I ditto Bella's post above me, congratulations to all the winners! And to those who didn't make the 50,000 words, but still did something, congratulations!

I wasn't sure how much time I would have this past November, so I wasn't planning on doing NaNo. However, at one point I did start a story and wrote 23,767 words, and then didn't have time to finish. I don't mind, though, I was really only doing it to say that I attempted it. But congratulations to those who did finish!

*waits for Gymfan to post the stats*

Wow, flam! How do you sleep at night with all those ideas buzzing around in your head? When I do NaNo, I have to come up with a plot; when you do it, you have to choose a plot out of your overflowing stash. I cannot imagine doing that.

My plot for next year actually came to me during the beginning of November. I am excited to try sci-fi, I have only ever done fantasy. This story includes aliens, humans, and the end of the world. It'll need a lot of perfecting before next November. I think NaNoWriMo '11 is going to be a blast!

Wow, flam! How do you sleep at night with all those ideas buzzing around in your head? When I do NaNo, I have to come up with a plot; when you do it, you have to choose a plot out of your overflowing stash. I cannot imagine doing that.

Believe it or not, I actually do have trouble sleeping at times because my brain won't turn off! Quite annoying sometimes.

Ooh! Your sci-fi idea sounds cool! I don't think I could ever be brave enough to attempt that genre.
I'm planning on exploring a new genre next year as well; western. My two newest ideas for NaNo next year are westerns, though one is more of an old west/modern day crossover (I'm extremely in love with this book idea, btw, and I'm already naming my characters, and I'm simply in love with Carter right now! Add that to the fact that I'm also in love with Virge and Reid from my other western book idea, and you might get the idea that I love cowboys or something. ). I'm also considering the possibility of combining both books into one, but I'm not sure how well the storylines would mesh together. We shall see.

*also waits for Gymmie to post the stats* No pressure, or anything.

I was looking at the stats on the NaNo blog, and saw that out of the 200,000+ participants this year only 37,000+ won! How cool is it to think that some of those were us??!!

--- flambeau

I hear ya! I've hardly even looked at my novel notebook for the past week...

I haven't looked at my NaNo doc since I finished NaNo. I'm taking a break so that when I come back to finish/edit, I'll be a little more objective about the story. Plus, I have some projects that I need to finish that kind of fell to the wayside due to NaNo.

When I do NaNo, I have to come up with a plot; when you do it, you have to choose a plot out of your overflowing stash. I cannot imagine doing that.

My ideas aren't flowing as much as they used to, but sometimes I have so many plots I don't know what to do with them. Or sometimes I can't come up with any ideas at all; that seems to be the case this year.

What I like to do is just start writing out what comes to me, and usually a plot tends to come together. I was reading one of my siblings' Sesame Street books (feel free to laugh ) and in the story, someone was trying to teach Grover how to tell stories. She said, "Just start at the beginning, and the rest will take care of itself." That's what tends to be the case for me.

I actually do have trouble sleeping at times because my brain won't turn off! Quite annoying sometimes.

Me too! It's so aggravating. I'll be trying to get to sleep but thinking about plot ideas instead, and I absolutely HAVE to write them down because I won't remember them in the morning. So in order to do that, I have to turn on my light, and start writing. Pretty soon I'm actually writing parts of the novel or at least doing character sketches, and on and on. It just goes downhill from there...

How cool is it to think that some of those were us??!!

Yes, that is amazing! Conga-rats to everyone in this thread who even attempted NaNo. That was a big accomplishment in and of itself to at least try, and who knows? Next year might be even better! Conga-rats, NarniaWebbers! You have done well!
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As for a plot for next year, I have only inklings at this moment. But I'm hoping to develop it a lot before next November, and hopefully be a little more prepared. Everyone's plots sound amazing! I can't wait for next year, and next year's NW thread!

Who's planning to get their free proof copy from CreateSpace? I'm hoping to, after some lightweight editing.

Let's see... in 2007 I did absurdist comedy, and this year I did slice-of-life (with a bit of dabbling in anime-style magical girl). Next year, I may go into straight-up fantasy.

I do have a plot idea for next year, but it needs a lot of refining, and I'm not sure if I can come up with something workable for NaNo's structure. With NaNo, I like writing things that can be more freeform. However, I think it is possible to do something with it, so I shall have to think about it more. (The idea is basically modern-day-ish dark fantasy, with the catch that it is, in a way, a "choose your own adventure" story; at certain points, the reader will have to choose options that will change the way the story goes.)

I like the NWebWriMo Wordle, CP!

Next year, I think I'm going to attempt the plot idea I was going to do this year but chickened out and went with the "easier" idea. It's still fantasy, but a real-world/fantasy mix as opposed to the high fantasy I've always done. Now I have eleven months to plan! *begins scribbling ideas*

Ooh sci-fi, Orious? That's another genre I've always wanted to try! I've been really craving a good sci-fi novel, and I think we may see a rise in that genre, especially with recent hit movies like Star Trek and Avatar. I have a very vague idea for a sci-fi as well, but it would need a lot of help to make it original. I could do that next year instead! Oh dear. Decisions, decisions! Ahhh!!!

