NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month(nanowrimo.org)
nanowrimo.org
NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month
https://nanowrimo.org/
72 comments
So as a reader the only way to see any content is to purchase a book?
i love self-published books and back a few authors on patreon that i've found on royalroad, but there's not a chance i'd be buying books from unkown self-published authors without even a few sample chapters. especially not when the pitch is that it's something an author has created by churning out as much wordcount as possible during a writing challenge.
i love self-published books and back a few authors on patreon that i've found on royalroad, but there's not a chance i'd be buying books from unkown self-published authors without even a few sample chapters. especially not when the pitch is that it's something an author has created by churning out as much wordcount as possible during a writing challenge.
Good question.
We're not a marketplace just like NaNoWriMo isn't a marketplace. As an author you build an author profile (like any other social media) and link directly to where people buy books (Except we have catered icons for Ao3, Amazon, wattpad, quotev, etc that show up on the profile).
So the cataloging of publications on the profile is just like Amazon's author profile, GoodReads' author profile, a person website, etc it's another place for people to find ones work.
The plus side of an author profile is if you share your publications they can rank on the community feed where new readers can organically find your novel. Then go to Amazon, B&N, etc and purchase it.
The reader can also follow the author so if the author adds blog posts they'll see it show up on the feed. Which I think will be a great way for Authors to talk about book tours, new novel releases or WIP they're starting.
It isn't so much about wordcount is the focus but building an author brand on the platform where ones publications, WIP and posts are all talking to the same algo on the community feed. Here people can easily find new authors and what they are working on in an author/reader relationship I haven't found else where.
We're not a marketplace just like NaNoWriMo isn't a marketplace. As an author you build an author profile (like any other social media) and link directly to where people buy books (Except we have catered icons for Ao3, Amazon, wattpad, quotev, etc that show up on the profile).
So the cataloging of publications on the profile is just like Amazon's author profile, GoodReads' author profile, a person website, etc it's another place for people to find ones work.
The plus side of an author profile is if you share your publications they can rank on the community feed where new readers can organically find your novel. Then go to Amazon, B&N, etc and purchase it.
The reader can also follow the author so if the author adds blog posts they'll see it show up on the feed. Which I think will be a great way for Authors to talk about book tours, new novel releases or WIP they're starting.
It isn't so much about wordcount is the focus but building an author brand on the platform where ones publications, WIP and posts are all talking to the same algo on the community feed. Here people can easily find new authors and what they are working on in an author/reader relationship I haven't found else where.
Very cool idea; I always wished the NaNoWriMo energy would persist past November. That's actually why I added forums to my own writing site and have had _decent_ luck keeping the momentum going year-round (at least, some years).
If you end up adding an API or looking for other sites to partner with, feel free to reach out sometime (email on profile). Not sure what your needs are but I might be able to help from Notebook.ai. :)
If you end up adding an API or looking for other sites to partner with, feel free to reach out sometime (email on profile). Not sure what your needs are but I might be able to help from Notebook.ai. :)
I love the concept of Notebook.ai, thanks for sharing that.
When I was writing my first fantasy novel I was messing around with Notion templates (almost a local wiki in a sense) just to organize weapons, factions/governments, religions, etc. It didn't work as well as I expected and I had been wishing something like your service existed the whole time. Well done!
For time being, I'll put together a little blog post about Notebook.ai to let the community know about it. I know there's writers out there that are looking for this exact product. I appreciate the comment!
When I was writing my first fantasy novel I was messing around with Notion templates (almost a local wiki in a sense) just to organize weapons, factions/governments, religions, etc. It didn't work as well as I expected and I had been wishing something like your service existed the whole time. Well done!
For time being, I'll put together a little blog post about Notebook.ai to let the community know about it. I know there's writers out there that are looking for this exact product. I appreciate the comment!
That'd be awesome, thank you! Would love to read it when it's done! :)
Reach out any time!
Reach out any time!
Nice concept, for me and millions of others at the mercy of the Amazon algorithm to what we read next I may try a few books here.
You are right nobody cares about your novel but the rush from finishing and publishing something even if nobody reads it is pretty satisfying.
You are right nobody cares about your novel but the rush from finishing and publishing something even if nobody reads it is pretty satisfying.
Right now I'm in the middle of the chicken and the egg problem where we don't have enough authors cataloging their publications and b/c of that obviously readers are not interested in using the site.
I've gone back and forth with taking Open Libray's [0] catalog as that would at least flesh out our collection of books but then I'd have to deal with verifying authors to accounts so they can access their books. Which sounds like a major headache and also just defeats the concept of building a community.
Since this is really a weekend project, I'm just going to keep building the tools out to perfection and hope people will trickle in over time.
Luckily for me I just want to write, so the tools I'm building are exactly what works for my writing goals and I think overtime others will find the same value.
