http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115947856102
Tomorrow NoWriMo July 2009 kicks off! Maybe next year we'll do more to prepare for this, or maybe you'll even think about doing the real NaNoWriMo in November! I hope you do!
It helps to start with an idea before going in, but you don't have to have a whole lot of planning done to participate. The fun is in seeing where the story goes.
Some tips for the challenge:
1) NO EDITING!! NO NO NO!! D= Save the editing for AFTER you have the raw story done, because without it, you've got nothing. We are not promoting perfect literature, the goal is to prove how much you can get done and forcing yourself to do it. Anyone can write a novel (or poetry, or song lyrics, or scripts =]), we're providing a time, and a motivation.
2) Write in whatever way works for you. I personally like to write scenes out of order; I write either what comes to me, or what I would have fun writing that day. Some people chart out scenes on note cards, map them out on their floor or wall so you see where the gaps are and what still needs to be written. Or shuffle them up and whatever card you get is the scene you write. Be creative!
3) Word padding is a wonderful thing. My word document of my story is full of things where I wasn't [too] sure if I wanted to [use/ change] a word or not, so around the bit I wasn't [very] sure would stay or [might/ most likely, almost most definitely] were going to be edited, I'd put brackets around them (as I just did). They count toward your word count! BSing is a good thing, it helps you get past that part you're stuck on and keep moving.
4) lab.drwicked.com/writeordie <<< THAT LINK IS LIFE. Write or Die is an online tool where you type in the box, and you give yourself a time limit, a word goal, and how strict the punishment is if you hesitate when you're typing (normal mode plays a horrible noise when you stop, and kamikaze mode starts eating your words!) It's very useful!
5) Go to NaNoWriMo.org and look at the dares, prompts and other helpful things if you get stuck!
6) Set up a reward for yourself. At the end of NaNo, I bought myself a T-shirt from the event to reward passing the 50,000 word mark. This time around I'm going to buy a book I really wanted. Some people do punishments too (no chocolate for the month, or if you don't reach your goal for the day, etc) but I don't find them helpful. What will your reward be?
+++++At the end of each day, let's post our word count so we can see how well others are doing, like on the real NaNo site. This is a self challenge, but competition makes it fun =]++++++
For those of you participating, good luck to all!
Just thought I'd share this with everyone. It's a group my friend started but for the month of July. It's based on the original NaNoRiMo contest.
I'm taking part in this..lol..though, my official word count to date is 0. I'll have 10,000 words to write tomorrow!!! I have Gluttony linked to the July NaNo too 🙂
