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Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-05, 03:30 PM
The site is working for me.

Gourtox
2009-10-05, 03:48 PM
The website appears to be down. I am sad. :smallfrown:

It seems to be workig for me too.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 04:01 PM
Yeah, it worked after about 10 minutes. Dunno what the deal was. :smalltongue:

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-05, 04:06 PM
Yeah, it worked after about 10 minutes. Dunno what the deal was. :smalltongue:

Viral bookworms, out to steal the fruits of your labour come November 30th.

GallóglachMaxim
2009-10-05, 04:37 PM
You could write a tragedy from the perspective of a novelist writing his magnum opus who has a fatal heart attack a third of the way through the book, causing his head to strike the keyboard.

But unless he was rolling and hitting the spacebar occasionally it'd just be one very long word.

Icewalker
2009-10-05, 05:02 PM
I decided to do NaNoWriMo. Then I decided against it, because I have way too many other projects I should work on instead. Then my cousin peer pressured me back into doing it. Then my friend suggested we write our play for NaNoWriMo, so we can do something we're working on, and still get something done.

Of course there's no way we'll make the word count, because we're writing a play, and solely dialogue means a MUCH smaller word count. But ah well.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-05, 05:13 PM
I decided to do NaNoWriMo. Then I decided against it, because I have way too many other projects I should work on instead. Then my cousin peer pressured me back into doing it. Then my friend suggested we write our play for NaNoWriMo, so we can do something we're working on, and still get something done.

Of course there's no way we'll make the word count, because we're writing a play, and solely dialogue means a MUCH smaller word count. But ah well.

I know what you mean about the smaller word count... I even have a little bit of experience with some script-writing techniques (though not the really intense ones, rather developing ideas through a workshopping process and forming a script around them...)

Unfortunately, I've not come across a National Script-Writing Month yet...

cycoris
2009-10-05, 05:15 PM
I know what you mean about the smaller word count... I even have a little bit of experience with some script-writing techniques (though not the really intense ones, rather developing ideas through a workshopping process and forming a script around them...)

Unfortunately, I've not come across a National Script-Writing Month yet...

From what I can tell, the site is currently down, but... I present to you Script Frenzy (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/), run by the same people who do NaNoWriMo. During Script Frenzy, you have to write 100 pages of a script during the 30 days of April.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 05:15 PM
Unfortunately, I've not come across a National Script-Writing Month yet...

There is one. Script Frenzy. (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/)

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-05, 05:47 PM
There is one. Script Frenzy. (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/)

I am now enlightened. I was careful to only say I didn't know about one, not that it didn't exist...

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 05:50 PM
Okay, and the results are...

*drum roll*

A: 4
B: 8
C: 6

B it is! Thanks for the help guys. ^_^

Pyrian
2009-10-05, 05:53 PM
But not by a majority. This calls for a run-off! :smallcool:

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 05:54 PM
Okay, and the results are...

*drum roll*

A: 4
B: 8
C: 6

B it is! Thanks for the help guys. ^_^

We can be companions in steampunk-ness. :smalltongue:

Also: this is the second time in a row I've come from another thread, shot off a short reply, and then been told I have to wait another twenty seconds before I have to post. :smallamused: I'm thinking maybe I need to start making my replies a little longer....

Pyrian
2009-10-05, 05:59 PM
...Or type slower. :smallwink:

cycoris
2009-10-05, 06:00 PM
Heh, and I'm doing steampunk too. Well, at least one of the worlds (out of 20) in the series is a steampunk-esque alt Earth in with Great Britain and Persia as the two superpowers. :smalltongue:

One of them is Earth, and the other 18 worlds are total fantasy satire. Magic, dragons and all that crap, but with a twist. For instance, the dragons are slaves to the humans. :smallbiggrin:

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 06:04 PM
Heh, and I'm doing steampunk too. Well, at least one of the worlds (out of 20) in the series is a steampunk-esque alt Earth in with Great Britain and Persia as the two superpowers. :smalltongue:

One of them is Earth, and the other 18 worlds are total fantasy satire. Magic, dragons and all that crap, but with a twist. For instance, the dragons are slaves to the humans. :smallbiggrin:

Oh, it's THIS thing!

Same characters you were talking about this spring?

Awesome stuff.

My steampunk is more technology and less magic. Seeing as it's about trains. Also the main character is lower middle class, so the Victorian aspect is slightly less relevant. But still...steampunk.

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 06:14 PM
Jacklu has been on a major steampunk kick for well over a year. This story is based on a setting I made for a campaign I never quite finished. There is magic, but it is incredibly low power stuff. And fae. ^_^ Non-magical fae. Actually, the fae are the young, shortlived race in this setting.

Pyrian
2009-10-05, 06:45 PM
Magic, dragons and all that crap, but with a twist. For instance, the dragons are slaves to the humans. :smallbiggrin:I don't think that qualifies as a twist, any more. If you actually included a fire-breathing monstrous dragon that devours maidens, that would be a twist these days. :smalltongue:

Raz_Fox
2009-10-05, 06:46 PM
Heh. My setting's not really steampunk, but it's more advanced than your standard fantasy setting - especially with sorcery tossed into the mix. Crossbows! Flying ships! Glass! Hygiene! :smalltongue:

It's going to be an absolute joy to write.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2009-10-05, 06:55 PM
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/514598

Huzzah! Gwyn managed to make a profile! What joy!

cycoris
2009-10-05, 06:57 PM
Oh, it's THIS thing!

Same characters you were talking about this spring?

Awesome stuff.

My steampunk is more technology and less magic. Seeing as it's about trains. Also the main character is lower middle class, so the Victorian aspect is slightly less relevant. But still...steampunk.

Yeah, that thing. I dunno about the characters really, since I don't plan them out too much. And there isn't any magic on my steampunk world.


I don't think that qualifies as a twist, any more. If you actually included a fire-breathing monstrous dragon that devours maidens, that would be a twist these days. :smalltongue:

I haven't gotten to the part where mint is an integral plot point, monkeys (yes, real live monkeys) are in charge of the economy, and unicorns like to wallow in mud yet. :smallbiggrin::smallamused:

Icewalker
2009-10-05, 07:03 PM
Yeesh, 100 page script is pretty long too though. I mean, I don't know what they're going by for pages, but wow. Anyways, ours is probably a 1-act, so it won't go far.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 07:08 PM
Yeah, that thing. I dunno about the characters really, since I don't plan them out too much. And there isn't any magic on my steampunk world.

But...steampunk is general considered to include magic, isn't it? :smallconfused:

cycoris
2009-10-05, 07:10 PM
But...steampunk is general considered to include magic, isn't it? :smallconfused:

No, just Victorian with lots and lots of steam powered stuff and generally a higher level of technology than they enjoyed then. Oh, and lots of running about in Victorian-style underwear. :smallwink:

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 07:13 PM
No, just Victorian with lots and lots of steam powered stuff and generally a higher level of technology than they enjoyed then. Oh, and lots of running about in Victorian-style underwear. :smallwink:

Huh. Cuz it's almost always classed as fantasy.

Stormthorn
2009-10-05, 07:15 PM
Whats really the point of NaNoWriMo?

I mean, i havnt ever picked up a book and been told in the foreward that it was first written for NaNoWriMo or even that its author got started in NaNoWriMo.

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 07:16 PM
Ffantasy doesn't always include magic. Steampunk can have magic, but usually not. Though, steampunk is one of the most wide reaching of the punk punk genres.

The point of NaNo is to get people writing. Most often, it isn't the quality of the work, or even coming up with ideas that people struggle with. It is the act of actually putting words on paper. NaNo serves as a push to do that.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 07:17 PM
Whats really the point of NaNoWriMo?

I mean, i havnt ever picked up a book and been told in the foreward that it was first written for NaNoWriMo or even that its author got started in NaNoWriMo.

Apparently plenty of NaNoAuthors have gotten published...there used to be a section about it somewhere on the website....


Mostly?

It's just fun. A challenge. I would be writing this novel even if I WEREN'T participating in NaNoWriMo.

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-05, 07:18 PM
Whats really the point of NaNoWriMo?

I mean, i havnt ever picked up a book and been told in the foreward that it was first written for NaNoWriMo or even that its author got started in NaNoWriMo.

That's a bit... negative. Can you not see a goal as a reward in and of itself?

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2009-10-05, 07:19 PM
No, just Victorian with lots and lots of steam powered stuff and generally a higher level of technology than they enjoyed then. Oh, and lots of running about in Victorian-style underwear. :smallwink:

And Duels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCP2qbHDGIs

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 07:20 PM
Ffantasy doesn't always include magic. Steampunk can have magic, but usually not. Though, steampunk is one of the most wide reaching of the punk punk genres.

I must have been confused, then. :smalltongue: Yea, I guess, I can see that. Admittedly, my story doesn't have much magic, only a little....

AmberVael
2009-10-05, 07:24 PM
Hey, I was just looking around on the FAQ on NaNoWriMo, then decided to look at the wiki dedicated to it.

Then I found this: https://www.createspace.com/nanowrimo

For those who don't want to just click the link right away, apparently it is a site that will give you a free paperback proof copy of your novel, and might even help you distribute it across Amazon. Not sure on the details, but I was intrigued.

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 07:25 PM
I must have been confused, then. :smalltongue: Yea, I guess, I can see that. Admittedly, my story doesn't have much magic, only a little....

But that is the great part about steampunk. It can have as much high fantasy elements as you want. ^_^


Amber: Amber is most awesome.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 08:00 PM
But that is the great part about steampunk. It can have as much high fantasy elements as you want. ^_^

Mine has no high fantasy at all, but definitely some magic.

