#my nanowrimo novel

[throughtrialbyfire]

NoSkipNovember

in light of the NaNoWriMo… trash fire, i decided i'd make my own event for myself. and if you want to participate, feel free! i know i'm making this post late as it's already november 1st here, but it happens AHAH. this is just a personal challenge i thought up yesterday evening, and it may help some other people!

Rules of NoSkipNovember

write every day of november, whether 1 word or 10,000.

that's it.

the point of NoSkipNovember is to build the habit of writing, even things that are small. it's to get you to sit down and, in whatever medium you write, to get in the habit of continuing to write.

what can you write?

anything! poetry, songs, outlines, plotting documents, books, short stories, as long as it's creative writing in some form, you are doing it right.

can i set a word goal?

yes!! if you want to set a daily word goal or the usual month goal, go for it! mine is the traditional 50k words, but you could set it for 500 or 500,000 or whatever you want. just be sure to take your time, and take breaks to stretch and move around.

does it have to be original fiction?

not at all, fanfiction is what i'm going to be focusing on, so if you wanna write that, you should!

i have another question

feel free to leave it in the replies or my inbox! i'm always happy to help. this is a very spur-of-the-moment, loose challenge, so feel free to make your own personal rules or stipulations. as long as you are having fun, getting some writing done, and feel accomplished, that's what matters.

that's it. have fun, hope you have a lovely NoSkipNovember!

[cheezely]

DIY NaNoWriMo

Hi! If you still want to participate in a NaNoWriMo type challenge but don't want to support the AI nonsense happening over there, there are plenty of free alternatives!! Here is a simple spreadsheet I made to track my daily word count that you can also use/edit as you'd like (File -> Make a Copy or Download) and here is a much more in-depth one made by Alex Penland if you'd like more options for viewing your progress. TrackBear is an online tool for tracking progress on your writing projects that also lets you set word count goals. You can also set up leaderboards with your friends :) LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office that includes documents, spreadsheets, and presentations if you're looking for a place to actually write/plan! Happy writing!

[jazzywazzy89]

Hey Folks,

So I am working on a project for NaNoWriMo next month that is Bonnie Bennet inspired about black witch who realizes that she's the token black best friend in a supernatural series and in the name of self-preservation works to usurp the protagonist role so that she can have plot armor. But her stepping out of "her place" too many times becomes a villain origin story for the protagonist she's trying to dethrone. Would anyone be interested in betareading this once the draft is completed. I am hoping to complete it by the end of November. Let me know!

[mostlyghostie]

Stickers for challenged writers!

Shop / Instagram

[nepthrene]

i'm trying to find an alternative writing community to do nanowrimo with this year, separate from the "official" website - but every post i'm seeing on here is by people who don't like the 30 day 50k challenge?

i'm specifically looking for writing buddies or a group to join

does anyone know a better way or place to try and find people?

please help

[radley-writes]

I don't understand people who say things like 'but it doesn't matter if we don't pay artists/writers for their labour, or use free AI programs to replace artists/writers to improve our profits, because in a perfect world everyone would have UBI so it wouldn't matter xxx'

like. yes. but until we reach that perfect world, artists and writers need to eat?

why are you promoting AI replacement of creative people instead of working towards UBI? Until we have UBI, supporting generative AI in the creative field is no different to supporting supermarkets laying off all their till staff to turn to self-check out, or supporting factories who shut down and move overseas to exploit workers in countries with fewer human rights legislations?

Yes, in a perfect world, everyone would receive UBI. Therefore, people across the globe couldn't be exploited by corporations, and artists could create for the joy of it, in whatever way we desire - including with AI!

But we do not live in that perfect world.

Do you seriously expect this move towards generative AI to encourage people to support UBI, as opposed to people being forced into jobs they hate to make ends meet or no longer being able to support themselves financially?

Especially all the disabled people who make a living creating art and writing/editing, because that is, in fact, a career that is often far more available to disabled folks than a regular 9-5 or a retail job where you're expected to be on your feet all day (miss my disabled ass with the 'anti-AI = ableism' stance lmao).

This is not going to create your army of revolutionaries. This is just going to result in more independent creators being crushed under the boot heel of capitalism, as anyone who would've hired them flocks instead to the free alternative, and they're forced back into an incredibly exploitative labour market.

I agree that generative AI by itself is just a tool and is not inherently a problem.

But it is being abused, in ways that hurt creators.

If you support generative AI... what are you doing about that?

[ultra-violetra]

one of the things I would love to make is a writer's bootcamp / critique circle where people get grouped together based on things like genre, age category, writing stage (i.e. outlining, 1st draft, editing) where you submit something weekly to show your progress and get critique or even just positivity from your group. and there would be deadlines to encourage accountability and getting. stuff. done.

is there interest in this? would anyone want to help me make something like it? i don't think I could do it on my own

edit: if you'd like to join, click here

[ranticore]

i drew such a pleasant sketchpage of a centaur that it made me want to make a whole new character and adapt inver's ironwall au into its own thing

[theeccentricraven]

The 18th Day of Writemas 🎄🎅🤶💚��️👩‍💻

Wow day 18 already! If the 12th day of Christmas gives twelve drummers drumming, should the 18th day of Writemas give 18 writers tossing computers? 😁Thank you @agirlandherquill for setting up Writemas! 🤍❄️☃️🌟If you would like to know the rules and join, all that you need is in the invitation post

For the Day 18 writing prompt, I chose the setting prompt of a home. I decided this would be the perfect moment to write a scene from my YA Dystopia/Survival story Sanctuary Calling. Nari lives in a biodome on futuristic Mars in a community dominated by people with Korean heritage. This scene is from early in the novel, like Chapter 2. The conversations foreshadow what's in store.