Ahem. Well, in the meantime...

*joins everyone in waiting to see the stats*

All in good time, my friends, all in good times. Y'all are also welcome to take a shot at it, hehe.

I did and finished NaNo this year!!! Congrats to everyone else who did!

This was my second year participating, and my second year winning. I clocked in with about 50,001 words, on the afternoon of November 30th. I still have a small plot hole to fill that I previously skipped, but other than that, I am fairly content with my tale, although not perfectly satisfied. Ah, well. What is NaNo for but to purposely make grammatical errors knowing one can fix them later?

Yes, I plan on getting the CreateSpace proofcopy. I was going to last year, but I wanted to get a second draft before I put my novel into print. Heheh, it didn't happen. So, this year, second draft or not, I will get my proofcopy.

Well then welcome to NarniaWeb, EsmereldaBroadbelt, and congratulations for winning Nano!

Ah, don't stress, Gymmie...no pressure is intended about the stats thing. Life, reality...these things tend to get in the way of one's illustrious online existence.

On to Nano itself; This year I wrote what I'm dubbing 'supernatural fantasy'. Fantasy is my main genre, though I'm considering branching out. Next year, to try something different, I may venture into the realm of *grimace* chick lit. Or some such drivel. I definitely want to lay off the fantasy for a bit; I don't want people saying I'm all imagination and no art.

ChristProclamer, chick-lit isn't all that hard. I normally wrote fantasy too until I realized that I could actually incorporate my life into chick-lit. My dad always says to write what you know, and I'm a chick so I guess I know chick-lit.

I'm looking forward to seeing the stats, but take your time, Gymmie. What exactly do you put in the stats? I don't even know what exactly I'm "statting"... otherwise I would give it a go.

Ugh, I haven't written anything in my NaNo novel at all since November ended. My goal is to finish and edit by June 1st so that I can get the free CreateSpace copy, so I'll probably start writing after the holidays. Anyone want to join me?

The NaNo thread returns from the depths of abandoned forum threads..

I haven't done anything to my novel since finishing, either - unless you count buying Scrivener and dividing my novel up into pieces there, playing around with the features, but not actually accomplishing anything.
So yes, I'll join you, although I'll probably start during the holidays, because I have so much more time now. Although at the moment.. I'm just enjoying being lazy.

Ugh, I haven't written anything in my NaNo novel at all since November ended. My goal is to finish and edit by June 1st so that I can get the free CreateSpace copy, so I'll probably start writing after the holidays. Anyone want to join me?

Yes please! I've also been horribly unproductive since NaNo ended. And there's so much to do! I need a challenge, goal, or deadline of some sort. Or at least someone constantly bugging me to write more. Although, I'll probably be editing a different project, not my NaNo.

Can I join the club of unproductiveness?

I've been thinking about what I want to do in my revisions, but I haven't actually done anything...

It seems to me that for a goal to be useful, you need to know what you want to have accomplished by the end. For me, saying I want my draft to be better seems nebulous. *ponders* Saying it needs to be more like a traditional mystery is a little better, but then I'll run off and end up reading a bunch of my favourites and not writing.

The NaNo thread returns from the depths of abandoned forum threads..

Haha, yes. I decided it had been abandoned far too long.
How do you like Scrivener? I haven't downloaded it yet, I guess I kind of forgot that was a freebie for the winners.

Yes please! I've also been horribly unproductive since NaNo ended. And there's so much to do! I need a challenge, goal, or deadline of some sort. Or at least someone constantly bugging me to write more. Although, I'll probably be editing a different project, not my NaNo.

You are definitely welcome to join me. And if you need someone to bug you constantly, I can apply for the job.
Editing? Ugh. I still have to FINISH my NaNo, I don't even want to THINK about editing.

Can I join the club of unproductiveness?

Yes, please do!
For me, it's hard to set a goal because I don't exactly know what I wanted to accomplish with this story. I guess that's what I get for diving into NaNo with only the bare threads of a plot...

I mean, I'm excited that I finished my NaNo, but any thought of going near the story again makes my stomach turn. I had a plot, but not much of one, and I didn't even bother to incorporate any themes. Then there is the fact that late nights and exhaustion drove me to do things I didn't mean to do - like introducing a random chase scene where my main character was chased by someone for no apparent reason. I still have to explain that one... Any suggestions?

My novel is better than I thought it would be, but something seems lacking. (Then again, I've been feeling unsatisfied with all my writing.) I've got the quantity, but not the quality, and it's going to be a long road to get my story where it should be. *sigh*

like introducing a random chase scene where my main character was chased by someone for no apparent reason. I still have to explain that one...

That doesn't sound quite as crazy as what I wrote... (I say that as a good thing)
A baker type person who worked at the same Grocery Store as my MC shows up to rob the Hair-Styling place where MC is staying at because B.T.person has some old grudge against the Hair-Styling-Place-Owner that nobody heard about before then.

Oh, and I didn't think Scrivener was free... I could be wrong, but I thought it was just discounted...

P.S. I think I'll get my copy tomorrow of my book!! I'm excited.