...Besides, it I don't get there at least I will have been motivated enough to start the story.

And as the NaNo site itself points out, anyone who participates is writing more than they would have, no matter how far they get (or something like that). Good luck!

This will be my third year. I came up short in 2009, though originally I was more excited about that plot than I was for my 2010 offering (which hit 50k words with time to spare). So you just never know.

I ended up liking last year's story because it stretched me as a writer. I explored my Ditto Story characters' backgrounds, including events hinted at there and brand new tales to illustrate how they came to be the way they are today. It involved writing from different perspectives, points of view, and meant keeping track of several timelines all at once. Lots of fun!

Not quite sure how to follow it up yet, but I do want to continue writing with these characters. They still have tales to tell.

Thanks for opening the thread, Gymmie!

This will be my third year doing NaNo. I won in 2009 but only made it to 17K last year (thanks to a laptop that helpfully decided to crash a week and a half in ). So I'm hoping to not only win but finish the novel this time around. Having an actual ending planned for my plot this year might help.

This year's novel (tentatively titled The Eternity Tide) is a retelling of the Atlantis legend combined with the fall of man. I'm also throwing the Celtic myth about selkies and possibly some steampunk into the mix, so it's a bit of a hodge-podge right now. Figuring out how to blend the various myths with what historical fact does exist and a "paradise lost" reimagining has turned out to be quite fun so far. I'm excited to see where it goes.

Of course, sharing the insanity with NWebbers is what makes November the amazing experience that it is! Word wars, the Night of Writing Narnianly, running on little sleep and drinking waaay too much caffeine...I can't wait to go on this wild ride with you all again this year.

I won't be joining you, but as a fellow writer, I wanted to stop in and wish you all the best of luck! If you need a cheerleader at any point... I'm here! And if you need someone to bounce ideas off of, I'd be happy to try and help any way I can!

Again, good luck, and I can't wait to see or read the results! All of these ideas sound SO exciting!

Wow, this thread is busy already ...

I started doing NaNoWriMo in 2007, so this will be my fifth year. I've won every year so far, and hope to continue the streak.

I haven't really picked out my plot yet. Last year, i didn't come up with one until a few days before Nov. 1st, and when it died i wound up doing fanfiction. It went really well - 60,000/something words - and while i hope to work on, and finish, something original this year, i might end up being a NaNoWriMo Rebel and work on last year's story.

Those of you who had rambling plots for your first year: my first year, i was in college and got over 50k only because i had 3 concurrent plots, 6 viewpoint characters, and i didn't even get to the halfway point of the story. You are not alone.

My username on the NaNo site is Arindilwen; if you haven't added me as a writing buddy yet, please do so.

I love seeing this thread continue to thrive. Good to see my fellow writers coming out of their caves!

I've done Nano the last two years. Last year, I finished my novel at 112k, and felt quite pleased with myself.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do Nano this year, and if I do, it will be as a Rebel (high-fives Arwenel). This year I'm making a major push to finish/polish a new manuscript for publication, so all my attention is on that. In any case, I'll be here as a cheerleader.

My Nano username is ChristProclamer, same as here, and anyone can add me. *goes off waving pom-poms*

Yay for the thread!

I hope we all didn't rush you too much, Gymfan. Actually, I think the suspense helped build up the excitement for NaNo even more, at least I'm pretty sure it did for a few of us.

Anyway, this is also my very first year doing NaNoWriMo, though I've known about it for a while and what it entailed. I considered doing it last year, but that was only a small part of me that considered it. And of course, this year is my freshman year of high-school, and I'm busy, so I figured I'd do it this year!

The plot for my novel is a re-working on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. I know that's some-what similar to what Rose (Rose-Tree Dryad) is doing, but I plan on giving it a twist. The story is going to take place on a ship instead of in a castle. The Beast shall be the captain, the talking creatures/items his crew. I have a slight bit of the plot all worked out, and I'll post a summary in here as soon as I can tame down my wildly running thoughts.

Since this is my first time out, what's my goal? To just make it, and have a massive amount of fun on the way. Of course I'm going to try and write a good novel, though I doubt it will be too great through November, but like my friends on here have said, a huge part of it is that you aren't doing it alone. I'm really looking forward to all the word wars and the Night of Writing Narnianly. Though I missed a lot of that because I wasn't participating last year, I know it's going to be amazing this year.

I also want to say, that I wouldn't be doing NaNo if it weren't my Narniaweb sister The Rose-Tree Dryad. She suggested that I could do a fairytale novel, and after communicating my favorites, she suggest Beauty and the Beast, on a ship. And it's flown. So a huge thanks to her.

