either end up with a finished picture of the Eiffel Tower or a jumbled pile of cardboard.
posted by desjardins at 5:27 PM on November 1, 2008

Well, I'm off an running. Got my username (cjorgensen). A domain where I will be writing the thing and hopefully storing versioning (somedarkplace.com). And I have my opening:

Totentanz

I can still remember the first time god spoke to me, "That was stupid," he said, "But you'll live." I don't know how long I lay there after his first words, blood saturating the tawny clay dirt around my head, slaking the thirst of greedy dead earth, slowly expanding like used motor oil staining hot concrete. I don't know how long I lay there after his first words, my ears ringing and leaking warm clear fluid, as I studied a singular cloud formation in an otherwise empty sky. "Cirrus or altostratus?" I asked god, but got no answer. Either way I decided it looked like a duck and lonely.

That there'd been an explosion I could remember quite well, as I'd been the one with the bright idea of setting off a pipe bomb. The confusion came when I tried to remember things like: how many bombs had I set off? had I been alone when I was doing it? what went wrong, how did I end up on my ass, and how long ago was that?

It was summer then, the sun was setting, and mom would be pissed.

posted by cjorgensen at 6:43 PM on November 1, 2008

Ok, so for some reason can't update word count, can't figure out how to add anyone as a buddy, and the site is slow. Maybe that's all my perception. I see some people have made wordcount updates, but that's a grayed out option for me.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:21 PM on November 1, 2008

Well, I've hit my daily quota with a little to spare: 1726. My protagonist and his friend have just finished a dull and talky brunch at a cafe that was supposed to echo one of my favourite spots but seems to have lost all its charm along the way. Everything feels clunky so far, and it's astonishingly hard to move things along without stultifying exposition -- getting through brunch without spelling out every interaction of diners and server almost killed me. I am hoping this is like riding a bicycle... it's been more than a decade since I last tried my hand at fiction. Anyway, as of tomorrow I'm going to try to shut my inner critic OFF and just pound through this thing. Day 2, here I come!

p.s. I'm using Q10 to write, and so far it seems to be a pretty effective way of shutting out distractions.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:29 PM on November 1, 2008

Oh, and I really want a cup of that coffee erpava is brewing.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:30 PM on November 1, 2008

Seconding the helpfulness of Q10.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:09 PM on November 1, 2008

I don't know how many words I've done yet, since I wrote it longhand on index cards. But I've already killed off one person and a goat!
posted by fuzzbean at 8:47 PM on November 1, 2008

Thirding the Q10 love. cjorgensen you can update your word count manually on the "Edit Novel Info" page until they get the counting robot up and running. If you can get the page to load that is. Instead of pasting your text into the box just type your word count into the text box above. 816 (It's my younger son's b-day today so no writing until about an hour ago).
posted by MikeMc at 8:48 PM on November 1, 2008

If anyone's in the eastern Montgomery County PA area, come on over to the Starbucks in Maple Glen. I work at the Maple Glen starbucks, so if you stop by and say hi, i'll give you some coffee. (I know this doesn't really help anyone not in this area, so sorry i can't help everyone...)
posted by zorrine at 8:51 PM on November 1, 2008

HOKAY. Settling down for a night of writing at 12:16 AM. Expect this thread to be spammed with progress updates. Take THAT, 100 pages of mindnumbing reading.
posted by Phire at 9:17 PM on November 1, 2008

That Q10 is freaking magical, man. (1288)
posted by Phire at 12:55 AM on November 2, 2008

Daylight Savings has robbed me of an hour of writing! (5048)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:29 AM on November 2, 2008

Q10 only works on barbaric systems. Grrr.

Anyway, I need distractions. I think of some of my best ideas while I'm walking the dogs. I can't write then though. Maybe this is the novel...

Also have any of you posted excerpts? I can't figure out how to read them, if there are any. Me: No. But I hope to get some of this done today.
posted by Mister_A at 7:43 AM on November 2, 2008

I'm at 1600 words, which is troublesome as we're on day 2 already and I should be busting 3400 by now. But the day isn't over yet.

Trouble is, the NaNoWriMo site isn't even starting to work for me. I have only been able to load the welcome screen once, and when I did the "update" button on the word counter was still greyed out with "starts on 1 Nov" under it, so I think it may have been loading from my cache. It's very frustrating.

But I do have an opening.
posted by WPW at 8:41 AM on November 2, 2008

OK, I was able to upload a wordcount, but not validate it, and the counter in the top right-hand corner of the screen still ain't working.
posted by WPW at 8:45 AM on November 2, 2008

Also have any of you posted excerpts?

I posted a short excerpt, there is a spot on the "Novel Info" page for you to paste text into. Once again assuming you can get the page to load (good luck with that).

Word on the street was that the mysterious head of Les Mimes du Morte, Midvale's most feared mime syndicate, was in fact a Vichy Mime who had collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War.

