Anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year?

[Richard Krauss]

I'm thinking about taking the plunge. Anyone else getting ready to give it try?

Any advice from those that have done it in past years?

[D.R. MacMaster]

I did it two years in a row, but I haven't done it in two years. I've been just too busy.

Though I do recommend it as a way to get the creative juices flowing.

My advice- Aim for 2,000 words a day, if you do better, that great, but if you do less, don't knock yourself over it. Also don't get to wrapped up in topping your daily word count from one day to the next. I did that and got so tense I was a complete jerk by day 23 when I had finished it.

[Torch]

I'm in this year and excited. I entered 2005 & 2006 but did not "win" :(. Last year I did not join in the craziness. I am going to try something new this year...I have an actual plan for a story and an outline in my mind. I just read an interview of a lady that wrote over 400,000 words last year. The key to her success was that she worked on mulitple stories. So when she hit a rough or slow place on one story she would just move onto the next. I get stuck on my stories and that is part of my problem so I will also try this mulitple story idea.

Good Luck!! Remember their motto: Quantity not Quality!!

[Richard Krauss]

D.R. and Torch thank you both for your advice. The 2000 word-a-day goal sounds reasonable. At least a few days of it. The real test will be to see if I can do it 30 days in a row! Good to know you found it useful enough to go back another year.

It had never occurred to me to work on more than one thing. Actually that was one of my worries. I'm taking a class with weekly assignments that will run through most of the month. If I can use those stories too, it should make the goal more realistic.

Torch, I'll see if I can find you on their site, so I can track your progress.

[Cynthia Rice]

Richard - I'm planning to give it a try this year. A deadline is a great motivator. Is there a formal signup?
Cynthia Rice

[John Dishon]

Yeah, I'm doing it. My suggestion is to try to get as many words the first day or two as you can (aim for 10,000 if you have all day to write, maybe 5,000 otherwise). After you've written a lot in one day you realize just how little 1,667 words (the minimum to hit 50,000 in 30 days) is.

Anyone who is interested, go to www.nanowrimo.org and sign up, though you don't have to sign up to participate.

[Richard Krauss]

Thanks for adding the link and the good advice John. It's nice to see some other CrimeSpace folks are trying it out this year!

[Richard Krauss]

BTW, I'm just plain krauss on NaNo if anyone wants to "friend" me on their site.

[John Dishon]

I'm whiteskwirl. I just added you. I'll add everyone else too.

[Pamela]

I'm giving it a try this year, too. It probably wasn't a good idea to plan a big Halloween bash at our house on Nov. 1st!

Thanks for the great advice everyone!

I'm Indya44 at Nano.

[Torch]

Most of you have already found me on NaNoWriMo. I'm Torch. I wish you all good luck...only 5 days left. Thank god for Tivo!

[Miss Mae]

Not me. I attempted last year, but only got so far as 5,000 words. However, the start did actually turn into a story that I sold and will be available for sale Feb. 4, 2009. So, that was a good thing, I'd say!

[Nikki Leigh]

Sounds like several people are doing NaNo this year :) I've participated the last 6 years and won each year. I'm still trying to work out a plan to participate this year and signed up - just in case. Business is doing well and that is a great thing, but its going to be tough to do NanNo - still have to try :)

I wrote several articles about NaNo for anyone who would like to take a look --

http://readersstation.ning.com/group/nanowrimo/forum

Nikki Leigh

PS - I'm also the owner of Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours and my assistant Donna, posted a message looking for blog owners who would like to host an author for his book (My Father, My Don by Tony Naploi) about being the son of a organized crime Capo - if you would like details - take a look here - http://crimespace.ning.com/eventsforum/topic/show?id=537324%3ATopic... and more detail here - http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-father-my-don-by-ton... -- Spaces are limited for the tour :)