NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month discussion Options

[blockhead]

We've been starting to discuss NaNoWriMo on the coffee shop thread and it seems that it might be a good idea to give it its own thread. Wow, I haven't started a thread here in ages ... since the start of my Bloodmoon fanfic.

Essentially, from November 1st to Nov 30th one writes a novel of 50,000 words. This is about 1667 words per day (consider that November is only 30 days, not 31). Emphasis is on creation, not on editing. One must disable ones "inner editor" for a month.

Rather then me blather on longer (and perhaps get it wrong) here is the site: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and here is the FAQ section: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/basics

So I'm signed up on that site as lokken. Good luck everyone.

(I spent 16+ bucks for the "No Plot No Problem" book (yikes) , so I have to finish this now!)

For myself, I hope that this gives me the needed kick in the behind to write an original story.

[The Metal Mallet]

Perhaps if I didn't go to college and generally have 6-7 hours of work 4 nights of the week, I'd have the time to try this. It sounds like a really interesting concept. Plus it helps that my writing style all ready ignores my inner editor at the moment. I plan to do all my editing after I finish my body of work (Bloodlust).

So, it's going to be at least 3 more years before I have time to actually do this. I really wish I could've done this.

[jack cloudy]

Well, that's too bad. To be honest, I doubt I'll reach the full 50k myself.

So, what shall we talk about in this thread? How about beginning with a discussion on the stories we’re going to write? I’ll start.

I ditched the scenario I spoke about in the coffee shop. It won’t work with that little time. The setting deserves more worldbuilding than a rushed job like that.

So my new setting is more science-fiction. I’ll be using two worlds. One is the afterlife, located at the center of the milky way galaxy, and the other world is plain old earth. A sort of Prime Directive (The Rule) prohibits any contact between the two worlds. Earth has yet to move out into space beyond orbit, but there is a new megastructure on the surface that can be seen from space. I’m talking about the artificial island Atlantis. (Note: This is not influenced by Stargate’s Atlantis. I got this idea years before that show came around. Besides, mine can’t fly.)

Now there is no real plot. I’ve simply decided to take two main characters, and form the story based on their desires. I’ll just list them.

Name: Brian Amgin
Gender: male
Description: A man with an eagle-like face (nose is the beak). Grey beard and hair. Tall. Dresses in a brown raincoat and always has a hat.
Age: I’m too lazy to calculate. He died in 79 when Pompeii was drowned in ash. The starting date is 2056, so yeah, he is old.
Likes: unknown
Dislikes: unknown
Fear: See a pattern? Unknown.
Medical afflictions: None. Unless you count his instinct, that is. It is so good, he can nearly predict the future.
Starting location: Atlantis.
Occupation: temporarily retired.
Goal: To cause an arms race on earth, one that makes the Nuclear crisis during the cold war look like a joke.
Status: badass Antagonist.
Perspective: third person.

Name: Emmerald Cliff, usually just Emmy.
Gender: female
Description: Green kneelength hair, always irritated red skin, green eyes, looks like she is about twelve. Likes to dress in frilly dresses with the emphasis on cute. (So much, you want to puke.)
Age: 17 Yeah, and she’s already making career. The afterlife doesn’t mind child labour. By the way, she died at birth so she was basically born into the afterlife.
Likes: Real Mecha, stories about earth, shows about mecha, the occasional badassery.
Dislikes: Having a hangover, which is like 24 hours a day, 7 days a week now.
Fear: Growing up. (She undertook surgery to prevent this. So this is a serious trauma. If I was there, I would have sent her to a psychiater.)
Medical afflictions: Extreme clumsiness due to faulty neural overhaul. (Translation: The surgeon messed up.)
Starting location: Ibliss (Afterlife capital. BIG city with a population just over a billion.)
Occupation: Shopkeeper at the Lang corporation. Also works in development at the same company.
Goal: Quit her job, then join the field branch of the Life Afterlife Violation Inspection, the only job that will give her a legal reason to visit Earth.
Status: Protagonist.
Perspective: first person.

[blockhead]

jack cloudy: Wow: that is an excellent setup / starting point. You can go places with that. Seems to me that you are all set to go.

Your afterlife concept makes me think of the Riverworld books ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverworld
I've only read the first four novels.

I still have only vague fragments of partial ideas ... really a bulleted list of things I like to see in stories. All I know for sure is

• I'm fairly sure it will be Sword & Sorcery.
• It won't be a fanfic: it's got to be original, not even any cameos.

This post has been edited by blockhead: Oct 28 2007, 11:16 PM

[Zarrexaij]

I plan on actually trying to write this year. I'm going to write something original, but I'll never tell what it's about.