1737 according to Q10, the official word count app still isn't up.
posted by MikeMc at 8:53 AM on November 2, 2008

I threw up an excerpt too. By which I mean, everything I've written so far.
posted by fuzzbean at 9:11 AM on November 2, 2008

I'll start putting up excerpts once I break 10k. Otherwise, I'll be fiddling with formatting and so on and won't get any more writing done. 8673.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:19 AM on November 2, 2008

4807. Can't get in to post an excerpt, but then I'm blogging it all anyway.
posted by Phanx at 9:28 AM on November 2, 2008

1887 now.
posted by WPW at 9:38 AM on November 2, 2008

I thought I was going to stay on par with you, Robocop, but I don't see how I can break 7500 today. Currently at 5004. Nice job everyone!
posted by erpava at 10:25 AM on November 2, 2008

2844. I will hit par today if I find some more time to write between team meetings 'n whatnot, but man, robocop, you are scary.
posted by Phire at 11:04 AM on November 2, 2008

I'll slow down once I hit the work week. I'll be lucky to manage 1k a day Monday through Friday. 10899.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:32 AM on November 2, 2008

Okay, that's it for me today. 13,774.

As promised, I've started posting whatever dreck I've managed to churn out so far. You can find it on my webpage here.

While I've been keeping to my outline fairly well, there's a big change in Chapter 3 that's been giving me many, many extra words despite how, uh, skeevy it might be. I dunno. I blame red wine. Why am I still typing? Type type type. Time for Rock Band.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:33 PM on November 2, 2008

Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be. 5460!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:19 PM on November 2, 2008

3400 as at the end of yesterday. Aiming for 1700 a day and have found so far (two days of writing! woo!) that about 1700 is about as much as I can squeeze out at the moment.

(Beer helps)
posted by prettypretty at 7:51 PM on November 2, 2008

3683! Hell, I'll take it. Had a fun little breakdown when it. just. wasn't. working but I'm up and running again.

Thansk for the suggestions on q10.

And damn, Robocop, I don't know how you churned out more than 1/4th of your novel in a weekend. Hat's off.
posted by OrangeDrink at 7:56 PM on November 2, 2008

Heh. If you read any of it, you'll see that 'churn' is the operative word.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:11 AM on November 3, 2008

So I've been skimming the University NaNo-ers thread on my regional forum (damn, the site is slow) and it's so endearing to see the people say they will use the two hour gaps between class to write, or else write in slow classes. I've got a 7 hour gap between my morning class, and my evening team meetings (note, plural) but pretty much every minute of those 7 hours is spoken for by various projects whose due dates range from the next day to two weeks from now, and by research for extracurricular endeavours and conferences.

Sometimes I wonder what it's like not to be a keener. I'm told the obsession with extracurriculars is fairly unique to Queen's.
posted by Phire at 3:17 AM on November 3, 2008

You know the old saying, Phire: if you want Nanowrimo done, ask a busy person ;)
posted by Phanx at 3:24 AM on November 3, 2008

Wow, that sounded bitter. Whoops.
posted by Phire at 3:24 AM on November 3, 2008

Ahah, so true. Seeing as I got up at 5 to write.

(3945! And my protagonist is just about ready to properly "start"! Another 5000 words/2 days before he meets the anti-hero, whoot.)
posted by Phire at 5:05 AM on November 3, 2008

First I have to excavate the first 11,000 words that have been stuck in my 1987 PC since, um 1987
posted by nax at 6:24 AM on November 3, 2008

Seriously robocop, you're making us all look bad.

I went to a wedding this weekend and wrote like 500 words, then we too hungover last night and set my alarm wrong and woke up late and now I'm not even at 1k.

I keep telling myself I can make it up at the end of the month when I have a week off, but it's not too encouraging.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:09 AM on November 3, 2008

Well, uh, thanks to the power of averages my rising tide lifts all boats?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:16 AM on November 3, 2008

10,187 as of last night.

I've discovered I really like dialogue.


I wish dialogue liked me
posted by logicpunk at 7:19 AM on November 3, 2008

You didn't hear it from me, okay, but dialogue said you're kinda cute.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:32 AM on November 3, 2008

The only publishing that's been involved in the years I participated was the sort we call self-. You can keep it a secret, put it on your blog, take out an ad in the NYT, whatever.

Also: self publish on the Kindle.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:35 AM on November 3, 2008

3377. My conversations are so stilted and unbelievable. Sigh.
posted by peacheater at 7:39 AM on November 3, 2008

I don't suppose there are too many MeFi NaNo-ers in the Ottawa/Kingston area of Canada, eh?
posted by Phire at 1:29 PM on October 23 [+] [!]

I'm here!

Well, I feel a lot better after reading this thread, having tried this twice before and not yet crossed the finish line. As usual, I didn't give it a thought in October, but have spent the last 2 days plotting madly, and now have an outline I really, really like.

Now to the words.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:47 AM on November 3, 2008

Wow, Q10 looks incredible. This is huge.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:52 AM on November 3, 2008

Speaking of Q10, for anyone on a mac I'm using writeroom, there's a free trial of it that (iirc) lasts 30 days (handily for nanowrimo!).
posted by nfg at 7:55 AM on November 3, 2008

I found this thread late, but here's me. I'm ridiculously behind already, which I blame on my lack of discipline and my ability to obsess over a single sentence for 10 minutes. Sigh.

