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Hi everyone, is anyone going for this? Each year people around the world challenge themselves to write 50,000 words of a novel in order to prove to themselves that they can not only do it, they can do it in good time. You go into it as a wannabe and come out of it as a novelist.

If you can maintain a good solid pace of about 3000 words per day and stick to this every day, you'll have more than half of the challenge beaten with nearly three weeks left to write the rest.

I know most novels are between 70-100,000 words long, but I've seen evidence that some publishing houses charge more for certain services regarding novels 75-80,000 words or more (mainly they will starting charging you to send you copies of your own novel), so it makes sense to aim for 50-70,000 words for a finished product. Also, we're not Stephen King or that dreadful Harry Potter woman, so publishers will probably not want to look at sprawling epics from unknowns like us.

I'm hoping to create a system of mutual encouragement with my friends on Facebook. I'll be happy to support people from Dakka Dakka if they'll also do the same for me.

Who's up for this? November is looming, you'd better decide soon!

I've actually already started outlining (is that cheating XD).

No, it's excellent and shows commitment You can start now, the challenge is to try and do 50,000 words in November, but if you can finish in less then who cares about the remaining words, have yourself a slice of flapjack!!

I've got maple;



EDIT: Granted, I've never actually completed the challenge. I mean I probably wrote more than 50000 words last November but I side tracked on a different project last year so technically I didn't write 50000 words of one novel XD

I've done this before for my first novel, it was great fun. 75,000 words in 26 days was a blast, and you get a great sense of satisfaction from completing it.

For anyone looking to do this, the key is getting into the rhythm of doing x amount daily (2500-3000 words a day lets you get ahead and have a few days leeway at the end in case you miss a day or two), and bearing in mind that the majority of what you write will generally be less good than you expect simply due to the speed you're going at. I found that writing at the same time each day helped with getting into the rhythm. If on a particular day you find you can't fill the quota, don't force it, just try and make it up in the next few.

Avoid getting bogged down in editing and proof reading, just focus on the writing. Then, you put the book away until at least January and then you come back and do editing/improving ect. I spent twice the time editing mine as I did actually writing it, and there are parts of it that, pre-edit, were absolute rubbish. Don't be disheartened if you discover this, it's just a natural by-product of writing at that kind of speed.

Also, make sure you have a plan, or at least a rough idea of where you're going. In other conditions, a day or two of 'Writer's Block' is not always bad thing, but at this sort of speed, you can't afford that, so once you've finished writing for a day, begin planning the next day's work if you have time/effort.

I probably won't be taking part this year due to time issues, but if any dakka members need advice or help I'll be happy to chip in either in this thread of via PM.

Excellent that you managed it Paradigm, but I bet until you get into the groove it is nightmarishly hard. I've got aspergers, so I never finish most of my work for two reasons:

1. Perfectionism - having to edit and amend everything. In order to post stories online I have to limit this, which leaves mistakes, but at least means the story will be written. Sometimes I re-edit stuff because I haven't planned ahead and it gets too daunting to try and finish things.

2. Over-complicating the story - introducing too many characters, plot points etc. This comes from starting the story with no clear direction.

What I try to do now is always ask myself:

What I want to write about - the things that matter to me personally, things that can be explored in fiction. This includes themes, characters, events etc, basically it's an analysis of my interests, fears, hopes and aspirations.

Why I want to write it - this involves an analysis of yourself and your motives, but this is only difficult or time-consuming the very first time, and it can lead to major breakthroughs in your work by enabling you to jettison or avoid including "crap" or "dead wood". If you lose interest in a story, you have lost sight of why you were writing it and what you were writing about.

What I hope to achieve. Often, this is just "To finally get the bloody thing finished", but it could be to get a message across, or to exorcise a demon which is represented by characters or events in the story. In terms of writing a novel, my goal would simply be "To get the finished novel submitted to publishers".

1. Perfectionism - having to edit and amend everything. In order to post stories online I have to limit this, which leaves mistakes, but at least means the story will be written. Sometimes I re-edit stuff because I haven't planned ahead and it gets too daunting to try and finish things.

2. Over-complicating the story - introducing too many characters, plot points etc. This comes from starting the story with no clear direction.

Outlining has become my step one because of these. Some people have no problem just plowing into a story and they can just make it work. I've attempted it numerous times in the past but it just never works for me XD I do a lot of outlining now to avoid the problems.

