National Novel Writing Month Throwdown

[garcia1000]

I just counted, that was 282 words. So I need to write around 180 more blocks of text as long as that...

I could probably do it in half a year. One month is tough!

[bobman0330]

Why would anyone want to put so much effort into writing an awful novel? Wouldn't it be better to take six months or a year, work less hard, and write better?

[AJay2000]

I'm in - here is the first sentence of a short story I may stretch out into novel madness:

The not quite as yet warm spring air wafted into the church loft as the choir sang, the dark night and bright stars outside blanketing the parish in serene security as the dulcet tones of the singers drifted above them

[garcia1000]

Here's the next part of my novel!


I looked at Gareth, his platemail a shining beacon of order in the surrounding chaos. He seemed pensive, trusting my judgment but clearly hoping for a wise decision from me. Eugenia, meanwhile, had donned her apron and was busily cooking a hearty lunch. Today, we would enjoy penne in a white clam sauce, slightly softer than al dente, with an entrée of sun-ripened cherry tomatoes on the vine. The faint aroma of the clam sauce combined beautifully with the wail of the air-raid siren.

“Okay, soldiers. The outcome of this war depends on us. We must give it our all, whether it is in the trenches, in the hills, or any other terrain which provides us with defensive advantages. Let us take the fight to the enemy! To take arms against a sea of troubles! To arms!”

Gareth’s face burst into joy, as he had long wished to take aggressive action against the Doltians. Eugenia, too, was tired of being holed up in the fort, seeing it as a cowardly way to fight. They both smiled, stood to attention, and saluted crisply. “Yes, sir!”

Energized by their enthusiasm, I leaped onto the conference table, kicking away maps, markers, and other bric-a-brac. I pressed button twelve on the remote control, and as the equipment moved into place, performed Karaoke to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”. The strobe light spun wildly as the booming bass music electrified the room. Belting out the words, conviction building within, I now knew how Caesar felt when he crossed the Rubicon.

As the song ended, I considered starting “My Sharona,” but Gareth and Eugenia were gone, probably having left towards the end of my morale-building Karaoke. I dismounted and walked towards the armaments room to join them.


P.S. Am I doing this thread right

[Steven_Q_Erkel]

I'm going to write an autobiography.

[gurgeh]

[ QUOTE ]
Why would anyone want to put so much effort into writing an awful novel? Wouldn't it be better to take six months or a year, work less hard, and write better?

[/ QUOTE ]

In my experience, no. And if you read On Writing, I believe Stephen King doesn't believe that writing a novel should take more than a few months, ever.

The idea is (and my experience reinforces it) that you need to get your stuff down instead of sitting there moping that you can't think of how to continue. The limited time frame and required volume force you to churn out text that, while it might be choppy, inarticulate, or even totally lame, still contains your basic ideas about what it needs to be. It's easier to edit than it is to create from scratch, so getting all this stuff down and then honing it later if by far preferable to sitting there, making sure every sentence is right before moving on.

[gurgeh]

You aren't supposed to start just yet- not until November 1. Not that I care since it's almost November, and I forget whether you can still post excerpts of your novel on your NaNoWriMo profile. In any case I wouldn't ask for criticism while writing. Even a really good writer is going to be churning out stuff that's VERY raw, especially around the midpoint, and getting discouraged about the quality won't help. Once you're done, I'd let it sit a while, give the whole thing a run through for editing, adding, deleting, changing, etc., and only then let somebody else look at it.

[gurgeh]

I forgot to mention before: My NaNoWriMo name is Hezekiah. If you've signed up, let everyone know who you are so we can track each other's progress.

So far, nobody has PMed me to make any kind of bet. This is very disappointing.

[Los Feliz Slim]

I signed up, but I don't know if I can do it so definitely no prop betting.

My biggest problem is that I have a very hard time showing people what I write unless and until I feel it's 100% done. I don't really care about random people online reading a first draft, but this means I need to keep this mission, if I choose to accept it, secret from my co-workers and wife, who will want to know how it's going/read the results. Writing a novel in a month without my wife knowing will be quite a challenge indeed.

[spentrent]

Do you have to sign up for the website to make a final submission? I have never written anything before, but as a software background dude, I will start by making mind maps, writing requirements, and then filling in guts.

Best practices will have me me spending the first two weeks in design and the final week bugfixing. I might have to push the deadline back when the budget runs out. There might not be any trackable, readable text until week 4.