So I know that August isn't even over yet, but...

...is anyone else getting that NaNoWriMo itch?

I know I am! It must have something to do with that "fall season" feeling starting to creep up. The weather is starting, very slightly, to get that certain snap, Halloween merch is making its way into stores, and suddenly NaNoWriMo has gone from being in the distant future to being...somewhat soon.
The very idea is giving me tingly feelings of excitement and rank terror. Especially since the story I want to do this year is VERY vague and I don't even have a basic plot yet. Ouch! But, I have two months to figure that out, so...

*Squee!*

NaNo is definately out of the picture for me this year. Homework-wise, this is going to be my busiest and craziest semester. One class in particular boasts to be as much work in itself as a full semester. Besides, any writing project I do this fall will be tied to getting published. Unless it takes a long time for Lighthouse to get back to me once I submit. But next year may be an option. I know I can easily go the necessary speed once I get going, but it is definately not an option this year.

I was wondering what everyone thought about putting different cultures in your stories?

Since all my stories are set in other worlds, I don't usually transplant any particular culture from our own, although I'll borrow inspiration. That's one of the things that's so fun about writing fiction—you can create any kind of culture you like! I'm toying with the thought of having four different cultures, each associated with an element, in my current novel, but it's such an early idea, I haven't gotten around to the details yet.

So I know that August isn't even over yet, but...

...is anyone else getting that NaNoWriMo itch?

In years past, life has always been too crazy for me to intentionally pile on more insanity , but I'm hopeful that I might get to take part in it this year. I've always followed the threads about it here on Narniaweb, and it looks like a blast. The big question mark is whether I'll be able to tackle it and still juggle real life as well, because I know this fall is going to be busy for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Regardless, I'll definitely be rooting for all of the Narniawebbers who take part in it.

I tried NaNoWriMo during 8th grade year. That didn't work out so well. I forgot about HSPTs and High School applications when I signed up. So then I was determined to start the year after that. That didn't work out so well either because Freshman year was even harder. And I don't think I'll be able to do it this year either because I transferred to another school and I'm not sure what the work load is...

I've never done NaNoWriMo but I'd really like to give it a try this year! I can't guarantee I'll make it all the way to 50k words, though. November is a pretty busy month for me too - at least the last week of it. The last week in November is always tech week for our school plays, where we have six hour rehearsals every day after school...I know, fun right? But usually our homework load isn't that bad, so I'll try and see how far I get.

For those of you who've done it before: how long does it take you to plan out a plot?

Catching up a bit on some recent comments:

And do you prefer 1st or 3rd person?

It's rather odd...when I wrote short stories back in high school (for a creative writing course, for example) some were third person limited but most were first person.

When I first began writing with what would become my current Ditto Story characters, they were in first person as well. But I got into the habit of writing them in third person when participating in the Story. Recently, I've tried writing a couple of little vignettes filling in their backstory, and thought it would be fun to return to first person. It proved to be a little more challenging than I expected - especially considering that's how I originally 'met' them.

And that leads into the next question:

Do you think of your characters as "characters"? or as real people? Mine haven't really seemed like characters to me, for some time now. It's only occasionally that I remember "Oh, they're just pretend"

I 'know' that they're just figments of my imagination, yet often I enjoy writing more when I think of them as 'real' characters - that I'm somehow tapping into their reality and simply chronicling events that they've experienced. It's a fun way to play with them. I remember writing a very goofy, just-for-fun snippet some time back, thinking "Erik would never put up with this treatment in a real story."

So I know that August isn't even over yet, but...

...is anyone else getting that NaNoWriMo itch?

I hear you! I've occasionally thought about what this year's story might hold. Last year I went into it with a definite plot in mind and I was able to hit the ground running. No such idea this year, as yet.

But November isn't a good month for me to try to meet such a deadline...too much time away from the computer/writing pad with the holidays and such. I've thought about choosing another month that might work better for me and imposing the same requirements on it that NaNo has. September or October might fit that bill...though I'm outside a lot then if the weather's nice, I'm often inspired to write whilst out enjoying nature...

I've made significant progress on my final editing phase this weekend. I've hardly had to do much as I've pretty much already found the vast majority of the things I need to correct. It won't be 100% perfect but the editor is going to need something to do. The only big thing I have left to figure out what to do is if I will combine some of my early chapters due to pacing. Some concerns are that my first chapter is perfect for attention grabbing, but the story really doesn't kick off until the end of Chapter 7. I am waiting for feedback on that. In the meantime I am finishing going through the rest of the story with final polishing. I expect to be done sometime this coming week.

