h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's an achievement to write a novel anyway - if we mean by novel a piece of fiction that tells some kind of story, and not just a random assemblage of words. If you do it in 30 days, you deserve your certificate.

I tried to write a novel the slow way. It took me two and a half years and it's still only 46,000 words. I'll go back and edit it but I wondered if the NaNoWriMo approach had some merit. I'm not doing it this year though.

I think the NaNoWriMo approach would be most likely to give you the first draft of a novel, perhaps, which you would then go back and edit like mad.

Aiming for 50,000 words in 30 days forces you to just get on with it, with the focus being on quantity rather than quality. That's how I see it, anyway. The novel I wrote was pretty crappy, really. The characters were two dimensional, the plot was virtually non-existent, I don't believe anyone would want to read it. But who knows, maybe with a bit of effort I could cut out lots of rubbish and expand on some good points to get a better version.

I've always liked the *idea* of being a writer and it was an interesting experiment which resulted in a great feeling of achievement - not for the end product but for having seen it through to the end. I'm proud of that because it shows me I can be self-disciplined.

I'm almost talking myself into doing it again, and it really is too time-consuming for someone who really wants to implement a proper exercise regime!

Anyone want to join me for NaDaWoMo*?

Deb

* National Daily Workout Month

Yes Icy... probably a bit harsh... but I still find it a little sad that 'winning' must come with a reward other than the knowledge having achieved something awesome. Plus you *do* get a certificate (which you print out... and I lost mine... I'll frame this year's if I win)

"The notion of 'win' should not be mutually inclusive with the notion of 'reward' and I find it faintly ghastly that it apparently is with you, paul" [Mr. Dreadful]

The question I asked was an honest one. I had heard that NaNoWriMo did not hand out awards for the best novels, but it was possible that I had misunderstood them. My capacity for misunderstanding is what is ghastly, but I come by it honestly and share it with billions of other people.

the feeling when you send off your 50,000 words (you can encrypt them any way you like, but replacing all the letters with an "x" or something is the simplest way for most people) and then get the certificate back is definitely a "smile as wide as china" moment. I love it.

I will go back to NaNo when the OU has finished with me

Deb: Anyone want to join me for NaDaWoMo*? smiley - biggrin
Me: Er, not really, which probably means that I really should. At the moment, I aim to get an hour in the pool 3 to 5 times a week but average 4-6 times a fortnight.

As for NaNoWriMo - no way. NaJoPoMo - maybe.

I'd like to do NaNoWriMo but, like Sho, I have OU course work to contend with. Maybe next year.

As for NaDaWoMo, I really ought to do something like that. I need to lose weight and my fitness is non-existent. (Health problems are responsible for both issues.) However, I'm on holiday until early October, so can it wait until November?

If Create does NaMoJoPo, would any of you be interested in doing that?

planning a tale of revenge, betrayal,corruption and (da da daaaa) murrrder...theme will very much be adult content, does anyone know how NaNoWriMo views themes of a violent/horror/strong language/sexual nature?

or should I stick to 'theres an alien in my back garden'?

As you scramble the text before submitting for NaNoWriMo you can write fifty shades for all they care, so go for it!

Just let us know when you publish it

Deb

I'd definitely be up for NaJoPoMo this year, depending on how it was done. I found it a bit all over the place last year and didn't enjoy it so much as it was so hard to keep track of the different posters with so many ways of doing it.

Deb

Thanks Deb, looking forwards to his now.

I remember that last year, there was a discussion of how postings to NaJoPoMo should be done.

The best solution seemed to be for each researcher to start one journal thread, replying to themselves as they go along. We need to know, of course, who's doing it, so we can keep dropping in and seeing what everyone is writing.

It's difficult though, keeping tabs on what everyone is writing. I know that I only discovered some of the best stuff at the end last year.

I've posted an account of how I wrote my not-quite-novel on A87809700, and would love to hear other people's accounts. On September's Create page please .

I'll make sure to pop over and have a look

I did more work on character sheets this weekend. I didn't realise how much I'd thought out about my characters are what they were like

If you've really got to know your characters, it sounds as if you're doing well, Pastey.

I started writing the book initially about ten years ago, they've been around a while