___________________________________________________________

My parents and I retire to our home - room 1414 of the Pyeongchang Condominium. The building is based on the architecture of postmodern Korean buildings on earth. The lobby is a vertical garden. Vines and moss cover a wall. The fountain in the lobby releases the peaceful sound of nature, like we’re living in a forest. Inside our unit, we feel warmth and comfort. My family’s living room is full of potted plants and shelves of Korean celadons. A screen covers the entire wall near the entrance. The current image is the human avatar of our home AI who we call Cho. She looks like she could be my older sister if I had one. Whatever we need, we ask Cho and she makes it happen.

“Cho,” says my Mom. “Cook up some naengmyeon.”

I go to my bedroom to read over the orientation chip. My room is clean as I like it. The walls populate shelves where I keep my childhood dolls and models of my plane. I keep a chest of plane parts that I plan to bring down to the shop. One wall is covered by a screen, currently featuring the human avatar of my personal AI - Jin. He’s a spunky looking boy who looks like he could be my brother if I had one. At my desk computer, I plugin the chip. The orientation holograms begin to play. I watch the reels introducing the Lunar School of Engineering and Technology. The videos came with sensory emitters that give a smell and taste of the place along with the sights and sounds. I see students working on robotics, spacecrafts, and micromachines. I smell the roses and irises of the school’s gardens. My excitement grows by the second. 

“Nari,” says Jin, smiling on the wall. “Dinner is ready.”

I go into our dining room. The robotic arms of Cho set the table. Even though Cho did the cooking, I follow the etiquette to respect my parents by saying, “I will eat well.”

My parents are pleased as we sit down. Since my dad is the oldest, he eats first, taking in a few sips of soup. My mother follows. Then me.

“You were the star of the show,” my mother says gleaming.

My dad puts down his spoon for a moment to say, “Now I’m going to brag about you with my colleagues.”

“Oh,” says my mom, “I’m going to tell Brynhild that the best student of this year is mine. Best aviator. Youngest of her class. Going to college at only fourteen.”

I smile as I take a tiny bite of rice. 

“However,” my mother lowered her voice, “I still worry about you being in a place where there’s no one your age. All adults and doing adult activities. And so far away on Luna.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” I say. “I’m going to be so busy studying anyway. The staff will also know my age. They’ll make sure no one bothers me. Also, I’ve heard of some other gifted students who went there early. A seventeen year old. A sixteen year old.”

My mom shakes her head. “Nari, for your safety, don’t go on dates with anyone older than you.”

I laugh. “No argument here. Like I said, studying.”

My mom nods. “That’s a smart move, Dear. You can’t let that interrupt your studies and possibly your career. As your father and I could tell you as anyone who has ever been in love can tell you, when you are in love, you’re willing to sacrifice anything for it.”

I roll my eyes. I smile as I add, “I’d only date a guy who's into airplanes, anyway.”

My mother and father look at each other. My mom nods once. My dad nods back.

“Nari, Dear,” he says to me. “Your mother and I want to tell you something.”

I had picked up my chopsticks, but now put them down. 

My dad studies each grain of rice on his dish as he says, “After you graduate from the Lunar school, you could apply for medical school and make it in quickly….”

I pick up my spoon. I bend it. The best way to imagine that I’m tearing something apart. 

Despite my anger, my mother pipes in. “You could also study only one or two years at the Lunar school before you transfer…”

I’ve just about had it. Not a meal goes by without my parents saying it’s not enough. I need to be a cardiologist like my dad. Or I need to be better than my dad and be a surgeon. I gave up trying to win the argument a long time ago. The best I can do is amuse myself.

I laugh harder. “Oh, I’m sorry. You meant to send a text to the Kang family about how their son was accepted into the Ivy Martian Medical School! Let’s go downstairs to congratulate them!”

My dad curls his lips. “Nari! This is serious. For one who accomplished so much, you’re selling yourself short.”  

I grit my teeth. “Joo is selling himself short? How can you be so judgmental!”

My mother widens her eyes. “Don’t talk to your father like that!”

I gave up a long time ago. There’s no point in letting this go on for hours. I leave my spoon and chopsticks at the side of my bowl. I haven’t followed etiquette since the few bites I took left plenty of leftovers, but I don’t care anymore.

I stand up. “I ate well!”

I storm off to my bedroom. 