And yeah, I can't recommend writeroom highly enough.
posted by naju at 8:06 AM on November 3, 2008

I'm on the site under ginnytonnick.
posted by FunkyHelix at 8:37 AM on November 3, 2008

Nthing Q10. I think it's going to be a permanent fixture on all of my PCs.

And there's something about the typing noise that makes it that much more awesome.
posted by gnomeloaf at 8:38 AM on November 3, 2008

The typing noise and the return key noise!

Durn Bronzefist: Aw, mainly Ottawa area. There are all of 2 MeFites in Kingston, and I don't hold much hope for either of them being a good write-in buddy.

Now, should I write, or should I work. Hmm.

(Stupid question.)
posted by Phire at 8:58 AM on November 3, 2008

I wasn't sure whether I was going to participate this year until literally 12:00 am on November 1st (thank you, downstairs neighbors and your noisy Halloween party, for providing me with a solid couple hours of extra wakefulness in which to get started). At 3200 words so far, I think I've already beaten most of my prior NaNoWriMo attempts.

(I'm here. As you can see from my relatively low user number, I have been failing at this for years now. I've added a semi-random sampling of all of you as buddies.)
posted by alyxstarr at 8:58 AM on November 3, 2008

Woo. Productive lunch hour. 15697.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:03 AM on November 3, 2008

I'm on the forums as sandraregina. User id 40149.
posted by sandraregina at 9:04 AM on November 3, 2008

Q10 is excellent, thanks for that suggestion. I'm at 3405 now. So a day behind, technically. But today isn't over yet, and I might be able to fulfil my norm and get to 5100.
posted by WPW at 9:14 AM on November 3, 2008

someone hack into robocop's computer. he's making us look bad.
posted by desjardins at 9:48 AM on November 3, 2008

Productive lunch hour, but an order of magnitude off. 4534.
posted by Phire at 9:56 AM on November 3, 2008

The secret is avoid prepositions and name your main character The Right Honorable Sir Admiral Dudley Pennington Wallace from Hampton-on-the-Smythe.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:10 AM on November 3, 2008

Productive Lunch Hour: Crying, burritos.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:16 PM on November 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

Alright. I'm in again this year. It's the beginning of the month so me and my 3500+ words are feeling brazenly optimistic.

I'm Mason.Dixon on the NanoWrimo site.
posted by MasonDixon at 1:21 PM on November 3, 2008

Hello everyone.

I'm doing it.

I've written 3696. that' not a great deal.

Anyone else still sans plot?
posted by Cantdosleepy at 2:09 PM on November 3, 2008

Same username here as there. At 4001 as of last night.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:12 PM on November 3, 2008

No plot, no prospects, Cantdosleepy. I really should have put some sort of sketch together before I started. Although in his "No Plot? No problem!" guidebook to Nano, Chris Baty says if you just noodle around with your characters for long enough, eventually they'll start doing something. Fingers crossed.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 2:44 PM on November 3, 2008

I am on board (dontoine there too) with absolutely nothing in mind.

And can't start until tomorrow.

But I have a good feeling about this.
posted by dontoine at 2:52 PM on November 3, 2008

Unexpected, obligatory social plans! Get yer unexpected, obligatory social plans!

Behind in your word count? Too bad!
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 3:17 PM on November 3, 2008

Man, I've been saying I was going to do this for years and finally jumped in. I'm at 3393 words, so need to get my 1667 in for today. Damn Robocop, you're torching it - well done.

Also glad to see this thread up since the NaNo site is insufferably slow.

I wonder how the old hands will feel after 50,000 words on an Aspire One...

Good luck everyone!
posted by Anizev at 3:55 PM on November 3, 2008

Oh, I'm also registered as Vez on NaNo...
posted by Anizev at 5:37 PM on November 3, 2008

Ok, I'm just being grumbly. I'll report a word count when I don't feel compelled to do so via an anon post through the mods.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:00 PM on November 3, 2008

Ah, what a shit day. Not only did I get no nanoing done, I pretty much flaked on the writing I'm being paid to do as well. Here's to a big tomorrow.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:03 PM on November 3, 2008

In related news, Fallout 3 is so awesome.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:16 PM on November 3, 2008

Meffle. I wrote spreadsheets instead of novels, because somebody's got to pay the bills and my teddy bear ain't picking up the slack.

...That sounds kinda dirty. I mean my real teddy bear. The one that's furry.

...I'm not making this any better, am I?