I finally went a little farther on the storm scene. I want to do more this evening, but I have a math quiz to study for I want to get to the enchanted islands, and the breaking of the enchantment, and more scenes with my emotional High King.

So I know that August isn't even over yet, but...

...is anyone else getting that NaNoWriMo itch?

I definitely am. I'm still not so sure how all this is going to fit into my already packed November, but I'm really getting excited. I'm starting to map out my novel, but it's going super slow. I'm really trying to get it done this week, since school starts next week. My sister (the lucky imaginative girl that she is) is already finished planning and working on the final stages of her outline.

I'm taking a ton of precautions this year. Last year I won, but my computer crashed and the entire novel was lost.

I'm taking a ton of precautions this year. Last year I won, but my computer crashed and the entire novel was lost.

Oh no! that's awful! I'm so sorry. That's like...my worst nightmare. I'm super paranoid, so I back my stuff up onto a flash drive AND an external hard drive.

As of now, I'm 50k words into my edit/rewrite. And I'm thinking, "There's no way I can write this much for NaNoWriMo!" Hmm. Maybe I'll surprise myself.

Here's a question - where does everyone like to go when they're writing?

This afternoon, I went over to our library for a few hours and got a TON of stuff done. I'm easily distracted, but I've figured out that if I go someplace with the intention of writing, I'm way more productive than I would have been at home. I'd go to a coffee shop, but my town is lacking in one, and the library is only two-minutes' drive away.

Melian_Maia wrote:
I'm taking a ton of precautions this year. Last year I won, but my computer crashed and the entire novel was lost.

That's absolutly horrible!

As my precaution, I just print out everything I write so I have a hardcopy and then put it in my binder labeled "Rough Drafts". I do save it on the computer and then a back up (if its really important) , but it makes me feel a lot better.

Oh I hate working at the library. I feel so self concious. I'd rather stay at home and work.

I also like to back up my writing externally, just in case something bad happens to my computer.

Here's a question - where does everyone like to go when they're writing?

Often I'll get random inspirations while around the house, and have to dash in to write or type them while the muse still strikes. But I really like writing out-of-doors, when the weather's nice and cool and there aren't any mosquitoes or blizzards (that's a pretty short window of time around here, though! ). Consquently my notebook always goes along with me when camping or even day trips to local county or state parks. There's just nothing quite like writing under a crystal clear blue sky with the birds singing, or maybe a campfire crackling...

I’m sorry to hear that Melian_Maia!

I don’t even keep my writing in my computer in fear of it crashing or getting deleted. I keep my files on two separate memory cards. It really comes in handy if you have a lot of stuff to save or have lots of research.

I always like to write where it is nice and quiet, usually that means my room at my desk.

I was doing some name searching to find a name to replace the name Odysseus in my story with a more unknown name.
During my search I came across the name Ulysses which is a different version of the name Odysseus, I was just wandering if that would work since it is less used? If not I’ll keep searching.

I'm really sorry to hear your book was lost, MM. That's really sad. When it comes to backing up work, I really do recommend web email, like Gmail. I have several gmail addresses, so I always send a copy of my novel to each one, plus I have a few friends that I send it to as well. There is no thinkable way that ALL the copies of my draft could all permanently disappear at once, unless my computer AND Google's servers crashed on the same day, in which case I think we'd have a bigger problem then just my lost novel.

RE: Where do I like to write...well, my computer is probably the main place I write. Last NaNo, I did VERY little writing elsewhere. I like typing better than handwriting, and my computer has the best setup for that plus it's pretty quiet in my room, so I would definitely say that my computer nook is my place to write.

As for backups, I use my flash (zip) drive and e-mails. I also send one to my parents to store on thier new computer for back-up purposes. As for where I write, I'm always on my computer. My handwriting is illegible and I can't make corrections. But I do keep some scratch paper for sketching or for a quick idea when my computer is not accessable. Then I store those ideas on my computer.

Today is the big day for me. My editing is completed, my story significantly better, and I even cut two chapters out for pacing reasons. I cannot think of anything else that I need to do before submission. All that's left is to take a final look over the submission form which is basically book synopsis, chapter summaries, and bio info, which will easily be done by this afternoon. So this afternoon, I am submitting my novel, "Battle Cry: Adventures in the Kingdom of Heaven" to Lighthouse Christian Publishing. It will be in God's hands and I am really excited about see what transpires from here.