Frequently Asked Questions
OMG, it's past June 1st! gonk Did I miss it, or can I still join/sign up?
Of course you can still participate! This runs three months, until August 31st, so you've still got plenty of time to write (unless you're reading this at the very end of August...but if you want to write a novel in a week--or a day--be my guest!)
What does SuWriMos stand for, again?
Summer
Writing
Month
s.
What's the purpose of this thread?
You can sign up to participate here, and it's also a place where you can hang out and chat about what you're going to write and get help on your novel idea. Once SuWriMos is in full swing, come here to get support and help for problems you may run into.
This is the fourth one, right?
Yup! You can check out the old threads if you want:
SuWriMos 2005 |
SuWriMos 2006 |
SuWriMos 2007
And yes I was lazy and just took last year's layout for this year. :'D
What's this NaNoWriMo thing you mentioned?
NaNoWriMo stands for
National
Novel
Writing
Month, which takes place in November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days, and (hopefully) turn out a rough draft of a novel (or perhaps the start of one). If you want to check it out, their website is
www.nanowrimo.org
Do I have to sign up to participate?
Not at all! The first two years we didn't have a list of participants at all. This is the second year we're trying it, and hopefully it will help a little with motivation, since by signing up you'll feel more obligated to really try (or something like that). If you're just doing it for fun and don't care how many words you get, or if you don't want that extra pressure, you don't have to sign up. And if you're doing it but just don't want to be on the list for some reason, that's fine too.
What am I supposed to do?
Pick a goal, and write! You've got three months. You can write all three months, or just two or even just one. You set your own goal; the minimum is usually 50,000 words unless you're only doing it for one of the months or have a really busy schedule and want to do less. If you reach your goal before the three months are up, by all means aim higher!
Where do I post my story?
You don't have to post it on the internet if you don't want. If you do want to share it on Gaia, you can post it in the
Original Stories/Prose subforum (or the
Fanfiction subforum if it's a fanfic). We've also got a subforum of the
SuWriMos guild devoted to just this. Outside of Gaia, there's
Fictionpress,
Edit Red, or
Fanfiction.net; or you can post it on your own website or blog.
So it's sort of a contest...is there a prize?
Your prize will be the satisfaction of having finished a rough draft of at the end of it all, and bragging rights for having written a novel. And a sexy banner. What more does a writer need?
Are there any rules about what I can and can't write?
If it's fiction, it's game. That includes fanfics. If you want to write non-fiction too, go ahead, but unless you're writing an autobiography then you'll probably need to do lots of research, and research takes time so it's generally better to go with fiction. Scripts are a go if you want, since
Script Frenzy was in April this year instead of June.
Can I use this to finish a story I've already started?
You're encouraged to start something brand-new, but no one's going to know if you continue something you started. Sequels are fair game, as well as completely rewriting a story from scratch. If you do chose to use something you've already started, it's only fair that you don't count the words you've written previously.
Do all the words have to be in one story, or can I write two or three shorter stories and add them up?
Again, you're encouraged to write only one thing; but also again, this isn't as strict as NaNoWriMo. If you want to write a couple shorter pieces and add them up, it's okay.
What if I reach my goal at the end of August, but my story isn't finished?
Keep writing, of course! It may take you longer, but with such a good head start you're sure to finish eventually.
Do I have to get my word count validated when I'm finished, like with NaNoWriMo?
Nope. You don't have to turn in your novel to anyone for validation. If you say you've reached your goal, then we'll believe you and you'll get a finished mark by your name and a banner. Since there's no prizes, there's not really anything to gain by lying about your word count - you'll only be lying to yourself.
Is there a guild?
We have a guild! It's public so you don't need to join to post, but joining is free :'D
Have other questions? Just ask!