Ah well. Tomorrow is another day. So is the day after it. *headdesk*
posted by fuzzbean at 10:48 PM on November 3, 2008

I'm at about 2500. But it's starting to come together so maybe I'll step it up in days to come.*

*And by "starting to come together," I mean that the two totally separate ideas I basically started writing about on alternating pages have now found a more-or-less contrived way of being in the same novel. Still no plot though.
posted by mai at 11:58 PM on November 3, 2008

Well, I just got up for the day after a pathetic 2.5 hour nap, let's see how many words I can cram into an hour of writing before going back to marketing. cry.
posted by Phire at 1:13 AM on November 4, 2008

Hmm, not bad. About a thousand words per hour. I just need another 'shift' of 1000 words... and it's so exciting! He's about to meet my favourite character in the story!
posted by Phire at 2:07 AM on November 4, 2008

My characters keep dallying. Great for word count, bad for getting to the rest of the story. It's all Harry and Ron in the forest. 17210.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:05 AM on November 4, 2008

Booyah, over 2k. First day of waking up early and spewing went really well. Now if only I had a plot, or could keep my narrator from swearing constantly.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:52 AM on November 4, 2008

Good to hear someone else is in the same position, Sevenyearlurk. I had my last one pretty well plotted before I began and with rough deadlines for the different bits. This year is a whole different kettle of fish. Keeping it descriptive and contemporary at the moment because that makes it simpler - no need to worry about historical accuracy and what's supposed to be happening...
posted by Cantdosleepy at 6:58 AM on November 4, 2008

Also, I'm on a mac and using Scrivener. It's ace, and you can type green words onto a black background for old-school charm....
posted by Cantdosleepy at 7:02 AM on November 4, 2008

Q10 really is the business. I think I will be using it almost permanently from this point on, for writing where formatting isn't a pressing concern.

Some findings now that we're on day four. I'm still behind, currently around the 4100 mark, but making steady progress. At first, I thought I might use Nanowrimo to advance my existing novel manuscript, which is about 50,000 words long already but has taken me four agonising years to get to that stage. Then I read the organisers' advice about not using the month in that way (it makes for a very unpleasant month), and those words made a lot of sense to me, so I thought I'd just sketch out some ideas I've had in the hopper for the next book. My real aim, though, is to give my inner critic a savage beating, so that he doesn't slow down the Proper Novel so Much, and I have a hope of finishing fairly soon.

So, today I had a three-hour train journey and worked feverishly on the Nanobook until my laptop battery packed in about two hours later. I felt extremely virtuous, but immediately went to the notebook in which the Proper Novel main manuscript is kept and blurted out something like 500 words of that as well.

Admittedly, this structure of work was forced on me by the train and the battery. But I am now home, energised, feeling ready to work on both manuscripts. It seems the process is working.

I might post an excerpt this evening while watching some of the early US election coverage.

Is Metafilter slow today, or is it my internet?
posted by WPW at 9:50 AM on November 4, 2008

Ted Stevens is using all the tubes to get out the vote.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:30 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm so distracted by the election that I can't write at all today. I'm stuck around 1050 words. Oh well, if (when!!) Obama wins I'll be able to concentrate again, after the adrenaline fades. If he loses, I'll be too depressed to write.

So, voters, my novel hinges on YOU!
posted by desjardins at 11:21 AM on November 4, 2008

Things sort of went off track after Saturday's 550 words. Tomorrow, I begin the regimen:

1) Up at seven-thirty.
2) Write from eight to noon.
3) Repeat as necessary.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:51 AM on November 4, 2008

Yay, now I can get drunk and watch election results! 20,030.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:44 PM on November 4, 2008

ROBOCOP IS BLEEDING'S NOVEL FOR PRESIDENT
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:48 PM on November 4, 2008

7972 at 10.00pm last night.

Grinding that inner critic into the ground -- much of what I've written is so badly constructed it's embarassing and I can barely bring myself to reread any of it, but the words are there and apparently that's all that matters!
posted by prettypretty at 1:51 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so distracted by the election that I can't write at all today.

You're not the only one.

Fortunately, my internet connection is down at home, so I have all this week without the siren call of email to distract me -- plus, my parents have decided to gather the clan for "Thanksgiving" on Saturday the weekend before, so that leaves me all alone on Thanksgiving proper with friends out of town and a free day off work. I've decided to spend the whole day in one massive writing orgy.

...I may or may not also eat an entire pie. I haven't decided.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:53 PM on November 4, 2008

It's a quarter to six, the polls are almost closed, and I'm not writing for the rest of the night. 15,351.
posted by logicpunk at 2:48 PM on November 4, 2008

3,531, still way behind, but accelerating now I've embraced the panacea that is terrible dialogue. I haven't much chance of making 50,000, though.

For now I'm off to bed; I hope that by the time I wake up, you chaps have elected a president worthy of the title.
posted by thoughtless at 3:22 PM on November 4, 2008

4700; I've now caught up to where I should have been yesterday, and I just killed my protagonist's dad (in a flashback). Did not see that coming.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 5:54 PM on November 4, 2008

Ugh, 5942, about 700 words off quota for the day. Am tired like rarely before, so I think I'll just aim for a 3k surge tomorrow, or something.
posted by Phire at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Yeah, making my 2k minimum is going to be a slog. So tired.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:45 AM on November 5, 2008

Ok, Q10 rocks my socks, but what's the deal with only being able to have one document open at one time. Do I have this wrong? I can't open a new document, or start one, without the previous one being closed, it appears.

Which kinda sucks, since I want a page of notes open at the same time and using another program for that seems kind of dumb. I suppose I could use the "notes" function in Q10 if it keeps the notes out of the word count...