[0] https://openlibrary.org
I've gone back and forth with taking Open Libray's [0] catalog as that would at least flesh out our collection of books but then I'd have to deal with verifying authors to accounts so they can access their books. Which sounds like a major headache and also just defeats the concept of building a community.
Since this is really a weekend project, I'm just going to keep building the tools out to perfection and hope people will trickle in over time.
Luckily for me I just want to write, so the tools I'm building are exactly what works for my writing goals and I think overtime others will find the same value.
[0] https://openlibrary.org
Thanks for both links, anything to get away from the algorithm that keeps recommending the same military Sci-Fi to me just because I liked Old Man's War and Enders Game! The big sites should all have a big reset algorithm button IMHO.
As another author I am happy to create an account and pop my "masterpiece" on and re-link it for the 100 or so bots that visit my website every year.
Holiday coming up in a few week's time, so I have downloaded your first book for a read so at least you got something good from your post :-)
As another author I am happy to create an account and pop my "masterpiece" on and re-link it for the 100 or so bots that visit my website every year.
Holiday coming up in a few week's time, so I have downloaded your first book for a read so at least you got something good from your post :-)
Why are you at the mercy of Amazon's algorithm?
Have you tried asking for recommendations from your librarian(s)? On my public library's website there's a form for this, and if I'm ever at a loss for what to read next (I usually go with recommendations from friends, family, and HN threads) I'd either ask this way or in person.
There's also the NPR Book Concierge, BookPage (paid for here by Friends of the Library), and the Libby app, with lists put together by librarians and a option to see similar books (based on keywords? Sometimes the list items don't make much sense, but I have found some good ones this way).
Have you tried asking for recommendations from your librarian(s)? On my public library's website there's a form for this, and if I'm ever at a loss for what to read next (I usually go with recommendations from friends, family, and HN threads) I'd either ask this way or in person.
There's also the NPR Book Concierge, BookPage (paid for here by Friends of the Library), and the Libby app, with lists put together by librarians and a option to see similar books (based on keywords? Sometimes the list items don't make much sense, but I have found some good ones this way).
you say you're in MVP, so it may be a bit early for this but, it's really surprising to me that the landing page is not geared towards readers trying to discover new authors.
At the moment we're trying to get authors on the platform to build up the "marketplace" (although we're not a traditional marketplace of selling books).
The great thing about authors is they should be reading just as much as they write. So in a sense, we're able to build both sides of the coin by marketing to a single user from the start.
The great thing about authors is they should be reading just as much as they write. So in a sense, we're able to build both sides of the coin by marketing to a single user from the start.
I'm glad that NaNoWriMo continues to work for people, but I think it's important to note that it doesn't work for everyone - and it's ok if it doesn't work for you.
I attempted it twice in consecutive years about a decade and a half ago, and not only failed to complete anything, but was also driven into a worse depression because of it. I had to avoid people talking about it in November for years afterwards or I'd start to relapse, too.
I attempted it twice in consecutive years about a decade and a half ago, and not only failed to complete anything, but was also driven into a worse depression because of it. I had to avoid people talking about it in November for years afterwards or I'd start to relapse, too.
It being November is especially hard on US people with any kids or large active families, dealing with big Thanksgiving plans.
No matter how well you plan, you really only get two meaningful weeks before the wall hits you. "Just set a reasonable word count to hit every day!" Then each day you miss days because your side dish plans went sideways or your flights get rescheduled, making the goal steeper every other day.
"Use your travel time to write more!" Almost impossible with young kids without sticking a spouse or relative with watching them, and the resentment of even asking if you can ignore kids to write lasts a hell of a lot longer than November.
"You can catch up after Thanksgiving!" Not after anti-vax Aunt J gives your family the gift of some great new viral disease that hits in the last week.
There are writing sprints in other months that never seem to have the community of NaNo, and all your single or childless writer friends burn it all out during NaNo. The community is a big part of what makes it fun, otherwise it's just an arbitrary chore goal.
No matter how well you plan, you really only get two meaningful weeks before the wall hits you. "Just set a reasonable word count to hit every day!" Then each day you miss days because your side dish plans went sideways or your flights get rescheduled, making the goal steeper every other day.
"Use your travel time to write more!" Almost impossible with young kids without sticking a spouse or relative with watching them, and the resentment of even asking if you can ignore kids to write lasts a hell of a lot longer than November.
"You can catch up after Thanksgiving!" Not after anti-vax Aunt J gives your family the gift of some great new viral disease that hits in the last week.
There are writing sprints in other months that never seem to have the community of NaNo, and all your single or childless writer friends burn it all out during NaNo. The community is a big part of what makes it fun, otherwise it's just an arbitrary chore goal.
December is not any better. There's nothing like hating your family and their dumb "let's be together and make happy, everlasting memories" ideas when all you want is to debug your A* algorithm for the Advent of Code.
