The 2011 TPM NaNoWriMo Support Group - Final Week Underway!

[Gavin Luper]

National Novel Writing Month - or NaNoWriMo - is fast approaching!

Who's doing it this year?

I'm using it to move forward on LTL - third year running! It's scary that this may be the last time I need to use it for LTL purposes though.

Anyone else joining? Thinking of joining?

[mattbcl]

I'm doing it. I'm more of a traditionalist for NaNo, though, I only start new stories instead of advancing on ones already in progress, and always original fiction. I'm working up a concept I started playing with during high school. I made it a short story for a creative writing class, but admittedly it wasn't very good at the time. I can make it far better now, with significant alterations. Looking forward to it!

[classy_cat18]

I'm using it for AC/CC. Hopefully I'll actually accomplish something.

[Gavin Luper]

This is awesome - at least three of us are doing it! It will be good to have a few people to kind of confer with/bitch about how much our pieces are pissing us off, etc.

16 days ... can't wait!

[Wolfsong]

I'm doing it again this year. Gonna start on my werewolf csi maimi fanfic idea. once i gett he kinks out of this werewolf au i'm hoping to work on an original ficiton story but i need to get the canon for that sorted otu first and horatio caine gets to become a werewolf to help that process...

[Gavin Luper]

I'm doing it again this year. Gonna start on my werewolf csi maimi fanfic idea. once i gett he kinks out of this werewolf au i'm hoping to work on an original ficiton story but i need to get the canon for that sorted otu first and horatio caine gets to become a werewolf to help that process...

Woot. We should have a TPM NaNoWriMo team or summat.

Also, good to see you back here, Amy, after the accidental banning! ^_^

[Wolfsong]

Thanks and its good to be back. I like that idea.

[mattbcl]

Agreed on the NaNo team. What would we be called? The NaNites?

[mr_pikachu]

You should call yourself the London Silly NaNies.

(Family Guy reference here.)

As for participating, it will surprise me if I'm able to do so, but we'll see how my schedule looks come November. If my statistics classes stop soaking up my time (not likely), then perhaps I can jump into the fray.

[Gavin Luper]

Brian, that would be epic!

I'm just glad uni finishes on November 2nd.

XD @ Silly NaNies. I see what you did there.

Okay, team name brainstorming time ...

The (Ba)NaNas?

[Crystal Tears]

I go for it every year, but have only ever succeeded once. I usually write a new story for it, but I don't know what its going to be about (Mass Effect, HALO, and StarCraft are all big contenders). Original fiction, maybe, but right now the only original thing I'm working on is Under the Dusk.

I... have no witty ideas for NaNoWriMo names. Sorry D:

[Becky]

Can I use nano for my dissertation? I actually have the front end done, so while I won't be working as much on the writing, what I will be doing is submitting a revised IRB (have one approved and currently used to gather data this term for the pre-study). Or maybe to complete another journal article.

[DarkestLight]

o.O Never even thought about using it for AC/CC. Count me in

[Asilynne]

I'm actually going for it this year, it always snuck up on me in past years and I either had no free time or too much stress to actually do it. I think I may rely on the TPM Nano Support Group to stay motivated. Good thing is I have a kernel of an idea already, and as I write it can sprout into whatever kind of plant it will end up being I'm really going to give it my best shot so lets hope! Anyone got any tips?

[Gavin Luper]

I'm actually going for it this year, it always snuck up on me in past years and I either had no free time or too much stress to actually do it. I think I may rely on the TPM Nano Support Group to stay motivated. Good thing is I have a kernel of an idea already, and as I write it can sprout into whatever kind of plant it will end up being I'm really going to give it my best shot so lets hope! Anyone got any tips?

I like being the TPM Nano Support Group, at least until we get a cleverer name, but I seriously can't think of a good one, and I refuse to be a Silly NaNie.

What would you guys say to a thread in the writer's lounge where we can post our daily word counts, discuss things on breaks, generally bitch and moan and SPAM to vent our pent-up writeriness? I think I would enjoy doing that with a bunch of fellow WriMos.

As for tips ... I will be drinking lots of black coffee and smoking like a chimney. Few other ways of remaining alert and awake during my enormous NaNoWriMo writing binges have proven effective.

[Asilynne]

I could be a huge Star Trek Nerd and say we should call ourselves the NaNo-prose (in Star Trek Voyager the Borg have nanoprobes lol) Brandy has gained nerdiness +50!

[mattbcl]

I endorse the idea of a place where we can hang out, bitch and moan about NaNo, and bounce off the walls. Part of me is a little jealous that people get a place for spamming over in the Post Count Capsule - we're definitely going to need one, too. I figure that if we end up getting blocks, venting about it will at least get us typing, and will eventually turn us in the right direction.

I also endorse Asi's submission for the group name.

[Gavin Luper]

I endorse the idea of a place where we can hang out, bitch and moan about NaNo, and bounce off the walls. Part of me is a little jealous that people get a place for spamming over in the Post Count Capsule - we're definitely going to need one, too. I figure that if we end up getting blocks, venting about it will at least get us typing, and will eventually turn us in the right direction.

