NaNoWriMo 2008

[Treethyme]

I hope I'm not starting a duplicate thread but I only found previous years when I searched for it.

I just signed up and I'm looking for buddies for encouragement and support!

I haven't listed my novel information yet because I have a couple possibilities for NaNo and I haven't made up my mind which one I'm going to do yet.

Wish me luck -- luck to all of you, too!

[hope101]

I put this on the Monthly thread too, but I signed up.  Code name:  P. Brane, for anyone who wishes to friend me.  TT you're on my list already.

[Heidi]

I'm signed up.  Low on details just yet, but I'm getting there.  The buddy thing is confusing me a bit this year--I keep losing track of who I have buddied and who has just buddied me--but I'm amazoniowan. 

[JessT]

I'm signed up - The English Rose.

[Treethyme]

I buddied with you!

[Heidi]

So what is everyone doing to prepare for NaNo?  Cleaning? Plot outlining?  Panicking?

I'm active in my local region for the first time, and they have me excited to go to write-ins.  I cleaned the whole house, which I always seem to do right before.  I made a Curio page, created a logline, filled out the NaNo page a bit.

Is anyone planning to blog/twitter their way through NaNo?  My local region is twittering, and I'm planning to blog the experience like usual, and ended up with a group of LJ friends in a support group.  So I guess the theme this year is SOCIAL.  WAY SOCIAL.  Which is interesting, as I've never gone that route.  I suppose the challenge will be to focus on the writing and not the social?  Though I"m very psyched to write, so I admit I'm not too worried.

How about everybody else?  What are you doing to gear up?

[Brooke]

I've signed up (brookeb), but I'm not being a joiner for the regional events - partly because right now I'm out of state, but partly because when I share story ideas with people, I expend the energy on the telling rather than saving it for the writing. I need to work out how to manage that, because I do love talking through story stuff with other writers.

The third time I did Nano, I blogged everything I wrote each day - and people loved it. That was the surprising thing, that there were days when I would write complete crap, and people would still be positive about it.

I'm prepping by going over the story notes I wrote a month ago, and putting together a little tracking spreadsheet strictly for word count, so I can figure out how badly I'm behind.

[Treethyme]

Almost everything I write is total crap at first.  It doesn't start coming together until I stand back and look at it a few times.

[Steph]

I'm actually adding people to my buddy list this year. I've never bothered to interact through the NaNo site before. I was on the CherrieNoMo list - still am - but I'm not much of a social writer. Except for here;) Y'all seem to be stuck with me.

To prepare -- writing-wise, I haven't really done anything. I wrote a quick synopsis when the idea flew through my head this past summer. That was it. It's sitting in scrivener waiting.  I have been trying to get the rest of my life a bit more prepared - I got a haircut today. I cooked a batch of black beans last night. We'll have some tonight for dinner and 2 servings went into the freezer. I'm looking ahead to find things I can make where we can eat 1/3 and I can freeze the rest and if we do that enough I figure I'll only have to cook 4 times in November since Turkey Day leftovers will take up nearly a week.  Okay, I might have to cook 5 times;)

[hope101]

I must be in MAJOR denial about this, because I haven't done much of anything to prepare yet.  I don't even have my plot.  I used to be so Type A in personality and so linear that I can't decide if I'm rebelling against all that structure, or if I'm merely a repressed pantster blossoming in the sunlight of chaos.

I did join my region and took my BIL along to the kickoff party.  (He's an aspiring writer and I think will NaNo with me next year.)  We were at least two decades older than everyone else, and we had to get home to our kids.  But it was neat.  I'm going to go to a few write-ins; not so much because I'll need the company to do the work, but because I'm hoping to become part of the larger writing community in my city. 

[JulieB]

I'm sort-of doing Nano this year. OK, ban me for underwhelming goal-setting if you will. I am just waiting for this semester to end. I forgot how taxing grading can be when I came up with all these fabulous writing assignments for my students.
Anyway. My plan is to fail Nano this year. That's the goal. But in order to do that, I have to wrtie between 1-49,999 words. If I do that, IMO, it will be a success. Especially since I forgot tomorrow was Halloween.
And the day after that is Nano....

[hope101]

JulieB!  Where ya been, girl? 

So, let me get this straight.  If your word count is getting too high, we're to do what to support you?  Beat you with wet spaghetti?  Or typewriter ribbons?

Seriously, sorry life has been so hectic for you.  I've missed seeing you around.

[Treethyme]

Julie -- You're not the only one who forgot about Halloween until today.  I just got back from the grocery store, picking through what was left of the candy.  I can't buy it early -- it's too tempting!

I was working on that query for my new story the other day;  my critique partners (my OTHER critique partners, Julie) checked it about a million times.  So of course after I sent it, I realized I put the wrong freaking date on it!  I was thinking it was the 21st and it was the 28th!  How did I lose a whole week???

[Brooke]

Julie, I think that is a marvelous goal. Marvelous! And I completely sympathize. I'm worried about not being able to "win" this year, too. Any progress will be good.

[JessT]

Day 1 check-in - 2500 words (it's not even 9AM. May edit later if I write more, but really, why? Don't want to flame out.)

Opening line?

“You can’t fire me; I’m the best actress you’ve got.” Madeleine crossed her legs and leaned forward. “And I’m the best one you’ll ever get.”

ETA: Wrote one more scene because it was the first in the hero's POV and I wanted to get a "feel" for him, so day 1 total is 3550 and I'm stopping so I can do Housework today.