Writing this much seems to take significant mental energy, so if you are already prone to depression you need to be extremely prepared. It's also true depending on your intentions for all creative things, particularly if you have low self confidence. For example you might feel bad about yourself because you don't do enough art so you enter some kind of art competition, but then you immediately feel shitty about yourself and so you can't bring yourself to do it, leading to even worse self confidence about it.
My therapist told me that in Germany there is an idiom that in English translates to "if you want to prove that you will fail you will always succeed". If I did NaNoWriMo, I would have the full expectation that I will fail, even if I try to tell myself that I have hope it would go well, and so I will just naturally make myself fail.
My therapist told me that in Germany there is an idiom that in English translates to "if you want to prove that you will fail you will always succeed". If I did NaNoWriMo, I would have the full expectation that I will fail, even if I try to tell myself that I have hope it would go well, and so I will just naturally make myself fail.
not sure if this fits here, but just today the thought occurred to me that depression may be related to expectations i have of myself but also what others expect of me. by avoiding pressure from others and not expecting to much myself but without considering that a failure, or by not blaming myself if things don't work out, in other words, avoiding things that would lower my self confidence, may be a way to avoid depression.
i have never tried NaNoWriMo, but if i did, i'd look at my situation and realize that i would not get much done, but for me that would not be a failure, because i wouldn't even go in with the expectation that i should be able to change that. on other words, i would not even have the hope that it would go well. instead it would be the realization that without participating i'd write nothing. by participating i'd write something, and so i may consider that a (small) success.
i have never tried NaNoWriMo, but if i did, i'd look at my situation and realize that i would not get much done, but for me that would not be a failure, because i wouldn't even go in with the expectation that i should be able to change that. on other words, i would not even have the hope that it would go well. instead it would be the realization that without participating i'd write nothing. by participating i'd write something, and so i may consider that a (small) success.
While I empathize with your situation-- be careful not to discourage others. The only two fully completed novellas were because of this month and I'm very proud of them.
I'm much more annoyed I haven't been able to replicate this outside of the contest.
Hope you feel better now.
I'm much more annoyed I haven't been able to replicate this outside of the contest.
Hope you feel better now.
I want to be clear, I am not trying to discourage others - however, I did try NaNoWriMo because of an aura of "everyone should do this, it's great" from people around me, so I am more just making the gentle point that people shouldn't feel that they "have" to do NaNo, or that there's anything wrong with them if they try and fail.
If it does work for you, that is, of course, great.
Indeed, NaNoWriMo does - by the very nature of its focus on "pushing yourself to succeed" and positivity in challenge - make it hard to talk about not succeeding. (And I am pretty sure that attitude didn't help my own interactions with it.)
If it does work for you, that is, of course, great.
Indeed, NaNoWriMo does - by the very nature of its focus on "pushing yourself to succeed" and positivity in challenge - make it hard to talk about not succeeding. (And I am pretty sure that attitude didn't help my own interactions with it.)
It's also, you have to make an artistic sacrifice when you're doing it. You're writing a first draft of a novel, but it's not meant to be a good first draft, it can have plotholes and characters who learn nothing and unintentional red herrings and all sorts of other stuff that drives readers up the wall.
My book, I got to the word count but the characters hadn't done a quarter of what they were supposed to over the plot, it was a book with an extended beginning, a little bit of middle, no resolution or ending. So I learned a lot about myself! But if I was trying to actually make a worthwhile narrative, well, I need to consider how much reasonably fits in 50,000 words and how many books do I need to tell the bigger story.
My book, I got to the word count but the characters hadn't done a quarter of what they were supposed to over the plot, it was a book with an extended beginning, a little bit of middle, no resolution or ending. So I learned a lot about myself! But if I was trying to actually make a worthwhile narrative, well, I need to consider how much reasonably fits in 50,000 words and how many books do I need to tell the bigger story.
I've just completed my first #NaNoWriMo.
I decided to do it as a series of short sci-fi stories. You can read them at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/TalesOfTheAlgorithm
It was fascinating to me how much like programming it was. So much planning, lots of time trying to figure out what isn't working, and a bunch of spelling bugs!
Well worth attempting this if you have the time to exercise your creative muscles.
Anyway, if you have any feedback on my weird stories, I'd love to hear it.
I decided to do it as a series of short sci-fi stories. You can read them at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/TalesOfTheAlgorithm
It was fascinating to me how much like programming it was. So much planning, lots of time trying to figure out what isn't working, and a bunch of spelling bugs!
Well worth attempting this if you have the time to exercise your creative muscles.
Anyway, if you have any feedback on my weird stories, I'd love to hear it.
Did anyone read then? My experience in writing things online is that barely anyone reads them and even fewer comment on them.
I might just suck at it, but if didn't someone would probably pay me to do it.
I might just suck at it, but if didn't someone would probably pay me to do it.
I've had a bunch of my blog's readers and Mastodon friends leave comments on them.
The stories aren't as popular as my normal blogging - but I was expecting that.
Looking at my logs, I've had a few hundred people read them, which is lovely.