Oh, and not letting myself fall behind this year with vows to catch up. Not because I wouldn't (thought that is a distinct possibility) but because everything I've heard about the (completed) 50k journey suggests that some profound things happen slogging through the story day by day, week by week. Like training for a marathon, you could just skip the training and run your guts out, but your incremental progress is (at least) half the point.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 11:24 AM on November 5, 2008

23314. After a run I had high hopes of breaking 25k, but somehow ended up beached out in front of a few episodes of Midsomer Murders.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:40 PM on November 5, 2008

55. Wow.
posted by Mister_A at 7:05 PM on November 5, 2008

11849. I can't believe I'm doing this.
posted by prettypretty at 2:44 AM on November 6, 2008

On one hand: Yay, slept all day and applied for job! On the other: Damn, my wordcount is going to be so behind....
posted by Phire at 3:41 AM on November 6, 2008

Everyone make sure to bust out the booze when they break into 5 digits today!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2008

Everyone make sure to bust out the booze when they break into 5 digits today!
Shut up shut up shut up :)

7100 as of last night, still a little behind but catching up. An unplanned trip to visit a very sick relative this weekend might help or hinder my count. I am verging on an actual plot, and like many others I have finally realized that dialogue boosts word count like crazy.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:18 AM on November 6, 2008

Shut up shut up shut up :)

So is this a bad time to mention I crossed 25k?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:56 AM on November 6, 2008

I'm going to bust out the booze if I break into 4.

I'm probably going to bust out the booze either way, though.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:06 AM on November 6, 2008

I vote that we nationalize robocop's wordcount and spread the wealth around.

(7033, up 1200 from my lack of writing yesterday.)
posted by Phire at 1:32 PM on November 6, 2008

Heh. I actually just worked 'spreading the wealth' into my story.

And it a non-porno way!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:56 PM on November 6, 2008

12,000 as of today (will be the same tomorrow). Just about on schedule.
posted by Phanx at 2:19 PM on November 6, 2008

My character is drunk for the first time in his young life and babbling his life story to a complete stranger. Needless to say, I am amused.
posted by Phire at 3:19 PM on November 6, 2008

I have just decided that my main character will, at some point later in the novel assuming I ever get back on track and reach that point, tell his mom to get a fucking blog.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:41 PM on November 6, 2008

30009.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2008

It could be demoralizing to be writing one room away from robocop with his many words, but so far it's been rather encouraging. 12,519!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2008

9106! Aiming for 12000 by tonight, if all goes well.
posted by Phire at 4:01 AM on November 7, 2008

Phire, I swiped your idea and started getting my characters drunk so they could talk about themselves more.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:53 AM on November 7, 2008

Heh. I started out getting my characters drunk. The speed with which my word count increases varies inversely with the average blood alcohol level of all the characters.
posted by logicpunk at 1:02 PM on November 7, 2008

I'm badly behind. Fighting away at it, though, and today the wordcount is at 8300ish, and I hope to bust 10,000 by bedtime. Then all I need to do is 3000 a day over the weekend and I'll be back on target.

NB 8300 words of fiction in seven days is breathtakingly prolific by my standards.

I am churning out dialogue, drunken dialogue, stream of consciousness and free association, and it's making the slide from merely not very good to unambiguously bad. Which is kind of liberating. I gues that's what it's all about.

Since we're not meant to be editing, I might put some bigger chunks up on the site.
posted by WPW at 2:24 PM on November 7, 2008

10,011. Late, but making it into five figures feels very good.

How's everyone else doing? Robocop, you must be finished by now ...
posted by WPW at 7:39 AM on November 8, 2008

I wish. Hitting some inspiration block (read: hangover) this morning. 35276. I've got another hour or until I hit 37k to go.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:10 AM on November 8, 2008

Woo. 37k. I've finally found may way back to my outline, but am finding that writing stuff I've planned out is a bit trickier than just winging it and making up shit as I go along.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:21 AM on November 8, 2008

Ugh. 24507, and I'm only just got to the part where a character gets her tattoos ripped out in an MRI scanner. But I'm not relying on dialog now so much that things are,you know, actually happening.
posted by logicpunk at 2:33 PM on November 8, 2008

It only just occurred to me that there might be a group of MeFites doing this.
It's my first NaNoWriMo. Hi, everyone.
I only just came up with a plot last night.
And I just broke 10,000 words.

I'm eatingwords over there.
posted by bassjump at 9:11 PM on November 8, 2008

16045 as at yesterday afternoon. Took a break Saturday and discovered that taking a break is not worth the added pain of trying to getting started again the next day.
posted by prettypretty at 1:36 PM on November 9, 2008

Ugh, note to self, debating tournaments are not conducive to advancing your word count. Nor are sociology papers. Or marketing case studies.

Why must I still be a lowly student?

That said, 13400. So I'm only one day behind, and in all fairness a good chunk of my work will be done about a week before the end of November, so I'm sure I could catch up somehow, still. And it looks like the plot's starting to rear its ugly head and most of the characters are nicely settled in, so I'm actually fairly okay with my progress.

Though the 600 words an hour thing has got to speed up.
posted by Phire at 4:08 AM on November 10, 2008

Crossed 40k this morning after taking a day off yesterday. I've got today and tomorrow off, so hopefully I'll finish my 50k by then. The story will not be finished, though. Main character is just now getting his damn quest.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:54 AM on November 10, 2008

Arg. Just crossed 10,500.