Stormthorn
2009-10-05, 09:01 PM
That's a bit... negative. Can you not see a goal as a reward in and of itself?

No. I would be suffering to create a novel and not gaining something material from it. In a perfect world i would write because i want to. As it stands, i write for my classes and i sometimes write poetry to make myself feel less empty inside.

And it is a negetive comment. Im a fairly negetive person feeling very very negetive right now.

Dragonrider
2009-10-05, 09:09 PM
No. I would be suffering to create a novel and not gaining something material from it. In a perfect world i would write because i want to. As it stands, i write for my classes and i sometimes write poetry to make myself feel less empty inside.

And it is a negetive comment. Im a fairly negetive person feeling very very negetive right now.

I'm sorry.


Oh, and...by the way...my mum did NaNoWriMo last year and the novel she wrote has an agent and is now with several big-name publishers. :smalltongue:

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 09:13 PM
No. I would be suffering to create a novel and not gaining something material from it. In a perfect world i would write because i want to. As it stands, i write for my classes and i sometimes write poetry to make myself feel less empty inside.

And it is a negetive comment. Im a fairly negetive person feeling very very negetive right now.

Maybe a stop over at the Depression Thread might help.

Stormthorn
2009-10-05, 09:34 PM
Oh, and...by the way...my mum did NaNoWriMo last year and the novel she wrote has an agent and is now with several big-name publishers.
I hope to read it one day. It would give me hope.


Maybe a stop over at the Depression Thread might help.
Not yet. It hasnt been long enough since this depressive episode started (perhaps 3 days) to diagnose anything and i suspect it might be triggered by the stress of the fact that im way behind on my sleep and anxiously awaiting the results of some work i handed in. Oh, and for the last two months i havnt been able to get even two nights in a row with the same sleep pattern since every other day of the week i have a different class schedual and ont he weekends i work irregular hours that always start in the early morning.
And besides, its not like im having crying fits. It just feels like i want to cry but then i dont.

Pyrian
2009-10-05, 10:05 PM
I would be suffering to create a novel and not gaining something material from it. In a perfect world i would write because i want to.If you don't want to write, than NaNoWriMo is not for you.

If you merely want to want to write, you should probably reconsider your reasons for wanting to want to write. Typically, successful writers are people who would be writing even if they never made a cent at it.

(I always consider this as being like unto programming for me. I was a programmer for almost a decade before anybody ever gave me any money for it. That was... A nice transition, really. :smallbiggrin: )

Dewey
2009-10-05, 10:27 PM
I signed up a few days ago, and I just added some info about myself and added most of you folks as buddies. I think I'm going to go for something post-apocalyptic. Still not sure, though.

Alteran
2009-10-05, 11:30 PM
I have another sorta-vague idea for a story, but my main issue is I have no idea how to actually write the bulk of it. How can I write an adventure without it getting boring? I imagine it won't be too easy, especially since I'm one to get preoccupied with travel and transitions. Perhaps I should look over some of my favourite adventure-type books for ideas.

Jacklu
2009-10-05, 11:40 PM
I have another sorta-vague idea for a story, but my main issue is I have no idea how to actually write the bulk of it. How can I write an adventure without it getting boring? I imagine it won't be too easy, especially since I'm one to get preoccupied with travel and transitions. Perhaps I should look over some of my favourite adventure-type books for ideas.

Go read lord of the rings. I'll wait.

....

Done? Okay, good. *slaps with a trout* :smalltongue:

One of the most successful fantasy adventuring book series of all time, and it is ninety percent traveling and transitions. Write what you know.

Alteran
2009-10-05, 11:52 PM
Go read lord of the rings. I'll wait.

....

Done? Okay, good. *slaps with a trout* :smalltongue:

One of the most successful fantasy adventuring book series of all time, and it is ninety percent traveling and transitions. Write what you know.

...huh. For some reason, the Lord of the Rings never came to mind. Thanks for the idea, I'll be sure to check it out (even if I don't have time to read all three books before NaNo starts).

Jacklu
2009-10-06, 12:02 AM
No problem. ^_^ Tolkien is a literary giant, but his writing style is far from the action packed style associated with fantasy stories nowadays. He can spend pages just describing the scenery in the background, but still make you want to keep reading. AKA, dun worry about attention to detail killing a story. Besides, NaNo is all about word count. Verbose descriptions are a plus. And if it drags at points, that is what editing is for.

BooNL
2009-10-06, 02:03 AM
No problem. ^_^ Tolkien is a literary giant, but his writing style is far from the action packed style associated with fantasy stories nowadays. He can spend pages just describing the scenery in the background, but still make you want to keep reading. AKA, dun worry about attention to detail killing a story. Besides, NaNo is all about word count. Verbose descriptions are a plus. And if it drags at points, that is what editing is for.

I think Tolkien invented the NaNo writing style :smallbiggrin:.

billtodamax
2009-10-06, 04:23 AM
Really tempted to use this as an excuse to write a short story about one of my FFRP characters. I almost certainly won't hit the record, but I want something I can look at and say: Wow. I totally wrote that, and it isn't half bad. Of course, it'd be ridiculously silly, masquerading as serious. Cause I like writing silly stuff.

Jacklu
2009-10-06, 07:29 AM
Doooooo eeeeeeeeet!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Lioness
2009-10-06, 07:48 AM
Here there be posters. Use them to suck other people in.

Poster 1 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterI.jpg)
Poster 2 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterII.jpg)
Poster 3 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterIII.jpg)
Poster 4 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterIV.jpg)
Poster 5 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterV.jpg)
Poster 6 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterVI.jpg)
Poster 7 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterVII.jpg)

All of them are about A4 size, give or take a couple of centimetres. Use them as you want - the more people we get the better.

Blayze
2009-10-06, 08:08 AM
Hmm. I think I'm ready. This planning phase of mine has lasted eight years, three failed attempts at webcomics and God only knows how many attempts at starting stories that ended up getting dismissed as 'creative writing' exercises. :P

I'm currently doing a bit of last-minute fine-tuning, but I think I'm ready.


Oh, and...by the way...my mum did NaNoWriMo last year and the novel she wrote has an agent and is now with several big-name publishers.

Very nice. I hope to hit that point myself.

cycoris
2009-10-06, 09:41 AM
Here there be posters. Use them to suck other people in.

Poster 1 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterI.jpg)
Poster 2 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterII.jpg)
Poster 3 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterIII.jpg)
Poster 4 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterIV.jpg)
Poster 5 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterV.jpg)
Poster 6 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterVI.jpg)
Poster 7 (http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Elery_celery/NaNoWriMo/?action=view&current=PosterVII.jpg)

All of them are about A4 size, give or take a couple of centimetres. Use them as you want - the more people we get the better.

*drools over*

Veeeeery nice.

I'm thinking about churning out some posters/wallpapers/proud badge thingies after I finish my gosh-darned-frickin' essay. Any requests? I'll be doing some 100K ones just cause that's what I'm aiming for, but I'll have some general NaNo madness ones too. :smallamused:

Dragonrider
2009-10-06, 09:51 AM
I might make one to put up on the wall of the dorm. :smalltongue: Not necessarily a recruitment poster, but just something for the bulletin board outside my bedroom door....

Dogmantra
2009-10-07, 04:05 PM
I feel accomplished. I finished outlining my chapters today, and there's at least one that's not filler!

Pyrian
2009-10-07, 04:09 PM
Heheh, that's why I can't write novels. "Hmm, I could just cut every chapter but this one." Short stories, sure, novels, not so much. :smallbiggrin:

Dragonrider
2009-10-07, 05:11 PM
Plot drives the story, but filler is what makes it beautiful. :smallbiggrin:

Jacklu
2009-10-07, 05:19 PM
See, I have the problem that the stories I imagine are novel length, but the medium I excel in is short stories. =/

billtodamax
2009-10-07, 05:23 PM
I can't think up a novel length plot. It's like, impossible for me. So I write short stories, occasionally.

cycoris
2009-10-07, 05:25 PM
*shifty eyes*

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0185.jpg

:smallbiggrin:

Dragonrider
2009-10-07, 05:30 PM
*shifty eyes*

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0185.jpg

:smallbiggrin:

AWWWWWESOME!

I want one!

Too bad I have no money... :smallfrown: And I have to buy a section t-shirt this week as it is. There goes my fifteen bucks. Yech.

cycoris
2009-10-07, 05:34 PM
AWWWWWESOME!

I want one!

Too bad I have no money... :smallfrown: And I have to buy a section t-shirt this week as it is. There goes my fifteen bucks. Yech.

Aaaaw. *hugs*

You could make your own t-shirt though.

Or I could get one for you and give it to you on Oct. 20th or Nov. 12th or something like that. Then it would be justified! :smalltongue:

Coidzor
2009-10-08, 12:49 AM
Now I have an idea for a mad theatre professor deciding that no one else could share in her lust for shakespeare ever again.

HellfireLover
2009-10-08, 02:24 AM
I had a whole narrative spring practically fully-formed into my head last night while I took the works post to the post-box. I've go the rough outline down but I really want to get the story out and get opinions on it. I don't think I'll be able to manage writing a novella before November, though. :smallmad:

BooNL
2009-10-08, 03:31 AM
I started writing my idea down in a mind-map. I've got some pretty cool ideas forming already, but a couple of them sound fairly cheesy.

I'm going for a pretty dark setting, think the Crow, mixed in with a bit of Sin City. So far, everytime I've plugged The Cure into my mp3, ideas start pouring out.