And, frankly, it doesn't matter if I suck or you suck. The joy of creation is its own payment.
The stories aren't as popular as my normal blogging - but I was expecting that.
Looking at my logs, I've had a few hundred people read them, which is lovely.
And, frankly, it doesn't matter if I suck or you suck. The joy of creation is its own payment.
The average published novel hardly sells (couple of hundred copies on average), so if you write for the sake of a big audience, novels are not the thing to write - in that case aim for articles in a well read paper or magazine.
Selling even reasonably well takes a mix of persistency (building an audience over multiple works), talent, hard work promoting it yourself, and luck.
Selling even reasonably well takes a mix of persistency (building an audience over multiple works), talent, hard work promoting it yourself, and luck.
So true. I'm still learning the hard part about writing is not the writing, it is getting someone to read it. I documented it here => https://rodyne.com/?page_id=1252
My wife participates in it every year (for many years); in october she gets the outline done, then in november she writes the book, in december she has editors go over it and she publishes during the next year. The productivity of just saying 'this month is fully for writing' and sticking to a minimum word count really has been a very productive mechanism.
That is a good story, good for your wife.
I belong to a local self-published authors group in my small town. We are going to cover NaNoWriMo this weekend.
I belong to a local self-published authors group in my small town. We are going to cover NaNoWriMo this weekend.
Haven't written a novel before. I had an idea a few months back and had been taking notes here and there (fantasy genre). I decided to participate, setting myself a 500 words/day goal. Just crossed 12k words and now I'm hoping to end up around 30k at the end of November. If that pans out, I'll push to finish the first draft in December.
My main goal is to have fun and I did feel great a few times, especially when I thought of something clever or spotted a mistake that'd not work with what I had written a few chapters back.
My main goal is to have fun and I did feel great a few times, especially when I thought of something clever or spotted a mistake that'd not work with what I had written a few chapters back.
I’m I love this little challenge. I've participated almost every year since 2010. At the peak of my involvement l was a local organizer (Municipal Liaison). I met a lot of cool people and had a great time at write-ins and such.
It was a good social outlet for me because I have a pretty severe mobility impairment and, long story short, small groups and laid back activities are easier for me to participate in than other things.
I haven't really gotten back into in-person stuff post-COVID, but I still enjoy making November a time to write and hanging out in the local NaNo Discord server. I enjoy perusing the NaNo forums, particularly the Adoption Society, where people offer up plots, characters, running gags, opening lines, chapter-naming schemes, and more for anyone to use.
There's also a bit of fun lore that has developed. For example, if you're stuck, kill a character with the traveling shovel of death ("traveling" because us Wrimos are passing it around). Or find a way to include Mr. Ian Woon (anagram of NaNoWriMo).
NaNoWriMo is different things to different people and I love that about it.
This year and last, I lowered my goal to writing a 20k-word novella. I have difficulty typing and a lower word count makes it a bit easier for me (that makes me a "NaNo rebel" lol I love all the little jokes and stuff).
It was a good social outlet for me because I have a pretty severe mobility impairment and, long story short, small groups and laid back activities are easier for me to participate in than other things.
I haven't really gotten back into in-person stuff post-COVID, but I still enjoy making November a time to write and hanging out in the local NaNo Discord server. I enjoy perusing the NaNo forums, particularly the Adoption Society, where people offer up plots, characters, running gags, opening lines, chapter-naming schemes, and more for anyone to use.
There's also a bit of fun lore that has developed. For example, if you're stuck, kill a character with the traveling shovel of death ("traveling" because us Wrimos are passing it around). Or find a way to include Mr. Ian Woon (anagram of NaNoWriMo).
NaNoWriMo is different things to different people and I love that about it.
This year and last, I lowered my goal to writing a 20k-word novella. I have difficulty typing and a lower word count makes it a bit easier for me (that makes me a "NaNo rebel" lol I love all the little jokes and stuff).
I'm in a small writing club and all four of us are trying it. I successfully finished it two years ago with a series of ten interlocking short stories that (surprise!) tell a complete story as a novel by the end.
One thing I notice is that a lot of people use it as a project to just get words out, regardless of quality. They talk about vomit-drafts, and/or just sitting down to write to see where it takes them, to see what the characters will do. I don't think that mindset is very compatible with story forms that requires mystery or twists or foreshadowing. My story this month has that so it's been difficult. I'm at 11,000 words now and we're late enough in the month that it's telling me I have to write more than 2,000 words/day to finish. Soon I'll be past the point of no return, where it will be practically impossible to catch up; I think the most I've ever written in a day is 5,000 words.
Ah well, it was still good motivation, and I'm signed on enough to my concept that I'll probably finish it even if I'm not done on 11/30.