I also endorse Asi's submission for the group name.

I actually think Smiley Town should be the equivalent of the Post Count Capsule; that's what we intended when we rebooted it this time. We should make it that way. Spam and random posts should be fine, in order to boost discussion. Flaming, less so.

Cool, we'll set up the TPM Nano Support Group come the end of the month, then.

Meantime: Are we going to still have an awesome team name?

[mr_pikachu]

I actually think Smiley Town should be the equivalent of the Post Count Capsule; that's what we intended when we rebooted it this time. We should make it that way. Spam and random posts should be fine, in order to boost discussion. Flaming, less so.

Well, spamming, to a degree... I'm going to be a little annoyed if I see 20 posts in 20 minutes by the same person saying little more than "Hi!" As long as it's not abused, though, I have no issue with being considerably more flexible with Smiley Town than the rest of the forum.

Really, we've already been far more flexible, as stated in the thread itself. Certainly, though, people could be even looser there if they so chose.

[Asilynne]

The NaNo is sneaking up on us! Everyone ready? I'm excited for my first one even if it is a bit daunting!

[DarkestLight]

o.O I need to be clarified on the word count for NanoWriMo. 50K words right? I have two ideas that I can churn out for it. BUt the Ac/cc side of me needs some love, specially since I got a new party member.

[classy_cat18]

o.O I need to be clarified on the word count for NanoWriMo. 50K words right? I have two ideas that I can churn out for it. BUt the Ac/cc side of me needs some love, specially since I got a new party member.

Yeah, 50K or more. And you can do either. I was stuck between AC/CC and a side story for Scattered Lights, but I promised Gabi that AC/CC would be top priority until I catch up on my Battle Range stories.

[Gavin Luper]

Woot, I'm so pumped for this! I deliver my thesis proposal presentation on the 2nd November, and then after that it's BAM into NaNoWriMo.

Do you guys want a new TPM NaNo Support Group thread for us to bitch and moan and update in each day, or should I just change the title on this one?

[Asilynne]

I'm cool with whatever

[Gavin Luper]

hahaha awesome!

so we have both of us happy either way now ^_^

other peoples?

[mattbcl]

Actually this thread works just as well, it's already been defined as the place to talk about what we're gearing up for anyway.

I feel like I ought to devote it to AAO, since it hasn't been getting much love from my muse lately - on the other hand, I'm still bent on going the traditional route.

[Gavin Luper]

Actually this thread works just as well, it's already been defined as the place to talk about what we're gearing up for anyway.

I feel like I ought to devote it to AAO, since it hasn't been getting much love from my muse lately - on the other hand, I'm still bent on going the traditional route.

Cool, let's use this one then.

It can be easier, I think, using it to complete an existing work - less time spent planning plots and characters, depending on your story.

Is AAO quite heavy with character and plot points that would need you to constantly revert to past chapters? Or can you just charge on ahead with it quite quickly?

[Asilynne]

I'm going to be using it for writing something completely new that I just have a rough basic idea for, since its my first one and I was told not to pick something that I already have ideas for ^-^() I'm a bit nervous though because starting a story is always my hardest thing to do, I could have an entire world's history, characters and story timeline planned out but actually getting it to start and flow are what I find difficult...anyone have any tips?

[Gavin Luper]

I'm going to be using it for writing something completely new that I just have a rough basic idea for, since its my first one and I was told not to pick something that I already have ideas for ^-^() I'm a bit nervous though because starting a story is always my hardest thing to do, I could have an entire world's history, characters and story timeline planned out but actually getting it to start and flow are what I find difficult...anyone have any tips?

I wish I did - that is exactly my problem, too!

The beginning is always the hardest.

I guess I would say envisage exactly what kind of tone and scene you want your story to open with, because this opening will set the tone for the story in the eyes of your reader. And my tendency is always to try to establish every little aspect of the universe in detail first, and then get narrower, but I think that's a mistake a lot of the time: maybe get into the character and story immediately and let everything flesh itself out over time.

Having said this, I've not done that before; that advice just came to me as I typed. But it seems kind of plausible, right?

[mattbcl]

Cool, let's use this one then.

It can be easier, I think, using it to complete an existing work - less time spent planning plots and characters, depending on your story.

Is AAO quite heavy with character and plot points that would need you to constantly revert to past chapters? Or can you just charge on ahead with it quite quickly?

Since it's a rewrite, my thing is that the original wasn't loaded down with character / plot points, at least in its first ten chapters (where it's at right now, 29 segments in, is the old story's equivalent of Chapter 4... watch me collapse now). There were a few important things to capture, but it was almost a standard trainer fic with a few different twists and turns thrown in. Now I want it to evolve beyond that. It was a character-driven story before, but a couple of my critics were correct in that even the main characters were fairly shallow in the original. I've been taking great pains to see to it that the characters develop over the massive amount of time in which the story takes place (several years pass from beginning to end).