That's good. It clearly works for all of us who now do it. They should make this the first rule in all those "write a novel/short story" books.

RULE #1: Always, ALWAYS plan ahead. Kiss goodbye to your novel if you don't.

I think I'd like to take a crack at this.

However, I have absolutely no idea what to write about.

 Dr. What wrote:
I think I'd like to take a crack at this.

However, I have absolutely no idea what to write about.

I start stories in two ways. I make a character(s) and build a story around them or decided I want to make a certain kind of story, create the character(s) and build that story around them. You never really know what works for you until you dive in head first tho imo. Sit yourself down in front of a computer (or a notepad, writing on real paper can feel very rewarding) and just write something. Go free form. Write whatever pops into your head (and I mean whatever, stream of consciousness). Maybe you'll write something to start with.

I think I'd like to take a crack at this.

However, I have absolutely no idea what to write about.

I start stories in two ways. I make a character(s) and build a story around them or decided I want to make a certain kind of story, create the character(s) and build that story around them. You never really know what works for you until you dive in head first tho imo. Sit yourself down in front of a computer (or a notepad, writing on real paper can feel very rewarding) and just write something. Go free form. Write whatever pops into your head. Maybe you'll write something to start with.

That's what I usually do. I think I'm going to jump around random topics until one catches my interest, then I'll do further research on it.

It occurs to me that my favorite paper to write was about the psychology of Lee Harvey Oswald for my History 102 course. That could be a neat springboard.

Sounds like fun. Outline October! Novel November!

I usually find my problem is that I have an interesting start and an idea for how it will end, but getting the two to meet in a fluid, organic way is where things get tricky. Damn you second act!

I've been meaning to plan for this since last November, but it's taken a very distant backseat. Life comes first, and that's meant that I only remembered NaNoWriMo when someone reminded me of it a few days ago.

 Ahtman wrote:
Sounds like fun. Outline October! Novel November!

Oh no you don't! Get back to those rules you're writing mister!

I have given it a go in the past - I think I got up to about 10,000 words at the most.

Unfortunately I don't have time to do it this year

I once started writing a novel in my second year of University (a year and a half ago roughly). I got to 20,000 words in a month as I was proofreading and constantly checking the quality.

It wasn't a race against time at all, I started it because I'd like to be the first one in my family to be published. I have it saved on several thumb drives I own, and I will eventually finish it. My goal is 80 - 100k words. In that regard, I'm about a quarter of the way to my finished book.

 Manchu wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Sounds like fun. Outline October! Novel November!

Oh no you don't! Get back to those rules you're writing mister!

EEK!

 NoPoet wrote:
Excellent that you managed it Paradigm, but I bet until you get into the groove it is nightmarishly hard. I've got aspergers, so I never finish most of my work for two reasons:

1. Perfectionism - having to edit and amend everything. In order to post stories online I have to limit this, which leaves mistakes, but at least means the story will be written. Sometimes I re-edit stuff because I haven't planned ahead and it gets too daunting to try and finish things.

2. Over-complicating the story - introducing too many characters, plot points etc. This comes from starting the story with no clear direction.

What I try to do now is always ask myself:

What I want to write about - the things that matter to me personally, things that can be explored in fiction. This includes themes, characters, events etc, basically it's an analysis of my interests, fears, hopes and aspirations.

Why I want to write it - this involves an analysis of yourself and your motives, but this is only difficult or time-consuming the very first time, and it can lead to major breakthroughs in your work by enabling you to jettison or avoid including "crap" or "dead wood". If you lose interest in a story, you have lost sight of why you were writing it and what you were writing about.

What I hope to achieve. Often, this is just "To finally get the bloody thing finished", but it could be to get a message across, or to exorcise a demon which is represented by characters or events in the story. In terms of writing a novel, my goal would simply be "To get the finished novel submitted to publishers".

Sounds like you are already on the right lines here,your aims seem to address the points you made for not finishing. Working around the perfectionism will come with practice. As I said before, you just need to get into the mindset of editing the whole thing after it's finished, rather than as you go along. Don't worry about writing what you'll later regard as dead wood, you can take it out at any point after you've competed the book. Often, having the complete novel will actually help deciding what to trim, as you have the complete narrative to see what does and doesn't fit.