But I've barely touched most of the points on my outline so I've got that going for me -- at least.
posted by MasonDixon at 7:26 AM on November 10, 2008

I am SO behind. I think I'm only at 3000.

I'm still not too far behind my original daily goal of 2000 a day (it's 2200 now), so I'm not too worried...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:09 AM on November 10, 2008

Hit 30k last night, and now I have to slow way down while I do some re-plotting and, well, work work. Feh.
posted by logicpunk at 4:07 PM on November 10, 2008

My characters keep getting into these arguments that I haven't planned and can't quite see the point of. I'm hoping that some purpose comes out of them.
posted by bassjump at 8:09 PM on November 10, 2008

16, 095. The pace faltered a bit at the weekend, but I aim to be back on schedule by the end of the day.
posted by Phanx at 4:52 AM on November 11, 2008

Up in the northwest corner of the shattered wasteland that is the post-WWIII D.C. landscape there's a series of satellite communication dishes, standing like Titans over the broken rubble of the one-time political nerve-center of America. The first one I came to was itself mangled, a wry scavenger/trader living in the makeshift shelter of its fallen dish structure.

The next was empty except for a few cockroaches; I climbed to the top, past still-humming machinery, and took in the view from the edge of the dish itself.

There were more, in the distance.

I've been to one of them since; some half-crazy raider punk nearly took off my arm with a missle launcher before I made it safely to the door and shot my way through the unfriendly folks inside. Last was a self-styled scientist, a ghoul with a ruined face who wouldn't talk but, given her plans to bring down nuclear hell with the satcom array, too dangerous to let live.

I've got her nuke codes now, though, and I can see the dim silhouette of two more towers a few miles off.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:49 AM on November 11, 2008

It's a really, really good game.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:53 AM on November 11, 2008

Get behind me, Satan.

50032 at long last. Now I can shave!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:32 AM on November 11, 2008

congrats, r i b. That was jaw-droppingly quick - I gave up trying to catch you last Tuesday.

I'm hoping to finish next week during ~40 hours of cross-country train rides.
posted by logicpunk at 9:16 AM on November 11, 2008

The trick being that while the word count has been met, the story is not finished. I may try for the 100k. My main character has accidentally fallen in love with the girl that lives in his head (that lived 500 years ago, that he lived as as recently as last week) and that storyline took me through the last 10k. He still needs to get to the city of Mercy, find out how he can defeat the Spiderden so that Tatterbones can resume its Dominion of the land, and find time to end up with the female lead he's supposed to end up with.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:10 PM on November 11, 2008

Ha, cortex. Judging from your twitanovel activity level, you should have gone with a fallout 3 fanfiction/adventure journal.
posted by juv3nal at 5:38 PM on November 11, 2008

...and yes (unless you're a crazed nma diehard) it really is a very good game.
posted by juv3nal at 5:41 PM on November 11, 2008

I have so far not written a single word for NaNoWriMo. Not one. I have excuses, but I won't be spending them here. I'm saving them up to trade in for X-Ray Specs.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:36 AM on November 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

Whew. I lost a little time to some mass chaos with my computer, but I'm now back on track -- 4867 words, and back down to a rate where 2150 words per day will get me there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:37 PM on November 12, 2008

grinding to a halt. mananged to squeeze out an astounding 450-odd words (and they were odd words indeed) last night and the tally now sits at 20973.
posted by prettypretty at 4:45 PM on November 12, 2008

I have literally not written anything since Sunday. Who knows, if I finish my report by 4AM I may spend the remaining three hours of the mornign writing.
posted by Phire at 9:09 PM on November 12, 2008

*cough* Novel re-start.

So I decide I'll give write-ins another shot. Who seems like they're gonna show up? Oh, one person with 38/50k done. Another: 77/50k.

These people are killing me.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:17 PM on November 12, 2008

I hope you read that pep talk by Meg Cabot, Durn. Restarting is bad for your sou.
posted by Phire at 4:32 PM on November 13, 2008

I'm beginning to realize I hate this. Oh character who is the mother of the protagonist, why are you having drinks with his nemesis? WHY??
posted by OrangeDrink at 10:56 PM on November 13, 2008

Okay, next week I begin the regimen, no fooling this time.
Honest. For reals.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:16 PM on November 13, 2008

Half-way mark today.

