NaNoNoWriMo Announcement - National No Novel Writing Month · 4:54am Nov 7th, 2020
I’ve been thinking. (Experienced readers are already ducking for cover.) Everybody knows about November being National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where you pledge to write something every day with a goal of (insert optimistic number here) words at the end of the month. Well, that’s fine for people with incentive and drive and all those other things I don’t have, but what about procrastinators (like me) who spend most of November doing very little on most years, and extremely little in this year? Well, I have a solution. And it’s free. And easy.
Introducing November as National No Novel Writing Month. Yes, a contest for the rest of us who just can’t buckle down and write every day. Can’t write? No problem. Can’t keep to a schedule? Procrastinators, unite! (I’ll put together actual rules sometime in the future, honest)
Roughly the plan is this:
- Post your novel idea in the comments below.
- List a goal of zero words
- Something
- Profit, Fame, and Glory!
Struck by Covid and can’t make your goal? Good news! You already did! Unwanted relatives coming over for the holidays and you want to sneak out? You have an excuse! Tell them you’re working on your novel and go play on the internet. You’re just too darned shy to actually publish anything? Great! You’re in good company here. No idea what to not-write? Fantastic! Just plug a few random words into the following template: When (protagonist) is (faced with obstacle) during (event), only (unlikely series of events) can possibly (good outcome.) Only (bad guys in the story) seek to (an obstruction) our hero/heroine, it will require (some positive unifying force) to (positive outcome for story).
Just write down your novel idea below and a goal of zero words. It doesn’t have to be pony, but it does have to be non-M-rated and probably not political because that’s one of the things that takes all the fun out of this. (I have standards. Just not many of them. And they’re pretty low.) Here, I’ll start:
Novel: Twilight Sparkle, Mare Genius, and the Curse of the Moon Weasel Queen.
Goal: Zero words.
Summary: When Twilight Sparkle is thrown into an alternate universe of fantastic creatures during a mis-cast spell, only her newfound friends will be able to return her home. Dark forces and crazy inventions seek to block her return, and it will take everypony and person working together to avoid destroying the world while they try. (A Girl Genius crossover)
Cry dogs and let forth the havoc of… wait a minute. That’s not quite write. Ok, Readysetgo!!
Everything I'm thinking of is M-rated plz help
I have a few ideas that I swear someday I'll pay someone else to write.
The big one is a "what if" fic where What If changelings, windigo's and sirens are all fighting a war in the shadows for the right to use Equestria as a food source. Chrysalis being a frontline fighting hive that accidentally got put in charge of food and buggered it up royally. I even have a little teaser fic idea for the universe that I might actually try to write one day.
Meanwhile it's all secrets and spies in Equestria both trying to sabotage the other factions and sneak whatever food/power they can out of ponies.
Eh, maybe later.
5393493 Title: The Minister and the Mimbre
Description: Adam was a up-and-coming Presbyterian youth televangelist with a fiancee and a TV contract when he opened a box sent to him by a fan and discovered it contained an infernal spirit who promptly made itself at home in his mind. It really would not have been that bad if the imp could keep its mouth shut.
5393495 Title: Food Fight!
Though I actually have a great idea. It's one I've had for several years, and actually made some headway with this year... but while my muse is ever present, motivation to actually do anything is a fickle bitch.
It's inspired by The Sweetie Chronicles by Wanderer D. Basically, characters from some of my favorite stories would be drawn together, then teleported to a dark and fallen Equestria, and they have to help fix it. I even have the synopsis:
The whole thrust of it is these newcomers don't actually save the day. Instead, they do things to set the stage for the character native to that world to save themselves. I hate it when crossovers like this are written and the new guys just do everything. I wanted to make it a true team effort. I actually wrote about 17K of outline, and even the first four chapters... but then I realized they suck because they are so bare bones and basic, and I can't think of how to juuge it up, so... meh. Video games.
5393498 "So..." The Dark Lord regarded his minions with a few moments consideration about if it would be less work just to squish them and start over. "Do you have it this time?"
"I think so," said Slag, the brightest one, which was not so much praise for his own intelligence, but a damning indictment of the rest. "The Hero will come though this portal." Slag nodded at the stone structure with "Portal" written on it. "He then--"
"Or she," corrected the Dark Lord. "We are all egalitarians here."
"Or she," said Slag quickly. "Den the Hero sees the skeleton over here where we put the map to the rest of de quests dat reveal your Hidden Fortress and the Secret Entrance. And..."
"Yes," prompted the Dark Lord.
"We jump him!" screeched out Screaw.
"An' we claw his guttes out!" snarled Broken Claw.
"NO!" Slag concentrated as much as he was able. "No... We... um... Hits him wit' the club?"
The Dark Lord sighed and pinched the skeletal bridge of his nose. Bad help was so hard to get these days.
already makes for a great story, preferebly with Rainbow Dash on one side (and a Ponk as an allie, who just can't wait to procrastinate...) and a very productive team of Twi and AJ on the other side.
When there is a competition announced to determine which farmer grows the nicest... not apples, that would be too easy... but fruits, an old rivalry between several families (Apples, Pears and a mysterious third one no pony had on the list before) pops up again and AJ calls for the help of her friends.
Friendship occurs... but... RD just can't be bothered. Fruits are lame!
