The Countdown
26 days and counting until the kickoff of NaNoWrimo!
For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month is a yearly challenge where participants write a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and 30th. 50,00 words, 30 days. Fun times.
Okay, ditching the stiff style of writing, it bothers me. This is going to be year six for me, with two wins under my belt. I'm taking a big ole left turn into WTF and out of my comfort zone by writing what is best described as Scifi this time around.
The image above should be a link to my NaNo page; feel free to check things out over the course of the next two months.
This year I have a special plan. I have acquired a special guest/totem who will be arriving soon, and he'll be assisting me over the duration of prep month, NaNo, and then into the future. More on that when he and his buddy arrive.
Normally, I'd post a little about my plot, but I'm not ready to start chewing on that right now, so instead I'll take this time to show off some of my absolute favorite resources:
The NaNoWriMo Forums First off, and most obvious, the NaNo forums themselves. This place is great for anything you need, be it a plot, a name, a character, sympathy, a writing buddy, or just something to get your mind off the novel for a little while.
Spacejock Software's yWriter5 A free program built to help you write novels. Follow the link and check it out, because I can't put into words how awesome this thing is. Both years I've won NaNo I've been using this program. Check out the rest of the stuff on the site; a lot of it is just fabulous.
Write or Die Sometimes you need the threat of death (or at least imminent annoyance) in order to get back a pesky bit of writers block. Write or Die is great for traumatizing yourself to get those words out.
LitLift I'm just trying this one out, but it seems interesting. Basically, character organization and story writing on the web. Seems like an lighter, internet (and therefore handily portable for those getting in a few words whenever possible) version of yWriter5. I've heard good things about it.
30 Days of Worldbuilding This was made to be used through October, so your world was nice and ready come November. Built in easy to handle, 15 minute a day blocks. Came highly recommended to me.
Wikipedia Not entirely reliable, but as a resource kicking off your research? It's great.
MuseCraft Just found this one, and it's small, but if the author of it holds true to their promise to add more to it as the month continues, it looks like it might be a great asset.
Future is Fiction Plotpoint Generator Simple, fun, and sometimes all you need to get the story going again. It's entertaining, if nothing else.
The Character Creation Form Very detailed with minimal effort. Even giving short answers to all the questions will build a decently fleshed-out character.
Exit Mundi A collection of end-of-the-world scenarios. Very informative if you need the world to end. Or humanity to end. Either way.
The Not-So-Grand List of Overused Fantasy Cliches An entertaining read; don't let you having a cliche in your plot discourage you. Instead, let it inspire you to make it new and refreshing!
Warehouse 23 Basement Awesome for getting interesting plot critical items or MaGuffins, or just something new to toss into the story. WARNING: This place can eat up hours of your life.
That's it for now; updates will hopefully be soon, or at least slightly more frequent than they have been, meaning they'll actually happen instead of this place sitting here, blank.
For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month is a yearly challenge where participants write a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and 30th. 50,00 words, 30 days. Fun times.
Okay, ditching the stiff style of writing, it bothers me. This is going to be year six for me, with two wins under my belt. I'm taking a big ole left turn into WTF and out of my comfort zone by writing what is best described as Scifi this time around.
The image above should be a link to my NaNo page; feel free to check things out over the course of the next two months.
This year I have a special plan. I have acquired a special guest/totem who will be arriving soon, and he'll be assisting me over the duration of prep month, NaNo, and then into the future. More on that when he and his buddy arrive.
Normally, I'd post a little about my plot, but I'm not ready to start chewing on that right now, so instead I'll take this time to show off some of my absolute favorite resources:
The NaNoWriMo Forums First off, and most obvious, the NaNo forums themselves. This place is great for anything you need, be it a plot, a name, a character, sympathy, a writing buddy, or just something to get your mind off the novel for a little while.
Spacejock Software's yWriter5 A free program built to help you write novels. Follow the link and check it out, because I can't put into words how awesome this thing is. Both years I've won NaNo I've been using this program. Check out the rest of the stuff on the site; a lot of it is just fabulous.
Write or Die Sometimes you need the threat of death (or at least imminent annoyance) in order to get back a pesky bit of writers block. Write or Die is great for traumatizing yourself to get those words out.
LitLift I'm just trying this one out, but it seems interesting. Basically, character organization and story writing on the web. Seems like an lighter, internet (and therefore handily portable for those getting in a few words whenever possible) version of yWriter5. I've heard good things about it.
30 Days of Worldbuilding This was made to be used through October, so your world was nice and ready come November. Built in easy to handle, 15 minute a day blocks. Came highly recommended to me.
Wikipedia Not entirely reliable, but as a resource kicking off your research? It's great.
MuseCraft Just found this one, and it's small, but if the author of it holds true to their promise to add more to it as the month continues, it looks like it might be a great asset.
Future is Fiction Plotpoint Generator Simple, fun, and sometimes all you need to get the story going again. It's entertaining, if nothing else.
The Character Creation Form Very detailed with minimal effort. Even giving short answers to all the questions will build a decently fleshed-out character.
Exit Mundi A collection of end-of-the-world scenarios. Very informative if you need the world to end. Or humanity to end. Either way.
The Not-So-Grand List of Overused Fantasy Cliches An entertaining read; don't let you having a cliche in your plot discourage you. Instead, let it inspire you to make it new and refreshing!
Warehouse 23 Basement Awesome for getting interesting plot critical items or MaGuffins, or just something new to toss into the story. WARNING: This place can eat up hours of your life.
That's it for now; updates will hopefully be soon, or at least slightly more frequent than they have been, meaning they'll actually happen instead of this place sitting here, blank.
ooooh....*downloads ywriter5* I might join you this year. I never actually got around to writing the first chapter of A Dance of Feathers, after all. Even though the idea for the story has been crushing my muses for 3 years.
ReplyDeleteGanbatte ne!