NaRoWriMo

[bookaddict88]

Yes, that's NaRoWriMo and not NaNoWriMo. You see, I decided today that November is National Role-Play Writing Month for me.  I don't write short stories, and I most definitely don't write novels. Instead, I collaborate in telling stories with my fellow players on several play-by-post, forum RPGs. I'm not very good about keeping up with these, however, and the last couple of weeks especially, I've been rather too lazy to post for my characters on these forums.  So I decided I needed motivation, and since it's NaNoWriMo for others, I thought I'd adapt the idea to fit my own style of storytelling.

Now, the 50,000 word goal of NaNoWriMo will not work for me.  First of all, I'm a slow writer, and so I simply don't have the time to write that many words. While this month won't be nearly as busy as last month was for me, I still have 18 credits worth of schoolwork (including a major paper and an exam) on top of my other activities. I'm also starting a day late.  Second, the format of RP writing is different from that of a novel. It's true that I'll have it easier in some respects. I don't have to come up with a plot with a defined beginning, middle, and end; I have other players to help me come up with ideas; and I already know most of my characters fairly well.  On the other hand, I do have to worry about quality as well as quantity.  My posts don't have to be rewritten and polished, but they do have to be good enough so that I'm not embarrassed about others reading them.  Further, I am somewhat limited in the fact that I have to wait for another player to reply to my post before I can write another one. Normally, I'm the one people are waiting on, but that's not always the case.

So what have I decided on as a goal? My original goal was 12,500, a quarter of the official NaNoWriMo goal.  However, I just copied and pasted all of my posts for the month of October into a Word file, and found that I wrote over 10,000 words last month. That's rather close to my original goal, and I want to press myself harder than that.  So I am now aiming for 25,000 words. I may not make it, but at least it's worth a try!

Comments

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Which settings do you play in again?

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

So far, I've only done fandom-based RPs, though I eventually want to branch out into historical ones. Currently I'm in one RP set in Narnia, another set in Tortall (which actually takes place before any of Tamora Pierce's published stories), and a third that involves a bunch of Disney characters (although I'm only slightly involved in this one, and am thinking about leaving it).

[danceswithwaves.livejournal.com]

A bunch of Disney characters? Is it from a particular movie?

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

Nope. You can join as a character from any Disney movie. The premise is that all the characters are dreaming, and so basically, anything can happen. I play Lucy Pevensie, and I've had RP threads that take place in places from Narnia to the arctic to New York, and have played with characters as diverse as Jack Sparrow, Jane Darling (from Return to Neverland) and Queen Narissa (from Enchanted).

It's fairly laid back, and there's no site-wide plot, so you can be involved or not as you like. I like it, but I'm finding I prefer a more unified setting and plot and playing original (rather than canon) characters. So I might leave it, though I'm hesitant to do so because it's a friend of mine that runs the site...

[danceswithwaves.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me. I'm doing Na-finish the projects I'm in the middle of-WriMo, but I haven't considered word count. It's more of a "try to finish that novel darn it, and the two short stories you're writing and while you're at it, how about that one you've been wanting to write and that other one you'd really like to write." I'm hoping to have a clean slate (well, as clean as it ever gets) to start this other novel that's been hanging around in my head for a year.

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good plan! You have a goal even if it doesn't involve a specific word count.

[song-of-truth.livejournal.com]

I'm doing NaNoWriMo my own way, too, and it seems like I'm not alone! Mine will just be writing any old thing, but making sure I write at least 1,000 words of something every day, even if it's bad. Also it will be in December, when I actually have time...

Good luck with your own ventures! And it is so cool that you're in a Tortall RP. All the things I write are giant monsters that began back when I RP'd years ago, and I miss the good old play-by-post days. Enjoy this month. :D

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

Good luck on your version of NaNoWriMo! November actually worked out really well for me. I am still busy, but I'm always busy, and compared to last month, for example, this month shouldn't be that bad.

The Tortall RP is pretty amazing! :D

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

That's a very sensible way of handling this challenge. Wishing you luck!

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[3rdragon]

Best of luck! We can do Na-NotNo-Wri-Mo together!

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Good luck with your projects as well!