It's pouring down today, I think I'll walk home...

loopy
2009-10-08, 07:11 AM
I had a whole narrative spring practically fully-formed into my head last night while I took the works post to the post-box. I've go the rough outline down but I really want to get the story out and get opinions on it. I don't think I'll be able to manage writing a novella before November, though. :smallmad:

Thats the way, love of mine! What have you written? PM me!

Dogmantra
2009-10-08, 07:27 AM
I'm kind of starting to regret some of my chapter choices. One of my characters refuses to use the letter C, and I have three chapters from his perspective. 6000 words without using a C is going to be tough

Dragonrider
2009-10-08, 07:29 AM
Way to make it hard on yourself! :smalltongue:

Lioness
2009-10-08, 07:42 AM
That's ok, I've taken a dare that makes one of my characters say 'Of doom' in a sentence when it sounds cool. She happens to be the character's mother.

'Don't you talk to me that way missy! I am your mother of doom'

Hehehe

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-08, 08:30 AM
That's ok, I've taken a dare that makes one of my characters say 'Of doom' in a sentence when it sounds cool. She happens to be the character's mother.

'Don't you talk to me that way missy! I am your mother of doom'

Hehehe

That's almost as crazy as having someone end their sentences with the words "in accordance with the prophecy"...

"You aren't going out with your friends until you've tidied your room in accordance with the prophecy"

Lioness
2009-10-08, 08:50 AM
That's almost as crazy as having someone end their sentences with the words "in accordance with the prophecy"...

"You aren't going out with your friends until you've tidied your room in accordance with the prophecy"

'But mum, I haven't even read the prophecy. I have no idea how my room is to be tidied in accordance with it!!! Would you like my rubbish on the roof?'

Prophesise(sp?) that

Blayze
2009-10-08, 09:14 AM
That's ok, I've taken a dare that makes one of my characters say 'Of doom' in a sentence when it sounds cool. She happens to be the character's mother.

'Don't you talk to me that way missy! I am your mother of doom'

Hehehe

That's a fantastic idea. Hmm... I think I'll use a character who is the living manifestation of Time itself -- which doesn't mean he has control over time, he just feels its passage extremely strongly.

In fact, he'd make an awesome detective, able to see what happened/will happen in a particular place. It's a good thing Estra's timeline is completely predetermined (Aside from a tiny blip that technically gets resolved before it even happened), or I'd have some real problems.

But the best part? Sentences like "I've come from the past to stop you harming the environment of the future!" instead of "Stop polluting the environment!" :D

bluewind95
2009-10-08, 06:19 PM
I have a question... does one have to start from the beginning for this? I have this story that I'd REALLY like to finish, have not found the motivation to, and this would be a great chance, but dunno if it would be cheating or something. I've done the prologue and the first chapter (though I'm feeling like I should re-write that chapter), and only like a few sentences of the second. The storyline's all in my head, though.

Blayze
2009-10-08, 06:27 PM
Just do 50,000+ words in addition to what you currently have.

PirateMonk
2009-10-08, 10:22 PM
I have a question... does one have to start from the beginning for this? I have this story that I'd REALLY like to finish, have not found the motivation to, and this would be a great chance, but dunno if it would be cheating or something. I've done the prologue and the first chapter (though I'm feeling like I should re-write that chapter), and only like a few sentences of the second. The storyline's all in my head, though.

According to what I remember of the site, this is discouraged, on the theory that you might get too attached to preexisting characters to write them as badly as necessary to get through it. There's nothing stopping you, though.

Felixaar
2009-10-09, 05:01 PM
Hmm, no one leaps to my challenge. I guess this year I'm doing it Han-style -- Solo.

Probably for the best, really :smallbiggrin:

Jacklu
2009-10-09, 08:52 PM
I'm shooting to get anything done this year. =p Maybe next year I'll take up the challenge, kay?

Alteran
2009-10-09, 11:47 PM
My profile (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/520137) is up! Feel free to add me, everybody. I've added some people already, but I just skimmed these pages and pounced on any hyperlinks I saw. I'm sure there are many people that I didn't add.

curtis
2009-10-10, 02:32 AM
Hmm, no one leaps to my challenge. I guess this year I'm doing it Han-style -- Solo.

My brain... my beautiful brain...

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-10, 02:20 PM
Hmm, no one leaps to my challenge. I guess this year I'm doing it Han-style -- Solo.

Probably for the best, really :smallbiggrin:

I thought Han-style involved the aid of a 200+ year-old wookiee, a princess who he can't manage to be tactful around, and a farmboy out to save the galaxy...

Anyway, no proper profile as yet, I'm too busy making certain that my jargon and technobabble should actually be internally consistent.:smalleek:

bluewind95
2009-10-10, 02:35 PM
I think I'll just re-write the entire thing, sans the prologue (which isn't really too long either way and isn't too relevant to the plot). I'm not attached to the characters to the point where I won't dare write them badly, and really, I'm not a great writer either way, so the point is moot.

Jacklu
2009-10-10, 08:28 PM
Ugh... I need somebody to kick me and tell me to keep on task. T_T I keep procrastinating with the prep work, like names and outlines and stuff. <.< It isn't even November and already I am failing. v.v

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-11, 08:40 AM
Ugh... I need somebody to kick me and tell me to keep on task. T_T I keep procrastinating with the prep work, like names and outlines and stuff. <.< It isn't even November and already I am failing. v.v

Keep telling yourself that you haven't failed until Dec 1st (even if it means a cheat session writing "A dog bit my hand in the park" 1800 times...)
the reaper is coming
For serious inspiration, check for white text everywhere...




Yes, even there.

Shadow_Elf
2009-10-12, 10:59 PM
Just signed up! So, Playground, tell me: have I signed up for suicide?

Dragonrider
2009-10-12, 11:01 PM
Just signed up! So, Playground, tell me: have I signed up for suicide?

Naaaaaaaaaaaaw. :smalltongue:

Felixaar
2009-10-13, 01:02 AM
Pfft. Don't listen to her.

But yeah, you'll be fine.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-13, 04:48 AM
Just signed up! So, Playground, tell me: have I signed up for suicide?

Nope, not suicide... This'll take much longer than suicide.

Seriously, glad to have you with us. We'll try to help you get through november mostly sane- if we're not too busy writing our own stuff...

Elan's Modron
2009-10-14, 01:13 AM
Pretty sure I'm going to be throwing my hat into the ring too.

I have a chapter book in mind, for kids, that I think will be fun to work on.

50k words will be wayyyy more than I need for this book - but maybe that means I'll be generating sequel material as well.

We shall see what we shall see...

Nice to have this forum and this thread...

Xzeno
2009-10-14, 01:19 AM
I'm new to NaNoWriMo (and the Playground) but I signed up this year*. I've always wanted to write something and NaNoWriMo seemed perfect in that it supplied motivation and a goal without the unwanted expectation of quality. If I win, I can say "I wrote a novel!". If people ask me what it's like, I can change the subject.

*I technically signed up last year too, but I didn't actually do anything because of an unfortunately timed meeting. Ten days without a computer really ruined my chances.

Jacklu
2009-10-14, 11:34 AM
Hi new peoples! Feel free to link your account so we can all add you as buddies and relentlessly track and ridicule your lack of progress help you stay on target and give gentle kicks in the back side when needed.

Stormthorn
2009-10-14, 11:31 PM
I just signed up.

Mostly because i have an idea in my head and if i kick it hard enough it might fall into my computer.

Elan's Modron
2009-10-15, 12:03 AM
Hi new peoples! Feel free to link your account so we can all add you as buddies and relentlessly track and ridicule your lack of progress help you stay on target and give gentle kicks in the back side when needed.

Do you mean:
Link my GitP sig (or something) to my NaNoWriMo account?

~EM

Stormthorn
2009-10-15, 12:07 AM
I can link people to my NaNoWriMo account?

Lioness
2009-10-15, 03:51 AM
Oh, yeah. I think I forgot to do that before.

Pianochick (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/514333)

(Lioness was taken :( )

Jacklu
2009-10-15, 11:02 AM
I meant link it in this thread, such as how the lovely Lioness just did.

Xzeno
2009-10-15, 10:56 PM
Here's my profile. Xzeno (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/452199) totally wasn't taken.

Alteran
2009-10-16, 12:15 AM
I just had a totally new idea! And I like it much more than my old one! Excitement!

Basically: It's steampunk, but set in the 1920s as opposed to the Victorian era. It begins in New London, the capital city of the Western Colonies. This is a world where the American Revolution failed, and the other colonies never gained independence. The British Empire has done nothing but grow larger and mightier. The details are far from set in stone, but I really like it so far. :smallsmile:

(Also, I have a feeling that the general world concept has been done before. I just can't think of where I've heard of it, does anybody else know?)

Moofin Bard
2009-10-16, 12:25 AM
Something like Kings. That show on NBC where America is a monarchy.

Anyway I have this idea where this girl finds an old glass masquerade mask of her grandmother's and it sort of transports her to 18th century France and she falls in love with this sort of player. When she goes back to the world a year later, he is engaged to a rich woman who he ends up killing because he loves her so much.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-16, 08:37 AM
I just had a totally new idea! And I like it much more than my old one! Excitement!

Basically: It's steampunk, but set in the 1920s as opposed to the Victorian era. It begins in New London, the capital city of the Western Colonies. This is a world where the American Revolution failed, and the other colonies never gained independence. The British Empire has done nothing but grow larger and mightier. The details are far from set in stone, but I really like it so far. :smallsmile:

(Also, I have a feeling that the general world concept has been done before. I just can't think of where I've heard of it, does anybody else know?)