I've posted 26,185 words and have a few hundred more waiting to be included in a chapter.
posted by Phanx at 7:48 AM on November 15, 2008

22953 so far. at least i finally figured out what the story is about. kind of.

in the evenings, booze helps, but not too much booze. there's a delicate balance to be maintained.

but right now it's morning, so it's time for tea. perhaps i should have a character talk about tea for a while to get some more words down.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:13 AM on November 16, 2008

also, robocop is bleeding, you are MASTER OF THE MAD WRITING SPEEDZ.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:14 AM on November 16, 2008

24,091. I am determined to reach the halfway point today, even though I have almost no time. At least I've gotten my character out of Shanghai, where she was drifting aimlessly and taking my plot with her.
posted by bassjump at 7:52 AM on November 16, 2008

62,604. If I want to actually end this story and avoid a "rocks fall, everybody dies" ending, I'm probably going to hit 85k at least. The main character just survived a possible poisoning and is fleeing back north to help put an end to a newly birthed blight upon the land.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:52 PM on November 16, 2008

25,839. I'm aiming to get to 30,000 tonight so I can relax tomorrow. This is HARD and it's possible I'm all written out.
posted by prettypretty at 6:02 PM on November 16, 2008

35,790. Cross-country train rides are not the muse I was looking for.
posted by logicpunk at 5:37 AM on November 17, 2008

10,255. Way, way behind. I can only write after ten at nite and have to get get up at 6. My delete key is out on my computer, I'm a frigging zombie but still cranking.
posted by Xurando at 5:45 AM on November 17, 2008

I jumped from 10004 to 14098 in one day, and I'm not done for the day yet. W00T!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:34 PM on November 17, 2008

I'm halfway! 26,521 at the moment. I really need sleep. I'm really, really looking forward to my time off next week (yay for American Thanksgiving) so I can spend hours every day working on this baby. And so that those hours can start before 7pm.
posted by bassjump at 9:16 PM on November 17, 2008

30,077 Argh, now I'm morally forced to complete it.
posted by Phanx at 2:16 PM on November 18, 2008

Hah. I'm finding it hard to keep going. Not just because I crossed 50k, but because I'm mentally charted out the rest of the book, so it feels 'done' to me.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:31 AM on November 19, 2008

okay! i have passed 30K. way more than i managed the last time i wrimo'd.

THIS 'NOVEL' IS SO MUCH CRAP.

also, i'm still figuring out what the hell the plot is. i mean, i know some stuff. but there's other stuff, um, i have no clue.

i should figure it out i guess.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:45 AM on November 19, 2008

Jinx, Phanx, I hit 30,077 last night. FINALLY broke 30K and I couldn't be happier (still can't bring myself to read what I've written, though).
posted by prettypretty at 2:18 PM on November 19, 2008

I just got home and I have to be at work in less than eight hours, but I am determined to reach 30,000 words tonight before I go to bed. This really *has* taken over my life.
posted by bassjump at 9:46 PM on November 19, 2008

24,151. So close to halfway I'm probably going to apply myself to write more tonight just so I can say I got there.

Heh.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:20 PM on November 21, 2008

Yeah, don't stop to look back, prettypretty!

38,489.
posted by Phanx at 3:52 AM on November 22, 2008

So I totally beat Fallout 3, btw.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:19 AM on November 22, 2008

45,090. Hopefully this weekend I'll be done with this.


And I'm way behind cortex on NaFaOu3Mo.
posted by logicpunk at 1:15 PM on November 22, 2008

40,647
posted by Phanx at 2:46 PM on November 22, 2008

22,201. Way behind, could use a pep talk of sorts, but am determined to finish.
posted by Xurando at 6:35 PM on November 22, 2008

oh god no looking back: that would probably stop me in my tracks from the sheer mortification!

34,467 as at Saturday night. Plan is 4000 today, 5000 tomorrow and squeeze the rest in somehow before next Sunday.
posted by prettypretty at 8:14 PM on November 22, 2008

50,064. And I'm probably only 1/3 done with the story. But it feels good to have finally gotten this far with one.
posted by logicpunk at 12:10 PM on November 23, 2008

41,404, but it's getting epically harder to churn out words now. Almost there!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 12:18 PM on November 23, 2008

39,949. I couldn't believe it.

This, after forgetting it the first week. Thankfully I shattered the space/time continuum in the first act, which means I can have my characters warp to a totally different setting whenever the current situation gets stale.

Also, David Bowie has made a cameo.
posted by hellojed at 5:09 PM on November 23, 2008

36,665. I'm falling behind and need to get back on track the next couple of days.
It's amazing how fast time fills up with non-writing things even when I'm not in the office.

Xurando, keep going! Let's finish these suckers.
posted by bassjump at 7:19 AM on November 24, 2008

28000 and change. I've been losing time to lameness.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:47 AM on November 24, 2008

44,871 posted. I am going to get there. I am going to get there.

I may get there.
posted by Phanx at 1:55 PM on November 24, 2008

43392. I think I may be running out of ideas.
posted by prettypretty at 2:14 PM on November 24, 2008

47,221. SO close.
posted by Phanx at 11:59 AM on November 25, 2008

I basically had a bunch of my freinds tell me I'm cheating by having charachters warp in and out at random. Another person from this group already has > 50K.

So yeah, this thing just got harder to write.
posted by hellojed at 12:35 PM on November 25, 2008

Oh no. Still on 35600. Time is running out...
posted by Cantdosleepy at 2:51 PM on November 25, 2008

I'm on a roll! I'm now up to 34,669 -- just 3 thousand words a day for the next 5 days and I'm there! I can so totally do this!