One thing I notice is that a lot of people use it as a project to just get words out, regardless of quality. They talk about vomit-drafts, and/or just sitting down to write to see where it takes them, to see what the characters will do. I don't think that mindset is very compatible with story forms that requires mystery or twists or foreshadowing. My story this month has that so it's been difficult. I'm at 11,000 words now and we're late enough in the month that it's telling me I have to write more than 2,000 words/day to finish. Soon I'll be past the point of no return, where it will be practically impossible to catch up; I think the most I've ever written in a day is 5,000 words.
Ah well, it was still good motivation, and I'm signed on enough to my concept that I'll probably finish it even if I'm not done on 11/30.
>One thing I notice is that a lot of people use it as a project to just get words out, regardless of quality.
That's the point or at least it was in the early days. NaNoWriMo came out of Chris Baty's book, "No Plot? No Problem!" and the point was to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days. The point was to sit down and write. As I recall, the book mentions "One Day Novelists' as in "One day I'm going to write a novel...." It's just a kick in the pants to get you to sit down and write. Don't edit, don't re-write, just write.
I've done (and completed) NaNoWriMo a dozen times (2004-2013, 2015, 2020) and I've never had an outline and only a basic idea of a plot when I started,, mainly because I didn't want to start writing before 1 November. One way to handle twists and foreshadowing is not to write it in order (I used to bike to and from work and those 40 minutes each day was when I'd work to what happened next or what happened to get to where I was in the story.)
The first year, I took the "scientific approach" and started out just writing 1,667 words a day. While that was always my daily goal, I did abandon it. The most words I wrote in a single day was 10,596 (20-Nov-2007).
That's the point or at least it was in the early days. NaNoWriMo came out of Chris Baty's book, "No Plot? No Problem!" and the point was to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days. The point was to sit down and write. As I recall, the book mentions "One Day Novelists' as in "One day I'm going to write a novel...." It's just a kick in the pants to get you to sit down and write. Don't edit, don't re-write, just write.
I've done (and completed) NaNoWriMo a dozen times (2004-2013, 2015, 2020) and I've never had an outline and only a basic idea of a plot when I started,, mainly because I didn't want to start writing before 1 November. One way to handle twists and foreshadowing is not to write it in order (I used to bike to and from work and those 40 minutes each day was when I'd work to what happened next or what happened to get to where I was in the story.)
The first year, I took the "scientific approach" and started out just writing 1,667 words a day. While that was always my daily goal, I did abandon it. The most words I wrote in a single day was 10,596 (20-Nov-2007).
Congratulate yourself it is a great internal achievement to finish writing something. I just published my first book this month, I'm not sure how the mojo came, it certainly wasn't a special month though I did manage 10K words during last NaNoWriMo.
The floodgates opening for me was being stuck in a hotel room during a cyclone for 3 days without power and an old Chromebook which I nursed to fourteen hours of battery by turning the brightness all the way down and closing the lid to put it in sleep mode during the times I was thinking. That got me the re-start I needed.
The floodgates opening for me was being stuck in a hotel room during a cyclone for 3 days without power and an old Chromebook which I nursed to fourteen hours of battery by turning the brightness all the way down and closing the lid to put it in sleep mode during the times I was thinking. That got me the re-start I needed.
hehe that is an awesome story. I've always loved how constraints somehow make us more creative rather than less.
For the record, the point of NaNoWriMo is pure word count, and folks consider December to be "National Novel Editing Month" where you refine the word vomit.
Obviously this is not the only approach to writing, and some folks are incompatible with the concept of "just write with abandon" and "sort it all out and refine it in edit".
If you want to write and edit at the same time, consider halving your total word count (since they take two months to do that), or double your time (and continue through December).
Obviously this is not the only approach to writing, and some folks are incompatible with the concept of "just write with abandon" and "sort it all out and refine it in edit".
If you want to write and edit at the same time, consider halving your total word count (since they take two months to do that), or double your time (and continue through December).
Related to the "word vomit" aspect of it, I've found a general rule of "wait at least 6 months" for the first edit pass to be helpful to me (rather than December my "National Novel Editing Month" is closer to June). From my experience I often am too critical trying to revise it immediately and having distance and forgetfulness helps a lot to better spot the jewels in project and polish them rather than dwell as much on the dreck and "word vomit" which you can simply rewrite or even delete. I was surprised when I mentioned it last night at a write-in how many hadn't considered forcing some distance between (very) rough draft and trying to make a proper first draft out of it.
Well, the explicit goal of NaNoWriMo is word count, not quality. You aren't wrong in your analysis, but NaNoWriMo is not the event through which you write complex stories and spend a ton of time thinking about each scene. It's pretty explicitly for plowing through as many words as possible in 30 days.
An analogy I would make is that a marathon is measured as 26.2 miles. It's not measured in minutes or hours -- it's not the 2:30 run, for example. The standard of success is measured in miles, not minutes. Similarly, NaNoWriMo is measured in words, not quality or twists or ready-to-be-published state.