(I actually know the subject of my novel XD)

[milanius]

I have started to write, done around 200 words [I think], in native tongue. Then I realised I have no structure, no plan and no definite ending. There is a picture of me in the dictionary, underneath "Lethargy".

[Wolfie]

Much as it'd be interesting to give it a shot (though I doubt my ability to come up with a plot I could keep going for that many words >_>) with my workload at college, plus karate training, I just don't have the time for it these days
However, good luck to those of you who do have the time and so forth

[DoomedOne]

So here's my plot idea I'll share with you.

Starts aboard a military space craft on patrol through largely unknown territory. It holds maybe 350 people all commanded by a royal boat that doesn't know how to treat his wife.

Well, she has an affair with the protagonist, I don't know what his job is yet just that the commander catches him and tries to kill him but the fight gets interrupted so he accuses him of treason instead and has him locked up.

Some sickness is going to spread on board so they have to land on a planet marked as having civilization that has not yet advanced to a galactic level. They're still in the sacrifice people to their Gods stage, though that bit is a twist that comes later. The imminent thing about this planet is that it is lurked by vampiric, flesh eating creatures. That's all I'm tellin' ya!

[jack cloudy]

Sounds cool, Doomed.

Blocky, I read the link you provided. Yeah, at first glance I suppose there are similarities, with the afterlife being a planet near the galactic core. But there are differences, like a higher techlevel, no hidden purpose as a test of virtues.

And it's almost that time! Woot!

So, uh. want me to post my first chapter or something tomorrow?

[minque]

I got an email from them today....I mean for me it´s soon due, in two hours! But I didn´t get that region thing...how to affiliate to a darn region...I just don´t get it...

[jack cloudy]

Umm, lessee. Go to edit profile, then pick my regions on the left. Another tab should appear in the middle. Take regions, which is the leftmost option. You should now be presented with a huge list. Simply pick the region of your choice and click its affiliate button. Then, in home region, you can select it and press set region. Done.


Me, I have one region selected but I doubt I'm going to get much if anything out of it at all.

And boy, do people love the idea of adding ninjas in case of writer's block. Sorry, but I refuse. Partially disable my inner editor, fine. Add in ninjas without a good in-story reason? No way, pal. Though, to be honest. There is a character in the first chapter who looks like your typical ninja. Black, secretive and stuff. Too bad he's arrogant as hell and goes for the intimidating full frontal.....against the badass antagonist.

Oh, and I begun writing two hours before the date. Is that cheating? I don't think so, since I'll be off to bed before the start anyway.

[minque]

ok I managed the region thingy..but where the h*** do I write? or post what I´ve written? I must be a moron but simply do not get this....

[Lord Revan]

I think you do that in the forums (no snideness intended).

[jack cloudy]

It's not available yet, I think. So I've got it stored on word on my harddisk.

[minque]

It's not available yet, I think. So I've got it stored on word on my harddisk.

Hmmm ok...it starts in an hour here....I guess I´ll just wait and see, but the site is unbelievable slow! It hardly loads for me...hrrrrmmm

[DoomedOne]

I like the idea of being stranded on a planet because I can just add whatever I wnt when I get writers block. I have tons of back-ups like a gang of rogue robots that roam around. The disease they got came when a spore crashes into their ship, I forgot to mention that, so they also had to land in order to make reairs, and it transforms the crew members into the very beats that end up hunting them, but that's another plot twist I'll throw in waaaaay later. I have back-ups like settings, too. I have a setting idea of an inoperable dungeon with a single, lonesome keeper, a fortress made by inhabitants to keep the beasts out that gets overrun. Each little civilization they come across will have their own unique way of defending against the beasts, too. The whole idea is that I'm not really focused on plots and well developed drama with this story like I usually am, I'm going at it horror style, just throwing in as much dangerous and creepy stuff as possible and seeing who survives.

[blockhead]

You write the story in your usual software (Word for most people?) and keep it on your harddrive. A copy is uploaded only for the sake of showing your wordcount to the world. You don't post your story on the forum. Said upload feature is only available once November starts. I guess that would be just after midnight tonight. I am not sure if the nanowrimo (referred to in the rest of this post as simply "nano") site accounts for time zones or not. Near as I can tell, it is on Pacific time (California). Oh: and just to make things more confusing, the rest of the planet switched off Daylights Savings Time this past weekend but here we don't do it till Nov 4th. Feh!

Anyway. I'm nervous. I've been reading the forums and the book and I've gotten that e-mail this morning, but I'm kinda terrified.

