Is anybody planning to participate in nanowrimo this year?

October 18, 2004 7:46 AM

Two weeks and counting... Is anybody planning to participate in nanowrimo this year?
posted by codger to Media & Arts (34 answers total)

No.
posted by Danelope at 8:25 AM on October 18, 2004

Ooh. Thanks for the reminder! I must have at least one more novel in me this year :D
posted by scarabic at 8:57 AM on October 18, 2004

I'll be in for my fourth year.
posted by rushmc at 9:29 AM on October 18, 2004

codger, thanks for posting. I'd forgotten it was coming.

I think I'm going to do it but make an online attempt via a new domain. (Though the failure would be catastrphophic, personally, if I can't pull it off. Ouch)

I've always done well (word-count wise) in the 24 hour Blogathons (17k words one year and 11k another) and the 50k words they "require" for NaNoWriMo seems paltry in comparison. That said, I have nowhere near that output without the commitment due to participating in a collective... thing, which is something I find equally annoying and interesting.

Is anyone else doing it online?
posted by dobbs at 9:35 AM on October 18, 2004

I've been thinking about it, but I'm not a very good writer.
posted by mcsweetie at 9:37 AM on October 18, 2004

yes (to the participation); no (to the doing it online)
posted by crush-onastick at 9:37 AM on October 18, 2004

From the FAQ:
I have a lot to do in November. Can I start in October and end early?
No. One of the best things about NaNoWriMo is the way it spreads the agony of creation throughout a large community of co-sufferers.

I like the idea, and gave a try two years running, but I've come to the conclusion that doing it in November just doesn't work for me. I really don't get why they didn't choose October.

Nice about the Cambodian library though.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:40 AM on October 18, 2004

I've thought about doing it for the last few years, but yeah, November always turns out to be a pretty bad month for that sort of thing. Also, I'm really, really lazy.
posted by majcher at 10:45 AM on October 18, 2004

I was toying with the idea earlier this year, but probably won't bother, in no small part because I haven't written jack since I was in high school. My significant other participated (and passed the limit of 50k words, if that's what it was) last year and she'll be doing it again this year.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:19 AM on October 18, 2004

I can't stop myself from linking to an article I wrote last year about NaNoWriMo, which also sort of says why I won't be doing it again.
posted by COBRA! at 11:41 AM on October 18, 2004

I'm going for it again. Third time was a charm, so no doubt the fourth time will be just effing GORGEOUS.

It might not be a bad idea to find some mefi-specific forum for nanochatter -- with the iterative improvements to the site over the last few years it may be possible to set up a mefi forum at the main site itself -- something along the lines of the better "regional forum" management they've got going on.
posted by cortex at 12:22 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm doing it. moift made me.
posted by neckro23 at 12:24 PM on October 18, 2004

Response by poster: I did mine online last year, but never gave anybody the link. This year I'm going to try and write the novel I start, not a novel about failing to write the novel I started and couldn't get past 1000 words.

And it'll be online, with a semi-public link.
posted by codger at 1:08 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm planning to get to a good start and peter out after a week or two. That puts my odds at actually starting around 50-50.
posted by Eamon at 1:11 PM on October 18, 2004

Response by poster: Oh, and if I recall, they picked NOVember because it starts with NOV. As does "novel".

Get it?
posted by codger at 1:12 PM on October 18, 2004

i want to do it, but I'm a perfectionist.

i know.

it shows.
posted by fishfucker at 1:58 PM on October 18, 2004

I was challenged by a veteran of the event, so I'm in.
posted by kamylyon at 2:30 PM on October 18, 2004

I still like calling it "November."

And no, I'm not planning to write a novel next month.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:14 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm in. It's the fourth time for me, but I didn't finish in 2002 -- sophomore slump, I guess.
posted by maurice at 3:23 PM on October 18, 2004

Oh, c'mon, ikkyu2. By my calculations, you'd only have to make 2,941 more comments, all no doubt equally as constructive and interesting as that one, and you'd be golden.

It could be a romance novel. "The Despoiling of Threads."
posted by cortex at 3:39 PM on October 18, 2004

A friend of mine is doing it.
posted by kenko at 3:41 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm doing it. moift made me.

Kamylyon's blog made me. There is no place for free will in NaNoWriMo.
posted by moift at 5:16 PM on October 18, 2004

Cortex: I try to keep my comments relatively helpful and to the point. The answer to the original poster's question is "yes," incidentally. Hope this helps you on your quest for enlightment.

The whole idea of Nanowrimo annoys me; sorry for letting that get the better of my posting instincts.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:27 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm in for a fourth year. We should have a MeFiNano support/encouragement/commiseration thread in the forums on the NaNo site.
posted by Dreama at 6:44 PM on October 18, 2004

ikkyu2: I apologize for the elevated snark -- you do seem to be a very well-behaved AskMe poster.

The whole knee-jerk anti-Nanowrimo sentiment tends to really get my goat. The implication seems to be that, somehow, the people who elect to participate are universally incapable of perceiving the connotations and contradictions of throwing caution to the wind and writing an intentionally irresponsible novel in a tight time frame. It's craziness, it's foolishness, it's not where Great Literature comes from, but, y'know, so fucking what? It's fun, it's a springboard to growth, it's many things that sitting around watching syndicated reruns isn't, at the very least.

So clearly I have charged feelings about all this, and from that I read probably far too much into your comment, and so, again, I apologize for inserting into your comment a malign intent that was not there. I react badly to people shitting on creative ventures, and I react badly to people shitting in AskMe threads, and so I reacted badly to what I took as the product of the two.
posted by cortex at 7:30 PM on October 18, 2004

The timing's finally right for me; I've been promising myself to do a novel on a specific theme for over 20 years (which means it'll probably end up an '80s period piece...)
posted by wendell at 9:15 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm thinkin' about it. But I'm a lazy prick.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:35 PM on October 18, 2004

I'm doing it once again, for the fourth year running. Most likely linking to it as well - don't see any reason to start being deeply shamed by my aimless banter at this late date.

For me, hitting the 50,000 word mark has never been that big a problem, last-second heroics notwithstanding. Actually completing a story by the time 50,000 words and November's end comes around: ah, now there's the rub....
posted by youhas at 4:18 AM on October 19, 2004

We should have a MeFiNano support/encouragement/commiseration thread in the forums on the NaNo site.

I started a Metafilter thread in the groups and clubs section of the NaNoWriMo forums if anyone wants to drop by after this thread is closed. I know further typing isn't going to be a top priority after you crank out 1,667 words/day for a few days, but I think the communal whinging may be among the more rewarding parts of this whole silly endeavor.
posted by moift at 7:53 AM on October 19, 2004

I am thinking about it. I want to write novel that summarizes all of the iraq/bush threads and I want to store my work in those same threads..
posted by srboisvert at 7:58 AM on October 19, 2004

Following up on moift and myself: MeFiNaNo Check In Here.
posted by Dreama at 11:01 AM on October 19, 2004

Thanks for the heads up on this. I'm not participating, but I've convinced Mrs. tdismukes to sign up. I'll do my part by reading her output.
posted by tdismukes at 12:33 PM on October 19, 2004

I'm doing Nano for the 3rd year this year! I can't wait!
posted by mabelcolby at 4:20 PM on October 19, 2004

Of course, is someone asked reeeeally nicely, Numero Uno might be able to hack up with minimal effort something internal to mefi for the Nano folks...
posted by cortex at 5:38 PM on October 19, 2004