You are right, though. It's good motivation. I've finished every year for 10 years, but I've never gotten anything to a state I would consider to be even remotely publishable. :)
An analogy I would make is that a marathon is measured as 26.2 miles. It's not measured in minutes or hours -- it's not the 2:30 run, for example. The standard of success is measured in miles, not minutes. Similarly, NaNoWriMo is measured in words, not quality or twists or ready-to-be-published state.
You are right, though. It's good motivation. I've finished every year for 10 years, but I've never gotten anything to a state I would consider to be even remotely publishable. :)
Writing (and illustrating) an amateur novel is the most creative fun I've ever had. Highly recommended if you have a mind to try. (trained artist, but software developer by day)
I wrote one[1] about 5 years ago. It's amateur and too long, but it's my great American novel, for better or worse! It actually took 4 years, but so much fun! The most annoying part was getting it into a viable ePub. I ended up using Sigil, as it was the easiest to use at the time.
[1] https://darladarling.com (free ePub)
I wrote one[1] about 5 years ago. It's amateur and too long, but it's my great American novel, for better or worse! It actually took 4 years, but so much fun! The most annoying part was getting it into a viable ePub. I ended up using Sigil, as it was the easiest to use at the time.
[1] https://darladarling.com (free ePub)
Do they have a policy on AI, I feel like they are not prepared for the coming flood.
Why would they need to be prepared? NaNo is on you, you don't get anything for winning other than satisfaction and online badges and stuff from sponsors, such as some promo codes for writing software and getting your initial draft printed.
A text that reads "Rabbit." written 50,000 times is enough to win NaNo.
A text that reads "Rabbit." written 50,000 times is enough to win NaNo.
https://gist.github.com/dave1010/a7e7207edef422cf972968b029b...
Feel free to fork.
Feel free to fork.
You can just copy and paste "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy" 50,000 times and "win" there's no need for AI.
As others have mentioned, since it's self-driven, this would not be a problem. Rather than viewing it as a problem, in fact, one could use AI to "ensure" they produced finished or clean pieces of writing.
I'm less in the frame of thought of using AI to "write a 800 word story on leprechauns" and more in the situation of "edit my lead paragraph in the same style as my concluding paragraph" or "here is an outline of my story, critique it and give me a structure to follow for a second draft".
As a self-driven exercise then, AI becomes just another tool for a writer to get better. Sometimes it's a training wheel, sometimes it's a rocket strapped to your butt.
I'm less in the frame of thought of using AI to "write a 800 word story on leprechauns" and more in the situation of "edit my lead paragraph in the same style as my concluding paragraph" or "here is an outline of my story, critique it and give me a structure to follow for a second draft".
As a self-driven exercise then, AI becomes just another tool for a writer to get better. Sometimes it's a training wheel, sometimes it's a rocket strapped to your butt.
There is it its own "month" game for that: https://nanogenmo.github.io/
The only "win" is personal and if you want to define your win in terms of ML/AI, that's for you to decide and mostly just between you and your keyboard. But there's a lot of neat resources and a different sense of accomplishment/competition/cooperation if you choose to focus on it as a NaNoGenMo project instead of a NaNoWriMo project.
The only "win" is personal and if you want to define your win in terms of ML/AI, that's for you to decide and mostly just between you and your keyboard. But there's a lot of neat resources and a different sense of accomplishment/competition/cooperation if you choose to focus on it as a NaNoGenMo project instead of a NaNoWriMo project.
Last year I started another version for Mo(vies):
https://namogenmo.github.io/
I wanted to keep the anything-goes spirit, so “movie” is defined really loosely. Anyone is free to join me, there’s still time this month!
https://namogenmo.github.io/
I wanted to keep the anything-goes spirit, so “movie” is defined really loosely. Anyone is free to join me, there’s still time this month!
Back when I did this, you could already technically "win" the pat on the back just by copying and pasting 50,000 words of gibberish to meet their word count. But then you would be cheating yourself: the point isn't truly to get the award at the end, but rather to challenge yourself to write 50,000 words in a month, to make novel writing seem less like an impossible task.
They do: https://nanowrimo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/191758964889...
I remember there being a group out there that had the same competition but trying to tweak a good LLM to write a novel in a month, but I couldn't find it again and it was before the ChatGPT heyday.
I remember there being a group out there that had the same competition but trying to tweak a good LLM to write a novel in a month, but I couldn't find it again and it was before the ChatGPT heyday.
You might be thinking of NaNoGenMo: https://nanogenmo.github.io
Which I think largely pre-dates the availability of LLMs and is/was more aimed at traditional procedural generation techniques, although I imagine LLMs get used a lot these days.
Which I think largely pre-dates the availability of LLMs and is/was more aimed at traditional procedural generation techniques, although I imagine LLMs get used a lot these days.
From what I remember when I last tried it, NaNoWriMo worked with the honor system. If you wanted you could paste a wikipedia article in the editor and it would count the words and tell you good job, but you'd only be lying to yourself in the end.
