Get in on Buzznet’s NaNoWriMo Shenanigans!

Are you someone who dreams of writing a best selling novel? Are you someone who dabbles in writing but isn’t really serious about it? Are you someone who doesn’t really write but is open to trying out ridiculous stuff?

Good news: There’s NaNoWriMo.

That’s short for “National Novel Writing Month” and is a yearly occurance. From November 1st through November 30th, participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel. It doesn’t have to be a good novel, it doesn’t have to be ready to publish, it just has to be 50,000 words.

I’ve done NaNo since I was in college and actually finished a (terrible) novel in 2006. But from experience I know it helps if you can go somewhere to rant/rave/lose your damn mind because YOU ARE STILL 10,000 WORDS SHORT AND HAVE RUN OUT OF PLOT with people who will encourage you to keep going and help you to reach your goals. With that in mind, I’ve started the Buzznet NaNoWriMo group.

You are invited to join, no matter if you think you will finish your novel or not! Come hang out and enjoy the ridiculous literary fun. Just make sure you follow the rules:

1) EVERYTHING HAS TO BE YOUR OWN. I know there’s a lot of Buzznet folks who write fanfiction. That’s great, I did so too back in my day. But the emphasis here is on original works, not fanfic. You’re still free to write it on your own, but we’d rather you not share it with the group.

2) CRITIQUE/CRITICISM WILL HAPPEN. If you put your works out in public, there is the chance someone will say that they thought you could do something better or that they flat out didn’t like something. Part of being a good writer is learning to take critique and examine how to make your writing stronger. You may not like hearing it, but trust me. It is INVALUABLE. You don’t have to agree with what people say about your work, but you have to understand that they are going to say and they have that right.

3) WHEN CRITIQUE HAPPENS, MAKE SURE IT IS ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTIVE. Another part of being a good writer is learning to GIVE critique. Trashing someone else’s work doesn’t help them become better writers. I’m not saying you have to always play nice, but I am saying you should attempt to be polite, critique the work itself not the person writing it, and generally try to be helpful, suggest what could be done to fix the problem. Make sure to point out both the good and the bad in the work. And don’t get upset if someone rejects your crit, they have that right.

4) SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS. With poetry this gets a little iffy, but with prose, please, make sure you run spellcheck. You don’t have to obliterate every squiggly in Microsoft Word (a lot of my writing uses fragments, my Word program likes to remind me those aren’t correct, I like to remind it to shut the hell up sometimes) but you do have to pay attention. Also, if someone corrects the spelling/grammar of something, it’s not a judgment of you. It’s just, well, you spelled something wrong or misused commas or something. IT HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF US.

5) HAVE FUN! This is a cheesy rule to end on, but it’s in the end what it’s all about.

The rules will be posted in the group as well, just as a reminder.

So, come! WRITE WITH US! Because a number of Buzznet staffers are throwing our hats into the NaNo ring this year! WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE CRAZY BY THE 1ST OF DECEMBER AND IT WILL BE TOTALLY AWESOME.