NaNo 2012–Good Times!

NaNoWriMo came around in November, 2012 and we came up with a fun idea!! Red Wheelbarrow Writers created a round robin novel, and it was a blast! Rules/guidelines are outlined below. Laura Kalpakian wrote chapter 1 and others signed to write a chapter a day. We had so many writers interested in the fun that we got two novels going: Take One and Take Two. Both had the same first chapter. Both novels are called: No Rest for the Wicked.

Here’s how it worked: We (The Chicks) decided a few details like title, genre, time period when the novel takes place, setting for the starting point, a protagonist and a handful of other characters. Laura wrote chapter one and then on November 2 someone piggybacked on what she started and wrote the next chapter… and so on. The main rules were that you had to say “yes” to what the previous authors had started and you had to try and reach at least 1,666 words (so that we could complete 50 thousand words by the end of the month).

To read “Take One” of No Rest for the Wicked (2012), click here.

To read “Take Two” of No Rest for the Wicked (2012), click here.

NaNo 2013–Get ready!

By the way, we plan to do it again in 2013! Authors don’t have to be Bellingham residents. If you have a friend somewhere else who might like to join in, that’s cool! We do the whole thing on Google Docs so that everyone can see the progress every day and post it on the website so the world can read it as we go.

If you haven’t done NaNoWriMo before, you may not know that this is the month of ANTI-PERFECTIONISM!!!! All mistakes must wait to be fixed until later. The goal is the production of manuscript. It’s all fast fun and moving the story along before you have time to think twice.

Are you game? If you want to join in for 2013…

Write clostman@live.com to sign up for a date!

Rules

•  We’ll be using typical “improvisational theater” rules for this project. The most important guideline for improvisation is to accept offers, to say yes to what other authors contribute. For example, if the main character is given a mother in chapter three, the author of chapter four must accept that mother as a character now and give her space in the book. How much space author #4 gives mom is up to him, but he can’t say, “So the next day mom died and we get back to the story from chapter 2.”

• Astute readers/authors of later chapters can pick up threads from and move action along from earlier chapters but must not negate what earlier authors have set in motion. There can be no, “I woke up and it was all a dream.” Accept and work with what earlier players have given you–like in a game of Scrabble. Also like a game of Scrabble, if you see that the story has backed up into a corner, seek to open up the “board” by creating possibilities for those who come after you.

Process

1. You’ll be invited to have access to a Google Document.
2. The Google Document will be divided into 30 chapters.
3. Read the chapters that have come before your assigned chapter.
4. On the day you’ve agreed to write, write!
5. Post your chapter on the Google Doc by 11:00 pm of your assigned day.
6. You can compose your chapter directly on the Google Doc or in Word and then cut and paste.
7. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, etc. Do your best and then Cami will go in and clean things up a bit if typos and mistakes are too distracting.
8. Have fun!

Dates available (empty spaces)

PS: In case 2013 is as popular as 2012, we’re ready for a second novel. Same first chapter; totally different story!