I crash on my bed, taking in the warmth of my puffy white comforter. I cry as I think about how I can’t wait to go to Luna. I just want to get away from my parents. Thankfully, my scholarship includes a meal plan.  For once, I’ll finally have a meal without the arguments over how my first choice was their second choice and I was too good for the second best. 

I wish Soo was here so that I can just rant with her. 

___________________________________________________________

Tagging mutuals! (No obligation to join) 🎁🔔🛷🐑🍬🕯️🦌🎼🍂

@sleepyrxsetea @edstoriesblog @thecomfywriter @pen-for-sword @toribookworm22

@sunflowerrosy @furrywrit3r @wyked-ao3 @selenekallanwriter @drchenquill

@revenantlore @whatwewrotepodcast @jay-avian @constellationandcompendium @olivescales3

@ryns-ramblings @primroseprime2019 @illarian-rambling @kaylinalexanderbooks @kitty-is-writing

@kitkins13 @buffythevampirelover @willtheweaver @poethill @acmartin

@apolline-lucy @elizaellwrites @gioiaalbanoart @orphanheirs @pluppsauthor

@cowboybrunch @leahnardo-da-veggie @dandelion-jester @aalinaaaaaa @faeriecinna

@brynwrites @somethingclevermahogony @rickie-the-storyteller @raevenlywrites @winterandwords

@happypup-kitcat24 @the-golden-comet @ddgraywrites @autism-purgatory @mxxnwishes

@tildeathiwillwrite @screamingatanemptyroom @kbwritesstuff @spookyceph @pluto-murphy-writes

@talesofsorrowandofruin @kaylark @sleepywriter00 @americanfemcel @fairy-tales-of-yesterday

@inkednotebook @the-letterbox-archives @laureleavess @simonnebethel @forthesanityofsome

@melpomene-grey @creatrackers @stephtuckerauthor @theink-stainedfolk

@g0ttest0d @infinnative @little-peril-stories @lyneidas @late-to-the-fandom

@author-a-holmes @alinacapellabooks @stesierra @stephtuckerauthor @unrepentantcheeseaddict

@csdarkfantasy @watermeezer @distortedsense @sarahlizziewrites @ceph-the-ghost-writer

and open! 🧝🍒🥧🌰

[beaconfeels]

I’m feeling indecisive about my November writing plans, so clearly the only sensible thing to do is create a poll ;)

[bedroomlight]

the world our parents left us was in the process of being ruined. my mother when recalling her childhood spoke of the woods bright with birdsong and foxes peeking out from the bushes and berries you could eat without getting sick. she also spoke of a vote to "promote economic activity and reduce joblessness," and the beginnings of a new treatment for dementia the pharmaceutical companies were working on. she recalled that people at her school and later on at her college were very optimistic about this new advancement in biomedicine. it's hard to imagine the world she lived in - the one without "abandoned heart syndrome" or the pearson-kennell nuclear accident or FION. even with all these books i've read about the "last golden years before president F [for failure!]" - and for all my great imaginative ability in inventing a lover out of J - i can't manage it. my mother now stays in a "new wellness" facility called elk pine, and she happily stays in there hearing me talk about the world go to shit. it is a shame, she says. darn shame. this country wasn't like that before. oh well. i have it. the spirit of what came before - i have it, it lives in me. it's safe, untouchable, uncorrupted.

[deadcanons]

Calling all NaNoWriMos!!!

So idk if y'all was aware but NaNoWriMo posted this cryptic goofball Q&A about AI earlier:

Here's the full post.

So basically, unless the NaNo team cleans up their act in the next month, I don't feel like playing in their backyard anymore.

I'm not the only one. A lot of people I know have already deleted their accounts and there are even liaisons/moderators who are cutting ties with the NaNo team.

I've participated in NaNo my whole life, since my early teens, and it has been a constant source of community, friendship, and growth in my life. It breaks my heart to see one of the last true bastions of the arts delusionally betray their own kind like this. Maybe the backlash will cause them to change this policy before November, but I'm not hopeful.

But I don't want to lose this community. I don't want to lose the tradition.

So I'm still planning on writing 50k words in the month of November. But I'm not going to share my metrics on their website. Maybe I'll use a Discord bot to track it, or just keep track of it manually on social media. I don't know exactly what form this "new" NaNo is going to take, but I'm very serious about it.

This is an open call for y'all to join me in peaceful protest. Let's still plan on doing NaNo this year, but don't use the website. Post your metrics to social media instead. Tag NaNoWriMo when you do. I want the team to know that we're doing NaNo without them. I want them to know that they don't get to own us just because they started the tradition. We decide how the tradition is used, and AI is not allowed in this space. Full stop.

Suggestions/ideas welcome, this is OUR community, not theirs. And as always, happy writing!

[cirr0stratus]

hey so i’m writing the worst thing ever. it’s paul bäumer from aqotwf and william schofield from 1917 being nasty and grieving. anyways. throws this to the void

[albatris]

no natnowrimo update today because I did uhhhh no work but that's fine. that's fine

[izoldalovesthesun]

Today I reached 20k words in my story!!!

I feel like I’m on a roll. I had a major breakthrough today that’s helping some things fall into place. It’s bringing me much joy!