She rounds up all the helpers of the Apples and the Pears family to watch hoofball instead of grooming trees, unites them in doing nothing but eatin popcorn and drinking cider.
Then Fluttershy comes in and reminds RD just what the basic ingredient for cider is...
And I'm so not gonna write that thing!
5393504
2.bp.blogspot.com/-KtxZ92YK1wg/TxxAig71lEI/AAAAAAAABgw/USq8PLwlUuY/s1600/surrounded+by+idiots.gif
... Whelp I've had this and one other on the back burner... So here goes!
Novel: Working Title City of the Skies
Goal: Zero words.
Summary: Five ships of the sky. Five stars transported to a new land. Equss is no more. The Planet has returned to the maw of the great void. The Diarchy, who sacrificed so much to save their little ponies, has been lost to those whom they saved. Pony-kind must ply on through the skies of an untamed world, facing unknown dangers and long hidden secrets without the guiding lights of their long lost princesses. With these trials, a council has arisen and taken on the responsibility of shepherding pony-kind into the future. For over a thousand years since the incident, the council has ruled and decreed the fate of pony-kind aboard the Sky ship Eternity's Hope. Corruption, discontent, and the rule of the council are now the regular. Yet when six friends come across a mysterious surface dwelling Pony, their discovery may just change everything.
Sooo this is something I've had on the burner for only a few weeks but I've already plotted out a few things for it. Where and how Twilight and her friends fit in, the fate of the other 4 sky ships, and this mysterious Pony's origin.
Yay, something more my speed! I think I've only written one story barely long enough to be considered a novel, and it took an order of magnitude longer than a month to do.
Mad Libs for procrastinating creators.
No Working Title
Target of zero words
Historical fiction set in eastern Germany (Köningsberg?) roughly 1918-1920, following a feral orphan young woman, rendered armless in Belarus during fighting hours after the Russian surrender, as she (re)habilitates under the adoptive protection of the army captain who was indirectly responsible for her injuries. At a time when all are struggling, she must also learn to adapt to a world with people in it, and find her own place... Or leave the world altogether.
Loosely inspired by "Violet Evergarden".
Title: All Change
Goal: 0 words
Description: A civil war is waged in the shadows. The changelings in Thorax's faction want to be sweet, harmless hippies and long to live up to his ideals and make him happy, but at heart they're still warriors. Other changelings reject his ideals and have yet to convert, but need to keep their resistance a secret from him. Dissidents who can't be persuaded are captured, brainwashed or eliminated. At the same time, the warriors on both sides are doing all they can to hide from Thorax the fact that a war is even taking place. They frantically hide bodies, or disguise them as works of art, to avoid him realising there's a fight happening at all. There are repeated close calls as he walks past at the wrong moment. Luckily he's an idiot.
This started as an Imposing Sovereigns entry. It was supposed to be a black comedy, but it got increasingly dramatic, angsty, political, and un-funny, until I just couldn't deal with it any more.
My NaNoWriMo project is to finally finish off the novel-length pony fic I've been working on for freaking ever. You know the one. Yeah, it's still gonna get finished, I promise!
This is the best idea I've seen since The 1/2 K for Underachievers.
Where Angels Rest
Five years ago a mad Angel died in Silver's Point, killed by nine plucky high school students with a magic sword. It should have been happy every after, but since then things have only gotten worse. Magic is not so easily bottled once unleashed and the Final Nine never managed to retire properly. Now the Angel's corpse is missing, creatures from deep within the magical Realms are turning their attention on Earth and, the former friends will hurl themselves once again into the maelstrom. It is after all, all they know.
I really want to read that! Author guy, do that thing, you know, with the words, and stuff.
GIRL GENIUS CROSSOVER!____YESSSSS!
5393531 The Effects of Russian Disarmament. Go ahead. I dare you. :)
5393546 The Bug Bite Battle Brainswashing Brigade
5393563 This is the story that has no end, it just goes on and on my friend....
5393589 I think I could run that. Or walk it. Briskly.
5393839 Angel's Nine - The Sword of Sequels
5394155 I promise I will make my writing goal this month.
5393546
Interesting! Sorry you stopped having fun with it, but that happens.
(I imagine Pharynx made everyone very nervous prior to his conversion. The only one able to reject conversion openly, thanks to his relationship with Thorax, and also thanks to that same relationship something Thorax's followers can't risk touching. Fortunately for the secrecy, prior to conversion he doesn't reveal the others because he won't give up his comrades, and post-conversion he joins the conspiracy for the same reason as the other (and probably brings in a fair number of his followers, who follow his particular example). But I imagine a lot of changelings are watching him with fear or hope, that the importance he places on strength might overpower his loyalty to his brother, or that they might merge and have him decide that his brother should be off the throne for his own good, and lead to a coup attempt.)
I'm a sucker for crossovers. I'd read it. And, yes, I caught the reference immediately.
5397093 There's a lot of emotional impact you can use with Nightmare's return, if Celestia has determined she is not going to be able to save Luna, and then later sees an opportunity. I used that in The Monster in the Twilight, first when Celestia gets told that Luna is still somewhere lost inside Nightmare Moon:
And then later when she finds out Luna can be saved by the way of a small purple filly she had not seen in a decade, and her five small friends.