But since I've have this specific vision in my head for a long time how the story played out, I'm not overly concerned with having to go back and look at what I've already written. I know how it's supposed to go. I could charge ahead quickly - but I suppose what I'm getting snagged up on is battles. Might seem like a silly thing, but I want the battles to be accurate, and phenomenal. It's Pokémon, for crying out loud, battle is where it's at!

While typing this all out, I think I may have already come up with the solution I think you'd offer. And I think you would say "skip writing the battles for now, you can come back to them later, and just write what's important to you about the story. You don't have to write everything in order. It all comes together on its own eventually."

Hmm... not sure who to thank for the advice. But thanks for asking the question, at the very least!

[Crystal Tears]

You guys plan things? I literally just sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Whether its an original piece of fanfiction, planning seems to bog me down.

The last time I completed NaNoWriMo, I just winged it. I hated the finished piece but I ended with like 50 012 words. XD

[Gavin Luper]

You guys plan things? I literally just sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Whether its an original piece of fanfiction, planning seems to bog me down.

The last time I completed NaNoWriMo, I just winged it. I hated the finished piece but I ended with like 50 012 words. XD

I plan things these days. I used to just write and see where it took me, but that makes it an extremely painful process when you try to actually wrap up some very significant mysteries and plot points that were signposted way back when in the story. So I always have some kind of basic plan these days, if not a list of important events/scenes for each chapter, which is what I've moved toward lately.

Last time you did NaNoWriMo, was it starting from scratch?

[DarkestLight]

Last I attempted it, yeah it was from scratch, and it was that one story I started to post here, but then started rewriting massively as I posted. Kinda wanna work on that one as well...but that's for a later date.

The scratch starts are fun, I end up writing battles out first, and then middle sections. Sooner or later, a beginning falls into place and then I mix and match, edit, rewrite scenes and modify existing scraps so I have a semi-written story. Then I write whatever is missing Its weird yeah, but it makes for fun timeline gap filers.

[Samchu]

Painfully late at jumping on this (conversational) bandwagon but here I am anyway, ready to fail at another NaNo attempt. Any month but November and I'd be fine, no birthday to organise, no really important assignments to hand in...but we'll see. Maybe this year I'll get a little further. At the very least it'll get another original idea out of the starting block, even if it collapses and dies before the very first hurdle.

Out of curiosity, is anyone considering posting their NaNo attempts up here? I know the idea is to pump out a high word count and then go back to improve the quality and that people might not want to put their raw work out there but is anyone thinking that they might consider doing this?

[Asilynne]

I probably will since its my first one, get some advice before I refine it ;D

[Gavin Luper]

Painfully late at jumping on this (conversational) bandwagon but here I am anyway, ready to fail at another NaNo attempt.

Hahaha - that's the spirit, Sam! ^_^ Think positive! You can do it! Etc. etc.

Any month but November and I'd be fine, no birthday to organise, no really important assignments to hand in...but we'll see. Maybe this year I'll get a little further. At the very least it'll get another original idea out of the starting block, even if it collapses and dies before the very first hurdle.

Out of curiosity, is anyone considering posting their NaNo attempts up here? I know the idea is to pump out a high word count and then go back to improve the quality and that people might not want to put their raw work out there but is anyone thinking that they might consider doing this?

I'll be posting mine here, but it's LTL so I'm not sure if that helps. But at least you know one other person is putting their NaNo stuff on TPM. Mine will end up being edited, though.

[Wolfsong]

I probably won't be posting here but eventually i will at my fanfiction.net account- Wolfsong98 .I'm currently posting last year's nano story. A freaky friday version of csi maimi... I need to update it soon but i also need to fix the next chapter before sending a couple more off at my beta.... since i probably wont' be updating it too much this novemeber

Last year i almost didn't win. the sunday before the end my main desktop got a nasty virus and had to be formatted everything on it was lost. luckily i had saved it on a jump drive.

[Gavin Luper]

I probably won't be posting here but eventually i will at my fanfiction.net account- Wolfsong98 .I'm currently posting last year's nano story. A freaky friday version of csi maimi... I need to update it soon but i also need to fix the next chapter before sending a couple more off at my beta.... since i probably wont' be updating it too much this novemeber

Last year i almost didn't win. the sunday before the end my main desktop got a nasty virus and had to be formatted everything on it was lost. luckily i had saved it on a jump drive.

Holy crap, that would be completely devastating if you hadn't had a back-up. I don't even know what I would do if that happened to me.

Does anyone else have a Nano account? Can we like, make teams on that site and stuff? Not that I want to take away any activity from here, but just curious.

[Wolfsong]

As it was i had lost a day's wordcount but luckyl i had my notes from a rp chat session with a friend for a difficult section so it didn't take long to get it back...

Anyways i do have a nano account like my fanfiction.net account its Wolfsong98

[Gavin Luper]

Gnarly - once I remember what the hell my account is I shall find you!

(Not in a creepy way or anything, XD)