I still haven't decided if my MC should be female or male. I'm male, but I've gotten so used to writing Rashelle.

I've decided on first person. Some authors (like Isaac Asimov) disdain it but some "real" authors (such Roger Zalazny, who wrote the Amber novels in first person) have used it.

Good luck everyone.

P.S. - there will be more Rashelle stories after nano. It's just that I want my nano to be original, not in the Elder Scrolls universe.

P.P.S. - jack cloudy, in your nano story ... once someone in your story is resurrected in the afterlife, what happens if they die again? Since that afterlife exists in the universe, I assume the usual laws of physics, biology, etc. must still apply.

edit: DoomedOne: Your setting and your initial situation is very open ended. Your characters can wander around the planet for many chapters while your plot gradually emerges. Very nice!




This post has been edited by blockhead: Nov 1 2007, 01:27 AM

[DoomedOne]

Thanks. To be honest its very against type for me to make a story like this. Usually I try to pit people against each other that can't be put in a good and evil dichotomy and have people making decisions no one should have to. The again, there's plenty of that in here, too. The commander isn't a bad guy, he really loves his wife he's just very distant and all about professionalism so she naturally wandered to the emotionally honest, passionate protagonist. Also, later the protagonist goes into an area overrun by beasts/demons (the local inhabitant of the planet call them demons) to rescue the same girl but is forced to choose between her and a child. Yeah, I'm talking too much about my story but I just get the ideas and want to share them

This post has been edited by DoomedOne: Nov 1 2007, 07:41 AM

[jack cloudy]

I can bear with the site being slow. It is damn crowded after all. What I can't bear with, is the damn lack of a search button! AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! *pant, wheeze*

Blockhead, that's one of those questions I can't seem to work out perfectly. Currently, I simply have anyone who dies again be resurrected at the afterlife, just like the first time. One's body is formed after one's sense of self. This has lead to some outrageous results for the ones with a huge ego. Some things don't transfer over, like any artificial modifications, except if said modifications are integrated into the sense of self.

Take Emmy, for example. Her appearance has become part of her in her mind, so she won't regress to her pre-surgery state. On the other hand, she won't get all the internal bits, like the completely restructered skeleton, musculature and neural net. So she would look the same, but be a lot weaker, less clumsy and less hungry. (the nanobots that maintain her need a lot of calories to maintain their numbers.)


Ahem, I'm not trying to be thoughtful of anything in my story. Good and evil? Maybe yes, maybe no. Hard decisions? Probably not. Serious or over-the-top laughable? Geez, dunno. So basically, I'll see how it turns out.

For perspective, I'm using both first and third. Brian Amgin is written in third, while Emmy is written in first.(cause she's so much better at whining. Reminds me of Luper.) Some excerpts to demonstrate:

Amgin (final paragraph of chapter 1):
Two minutes later, a single figure emerged from the small building. The figure closed the buttons on his raincoat and realigned the hat on his head as he walked off into the night.
“The fool, going for a full frontal assault on someone like me. Tsk, probably watched too many spy movies. He should have brought a tank, not a gun. And calling me a youngster, just who does he think he is?” Amgin sneered and closed the door. He casually felt the bump on the inside pocket of his raincoat. The Shadow’s gun was the only thing that didn’t turn into a puddle of goo after its owner’s death. Amgin had been expecting a self-destruct mechanism and had disabled the gun’s electronics before this could occur. A side-effect was however, that it had now been reduced to dead weight. But none of that mattered. The weapon wouldn’t have accepted him anyway, not while it was still functioning. Hell, he was likely to get a poisoned needle slammed into his finger the moment he pulled the trigger. When he had time, he would repair the damage, but not now. Now, he had places to be.
“I hope that he’ll be still awake this late.”


And Emmy (first paragraph of chapter 2):
As I looked into the mirror, last night’s foul mood returned in full. I had bags under my droopy eyes the size of a planet, my hair stuck everywhere but where it was supposed to stick, my mouth was open in a constant yawn and apparently I’d misplaced my pyamas somewhere during the night. Simply put, I looked like a wreck. I felt like one as well. At least I still knew where my pants were, on my head like some sort of silly hat. Talk about displacement.
“Dang it, not again. Ugh, this so sucks big time with strawberries-and-whipped-cream-on-top-of-a-kingsized-icecream.” I moaned and glared at my reflection. Well dang it, now I was drooling as well! Just what was wrong with this world?!

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Nov 1 2007, 09:45 PM

[minque]

Uhhh..I don´t know..do I just have to write something completely new? Can´t I use an existing story? Or will that be "illegal"