It’s a personal incentivising thing. If you do that you can pay yourself on the back for, well, nothing.
Is there a reason you feel they are less prepared than any other organization?
The podcast 'Writing Excuses' is also doing a series to help people complete a novel in a month: https://writingexcuses.com/
See the Oct 29, Nov 5, and Nov 12th episodes so far.
See the Oct 29, Nov 5, and Nov 12th episodes so far.
It's interesting to read the criticisms of NaNoWriMo because they don't really change. I have completed it for 15 years in a row, then on year 16 I sort of hit a wall and this year I am deliberately not doing it. But my friend and I have been doing it since high school. The point is usually not about doing it to become published but rather to have fun. I'm not sure if I would have been able to do it without going to some of the in-person write-ins. I even know someone who met their husband at a in-person write-in.
I did NaNoWriMo in 2010 and it was a great experience and produced a not very good genre novel about the first sentient AI’s inability to deal with humans and how the human race survived the biotech apocalypse. The “write fast get it done” format liberated me from the need to make sense. Let it rip!
Good luck.
Edit: the novel http://files.howtolivewiki.com/MOTHER_OF_HYDROGEN_NOVEL/inde...
Good luck.
Edit: the novel http://files.howtolivewiki.com/MOTHER_OF_HYDROGEN_NOVEL/inde...
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I remember doing this back when I was 11 or 12. Very nostalgic. I wish I could find the short novel I wrote back then but it seems like I purged all my files.
I am not participating in it exactly, but I'm finishing up my next novel draft right now and it is still really satisfying to work alongside all the NaNo-ers. Coincidentally this can also be a nice time to get that writing or editing software you might be interested in, since many of them run sales around NaNoWriMo.
The problem on my end is finding readers. My stuff is at https://emlia.org/
On this topic, where do people go for short stories online?
I find myself with 20 mins here, 40 mins there, and half the time gets spent trying to find a decent short story.
I find myself with 20 mins here, 40 mins there, and half the time gets spent trying to find a decent short story.
Nanowrimo was started in 1999! It's a great project and there's no better time than now to start your book.
I guess that NaNoGenMo, the variant where you use algorithms to create a novel, is really going to change this year...
It took a bit of digging to find out just when it is.
November.
November.
NaNoWriMo, though a net positive force in the world, strikes me as a creative exercise for non-creatives. Truly not a bad thing, no offense intended. Trying to create regularly will help you become more creative.
However, if you're already someone that is able to maintain a writing schedule and hit daily targets of hundreds of words, and can see your dream works emerge through the simple act of scheduling... I'm gently skeptical of where your motivation to create comes from. Bear with me.
Before we get bogged down in it: Misery and disorder are not requisites for creativity and I'm certainly not advocating that, either.
The issue is that trying to hit some sort of material target by artificially imposing a daily grind on it forces your work into a box created by the work-a-day-world. An undeniably effective one, but for everything?
The global marketplace is what sets deadlines like "by the end of the day!" and "by the end of the month!" where as works of art and creators can both bloom like flowers and get seasoned over large segments of time like waves washing over a rock face.
Your arc as an artist or creator, starting from the discovery of that impulse inside yourself, may be one that spans decades or your entire life. If that's the case, success or failure in NanoWriMo may be a bad indicator for you:
"Oh shit, I missed my 7pm writing alarm and forgot to write ~1700 words, now I'll never be the next Charles Dickens!"
could come from the same writer as:
"After a slow walk through my city on a crisp fall morning, I can sit down and write 5000 words without so much as stopping to stretch my wrist."
and:
"I don't practice art regularly, but sometimes when I get the urge, I will be in the throes for 3 days trying to work out the specifics of an image that has flashed into my mind."
These and many other creative modes are valid and exist independently of schedules, clocks, word counts, time limits and other cops we might invite to sit by our writing desks, easels and computer terminals.
However, if you're already someone that is able to maintain a writing schedule and hit daily targets of hundreds of words, and can see your dream works emerge through the simple act of scheduling... I'm gently skeptical of where your motivation to create comes from. Bear with me.
Before we get bogged down in it: Misery and disorder are not requisites for creativity and I'm certainly not advocating that, either.
The issue is that trying to hit some sort of material target by artificially imposing a daily grind on it forces your work into a box created by the work-a-day-world. An undeniably effective one, but for everything?
The global marketplace is what sets deadlines like "by the end of the day!" and "by the end of the month!" where as works of art and creators can both bloom like flowers and get seasoned over large segments of time like waves washing over a rock face.
Your arc as an artist or creator, starting from the discovery of that impulse inside yourself, may be one that spans decades or your entire life. If that's the case, success or failure in NanoWriMo may be a bad indicator for you:
"Oh shit, I missed my 7pm writing alarm and forgot to write ~1700 words, now I'll never be the next Charles Dickens!"
could come from the same writer as:
"After a slow walk through my city on a crisp fall morning, I can sit down and write 5000 words without so much as stopping to stretch my wrist."
and:
"I don't practice art regularly, but sometimes when I get the urge, I will be in the throes for 3 days trying to work out the specifics of an image that has flashed into my mind."
