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

Dear Ladies, Gentlemen and assorted entities who have been kind enough to friend me. I'm going to be partaking in the NaJoPoMo 2012, which means I'll be updating my journal every day during the month of November. I suspect it will be a case of whinging about writing a thesis and other such things.

Now dear friends, what would you like me to do? Would you like me to keep it to one journal which I update regularly? Or would you rather I made a new post every day.

The last thing I want is to loose friends, so if anyone would rather I kept it to one thread I will do.

Z

I would like you to let your hair down and just do it whatever way *you* feel like. The world won't grind to a halt because Z's journal is in a particular format.

Just try to write something interesting. If you do that, I'm sure we won't hang you for doing it wrong.

I won't get upset with anyone no matter how much they post, or in what format. If I don't have time to read it all, I will just unsub without replying as necessary. The sun will still rise and set without my , and I'll enjoy what I am able to read.

But the NoJoPoMo thing isn't for the readers, IMO, it's for the writers. So, write what you want, about what you want, and in whatever format you want, and *enjoy doing it*.

What KB and PC said. Unless, of course, you do a new journal every day, in which case I'm unfriending you for the duration

I'm going to do one thread, updated each day. That way if people want to opt out of NaJoPoMo they can, but if I want to post something to my 'usual' audience I can post a new journal and not leave them out. But it's up to you, that's just my way of doing it. You journals are likely to be less boring than mine.

I think I'll probably do several themes, and have one thread for each theme. So one thread about research, one about the cats, one about books. It shouldn't be more than two or three threads.

I'm going to do one thread and update every day too. This is my first attempts at NaJoPoMo, so if I don't get to the end of the month I won't feel bad, and I do want to read other people's as well.

OK so now I'm dithering. I like the idea of having a different thread for different themes. On the other hand, I'm lazy so I may well just do a journal a day. On the other hand one thread per theme will make it less noticable if I crash and burn.

Decisions decisions.

Maybe I'm unusual but I'd rather you did a different one each day Especially if you give them all a title that hints at the content of the day's journal. I don't mind at all seeing my conversations list full of new postings and I'm more likely to come and read the new journals than keep popping back to one NaJoPoMo journal thread that mixes up conversations on the topics and new journal entries by you.

MC

>>But the NoJoPoMo thing isn't for the readers, IMO, it's for the writers.<< See, that's the problem I have with it. If that's the case, why not just write entries? To me, it seems to be about the captive audience.

I think one of the things I like about it is reading what other people are doing all month, so I like the shared experience of that. I'm trying to read all of them.

And I tend to think of writing journals as different from writing entries. My journal is about *me*, and mostly linked to a date. Writing entries could be about anything and couldn't be linked to a date.

I think Mal meant writing them as you do an entry rather than
Formal entries for the guide. Have a look at Dmitri's system, for example: an index page linking to a page for each entry: A87775924

This also has the advantage that we can look back and easily find all the NaJo journals if we ever want to. I think I'll do it that way. Then I can just have 1 journal mentioning an update. It's a *bit* more effort, but just about an extra mouse click per day.

*sneeks in the back door*

How many words is one expected to write....and is it a bit like a diary?

And do I have to tell any one I'm doing it?

*hides in the corner waiting for a polite answer*

Hi Rosie. Just pop along to A87773412 and add your name to the sign up thread.

There's no minimum word count is there?

Don't think so. I'd like to think people at least try for a half-decent paragraph though.

Saying that, though... I think that if I genuinely don't have much to say some days, I'll throw the towel in gracefully, rather than posting for posting's sake.

Starting to think if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. But that's just forcing even more people to read even more stuff.

Well, it is just a month, after all, and it should be fun...

I remember days when the journals I'm sub'd to used to be waaay busier anyway, so I reckon I'll cope.

No minimum word count. I think sprout is planning to post a question every day for example, one his son asks him on waking, which I think is particularly cool. And mvp was thinking about doing a haiku, which is also not wordy. Although I threw in the towel last year because I was posting one liners for the sake of just posting, so I definitely see that point too.

They can be diaries. Mine usually are and I love reading about other people's lives. Not everybody is doing a diary though.

Do join in, Rosie! (and you too, Mala ) You can say here if you like but there is an official sign up leave a link and so on page - they one coley linked to.

Well I have subscribed to the journals listed off the page. So I am all ready to go. I'm going out tomorrow evening and will be home at 11pm, so it will be a struggle to post before midnight.

I am tempted to stay up tonight and post an opening post..then post a review of the play we're going to on the second.