Now. The thread is already on page 2 and I finally get done with my first post. *snickers and sighs* But I've read everyone's posts! Never fear!

All I can say is that I am really glad to be here with y'all. I'm not sure if I'd even try to do NaNo unless I had my fellow Nwebbers here making the experience one of unforgettable, fun, encouraging, inspiring, madness.

Ahhhh! So excited for this!

This will be my third year. And I don't have any plot figured out at all. But I have a whole month. Only. But it's going to be super!

this is my first year doing NaNo, but I did do CampNaNo and that was heaps of fun. The first month of camp was a real success, I had my novel very well planned out and though I started a week late I managed to finish four days early with 54,154 words. The second month of camp was a near faliure, the story wasn't as good and I got lazy and on the day before the end of camp I only had around 39,000 words. I wrote over 22,000 words in one day and managed to make the 50,000 words, though I worked well into the night. For NaNo I am writing a fantasy story, De and I came up with the idea in the summer while playing around a fallen tree. I did some major changes and though I'm still very in the blue about what is going to happen, and I don't have a name for my main character yet, but I hope to have everything figured out by November

I just finished making my new sig for the NaNo site. I'm currently using a larger version of the one I have on this site but I'm going to start using this new one once the site refreshes.

Ok, just signed up for my first year! Feeling very nervous, though... Do people actually see the stuff I write? Or is it just counted and left for me to edit afterwards?

Ok, just signed up for my first year! Feeling very nervous, though... Do people actually see the stuff I write? Or is it just counted and left for me to edit afterwards?

It is counted by an online tool and deleted. No one ever sees it. They also give instructions on how to scramble your novel before uploading it to be counted just to make sure no one can read it.

I'm gonna try this year for the first time I tried Screnzy last year but kinda forgot my username and password... hopefully that will be an easy fix.

Thank-you for opening this thread, Gymfan!

I just clicked on "The Spare Oom" and said, "I wonder if Gymfan's opened the NaNo thread... I hope she has." Such joy and exhilaration upon seeing this topic vented itself out by a hearty gasp.

I shall be participating in NaNo 2011, I hope. I'm thinking about writing one on my own, and perhaps co-authoring one with my sister ( we might try 50,000 words together, or try write a 100k book, getting 50k each. [the latter if I decide not to write one on my own])
The one I'll be co-authoring with CSLewisNarnia, my sister, will be a Beatrix-potter/Wind in the Willows-esque "children's" story with our two cats being the main characters, along with their separate temperments, and various other animals. We have some ideas, so we're hoping it will be a fun and satisfying project.

The second story, I'm still debating. I was thinking on writing something about the Holocaust, since I have read some research on it lately, but then I think I'd like to do something on the Civil War, and then various other ideas in my head. I had done something a year and a half ago (which would put me in the Rebel category if I decide to go with this idea) which was kind of in the genre that Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are in, and that one would probably be the most entertaining to do out of the one's I'll do on my own.

I'm enjoying scrolling through this thread and seeing all the other members who'll be joining! I'm very excited to participate this year, to say the least. It will be my third year participating, second year planning to get all the 50,000 words. If I do write the second one all on my own, it will be the first novel I've ever finished!

Question: if I am in the NaNoRebel category, either for having a few (like 4, I think) pages of manuscript I wrote a while ago, or if I'm co-authoring something entirely new, but still co-authoring, and if I win, can I still get the manuscript? Or do NaNoRebels who won not qualify for a free copy of their book?

I'm InkRain (wish I picked a better username!) on there, if anyone wants to friend me.

It is counted by an online tool and deleted. No one ever sees it. They also give instructions on how to scramble your novel before uploading it to be counted just to make sure no one can read it.

Oh, thanks so mich for telling me! I'm afraid I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing - I would have been scared stiff to let anyone read something that wasn't edited! Do we Narniawebbers have our own group? (if so, my username is Steelsheen; someone please invite me )

Yay for NaNoWriMo! I've been doing it since 2008, when I found out about NaNo. My sister and I started over a week late that first year, but we still finished, and we've been winning ever since! =D

This year I'm writing two books (hopefully). The primary book is an original modern fairy tale. I haven't got much of a plot, just an idea really. The secondary book is much more thought out and it's going to be about two rival stage magicians and the girl who's spying on them for the police. I'm really excited about both of my stories. I've had the ideas swimming in my noggin for a year or so now, so I'm glad to get a chance to write them down.

Who else likes to write on the fly with no outline? I kind of like it better than planning everything. It's like you're discovering everything as you go, and new motives and characters just spring up. I know it's a nightmare editing-wise, but it makes it more enjoyable to write for me.