(I do have the advantage of a solo thanksgiving -- I was already planning on holing up all day and futzing around the house, why not try to knock out a couple chapters while I'm at it?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:12 PM on November 25, 2008

I've had a ridiculously productive day: I've written over 4,000 words to bring my total to 41,569. Finally, I feel like I might actually make it.
posted by bassjump at 6:28 PM on November 25, 2008

I'm cheating by having charachters warp in and out at random

Not the way I understand the rules. It might make you a trendy avant garde kind of a writer, but I can't see that it disqualifies you in any way.
posted by Phanx at 5:38 AM on November 26, 2008

I've started to revise, so locked down my wordcount for the PDF win.

Also, so I can buy Fallout 3.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:51 AM on November 26, 2008

I am still at 0, but Fallout 3 is excellent.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:27 AM on November 26, 2008

Left 4 Dead is also excellent novel material, as it turns out.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:45 AM on November 26, 2008

Marketing is done! Finally! After three weeks of nonstop meeting and writing and revising and sleeping three hours a day, it is finally over.

Which means I have precisely 4.5 days to write 37 words.

Hmm.
posted by Phire at 8:54 AM on November 26, 2008

44,181. It's like squeezing blood from a stone at this point, but hey, almost there!
posted by prettypretty at 2:00 PM on November 26, 2008

46,393. I wrote over a thousand words in the car on the way to and from Thanksgiving dinner. (No, I was not driving.) So excited that I'm actually going to finish this thing. Or at least have enough words to call it finished, in a way.
posted by bassjump at 5:28 PM on November 27, 2008

Left 4 Dead is also excellent novel material, as it turns out.

There's my final act! David Bowie, a talking cat, a hipster named Sven and my main charachter, shootin' zombies.

This has been a strange novel.
posted by hellojed at 9:39 PM on November 27, 2008

Final official word count 53,547. Now available as a pdf. Never again.
posted by Phanx at 5:57 AM on November 28, 2008

Sorry. 53,623, as if it matters.The Nanowrimo counter credits me with more words than I thought I had.
posted by Phanx at 5:58 AM on November 28, 2008

41,125. Three days to go. My God, I can do this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 AM on November 28, 2008

Woah, it's 41245. Even better!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:30 AM on November 28, 2008

The good: I'm at 47,398.
The bad: I've just discovered some ridiculous inconsistencies in my plot.
Somehow a crucial conversation got written into the wrong place, and now a whole string of scenes makes no sense. I'm going to have to fix this.
posted by bassjump at 8:42 AM on November 28, 2008

46051. Going for the big finish tonight so I can catch up on sleep tomorrow. It doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, but hey, it's almost (almost!) written.
posted by prettypretty at 4:23 PM on November 28, 2008

49643

almost...there...
posted by hellojed at 8:16 PM on November 28, 2008

50,138! Yay yay yay.
Except for that part about it not actually being a finished draft yet, but I've got two days left.
posted by bassjump at 8:42 PM on November 28, 2008

43786. 1 AM and I'm fried. How can I shorten the plot? Off to bed. More suffering tomorrow.
posted by Xurando at 9:48 PM on November 28, 2008

Done. Can't quite believe it....let me just get my hands on some more of that celebratory red wine...(forgive the gush, it's my first 50,000).
posted by prettypretty at 3:12 AM on November 29, 2008

woohoo! i won!

i won with absolute utter crap that failed to have a coherent narrative plot, or characterization, or other things that one associates with "novels", but it's over 50K words.

*next* time, i'll go for some kind of actual narrative structure.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:50 AM on November 29, 2008

50,143! Wooooo! Still have a couple thousand more words needed to wrap everything up, but aiming to be totally finished by tomorrow. I had way more fun doing this than I thought I would.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 9:52 AM on November 29, 2008

50,097. Yay
posted by hellojed at 3:53 PM on November 29, 2008

Congratulations to everyone who won already, and good luck to those who are close (even more luck to those who are not-so-close)!

I bowed out a while back after about 10K; a death in the family greatly overshadowed everything else for week 2 and then I never got back into it. I'll try again next year.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:43 PM on November 29, 2008

51710.

bloody hell, I wrote a book.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:07 PM on November 29, 2008

50940. Now what?
posted by Xurando at 11:47 AM on November 30, 2008

Are we all winners?

I say we are, dammit!

Even poor little cortex, but that's just because he was right - Fallout 3 is an awesome game.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:59 PM on November 30, 2008

At about 11,000, I stalled for a week, and by 20.11, when I went to the Middle East on business and had zero time for writing for another five days, I conidered myself surrendered. Still, I will certainly participate again next year - looking forward to it already - and I have 11,000 words for the bottom drawer, plus a working outline for a long story and a couple of short story ideas that appeared as byproducts. And The Proper Novel wasn't held back by participation. So I consider it a relative success.
posted by WPW at 4:39 PM on November 30, 2008

I think I have written something approaching a novel's worth of text in Diplomacy press in the last week, actually. So that's something.

Great work all of you. To the finishers, congrats; to the first time finishers, doubly so. It's an absurd task that generally yields bizarre and unusable output, but it's an immense accomplishment of will and effort regardless and something to be proud to say you have done.

To the folks who haven't finished: fuck the finishers, I never liked those guys anyway. And take heart: you did better than me. I'm pretty sure I stopped in mid-sentence about four weeks ago.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:20 PM on November 30, 2008