Don't know precisely what you think may already have done this, but you'll need to work out precisely where your timeline diverges from recorded history, which events took place regardless (and how said events differ from their real counterparts).

An example for you, did the Dreadnought revolution of 1908 onwards take place (and did it happen in the same way- with an arms race between Britain and Germany)?

What effects did British-controlled americahave on the Napoleonic wars?

Did WWI still occur?

Bear in mind that these questions are the tip of the iceberg...

GallóglachMaxim
2009-10-16, 09:34 AM
Bear in mind that these questions are the tip of the iceberg...

and now you've got me started...

What happened to the rest of North America? Did the British still move West or did the Spanish hang on to it?
Did the British colonise Australia if they still had New England? If not, did someone else? The Dutch or French maybe?
Did the Western Colonies drop the slave trade at the same time as the British did in our history, or keep it longer for the same reasons that the US did? If the former, what happened to West Africa, especially places like Liberia?
If WW1 did happen, how did the significantly increased British resources alter how it happened?
Where did the Irish go during an Gorta Mor if the Western Colonies were still a British posession?

You don't actually need to address any of these, I'm just a huge alternate history nerd.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-16, 10:29 AM
and now you've got me started...

What happened to the rest of North America? Did the British still move West or did the Spanish hang on to it?
Did the British colonise Australia if they still had New England? If not, did someone else? The Dutch or French maybe?
Did the Western Colonies drop the slave trade at the same time as the British did in our history, or keep it longer for the same reasons that the US did? If the former, what happened to West Africa, especially places like Liberia?
If WW1 did happen, how did the significantly increased British resources alter how it happened?
Where did the Irish go during an Gorta Mor if the Western Colonies were still a British posession?

You don't actually need to address any of these, I'm just a huge alternate history nerd.

This is the reason why I prefer to work with near-future history, rather than alternate history... much easier to fill in the basics and flesh stuff out as you get to it rather than having to re-write everything in detail and maintain continuity throughout, regardless of what it does to your story...

cycoris
2009-10-16, 11:18 AM
Something like Kings. That show on NBC where America is a monarchy.

Anyway I have this idea where this girl finds an old glass masquerade mask of her grandmother's and it sort of transports her to 18th century France and she falls in love with this sort of player. When she goes back to the world a year later, he is engaged to a rich woman who he ends up killing because he loves her so much.

Is Reinholdt the player?

...Sorry, I couldn't resist. :smallbiggrin:

Jacklu
2009-10-16, 11:45 AM
Silly cycoris, Reinholdt is not a playa.
Actually, he is.
<.<
He is totally a playa.
>.>
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Cause Reinholdt is a playa.
He is a cat. :smalltongue:

Dragonrider
2009-10-16, 11:58 AM
<.< yeah. :smalltongue: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5915830&postcount=225)

Elan's Modron
2009-10-16, 01:25 PM
Okay- I don't know how to do the fancy kind of link here-
just the cut and paste kind-
so here's my profile- writing buddies happily accepted!:smallsmile:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/528222

Elan's Modron, a.k.a. Dog Scribe

Elan's Modron
2009-10-16, 01:30 PM
Oh- and is there a way for me to get TWO genres listed for my novel?

It's YA/Youth- but it's every bit a fantasy novel...

I want to REPRESENT, yo!

Helanna
2009-10-16, 02:46 PM
I'm getting worried. I've only got a few days left and I still don't have any plot or character ideas. :smallfrown: Usually I have a ton by November but right now I don't have any . . . Ah well, maybe I'll go with an old, not-very-good idea of mine. Hey, maybe it'll even turn into something good.

And I'm too lazy to go back through and add everyone here as buddies, but here's my account, under the same name. (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/202216)

Edit: Also wanted to point out that, as it says in my signature, we have a writer's workshop. So if you want to get a character or a plot reviewed before NaNo, or if you want to put up excerpts during it, or if you'll want help editing stuff afterwards, it's a good place to go (and right now it's still a bit empty! We need more members). Just be warned that in order to put up a story you'll need to critique three others, but there are enough stories up that it's not a problem (it doesn't have to be a very long critique).

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-16, 02:48 PM
Hey, don't worry.

Some of us just start off with ''in this hill there was a hole...'':smallwink:

Alteran
2009-10-16, 03:10 PM
This is the reason why I prefer to work with near-future history, rather than alternate history... much easier to fill in the basics and flesh stuff out as you get to it rather than having to re-write everything in detail and maintain continuity throughout, regardless of what it does to your story...

That's the main reason that I'm not sure if it's the story I'll write. I plan to make outlines for both of my ideas this weekend, and see which one I like better.

Dogmantra
2009-10-16, 03:37 PM
So I've been sad because I thought I went back to school from half term on the 1st of November, so I couldn't do 1000 words at midnight. Turns out the first is a Sunday, and I go back to school on the second. This has made my day.

Stormthorn
2009-10-16, 06:22 PM
So I've been sad because I thought I went back to school from half term on the 1st of November, so I couldn't do 1000 words at midnight. Turns out the first is a Sunday, and I go back to school on the second. This has made my day.

I just wish they did this in the summer when i have less classes.

Jacklu
2009-10-16, 09:09 PM
<.< yeah. :smalltongue: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5915830&postcount=225)

DeeRee, I luvs you... So very, very much. :smallbiggrin:

Elan's Modron
2009-10-17, 11:43 PM
You know how it says NaNoWriMo begins at 12:00:01 local time?

Well, is there somewhere on their site where I'm supposed to indicate what my local time is?

I mean, I signed up as San Francisco for my home region, but is there something more I should be doing?

~EM

my NaNoWriMo a.k.a.: "Dog Scribe"

Alteran
2009-10-17, 11:58 PM
I'm driving myself crazy trying to think of a viable concept for my novel!

My first concept I like, but I only have a very vague sense of what I'd write for it. I feel like it would turn out well if I had good ideas for the specifics, but I also feel like I shouldn't rush it. I don't want to hastily make stuff up that won't actually be good, so that story is being put on hold for now.

I also like the second story concept, and I feel like I might be able to write this one. However, alternate history requires a better understanding of history than I have, or more research than I have time for. I could just ignore the details, but I'd rather not oversimplify things. I'm also a bit unsure about what the technology would be like, but I think I could get that straightened out without too much trouble.

I like the idea of writing a pure sci-fi story, but I don't have a concept for that. I'm afraid that if I keep waiting for ideas, I won't get any real preparation done by November. >.<

Felixaar
2009-10-18, 01:20 AM
Guys, try to wait atleast until NaNo starts before collapsing under the pressure. You owe yourselves that much, at least.

Don't stress. NaNo is about fun.

Alteran
2009-10-18, 01:40 AM
One way to look at it is that I'm getting my panicking out of the way before November. :smalltongue:

Although now I have a third concept, one I think I can write a novel around. I'm going to give myself time to think about it before I decide for sure and start proper outlining, but right now it sounds like a lot of fun to write. I got the idea from a character concept I had for D&D, actually. I'm surprised that I hadn't thought of using that before now.

Jacklu
2009-10-18, 03:21 AM
You know how it says NaNoWriMo begins at 12:00:01 local time?

Well, is there somewhere on their site where I'm supposed to indicate what my local time is?

I mean, I signed up as San Francisco for my home region, but is there something more I should be doing?

~EM

my NaNoWriMo a.k.a.: "Dog Scribe"

Local time means that the clock starts for you at midnight in your timezone. As apposed to it starting universally at midnight GMT or some such. Basically, it starts and ends for you based on the timezone you live in. Does that make sense? Or did I just make things more confusing? Did I mention it is 4:30 in the morning right now? @_@

curtis
2009-10-18, 04:32 AM
Only a couple of weeks to go... Exciting.

Also, British Empire FTW.

Trai
2009-10-18, 09:13 AM
Okay, I've officially signed up for suicide-- my username is TutorGirlx3 (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/530534). I'm hoping I can really commit to this and get it done, as long as I do some minor drafting and such beforehand.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-18, 05:04 PM
Okay, I've officially signed up for suicide-- my username is TutorGirlx3 (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/530534). I'm hoping I can really commit to this and get it done, as long as I do some minor drafting and such beforehand.

Don't worry, we'll try and get you through this... we won't even demand your immortal soul in payment:smallwink:

Just been working on the mechanical side of an alien year for mine. Not certain that it'll necessarily come up, but doing it now saves me having to crunch the numbers in November...

AmberVael
2009-10-18, 05:06 PM
Don't worry, we'll try and get you through this... we won't even demand your immortal soul in payment:smallwink:
We just demand 2/3s of the shares in your immortal soul (which allows us a definite majority vote on what happens to it. :smallwink:)

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-18, 05:09 PM
I thought we demanded 51%?:smallconfused: Due to the recess this would give more profit?:smallconfused:

V: Ha! Ninja'd!

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-18, 05:10 PM
We just demand 2/3s of the shares in your immortal soul (which allows us a definite majority vote on what happens to it. :smallwink:)

2/3s, that's too expensive... just go for the customary 51%- just enough for controlling interest.

Raistlin1040
2009-10-18, 05:10 PM
I too am having trouble thinking of a viable idea. I'm a much better short story writer than novelist, and I don't want to stretch anything just because I want 50,000 words. I'm trying to tie together ideas of War, Fantay, No or Low Magic, some kind of Rebellion...I'm probably going to scrap it :smallsigh:

Felixaar
2009-10-19, 12:57 AM
Don't worry, we'll try and get you through this... we won't even demand your immortal soul in payment:smallwink:


Speak for yourself!

