WOW, are the Nanowrimo.org forums are already ablaze with posts. I can’t keep up (especially since it loads so slowly).
For the uninitiated, National Novel Writing Month is November of every year. We have an on-line community at nanowrimo.org., but the community is spilling out all over in interesting ways.
Firstly, let’s talk forums. My favorite discussion thread forums at nanowrimo are Character and Plot Realism Q & A and Plot Doctoring. I like to scan and respond; I don’t post many questions myself. The level of expertise in some of the reply threads is astounding, e.g. I took two years of Latin but I couldn’t have conjugated the fictitious term “New Catholics,” as writer dingospleen did in response to writer Kateness’s question.
Secondly, I have a TON of work to do on my plot in the next few days before Nano begins. Unfortunately, I don’t have long periods of time to work, especially not in quiet. But the plot will come; I really wish I had time to make Nanowrimo videos.
Yes, a process that once depended soley on whether or not a writer had enough ink, paper and ideas is now being expanded by next generation media. Viddler has a Nanowrimo group that anyone can join, where writers talk about their projects and vent about the stress, but what is really interesting on the Nanowrimo video front is that amateur book videos are showing up on YouTube. Mostly, the videos are mashup trailers of still images, music and text, but they are great examples (here and here too) of how social media is becoming integrated in the creative process. Some of the young Nanowrimo participants on YouTube are especially attuned to Web 2.0 applications and their use in stirring interest in their projects and inspiration in themselves. Check ’em out if you have time.
Do you NanoWriMo? Got a video? Comment and link. And don’t forget to tell us your username and your fave forums!
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