A Novel Challenge

April 3rd, 2007
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I hereby challenge everyone who reads this to become a novelist this year. (And yes, that includes me.) You’ve got a few months to think about things, mull them over, come up with characters or plot arcs, do research if you really want to do so, or anything else that will get the juices flowing in your brain for this year’s NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a concept that I very recently heard about, and was immediately taken by. I want to do it this year. I hope you guys will join me.

The basic concept is easy to explain. “Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.” For a more detailed walkthrough of the process, check out this brief guide, or check out the rules FAQ. To strictly adhere, you aren’t allowed to begin writing before that. What I am referring to above is just pre-writing work. The kind that gives you an idea of where you want to go with your thoughts.

I have a few friends who are interested in writing – in both America and Japan, and who have simply never pulled it together to give it a shot. So, what say you join me and make a mad dash in November. Hopefully this will provide a helping hand for Mr. Motivation. Anybody willing? Come on guys. It’d be great fun. Who’s with me?

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  • They tried to "con" you into doing it? Well it ain't like I'm twisting your arm. You can skip it and I won't say another word about it to you. On the other hand, if you want a reminder, I'll shoot you one when I'm gearing up.

    Yeah, I know it's doable. I tend to have more of a problem stopping writing than I do writing. That's why I've turned in 22 page long papers that had a minimum of 7. I bet a few of us are like that, though. The whole idea with NaNoWriMo is to jam pack it into one insane vacuum tubed month. It'll be wild, I think. You know, afterward I'll say "I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me." Just like my Uncle Bob. Speaking of him - Badger, you are required to do this in my book. James and I want more comedy out of you - or writing in general - anything you turn out is good. You up for it?
  • Mel
    Hehehe I heard of this contest. My friend tried to con me into doing it a couple of years ago. Frankly you'll be quite amused to find that I've actually started on two novels (plus two fanfic novels)and scrapped them ll and been facing reedits, so the most current novel idea is in reedit stage three and in production in my head for about three years. =P

    Remind me again, I may be game, though I think November is going to be a busy month for me (momiji time!)

    By the way guys it is TOTALLY Possible. I wrote an _18 CHAPTER_ fanfic before (which printed is around 180 pages or something) to rave reviews for the fanbase for which I wrote it. ^____^
  • Check, check, and double check. There will be reminders to everyone who wants them. :-) We'll have our own little Japan contingent for the event, it seems. Ha ha. Yay!
  • Wendy
    Thanks for this post! My most recent book idea is actually a non-fiction one.　I never really saw myself as a novelist though. Short stories? Yes. Gosh-this-book-is-long-as-the-ocean-but-I-cant-put-it-down-Novel? No. But I do LOVE deadlines so I will give it a go. Remind me later when we get closer to the date. Good luck to you!
  • Actually, Clay, I have visited your novel experiment before and read a few chapters. (Though, admittedly, didn't hang around to read the whole thing.) You're free to do what you will, but I encourage you to go nuts with us all together in November. That way you'll have a whole network of people aiming at a common goal. Then again, you obviously don't have issues with motivation!
  • so have you seen the novel experiment link on my page? Maybe I will restart anew, but I don't wanna wait that long
  • I want to write more than one novel, actually. But yes, I want to write a novel. I'm not sure about what yet. And of course you'll be in it - you can be the crap part. (OOOOH! Sorry, I had to take that wonderful little opportunity. I didn't mean it. I take it back. Mostly.) In all honesty, I don't think any real people will be in it, because I'm not sure I can turn out that much nonfiction every day for a month. So fiction it will be. (Not to mention that it's sort of an unofficial rule, according to the NaNoWriMo definition of a novel.) So...Nikki, the question is...are you game?
  • Dude. Yout want to write a novel? I didn't know that.

    About what?

    Or, more importantly, am I in it?
  • That makes 3. And don't worry about forgetting. I will remember. And I will annoy everyone with my reminders, I'm sure.

    Greg, I know full well that I am going to write a load of crap. And I'm ok with that. The idea is to get it all out there. It's not supposed to be in final form. I don't think you're even supposed to edit according to the rules. I'm cool with that. But don't set your expectations too low...remember this question and answer. ;-)

    Can I write one word 50,000 times?
    No. Well... No.

    Ha ha ha. Keep thinking on it, folks. You've plenty of time to let it run through your brain.
  • Greg Shore
    What an intriguing thought. Love the website.

    "Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly."
    Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap."

    I can lower my expectations and write a lot of crap. I might be in - if I remember.

    Added you to my blogroll.
  • Ha ha! That makes 2 of us. Sweet. I have basically the same amount of prep as you, Alex - probably slightly less, and my genres keep wavering back and forth. I'm pretty indecisive. But I have plenty of time to jot notes down and fun ideas before November begins and we start cranking out 6 to 10 pages a day. But I will get 50,000 words down in November if it kills me and is completely incoherent. Maybe more. So...anyone else up to the challenge?
  • I'd like to do it, and I've already got a story that I've been working on for half a year, but it's slow in coming and for good reason - I'm focused on Korean language acquisition.

    When I say, "I've already got a story that I've been working on," what I mean is that I've got characters with basic personalities laid out in random passages. I looked at what I had in front of me and put it into a cohesive outline of events. Every once in a while I jot down a a paragraph or two from any portion of the story.

    If I continued like this, I might be able to have a draft submitted to an editor within 3 to 5 years, depending on how well I stay on track. As it's not my livelihood, this is perfectly all right with me.
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