It's weird including a callendar and seasons etc in your writing. No matter how meticulously you do it, no one will care, but if you screw up, you'll get a dozen letters from angry fans with nothing better to do.

Pyrian
2009-10-19, 12:59 AM
Now try including particle physics and relativistic velocities. :smallwink:

Lioness
2009-10-19, 01:17 AM
My boyfriend keeps telling me off for deliberately creating randomness in my story plan. Just because the MC's mother gets imprisoned in a dungeon full of ducks, and then picks one up and dies...

She should know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon!!!

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-19, 04:40 AM
Speak for yourself!

It's weird including a callendar and seasons etc in your writing. No matter how meticulously you do it, no one will care, but if you screw up, you'll get a dozen letters from angry fans with nothing better to do.

That's as may be, but I had a major alien race that I really need to get inside the head of, and this was important in doing precisely that. I'm not at present planning to have one of these works with more appendices than actual plot...

Dogmantra
2009-10-19, 06:01 AM
She should know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon!!!

Any novel that leads to this conclusion must be good. Tell your boyfriend he has no taste from me!

GallóglachMaxim
2009-10-19, 06:32 AM
That's as may be, but I had a major alien race that I really need to get inside the head of, and this was important in doing precisely that.

Same problem here, but I had to figure out base-fifteen to get the culture right (hopefully it's a long story).

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-19, 07:29 AM
Same problem here, but I had to figure out base-fifteen to get the culture right (hopefully it's a long story).

Sounds intriguing... I'm working with hibernation cycles, and something other than a 24hr day (20hrs20mins to be precise)

Dragonrider
2009-10-19, 09:18 AM
It's weird including a callendar and seasons etc in your writing. No matter how meticulously you do it, no one will care, but if you screw up, you'll get a dozen letters from angry fans with nothing better to do.

You can make it, you can reference it, but just don't provide a full explanation of it. :smalltongue: It creates a lot of world depth.

curtis
2009-10-19, 11:23 AM
Sounds intriguing... I'm working with hibernation cycles, and something other than a 24hr day (20hrs20mins to be precise)

I assume it isn't actually measured in minutes and hours?

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-19, 12:28 PM
I assume it isn't actually measured in minutes and hours?

Of course not... Day is divided into ten equal length units (name to be determined), and they'll be divided into analogues for minutes and seconds...

I'm not entirely crazy.

Trai
2009-10-19, 02:41 PM
My boyfriend keeps telling me off for deliberately creating randomness in my story plan. Just because the MC's mother gets imprisoned in a dungeon full of ducks, and then picks one up and dies...

She should know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon!!!

That sounds like it is made of sheer awesome.

... And I'm the only one in the Playground who's doing plain vanilla fiction, yes?

*already hears imminent chorus of "shun the non-believer! shunnnnn!"*

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-19, 03:07 PM
That sounds like it is made of sheer awesome.

... And I'm the only one in the Playground who's doing plain vanilla fiction, yes?

*already hears imminent chorus of "shun the non-believer! shunnnnn!"*

Well, if you insist that shunning is appropriate.

*Hires group of professional shunners*

What, I don't have enough time to spend shunning people just now.:smallamused:

Seriously, you're better off writing what you feel inspired to write, rather than feeling you should be writing a specific genre to fit in.

curtis
2009-10-19, 03:59 PM
That... And I'm the only one in the Playground who's doing plain vanilla fiction, yes?

I don't know what this means, and Wikipedia didn't help (for once). Help me?

Jacklu
2009-10-19, 04:20 PM
Might be helpful. (http://www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html) Don't credit me. Moon Called linked it to me first.

Trai
2009-10-19, 04:26 PM
I don't know what this means, and Wikipedia didn't help (for once). Help me?

I'm writing a straight YA novel-- just fiction, nothing fantasy or scifi about it, which is what pretty much everyone here is doing. "Plain vanilla" being a general expression describing that there's nothing out-of-the-ordinary about it. :smallbiggrin:

curtis
2009-10-19, 04:30 PM
Oh, then yay, so am I.

I may need to borrow Pen's shunners. We can be shunned together :D

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-19, 06:06 PM
Oh, then yay, so am I.

I may need to borrow Pen's shunners. We can be shunned together :D

*Gives you address for Guild of shunners.*

You wouldn't want to be shunned by amateurs now, would you?

Trai
2009-10-19, 07:36 PM
Oh, then yay, so am I.

I may need to borrow Pen's shunners. We can be shunned together :D

Ahh, good, I feel better knowing I'm not the only one being an outcast. :smallsmile: To the shelter!

Stormthorn
2009-10-20, 01:00 AM
I have reconsidered to write a novel set int he world thats been brewing in my head for a month.

In the interesting of getting ot the word requirment while keeping my job and being a full time student i will now write as laid forth in this guideline:

Character goes to location. Ninjas/robots/MIBs attack. Character has a long drawn out fight and wins. Character eats lunch. Character goes to next location.

curtis
2009-10-20, 10:49 AM
...We have a shelter?

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-20, 12:26 PM
...We have a shelter?

Nope, the "shelter" is going to eat you.

Trai
2009-10-20, 04:13 PM
Nope, the "shelter" is going to eat you.

Dammit, Pen. You ruined my plan.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-20, 04:44 PM
Dammit, Pen. You ruined my plan.

That was all part of my cunning plan...
phew, made my bluff check

FoE
2009-10-20, 05:06 PM
I have a plot and a supporting cast all picked out, but my main character just isn't coming alive in my mind. I always have trouble with the hero of my story; I'm so much better at the villains.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-20, 05:12 PM
I have a plot and a supporting cast all picked out, but my main character just isn't coming alive in my mind. I always have trouble with the hero of my story; I'm so much better at the villains.

Maybe try a reluctant hero? Someone who, by instinct isn't necessarily so far different from the people he's facing down, but has his reasons (not necessarily altruistic) for facing all this.

Pyrian
2009-10-20, 05:14 PM
Alternatively, you could let your hero be some disgustingly goody-two shoes, but essentially leave him out of the story. Treat him like a force of nature rather than an individual, and focus on the characters you have more interest in.

FoE
2009-10-20, 05:17 PM
I'm firm on his raison d'etre and his motivations, but I'm having trouble visualizing what he looks like and how he talks.

Alarra
2009-10-20, 05:27 PM
why not write the story from the villains point of view?

FoE
2009-10-20, 05:36 PM
Because it would be very, very boring. Think LotR from Sauron's perspective.

"OK, still watching Middle-Earth ... still watching Middle-Earth ... still watching Middle-Earth ... still watching Middle-Earth ... Hey, what was the name of that actress who played Monica on Friends? .. OH ****, some hobbits threw the One Ring in the Cracks of Doom!!! Well, I guess that's the end of my world domination scheme, lol."

Trai
2009-10-20, 06:11 PM
What about an anti-hero? You could give him some villain-ish traits. Or he could be morally ambiguous.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2009-10-20, 07:51 PM
I have the sudden urge to write about a hero who became an adventurer to fuel his gambling needs, and/or to escape creditors.

No idea why. It's not even a good character. It doesn't fit at all with my story. Eh, whatever.

FoE
2009-10-20, 10:35 PM
What about an anti-hero? You could give him some villain-ish traits. Or he could be morally ambiguous.

He's already pretty much an anti-hero.

See, I got the concept worked out. I figured out his career, his motivations, his backstory. I just can't figure out what he looks like.

I'm always bad at this. It's why I often DM; I have a hell of a time (heh, how appropriate) deciding on a character concept. I'm so much better at visualizing NPCs and villains.


I have the sudden urge to write about a hero who became an adventurer to fuel his gambling needs, and/or to escape creditors.

Koona t'chuta, Solo?

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-20, 10:39 PM
Kind of dying on the vine here. I suspect I'll end up quitting come the 1st.

Jokasti
2009-10-20, 11:22 PM
Well, you could think LotR from Sauron.
Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............... ..........
Heroes from Sylar= awesome.
You just need a better villain.

Stormthorn
2009-10-21, 12:20 AM
What i really want to write about is a hero who is a normal if not impossibly cool (he has a ribbon tied to his earing and changed his name to Glo) fellow who gets beat up one evening and wakes up months later in a word that now has magic and gods and stuff.
And then it gets less like a modern magical world.
And less.
And less.
And more like a dark and effed up fairy tale land.
Meanwhile, the hero is struggling to figure out why the god of death has given him super strength and has revived him a few times.

Xeluu
2009-10-21, 12:46 AM
I have an idea for plot, not 100% where it's going yet, as well as who/what one important character is.

I want to start writing now, instead of waiting for the first. >_< Maybe I'll just flesh out some of the plot and characters in my head first...

Raz_Fox
2009-10-21, 10:43 AM
I have a plot and a supporting cast all picked out, but my main character just isn't coming alive in my mind. I always have trouble with the hero of my story; I'm so much better at the villains.

I have the opposite problem. The "hero" immediately came to life and hopped into my head, where he's trashing everything and complaining that November isn't coming fast enough. I know what he'll be doing, I know - vaguely - how he'll be spreading chaos and freedom, and I know the brief outline that I'll expand into 50,000 words.

But the major antagonist is giving me problems. She just won't accept the post of BBEG and is instead stepping over into Anti-Villain territory every time she thinks I'm not looking. It's going to be... interesting working with her next month. I may have to play up her lust for power and amorality a bit more.

Also, I just realized that my "wonder-sword of awesomeness" that must be included in every fantasy novel is special because it is not magical. Struck me as funny.

Trai
2009-10-21, 10:45 AM
I want to start writing now, instead of waiting for the first. >_< Maybe I'll just flesh out some of the plot and characters in my head first...

