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Kamikaze Novel Writing 213

Posted by michael from the do-or-do-not,-there-is-no-try dept.
spotmonk writes "November is National Novel Writing Month, and the beginning of this year's nanowrimo program will be starting on Nov 1st. Participants will write a novel of a minimum of 50,000 words in a month's time. Described as valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over talent and craft, nanowrimo takes a kamikaze approach to writing a novel - you may not get the best novel out of it, but at least you've written a novel. Sign-ups last till the end of the month."
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Kamikaze Novel Writing More

Kamikaze Novel Writing

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  • Chapter One (Score:5, Funny)

    by fontkick ( 788075 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:08PM (#10544980)
    The night was moist.

  • I have a feeling... (Score:5, Funny)

    by niteice ( 793961 ) <icefragment@gmail.com> on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:08PM (#10544983) Journal
    ...that Windows was written exactly the same way.
    • Seriously, I would love a code-writting competition with simular rules, provide that the program has to work at its intended function, even if it has lots of bugs.
      • Seriously, I would love a code-writting competition with simular rules, provide that the program has to work at its intended function, even if it has lots of bugs.
        Either it works as specified, or it has bugs -- the two are mutually exclusive.
        • Nope, it just has to be somewhat usable, even if it crashes every half an hour and occasionally corrupts data. Actually sounds like Word once you happen to use a combination of formatting that offends its sensibility.
          • Nope, it just has to be somewhat usable, even if it crashes every half an hour and occasionally corrupts data.
            Those are bugs. They might not be serious,they might not be showstoppers, but they're still bugs.
            Do you work in marketing, by any chance?
      • Take a Software Engineering course. Seriously, I had a Software Engineering course where there was a team of three people, and we had to write BUCKETS of code in a quarter. The idea was that it would be so had to write it all, that you would HAVE TO cooperate, and that by following a Software Engineering practice, you could each write your code to spec, and have it all Just Work at the end of the quarter.

        Well, when I took the course, I was working full time. I knew the quarter was going to be just AWFUL
      • Take part in the ICFP programming contest [upenn.edu]. It's exactly about that. And the time you have there is 72 hours.

  • Now we know... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:09PM (#10544994)
    ...how the screenplay for The Phantom Menace was written.

  • I can already see it now (Score:4, Funny)

    by antifoidulus ( 807088 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:13PM (#10545021) Homepage Journal
    Goatse, the novel.
    The opening chapter is a real killer....
  • yournovel.com
  • ...a very good crowd has turned out to watch local boy Thomas Hardy write his new novel 'The Return Of The Native,' on this very pleasant July morning...

  • Yeah, quality's over-rated anyway (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tiltowait ( 306189 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:19PM (#10545062) Homepage Journal
    Reminds me of the "I'm sorry this letter is so long... I didn't have time to write a shorter one." quote.

    In middle school we had an assignment to write an 8-page paper. After we handed it in, our next assignment was to make the same paper 5 pages.

    • It's two different skills... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Big Sean O ( 317186 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:44PM (#10545212)
      There are hack writers and there are blocked writers, but there are no hack blocked writers... :-)

      Many good writers have the skills to write well, it's the writing fast which confounds them.

      My wife is a writer and she summarizes succinctly: "It's easier to fix crap than air".

      Nanowrimo does many would-be writers a service: permission to write lots of crap and then spend the next 11 months fixing it.

      I'm finally going to get that story together next month. It might not be 50,000 words, but it'll be better than nothing.
    • Writing well includes writing succintly and effectively. In one high school class, we were required to write a lot of two-page papers. Now that sounds pretty easy, but the things we were required to write on were very difficult to discuss properly in just two pages. That meant that you had to go through a very refined process of planning your paper, writing it, and then hammering it down to two pages. You were counted off for exceeding the two page limit.

      This means choosing the perfect word, reworking your
      • As an astronomer, I have to propose for grant funding and telescope time pretty much constantly. There are always page limits to obey, and it's always a struggle to make the strongest case within the limits. You're competing for limited resources with other smart, motivated people. It's a real art to do this effectively. It's hard to teach to many science students, too.