These and many other creative modes are valid and exist independently of schedules, clocks, word counts, time limits and other cops we might invite to sit by our writing desks, easels and computer terminals.
The problem is that most people just fundamentally don't want to make art. NaNoWriMo is in many ways just an excuse to force themselves to do so "because they know they should".
People do though.
Making art for most people is like exercise. It's good for them and once they get into it they like it, but there is an initial cost and your initial attempts aren't going to be very fulfilling and all that.
Almost everybody feels that surge of excitement in front of the potter's wheel. But, pots collapse, finding a teacher to mentor you is expensive, the people who want to start it have to start by researching clay and how you work it and can I use my oven as a kiln or do I need to buy a dedicated one and do I need glazing materials...
And then the same thing that killed exercise has killed the “artism” that we feel. People stopped going on daily constitutionals because of the TV, we made the TV more addictive and put it in your pocket and called it TikTok
Making art for most people is like exercise. It's good for them and once they get into it they like it, but there is an initial cost and your initial attempts aren't going to be very fulfilling and all that.
Almost everybody feels that surge of excitement in front of the potter's wheel. But, pots collapse, finding a teacher to mentor you is expensive, the people who want to start it have to start by researching clay and how you work it and can I use my oven as a kiln or do I need to buy a dedicated one and do I need glazing materials...
And then the same thing that killed exercise has killed the “artism” that we feel. People stopped going on daily constitutionals because of the TV, we made the TV more addictive and put it in your pocket and called it TikTok
I've seen people that normally wouldn't align with any sort of creative identity suddenly light up when placed in the role. Even more when their contributions are meaningfully acknowledged and dignified as valid creations.
Reminds me of the difference between learning piano from someone that's scolding you and smacking your hands, and someone that is encouraging you, starting from where you are, leveraging your innate interests, opening your eyes to patterns... when the gates are down, it's much easier to get in.
Reminds me of the difference between learning piano from someone that's scolding you and smacking your hands, and someone that is encouraging you, starting from where you are, leveraging your innate interests, opening your eyes to patterns... when the gates are down, it's much easier to get in.
For me, it was not because I "should" but because I wanted to see if I could.
Was it actually possible for me to write ~1,600 words every day and have them form a coherent story?
I wasn't aiming for great art. I was following the start-up credo of "If you’re not embarrassed by the first version, you’ve launched too late."
Was it actually possible for me to write ~1,600 words every day and have them form a coherent story?
I wasn't aiming for great art. I was following the start-up credo of "If you’re not embarrassed by the first version, you’ve launched too late."
> most people just fundamentally don't want to make art
And they're right, because 99.9% of them would be bad at it. Probably it would not even have any therapeutical value for them, and the 0.1% of new artists discovered might not be a significant upside.
The name is terrible too, sounds like Orwell's Minitruth and similar 1940s abbreviations - "Hey, comrades, there is a dire shortage of blather, and the Great National Novel is nowhere in sight. Therefore our enlightened leadership has established a program with the catchy name NaNoWriMo, and all youth is enrolled."
And they're right, because 99.9% of them would be bad at it. Probably it would not even have any therapeutical value for them, and the 0.1% of new artists discovered might not be a significant upside.
The name is terrible too, sounds like Orwell's Minitruth and similar 1940s abbreviations - "Hey, comrades, there is a dire shortage of blather, and the Great National Novel is nowhere in sight. Therefore our enlightened leadership has established a program with the catchy name NaNoWriMo, and all youth is enrolled."
It could be that type of target. It can also be a low commitment way for people who are on the fence to scratch a particular itch they are feeling. For some, the only "output" it produces may be, "I do not enjoy this."
That happens to be valuable info in its own way.
That happens to be valuable info in its own way.
So when I got laid off earlier in the year I started working on an alternative to NaNo.
https://penpinery.com
At the moment it's in MVP but it current has:
- Author profiles w/ blogging - Publication cataloging + reader reviews - WIP cataloging with word count tracking - A community feed similar to Goodreads + WIP word count updates
The idea is I think NaNo could be more social post-November. With Pen Pinery's current MVP I think Authors can build a readership fanbase much easier than anything NaNo could do.
In the future I want to also have goal tracking based on pages instead of word count and for editing as well. I also think there's a lot of potential for building out an ARC sign up system.
Pretty much I've self-published 15+ books and I'm putting everything that worked for me into a social author/reading platform.
Authors who use NaNo or are completely against it, I'd love to get some feedback on the concept from a description standpoint. Any thoughts or tips?
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Since this is YC, the tech stack is Django 4, Postgres and Bootstrap 5; Hosted on DigitalOcean.