Same here. I have to resist the urge to write down the conversations between characters that keep popping into my head.

Jacklu
2009-10-21, 11:34 AM
Hmm? Today's date? Oh yes, it's then.... Uh.... the.... .......... O_O Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!! Ten days!!! Only ten days left! And I haven't even... and I have to.... Gaaah!!! *flails wildly* *passes out on the floor*

curtis
2009-10-21, 11:59 AM
Kind of dying on the vine here. I suspect I'll end up quitting come the 1st.

WE'VE LOST ONE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-21, 12:08 PM
WE'VE LOST ONE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Not yet, exactly. I can just anticipate my general state come the 1st of November. We'll see.

cycoris
2009-10-21, 02:08 PM
I've been bemoaning the fact that I even considered doing 100K earlier. Now that school started, I don't know if I'm going to have enough brain to keep up with school and write even 50K. :smalleek::smallfrown::smallsigh:

Elan's Modron
2009-10-21, 02:09 PM
I went ahead and signed up for April's Script Frenzy as well (It's NaNoWriMo for screenplays, graphic novel scrips, plays, etc - 100 pages in 30 days).

Also- I bought a copy of Chris Baty (NaNoWriMo's founder) 's book No Plot? No Problem! and it's quite good and fun. Highly recommended.

~EM

on NaNoWriMo as Dog Scribe

Blayze
2009-10-21, 05:56 PM
I have the opposite problem. The "hero" immediately came to life and hopped into my head, where he's trashing everything and complaining that November isn't coming fast enough. I know what he'll be doing, I know - vaguely - how he'll be spreading chaos and freedom, and I know the brief outline that I'll expand into 50,000 words.

But the major antagonist is giving me problems. She just won't accept the post of BBEG and is instead stepping over into Anti-Villain territory every time she thinks I'm not looking. It's going to be... interesting working with her next month. I may have to play up her lust for power and amorality a bit more.

I had a similar problem. My "BBEG" has been in charge of a magical counter-terrorism/law enforcement/para-military organisation for over three hundred years, and she's spent that entire time cleaning up after humanity.

She's immortal, incredibly powerful and sick to death of how we do things. Souns like a classic case of immoral immortality as she decides to take matters into her own hands, right? No matter how much I tried to make it fit, she was having none of it. Instead, I flipped the situation a little and gave her some special subordinates to be responsible for as combination counter-terrorist operatives, diplomatic envoys and an endless public relations exercise for her organisation.

Meanwhile, my original protagonists are looking less and less like the non-heroes I tried portraying them as -- that's right, they're getting *worse*. One of the 'main four' is a pickpocket, murderer, mugger, burglar and possible arsonist -- and he associates knowingly and willingly with assassins, smugglers, drug dealers, kidnappers, rapists, protection racketeers, torturers and terrorists.

That's right, he's in a thieves' guild.

Alteran
2009-10-21, 06:06 PM
Meanwhile, my original protagonists are looking less and less like the non-heroes I tried portraying them as -- that's right, they're getting *worse*. One of the 'main four' is a pickpocket, murderer, mugger, burglar and possible arsonist -- and he associates knowingly and willingly with assassins, smugglers, drug dealers, kidnappers, rapists, protection racketeers, torturers and terrorists.

That's right, he's in a thieves' guild.
(Bold mine)

My main character is an assassin. :smalltongue:

There are no heroes in my story, really. At least, I have none in mind right now. One or two might show up as new ideas come to me.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2009-10-21, 08:55 PM
Koona t'chuta, Solo?

...

Why can I never come up with an original idea?

Trai
2009-10-21, 09:18 PM
...

Why can I never come up with an original idea?

Nothing is original! TV Tropes and This Book (http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Literature-Like-Professor/dp/006000942X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256178137&sr=8-1) will tell you that, trust me.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2009-10-21, 09:24 PM
That looks like a cool book.


But my idea was more revolving around how his companions react when he spends all of his loot (and clothing) gambling. Inter-personal issues. And, of course, his wife. :smallbiggrin:

cycoris
2009-10-22, 12:16 AM
These are my NaNo gauntlets. They will ensure that my wrists (and arms) won't freeze to death while typing. :smallbiggrin:

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0303.jpg

Yes, I crocheted them. :smallcool:

Alteran
2009-10-22, 12:34 AM
These are my NaNo gauntlets. They will ensure that my wrists (and arms) won't freeze to death while typing. :smallbiggrin:

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0303.jpg

Yes, I crocheted them. :smallcool:

I'm sure that I could work in a "throw down the gauntlet" pun here, but I'm just too tired. Your gauntlets are very nice! :smallsmile:

I've done almost no prep-work so far, but I am really excited about my novel! I have characters, and plots, and subplots, and a world, and a system of magic that I like and is at least somewhat original! Most of it's in my head right now, but it'll be down on paper in due time. Huzzah! :smallbiggrin:

Elan's Modron
2009-10-22, 12:36 AM
These are my NaNo gauntlets. They will ensure that my wrists (and arms) won't freeze to death while typing. :smallbiggrin:

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0303.jpg

Yes, I crocheted them. :smallcool:

Ooh! Cool!

Elan's Modron
2009-10-22, 12:40 AM
Has anyone else here read No Plot? No Problem! It really is quite good. Lots of specific tips for every stage of the NaNo journey...

(One of his tips: have a special article of clothing (or jewelry or what have you) on for whenever you sit down to write- a la a lucky shirt- or very fine, green, hand-crocheted gauntlets, etc...

~em

NaNo-friend me @ Dog Scribe
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/528222

Pyrian
2009-10-22, 12:41 AM
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/soggyspaghetti/IMG_0303.jpgOoh! Cool!...Actually, I imagine they're very warm. :smallamused:

Felixaar
2009-10-22, 12:55 AM
Oh, Pyrian - stooping so low? :smalltongue:

But those are some pretty bitchin' gauntlets, rissy. I wish I had a pair.

Lucky clothing, huh? I lost my lucky underpants a few years ago, so I'm afraid I'm fresh out...

FoE
2009-10-22, 01:01 AM
That's some nice work, Cycoris. Reminds me of my dear old mother, who once crocheted me a funeral shawl. Too bad I woke up before they could start filling in the grave. Really, my brother should have known I'd take more than a shovel to the back of my head to kill.

That crazy guy and his April Fool's Day pranks ...


But those are some pretty bitchin' gauntlets, Leels. I wish I had a pair.

You are a man. Men cannot wear arm socks. And that's the last of this womanly talk I'll hear out of you, solider.

Felixaar
2009-10-22, 02:52 AM
Mmm, somehow I think I lost all my remaining MAN points when I put on the rainbow toe-socks...

curtis
2009-10-22, 05:08 AM
A: Those are awesome gauntlets. Seriously. I bet you could throw those down really well.

B: Lucky hat for the win.

C: What possible motive might drug dealers have for blowing up a bus?

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-22, 05:32 AM
Mmm, somehow I think I lost all my remaining MAN points when I put on the rainbow toe-socks...

Nope, you forget about the remaining vestigial man-point, which can only be surgically removed.


C: What possible motive might drug dealers have for blowing up a bus?

Wouldn't you like to know? *shifty look*

Felixaar
2009-10-22, 05:39 AM
Perhaps to eliminate the competition? Or kill a squealer? Or maybe to distract the cops?

Oh, by the way, anyone who fancies themselves a Napoleon, please check out my Calling All Amateur General's thread - I could use a lil' help.

Elan's Modron
2009-10-22, 12:32 PM
Perhaps to eliminate the competition? Or kill a squealer? Or maybe to distract the cops?

Oh, by the way, anyone who fancies themselves a Napoleon, please check out my Calling All Amateur General's thread - I could use a lil' help.

A thread here on the Playground, or over at NaNoWriMo?

curtis
2009-10-22, 01:19 PM
On the Playground.

Adumbration
2009-10-23, 11:15 AM
Wish me luck! I shall give NaNoWriMo a shot this year. Unfortunately, it may very well be that I shall have to write by hand, which strongly discourages me. We shall see.

cycoris
2009-10-25, 01:29 PM
Here's a LINK (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129468) to the name bank thread DeeRee inspired over on the NaNo fora. Now, go suggest pretty names!

No doubt I'll be there a lot next week.

Silence
2009-10-25, 01:41 PM
I joined. Looks awesome; can't wait to start.


Now, I really need to get a plot together.

Coidzor
2009-10-25, 03:22 PM
Does anyone happen to know what those parasites that take over the bodies of ants and certain other animals in order to get them eaten by the animals they want to breed inside of the digestive tract of are called?

I'm totally blanking out on how to search for 'em to learn more about 'em for this idea I'm working on.

Silence
2009-10-25, 03:52 PM
Does anyone happen to know what those parasites that take over the bodies of ants and certain other animals in order to get them eaten by the animals they want to breed inside of the digestive tract of are called?

I'm totally blanking out on how to search for 'em to learn more about 'em for this idea I'm working on.

This showed up lots of great results.. (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=opera&rls=en&hs=CHV&ei=hrvkSv_5LsLU8Abg_fiHBw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CA0QBSgA&q=ant+parasites&spell=1)

Trai
2009-10-26, 08:42 PM
That looks like a cool book.

Ehh, some parts of it are better than others. It was the required reading going into my 11th grade AP Lit class back in high school. Some parts of it are extremely obvious, like when he spends a whole chapter explaining the symbolism of weather (not hard to figure out) or that vampires symbolize sex (yeah, I got that...)