    • I can write fast when I have to (and I've had to as a novelist under contract with Tor). What I want is to learn how to REVISE a novel in a month! That's harder, for me anyway.

      I'm getting comments from my editor on my second book any day now, and will have until the end of the year to revise it into shape. Since I'm also a full-time professor with a life, I am somewhat concerned about getting better and faster at this.

  • and if any of the novels turn out well ... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by nels_tomlinson ( 106413 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:23PM (#10545093) Homepage
    If any of the novels turn out to be good, we'll have found another Asimov (he wrote hundreds of books, so must have been able to write this fast).
    • I recall reading Asimov's autobiography which seemed to consist largely of "I wrote this book, and sold it for this much money, then I wrote another two books, plus five magazine articles, and got paid this much money..."

      No, that's not a gripe about Asimov's work, just his autobiography.

  • An interesting experience. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hibikitour ( 757068 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:23PM (#10545094)
    I have participated in Nanowrimo for the past three years. There are a lot of people who think about writing something but never set any structured goals in order to get it done. You can take it as serious as you like or loaf all month. It won't make you a great writer but you might find out that you can produce a lot more than you thought. 50,000 words is a hard goal for many and reaching it can be quite rewarding.

    There are municipal liaisons that cover areas throughout the country and organize writing groups. I am one in eastern Ohio and what I do is try to keep track of the people in my local area, provide a little encouragement and pass out a couple freebies that the Nanowrimo staff sends out each year. All in all it can be an interesting experience if you are into writing.
    • So, do you set yourself a words-per-day quota, or just think of it in pages-per-day, or do you spend a certain amount of time every day working on it, or do you have an outline that you try to get through one subsection each day, or...?

      I'm asking about you, Kibikitour, personally - what do you do?

  • Sign-ups last until the end of which month? (Score:4, Informative)

    by dkellis ( 795881 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:32PM (#10545143)
    Last year, you could sign up on the last day of November if you wanted to. If you could write a 50,000 word novel in less than 24 hours, more power to you.

  • Three Day Novel Writing Contest (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rueger ( 210566 ) * on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:35PM (#10545159) Homepage
    Pshaw - I'll stick to the original, classic Three Day Novel Writing Contest [anvilpress.com], started by Pulp Press way back in 1977, and now located here [3daynovel.com]. And yes, entries are judged on quality, not quantity.

    • The Three Day Novel Writing Contest has a $50 entrance fee, and old-fashioned submission requirements (paper!). Somehow it seems less enthusiasm, and more clever marketing. And, as the NaNoWriMo FAQ points out:

      Did you know there is a group in Vancouver that writes novels in a weekend?
      Yes, and they are fools. Everyone knows that any deep and lasting work of art takes an entire month to make.

      And, I think, the big difference is the social aspect of the NaNoWriMo...I think some of us nerds could do with
      • Everyone knows that any deep and lasting work of art takes an entire month to make.

        Yeah, but unfortunately, the NaNoWriMo guys are wrong on that one: Picasso did it [cnn.com].

        He painted the 55-x-38 inch oil on canvas in a single day, December 10, 1938.

        (It sold for $50 million at Sotheby's.)
      • I think a three-month deal would be a lot better and realistic. I can do 1000 words a day and not kill myself, with a good end product of a pretty marketable length. 2000 words a day for a month is really hard and a novel of 50-60k words is too short for most modern adult markets.

        Besides, who has time to socialize writing 2000 words a day?! Who needs a network to get through one tough month?

        I'm planning my next novel now, which will be drafted next year from May through August when I don't have to te
    • My friend Steve won that in 1993 for a novel called Stolen Voices. He's a critically-acclaimed fantasy novelist these days, and the three-day thing definitely played an important role in his burgeoning career. Oh, if you're into fantasy, you'll probably recognize him better as Steven Erikson. [tor.com]

  • A kamikaze approach to writing ? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Linker3000 ( 626634 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:38PM (#10545171) Journal
    So, as soon as you've finished your manuscript do you dive head-first into your word processor, destroying your work and blowing yourself up in the process?