Representing yourself in characters, themes and ideas is something that most authors do to one extent or another, and is a good thing in general, so again this is a good basis for deciding where you want to take the book.

Starting out is hard, but after a few days you'll find yourself getting in the groove pretty easily. A good trick that works for some writers is to begin your 'next day's work' before you finish each day, so you have somewhere to pick up from and a reason to continue. This may or may not work for you, but I'd try it once or twice to see, as it could help a lot.

Keep your aims in mind the whole time, and you should manage it. I wish you the best of luck with this project.

This seems a wonderful challenge! I am in; let the outlining begin. On a related note, I imagine many of the aspiring novelist inadvertently celebrate Movember.

Never heard of this before. Sounds like a good challenge though. Might actually get me to work on mine...

*looks at lonely USB*

I've tried this for a few years now, though my life always seems busiest during November. I think the closest I came was close to 20k on my first attempt.

I've now had that story cut down and brought back up again, only be to cut down again and largely ignored in some forgotten folder on my computer. I really want to finally finish it, but I'm afraid I'll be too busy again this November.

I might register and see if anyone in my area is doing it. Might motivate me to at least write something.

Hi everyone, some excellent advice and replies in this thread, and it seems the number of people who will be doing this is catching up to those who won't.

Some clarifications:

1. If you are serious about becoming a published author, you need to do this. If you are constantly putting it off due to lack of time, then with every month that passes, your chosen genre is receiving hundreds or thousands of submissions from writers who did find the time, and your eventual efforts will go to the bottom of a very big, very long-standing slush pile.

2. Becoming an author WILL consume your life. It will eat up your free time, you'll be fleshing out characters and scenes in spare minutes at work, you'll get sick of the thought of it, your eyes will burn from staring at a computer screen into the late hours. Being a professional author doesn't ask much from you: it demands everything.

3. It can be months or years before a successful submission will see print, so don't bank on being in the papers by January 2014.

4. Remember this is an informal challenge to yourself, you are not being monitored or graded, but you will need to discipline yourself to get anything done.

5. If you can get anywhere near the 50,000 word mark, you have broken the back of the work needed to write a novel. You don't have to FINISH the novel, just aim to get as close to 50,000 words as possible.

6. 20,000 words is better than 0 words. You will not be shot if you don't hit 50,000 words.

7. If you can finish a half-completed work in less than 50,000 words, brilliant.

IF YOU CANNOT COMMIT TO WRITING A NOVEL, YOU ARE CONDEMNING YOURSELF TO LIFE AS AN ONLINE FANFIC AUTHOR WHO WILL NEVER GET PAID - YOU WILL NEVER FIND FINANCIAL SUCCESS OR REWARD FOR YOUR WORK. Harsh, but true. This is a decision only YOU can make, so make it.

Some other tips:

1. If you get stressed by your writing, make a plan for what you want to do in the novel/story. If you're stressing, you may not know what you're doing due to lack of planning, or you might be writing about something that is either not in your field of personal interest, or you may be trying to incorporate too much.

2. Write about what you like, care about, show an interest in etc. Don't just write about vampires because a million teen girls might buy it - I can't imagine many men have much interest in spending months writing about moody, pale-skinned men with quiffs, constantly saving fragile, useless heroines. That crap would drive you insane after 10,000 words, especially if you're better at sci-fi battle sequences than writing adolescent gothack romance.

2. In the words of Jervis Johnson, be prepared to murder your darlings. Remove characters, scenes and events which you find boring, frustrating, or which detract from the plot and increase the number of words you've got to write. Don't just delete them unless they really are complete crap; save them into another word file. I've got several files labelled "(novel name) spares", eg "final dawn spares.doc". You can recycle good ideas, extraneous characters etc later, in other work. This does not mean the other work will be inferior just because it is using your B-team. The TV series Angel features cast-off Buffy characters including Angel himself, Cordelia and Wesley, who formed the main cast for nearly the entire run until Cordelia and Wesley went KIA. In my opinion, Angel was a greatly superior show as these "Buffy rejects" became fully fleshed-out champions, not whiny, annoying teens like the Buffy cast. Also, Stargate Atlantis could be considered the SG-1 "B"-team, but I personally loved the characters, even the annoying Dr Mackay.