I mean, I give the man credit for doing it with humor; some parts were pretty funny. The chapter on sex scenes was pretty enlightening, but the stuff he covers in the book doesn't exactly apply to some things. The book implies that everything can be analyzed-- for me, sometimes in literature I feel like a cigar is just a cigar.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-27, 12:46 PM
Finally done things with my profile page (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/511401).

Apologies if my attempt to describe my novel is less than coherent.

Felixaar
2009-10-28, 05:36 AM
Did I ever tell you all about one of my characters? He's named, in a way, after a flavour-of-the-month singer I couldn't stand.

He gets decorated with arrow shafts about 20, 30 pages from the end.

I love writing.

Blayze
2009-10-28, 07:40 AM
Nicely done, Felix. Is that the greatest move you've ever pulled on one of your characters, or just a personal favourite?

Also, I have a temporary synopsis for my book. Hopefully it'll serve until I can think of something more fitting for the story as a whole.

"Sometimes, your greatest enemy is you. Evil you. From the future."

Atelm
2009-10-28, 11:27 AM
Got my profile page (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/552475) all finished up, I've got to still think up more characteristics for the various characters and, of cource, the names for ones not yet named (The hardest thing while writing for me is to come up with both interesting characters and naming them.) before November begins.

This'll be an interesting challenge, I've always wanted to write the story ideas in my head down, but I've never managed anything longer than 10 or so pages until various other pursuits and such excuses have forced me to move on. Now, I can use this to actually force myself to finish at least one project. :smallsmile:

loopy
2009-10-28, 03:30 PM
Good luck all you budding authors! I look forward to reading your work.

*gets his whip of motivation out* :smallamused:

Felixaar
2009-10-29, 12:58 AM
Hey, loopy, do you have any other names you go by? I wouldn't giving you a refernece as you so requested but "Sergeant Loopy" just doesnt fit. I guess I could name a charact Lupei or something like that.

Nice tag, Blayze. And no, I don't think so - I've had too many fantastic "you're screwed!" moments on characters. I'll wind up going to Writer's Hell, of course, but it's worth it.

I ever tell you guys about Writer's Hell? In it, you have to suffer through every grievance you've ever given on a character. So not only will I suffer many gruesome deaths, I'll also have to experience being an unnamed guard who dies pointlessly in an overarching concept about half a million times.

On the plus side, once you're done, you get to go to Writer's Heaven - Writer's Hell is like purgatory, really - where you get to enjoy all the good things you've done for characters over the year.

I really hope these places are fictional...

Lioness
2009-10-29, 02:45 AM
On the plus side, once you're done, you get to go to Writer's Heaven - Writer's Hell is like purgatory, really - where you get to enjoy all the good things you've done for characters over the year.

I really hope these places are fictional...

I dunno...that one sounds pretty good.

Blayze
2009-10-29, 07:51 AM
On the plus side, once you're done, you get to go to Writer's Heaven - Writer's Hell is like purgatory, really - where you get to enjoy all the good things you've done for characters over the year.

Uh oh. It looks like the highlights of my trip are going to include nuclear-like devastation caused by a massive, super-powerful fireball spell, dismemberment, having the flesh of my neck and throat melted down my windpipe -- drowning, searing, scalding and choking me to death -- then having an arm pierced by a ballista spear... and finally striking the ground after falling from a massive height. Oh, and being left for dead in a pool of my own blood after a vicious beating.

When I hit Writer's Heaven -- assuming I'm still sane -- I'll enjoy... er... ah.

Weimann
2009-10-29, 08:14 AM
This is interesting, but it's hopelessly malplaced. Summer would be the time for this kind of thing.

I have done zero research, but I'll see if I can work something out.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-29, 08:43 AM
I ever tell you guys about Writer's Hell? In it, you have to suffer through every grievance you've ever given on a character. So not only will I suffer many gruesome deaths, I'll also have to experience being an unnamed guard who dies pointlessly in an overarching concept about half a million times.

On the plus side, once you're done, you get to go to Writer's Heaven - Writer's Hell is like purgatory, really - where you get to enjoy all the good things you've done for characters over the year.

So, I get to experience Death (several times over), radiation poisoning, amputation (possibly) and torture (by various and sinister means), plus whatever else I dream up...

loopy
2009-10-29, 11:19 AM
Hey, loopy, do you have any other names you go by? I wouldn't giving you a refernece as you so requested but "Sergeant Loopy" just doesnt fit. I guess I could name a charact Lupei or something like that.

Lupei works, but other names I go by...

McRae.
Tenet du Khan (Generally my fallback "rogue-y type" name) :smallsmile:

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-29, 11:20 AM
Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!


Sorry, couldn't resist. >.>

Raz_Fox
2009-10-29, 11:29 AM
I ever tell you guys about Writer's Hell? In it, you have to suffer through every grievance you've ever given on a character. So not only will I suffer many gruesome deaths, I'll also have to experience being an unnamed guard who dies pointlessly in an overarching concept about half a million times.

On the plus side, once you're done, you get to go to Writer's Heaven - Writer's Hell is like purgatory, really - where you get to enjoy all the good things you've done for characters over the year.

Would Writer's Hell involve things that happened in the backstory? One of my villains got put through hell on earth in the backstory. Blood... all over the cell... :smalleek:

Besides. I've heard that if you're doing your job as a writer, your characters' first instinct - should they meet you in the flesh - would be to murder you for making their lives horrible.

So yeah.


...Anyway. Got to go write out the basic shell of the plot so I'm not grasping at straws come Sunday. Ta.

Jacklu
2009-10-29, 01:37 PM
Three days... three days.... three days..... (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=216)

Silence
2009-10-29, 04:04 PM
Only threeeeeee days. And I still don't have the entire plot figured out.

Alteran
2009-10-29, 04:14 PM
Only threeeeeee days. And I still don't have the entire plot figured out.

Same here. It'll be an adventure!

...in the same way that Scott's expedition to the Antarctic was an adventure.

Raz_Fox
2009-10-29, 04:52 PM
Oh yeah. It's going to be... well, an experience. Adventure works as well.

Does anyone else... well, anthropomorphize their characters? I'm working on my plot, and trying to hammer it out, and I can just imagine my "hero" leaning on the top of my monitor, looking down at me with an expression of amused contempt as I try to predict what he's going to do.

November's going to be a long month if the other characters get involved. Oh, what am I saying. It's going to be a long month anyway.

curtis
2009-10-29, 05:01 PM
Ah, Writers hell. Being stuck on a spaceship for an unspecified amount of time with the blood of the crew smeared on the walls and no company but the criminal girl genius who murdered them.

Being shot... four times at least...

Being burnt alive in my own bed, completely unable to move...

Losing control of my body before having my head blown off... many many times...

Being trapped in a burning, collapsing building a few times...

Oh dear. I'm not dying. Ever.

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-29, 05:29 PM
Crap, two days.

And I only have a setting, with no plot yet....:smalleek:

Jacklu
2009-10-29, 06:42 PM
Does anyone else... well, anthropomorphize their characters? I'm working on my plot, and trying to hammer it out, and I can just imagine my "hero" leaning on the top of my monitor, looking down at me with an expression of amused contempt as I try to predict what he's going to do.

November's going to be a long month if the other characters get involved. Oh, what am I saying. It's going to be a long month anyway.

My characters get very angry at me if I don't do a good job. T_T

Argeus
2009-10-29, 10:38 PM
I don't have NaNoWriMo.

I have NaNoWriFo(rtnight). My final exam only ends on the 13th of November. Must concentrate on studying until then.

loopy
2009-10-30, 02:34 AM
Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!


Sorry, couldn't resist. >.>

Yes, my DM loves to have my rogue's nemesis bust that out at least once per adventure. :smallbiggrin:

Felixaar
2009-10-30, 04:17 AM
They call it hell for a reason :smallamused:

Whew! Only a scant 26 hours left before it all goes down.

Lioness
2009-10-30, 06:14 AM
They call it hell for a reason :smallamused:

Whew! Only a scant 26 hours left before it all goes down.

Yay!

I'm debating on whether I should get any sleep sunday morning. I feel like I should be writing all night because I'm working all day.

Dragonrider
2009-10-30, 09:20 AM
Felix, you aussie...:smallannoyed: I remember being SO FREAKIN' JEALOUS last year when you got a head start on me.

Then I realized it'd be SO easy to beat you - because the time you STOPPED writing was roughly the same as the time I STARTED, so in order to win the word war I just had to do slightly better than you on a given day and then log my count slightly sooner than you did. It was awesome. :smallamused:

I give away my secret now only because I'm not warring this year :smallbiggrin:

Amador
2009-10-30, 09:22 AM
So with just a more than a day remaining before I start writing, I want to ask the playground for some help deciding plot setting. The Options:

Dubai construction worker caught up in international intrigue.

How one of my epic DnD characters became a god.

I'm not sure what this is written down at some last night: "Direwolf + Flying Ships, magic, mythical beast breeder"

Multiple Dimensions of the same character.

Jacklu
2009-10-30, 10:24 AM
They call it hell for a reason :smallamused:

Whew! Only a scant 26 hours left before it all goes down.

Don't say that! Augh! DX Seriously, this weekend I have a five to eight page report due, a three page research paper, two art projects, and getting photos for a third one to be started on Monday, a play to write; minimum of eight pages, and another three one page papers... >.< All in the same period NaNo starts up. T_T

curtis
2009-10-30, 11:19 AM
I'm not sure what this is written down at some last night: "Direwolf + Flying Ships, magic, mythical beast breeder"

This.

27 hours 35 minutes! Ah!

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-30, 11:23 AM
31 hours and 31 minutes.