  • something like ...... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by drfrog ( 145882 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:39PM (#10545179) Homepage
    The 3-Day Novel Contest has run every Labour Day Weekend {CDN} for 27 years and has garnered a reputation as the cheeky and uncompromising rebel of literary forms. The world's most notorious literary marathon demands that would-be novelists produce a masterwork in a mere 72 hours.

    more info [3daynovel.com]
  • I've been writing short stories on and off about this internet robot type charcter, I may as well focus all the random efforts into a quick novel. I can typically write an unedited story of 700 words in 45 minutes if I have a theme in mind, so if I can avergae an hour or two most days of novemember, I might just pull this off.

    This sounds like a good time, even if your novel isn't all that great. At least you can go up to people and say "I wrote a novel, it just hasn't been published yet." You could go ha

    • "I wrote a novel, it just hasn't been published yet." ... filled the last chapter with "lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu" to meet the word count.

      Funny that you should mention "lu lu lu," as ANYONE can publish on Lulu [lulu.com].

  • The thing about kamikaze authors... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pantero Blanco ( 792776 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @12:47PM (#10545227)
    ...Is that they never write sequels.
  • I'd hardly consider 50,000 words a "novel" - maybe a novelette or something like that, though. 50,000 words only clocks in at roughly 60 pages in MS Word or some similar editor using defaultfonts, borders, etc.

    If you look at it from a "per day" basis, that's only 1666 words a day, which is roughly twice the size as a medium-to-large slashdot post. How many of you have multiple "Click here to read the rest of this post" comments several times a week? If so, I'd wager you've got the perseverence to finish wr
    • 50k words is about as long as The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It's an oft-cited comparison of length. (The original number of 50k words was taken from the rough length of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.)

      Also, it's not as easy as it seems, especially when you miss days due to unforeseen circumstances.

    • If you look at it from a "per day" basis, that's only 1666 words a day, which is roughly twice the size as a medium-to-large slashdot post.
      I set the threshold at 2048 characters, and most long /. posts are only just past that. If that's 1666 words, they have an average length of 0.23 characters.

    • Re:not that long at all (Score:2, Informative)

      by Uhlek ( 71945 )
      By definition, a novel is 40,000+ words.
      A novella is between 17,500 and 39,999 words.
      A novelette is between 7500 and 17,499.
      A short story is under 7500 words.

      And now, you know.
    • It hardly seems like a difficult task to me, provided you've got the motivation to sink your soul into such a work.

      What makes you think sinking your soul into something is easy? And why do you think writing is easy? Writing fiction is not the same thing as writing a slashdot post. If it is, you're probably not doing one of them right.

      A lot of people think that writing is easy. After all, everyone can write down words and sentences. It's a highly skilled art form and it takes years to get good at i

  • Lulu (Score:3, Informative)

    by Viking Coder ( 102287 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @01:23PM (#10545433)
    And when you're done with your novel you can publish it on Lulu [lulu.com]. I think Lulu is a fantastic idea, and I hope they don't go out of business.

  • And for the Play-by-Play... (Score:3, Informative)

    by the pickle ( 261584 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @01:52PM (#10545612) Homepage
    ...we send you over to the west country on Dorset.

    Commentator: Hello, and welcome to Dorchester, where a very good crowd has turned out to watch local boy Thomas Hardy write his new novel "The Return Of The Native", on this very pleasant July morning. This will be his eleventh novel and the fifth of the very popular Wessex novels, and here he comes! Here comes Hardy, walking out towards his desk. He looks confident, he looks relaxed, very much the man in form, as he acknowledges this very good natured bank holliday crowd. And the crowd goes quiet now, as Hardy settles himself down at the desk, body straight, shoulders relaxed, pen held lightly but firmly in the right hand. He dips the pen...in the ink, and he's off! It's the first word, but it's not a word - oh, no! - it's a doodle. Way up on the top of the lefthand margin is a piece of meaningless scribble - and he's signed his name underneath it! Oh dear, what a disapointing start. But his off again - and here he goes - the first word of Thomas Hardy's new novel, at ten thirtyfive on this very lovely morning, it's three letters, it's the definite article, and it's "The!"

    (continues [ibras.dk])

    p

  • Ob. Simp Q (Score:3, Funny)

    by yellowcord ( 607995 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @02:08PM (#10545704)
    x=1
    do{
    echo Screw Flanders
    x++
    } while x<25000

  • 24-Hour Comics (Score:3, Interesting)

    by tverbeek ( 457094 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @02:09PM (#10545713) Homepage
    There's a similar exercise for writers with a more visually artistic bent: 24-Hour Comics. There are a few rules, but the gist of it is that one creator produces a complete 24-page comicbook in 24 consecutive hours. That includes coming up with the idea, writing the story, laying it out, finishing the art, and lettering it. You can do one any day you like, but 23 April 2005 is going to be the next "official" 24 Hour Comics Day [24hourcomics.com] in which probably hundreds of cartoonists around the world will each attempt it over the same weekend. The first organised event was this past April, and I plan to participate next year. [zeromassmedia.com]

  • Let's Be Fair, Now (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Rie Beam ( 632299 ) on Saturday October 16, 2004 @02:12PM (#10545725) Journal
    No one said you had to stop writing after the 30-day limit. The idea here is just to get people off of their asses and onto the word processor, notepad, napkin, whatever. Originally, the thing didn't have a deadline - it was added because of the ability of the author to come up with unique and creative solutions to problems when burdened in such a manner. Basically, Hacker Logic applied to writing. I don't see why the Slashdot community seems to be so viciously against this; haven't you ever produced a piece of code in a limited amount of time? Does time, in that sense, automatically yield bad results? Well?

  • Mixed Feelings (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mbrother ( 739193 ) <mbrother.uwyo@edu> on Saturday October 16, 2004 @02:46PM (#10545922) Homepage
    I'm a published novelist (Star Dragon, Tor, and my second one will be out in early 2006). I sold the second one, Spider Star, under contract and had a deadline to meet. I spent several months working on background and other research, started writing the draft last February, and finished in July. Because of teaching, I'd only hit about 50k words by the end of May and wrote about 50k words in the following six weeks. It's a harsh effort. Burnout is possible. Revisions will be super necessary, and extensive. If you haven't spent a lot of time doing research in advance, you're likely to make big mistakes somewhere. There are some fast-writing professionals out there. You've heard the stories, many true, about cranking out a book in a week. They don't put their own names on those. Those writers still say they need a few months, WORKING FULL TIME, to write a good book. I'm just a little worried that people will write bad books, get burned out, and fail at their dreams by this approach. The sense of community can help, but this smacks more of a stunt than a serious professional effort. If you need stunts to write, maybe you're not a writer. If it's just a fun thing to try, fine, but think hard about your goals and the relationship with your writing before attempting this.
    • I think the idea, though, is to teach people that they're *allowed* to write bad novels. Anybody who doesn't write drek to start out with is lying, or possibly just unaware that their work is drek.

      NaNoWriMo is not about writing something to *publish* it at the end of the month. It's about writing something. And if you write something... you're a writer.
    • I think you may not be getting the exact point of this contest.

      The thing is that many, many people have velleities of writing novels. Only, it remains a "one day" thing, as in, "one day, I'll write a novel..."

      What this contest does is simply provide 1) a community of people suffering the same woes as you at the same time, for mutual encouragement, and 2) a hard deadline.

      That's *it*.

      It's not about writing something good. The F.A.Q. explicitely states that in one little month, all you'll have time to writ
  • Most publishers these days seem to want a minimum of 80,000 words for a novel. Often this is explicitly stated in their submission guidelines. If you're writing a first novel, you should anticipate having a hard time getting it published; there's no need to make it even harder by making it too short to be marketable. (I'm referring to fantasy and science fiction markets. The story could be different in other markets. This is also the kind of thing that changes back and forth over time, like hemlines of skir
  • Many of you seem very opposed to this idea for a number of reasons and seem put off with the idea of this challenge. I think what you fail to realize is that there is far more to NaNoWriMo than producing a published novel; certainly, that is the immediate goal, but there's something to be said for the process itself.

    This will be my fourth year participating in NaNoWriMo. My first year was spent cranking out 78k for my autobiography. I can't tell you, from an emotional perspective, what a valuable experienc

  • correction (Score:2, Funny)

    by rhild ( 659603 )
    The night was saltry.

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