3. Writing is hard, but fun. If it isn't fun at all then you're doing something wrong, but don't be shocked how tough it is to get into "crunch" mode and get something done. I recently wrote two stories, 1x 40K and 1x WHFB, with a combined total of around 7000-7500 words. I managed to finish these and quickly edit them in about 4 days, but it was extremely pummeling, and I had a plan of what I was aiming to do in the stories and was constantly working towards finishing them, not just adding new events and characters ad infinitum.

This is daft, how can you write a novel when spending November concentrating on growing the best moustache you can?

The two simply aren't compatable.

Now in December I can deliver an exciting tome on a mans hilarious adventures growing lip hair!

 notprop wrote:
This is daft, how can you write a novel when spending November concentrating on growing the best moustache you can?

The two simply aren't compatable.

Now in December I can deliver an exciting tome on a mans hilarious adventures growing lip hair!

I disagree- unless your facial hair is so epic you need to use your hands to keep it off of your keyboard you should be able to grow pure manliness and write at the same time. If your beard is long enough to reach the keyboard- how is it not able to type for you?

Why do we not have a bearded Ork emoticon?

I'm definitely doing it. Currently, I'm trying to decide whether I should finish my current novel (which is current at around page 16), or start a new one for the challenge. Starting a new one would be fun, but I don't think I want to take a break from my current project. Whichever I choose, though, it'll be done by November 30th!

Best of luck to everyone attempting this, and it would be awesome if we turned this thread into a place for updating our progress. If anyone is interested, check out the writing blog in my signature; I've got a chapter and a prologue from by current project up on there

DarkCorsair, I've just read the chapters up on your blog, they are pretty good, and nicely written. You've got a good sense of mystery going on in both parts, and the bit in the prologue about reality was also particularly interesting.

I also found your post on plot vs character fascinating, and while I may not agree with all of it (purely down to personal taste, I tend to prefer characters involved in something larger than themselves), you certainly raise some good points.

I'm very much in the same boat regarding finishing current projects or starting new ones. I wasn't going take part this year, but all this discussion has me back interested again. However, I already have 2 novels on the go, one of which I could not do justice to by speed-writing it, and the other which is progressing very slowly for various reasons. I'm not sure I will be actually going with the NaNoWriMo idea, but I'll certainly be trying to make some progress which has been sadly lacking recently. Hmm, decisions decisions...

Just a word of caution, if people are writing a novel that they want to get paid for, make sure it isn't available for free online! So if you want to post snippets I assume that's fine, but don't put half your novel online for feedback. If you send it to people, you should probably stick to PMs and email.

Be careful who you send it to as well. Make sure that the people you entrust it to don't run off with it or borrow your ideas! To an extent this can't be helped, a good or original idea will naturally inspire others, but actually getting published IS a competition. Protect your assets.

That's a good point, NoPoet, and I'll add that as soon as you have anything written down and can prove you own it, add a copyright symbol, your name and the date. You can't copyright an idea, but as soon as you have something written down, make sure you can prove it's yours.

 NoPoet wrote:
Just a word of caution, if people are writing a novel that they want to get paid for, make sure it isn't available for free online! So if you want to post snippets I assume that's fine, but don't put half your novel online for feedback. If you send it to people, you should probably stick to PMs and email.

Be careful who you send it to as well. Make sure that the people you entrust it to don't run off with it or borrow your ideas! To an extent this can't be helped, a good or original idea will naturally inspire others, but actually getting published IS a competition. Protect your assets.

Snippets are usually okay. Most publishers want what is called first publishing rights and if you'd previously placed the work on the internet it can become troublesome even if you take it down.

 LordofHats wrote:

 NoPoet wrote:
Just a word of caution, if people are writing a novel that they want to get paid for, make sure it isn't available for free online! So if you want to post snippets I assume that's fine, but don't put half your novel online for feedback. If you send it to people, you should probably stick to PMs and email.

Be careful who you send it to as well. Make sure that the people you entrust it to don't run off with it or borrow your ideas! To an extent this can't be helped, a good or original idea will naturally inspire others, but actually getting published IS a competition. Protect your assets.

Snippets are usually okay. Most publishers want what is called first publishing rights and if you'd previously placed the work on the internet it can become troublesome even if you take it down.

Conversely, I've seen some authors only get the attention of publishers due to the amount of traffic on blogs where they serialize their work