Silence
2009-10-30, 12:01 PM
35 hours, 54 minutes.

Dragonrider
2009-10-30, 12:17 PM
37 hours, 38 minutes. :smalltongue:

Sometimes being on the west coast sucks. :smallamused:


Edit: I just noticed that the forum clock is off by a considerable amount.

Joran
2009-10-30, 12:19 PM
For us in the States, except for some places, we're going back an hour and getting one more hour when NaNoWriMo launches.

Sadly, I have Borderlands, a midterm, and tickets to the Caps game on Sunday... I'll probably start off in the hole already.

Dogmantra
2009-10-30, 12:44 PM
30 hours for me.

Hopefully I can manage to write all of Sunday so that I can miss a few days if I have to or don't feel up to writing.

FoE
2009-10-30, 12:45 PM
36 hours for me.

Dragonrider
2009-10-30, 02:28 PM
For us in the States, except for some places, we're going back an hour and getting one more hour when NaNoWriMo launches.

Sadly, I have Borderlands, a midterm, and tickets to the Caps game on Sunday... I'll probably start off in the hole already.

Ooh! Excellent point!

Silence
2009-10-30, 02:31 PM
Well, it looks like I'll be writing a little less than a word a minute in a mere matter of hours.

In other news, plot up for critique. It will spoil the ENTIRE book, so keep that in mind before you read it.

I would really appreciate feedback, guys!

Ok, so there's this dude that calls himself November. He's a religious freak, and a ****ing super-mastermind. Like, think that dude from watchmen. That smart. Anyway, he was in the military, researching biological weapons. And he sold secrets to a foreign country, and retired with the money he made, continuing his research. He hires this dude, Ezekiel, who originally agrees with him, but then tries to kill him when he realizes how bat**** crazy he is. But November is way too smart, and Ezekiel is barely able to escape with his life, and that only because November was caught a bit off gaurd. After he leaves, November devolopes this super biological weapon, kinda like Prototype. He selects the main character of the story, Marcus to test it on. Marcus is a police officer, and he has a half brother. November captures his half brother, and makes him call Marcus and say that he should meet him somewhere. It's a trap, and November has men go and try to kill him, but Marcus goes all badass and kills everyone. As November expected and wanted. So then he calls Marcus, and pisses him off. This time Marcus traces the call, and has half the ****ing army come down on this werehouse, but November has this super-****ing smart plan, and owns everyone, and captures Marcus. Dominic and Marcus are thrown in a car with a henchman, but the car gets in a nasty accident, and Marcus and Dominic escape. Ezekiel finds them, and tells them the full story. After that it's a bit sketchy, but basically, they find November, and get in a massive fight with him and his henchmen, in which they eventually win, but November, despite being a 65 year old guy in a sweater vest, is ****ing crazy badass. Then November tells them that it was all part of the plan, and that he had prepared for this. He kills everyone but Marcus with some trap that he already set up, and then uses the weapon on Marcus, and wins. Also, it's in an alternate reality where the government goes from Democracy to bascially Communism, and the economy pulls an epic fail, allowing a lot of crime and cool setting **** in the city in which the novel takes place. I'm going to do it in a pulp fiction style, from different POVs.
/plot

P.S. Taken from an MSN convo. Very casual language with a few typos, I'm sure.

celtois
2009-10-30, 05:17 PM
Well it's the 30th, and I still only have a vague idea of who my characters are ... the setting and hardly a clue about the plot.. Hmm...This may be interesting.

Helanna
2009-10-30, 05:45 PM
Still no plot at all . . .

I'm considering two options.

One, use the plot I was going to, but didn't want to because it seemed cliched. The plot would have been told from the point of view of the general/adviser/somebody from a kingdom, fighting off some evil rebels who are threatening the kingdom's unity and prosperity, and the leader of some rebels who are fighting the oppressive, totalitarian regime. Hilarity ensues, or something.

Question: Does this plot seem cliched? I can't think of any specific books that use it, but I just don't have a very good feeling about using it.

Option Two is to use Seventh Sanctum generators to randomly cobble together a plot and some characters, and see where that goes.

Thoughts?

Pyrian
2009-10-30, 06:14 PM
It probably seems cliche not because it's common in fiction, but because it's common in history. :smallbiggrin: I think the vast majority of civil wars (and more than a few international ones) have cast themselves in those terms, both sides claiming they're the good guys.

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-30, 06:33 PM
For us in the States, except for some places, we're going back an hour and getting one more hour when NaNoWriMo launches.

Sadly, I have Borderlands, a midterm, and tickets to the Caps game on Sunday... I'll probably start off in the hole already.

Here in the UK, our clocks went back last weekend. Surely, in the spirit of fairness, the USA ought to take a 1-hour handicap for all states where the clocks are due to go back...

Felixaar
2009-10-30, 07:04 PM
Felix, you aussie...:smallannoyed: I remember being SO FREAKIN' JEALOUS last year when you got a head start on me.

Then I realized it'd be SO easy to beat you - because the time you STOPPED writing was roughly the same as the time I STARTED, so in order to win the word war I just had to do slightly better than you on a given day and then log my count slightly sooner than you did. It was awesome. :smallamused:

I give away my secret now only because I'm not warring this year :smallbiggrin:

Jah, you had the benefit of being the follow up person - like, even if I got to 50K you'd still have so many hours to do it before I techincally won, whereas I had no idea how much you'd have written by my time so just had to go nuts.

And you won... but you wont retain that forever... sooner or later, when we've both got nothing to do, it'll be on for young (you) and old (me)!

12 hours, 51 minutes.

Raistlin1040
2009-10-30, 08:03 PM
30 hours. A dozen half-formed ideas and no idea which one I'll do, or how any of them will play out.

Eeep

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-30, 08:10 PM
22 hours, 45 minutes.

rubakhin
2009-10-31, 01:00 AM
... I still don't have any ideas. :smalleek:

Lioness
2009-10-31, 05:23 AM
3 hours here, and I don't know whether I should stay up or whether I should get my last night of rest in a month.

I'm so tired...

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-31, 06:06 AM
Down to 12 hours 51 minutes here.

Unfortunately, I've had my arm twisted (metaphorically-speaking) into doing overtime at work this evening 6pm-11pm, so I can't get an early night. That means, I'll probably go for a midnight start, regardless of the fact that I have stuff to do at church the following morning. I can at least crop a few hundred words off the target figure before I turn in.

cycoris
2009-10-31, 09:32 AM
:smalleek:

I just realised that I have no opening line. I need to figure at least a working one out in the next 16:24.

...Oops.

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-31, 09:39 AM
Welcome to my world, I'm needing a main character and a opening line within 8 hours and 15 min.:smalleek:

cycoris
2009-10-31, 10:20 AM
Welcome to my world, I'm needing a main character and a opening line within 8 hours and 15 min.:smalleek:

*jumps up and down, waves arms*

I'll be your main character. Pick me! Pick me! :smallbiggrin:

...I think I'm going to use "It was a dark and stormy night..." as my opening line.

Dogmantra
2009-10-31, 10:24 AM
...I think I'm going to use "It was a dark and stormy night..." as my opening line.

I'm going to use "In the beginning, there was nothing." as mine.

Silence
2009-10-31, 10:27 AM
I didn't even think of an opening line.

CRAAAAP.

curtis
2009-10-31, 10:30 AM
I could be a main character...

As for an opening line, I think...

Damn. This is hard. Erm...

"The four men - and their unwilling companion made five, I suppose - had almost made it out unnoticed."

Dragonrider
2009-10-31, 10:32 AM
Mine:

"Jacklen stepped off the train, inhaling the crisp autumn air not quite masked by the smoke and stench of the platform."

Yeah, not exactly scintillating. I'm going for an opening paragraph that puts you in the world. :smalltongue:

Mercenary Pen
2009-10-31, 12:20 PM
I'm not entirely certain on my first line yet, but I will get a decent start come midnight with all the prep-work I've done... Just 6 hrs, 35 mins to go now, most of which will be spent too busy to second-guess myself.

Then I return to my command and control centre, and begin the battle with myself.

FoE
2009-10-31, 12:26 PM
I always liked the opening line "It began in mud, as most things do."

Alteran
2009-10-31, 12:27 PM
10 hours, 27 minutes. I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified. :smalleek:

Edit: Opening lines! I thought of mine a while ago, it's going to be:

"Namir Suruz awoke in darkness."

Silence
2009-10-31, 12:36 PM
11 hours, 16 minutes and 42 seconds.

Raz_Fox
2009-10-31, 12:57 PM
I tend to think in terms of opening paragraphs, but I think I know what my first line's going to be.

"The day that Ishani met the Rascal hadn't been a normal day at all."

Helanna
2009-10-31, 01:44 PM
It probably seems cliche not because it's common in fiction, but because it's common in history. :smallbiggrin: I think the vast majority of civil wars (and more than a few international ones) have cast themselves in those terms, both sides claiming they're the good guys.

I guess I'll just do this plot then, since it saves me from having to think up brand new characters then . . . it'll all be played for humor anyway. If I decide I don't like it, I can always just switch plots in the middle of the story, I suppose. :smalltongue:

9 hours and 10 minutes here . . .

Dallas-Dakota
2009-10-31, 02:00 PM
3 hours and 55 minutes...

Still no luck getting a main character...

Silence
2009-10-31, 02:04 PM
3 hours and 55 minutes...

Still no luck getting a main character...

Robert, the flying watermelon smilie. He's a vendictive, evil antihero.

Coidzor
2009-10-31, 02:15 PM
I'm going to open with a string of expletives, myself. :smallbiggrin: