NaNoWriMo time again

[Moku]

So, who is doing Nano again this year? I recall that there were a fair few people last year.
I'm not as prepared yet as I was last year and I'm worried that I might be being a bit blase because I found the discipline of daily writing relatively easy in 2008. This year I have less plot worked out and a shiny new boyfriend to distract me Actually I am concerned about how to continue to nourish a new, slightly long distance, relationship *and* bash out around 3k words a night.
My book is a continuation of last year's story about a bunch of Highland crofters who turn out to have been in suspended animation rather than dead and wash out of their graves and wash up on a beach near a remote village where they manage to establish their own small community.
At the end of that book their existance became known to the authorities and the new book starts with emergency action being taken to retrieve more 'bodies' from their island cemetary as the coastal erosion that allowed them to wash out into the sea has got critical.
I've got a new locum GP from Australia whose grandfather will turn out to have been one of the bodies who washed up in the days before the community was set up and who got shipped out to Aus as an orphan.
Somewhere along the line I want to have a son of the previous Laird be one of the 'not-dead' who gets revived and tries to reclaim the Estate from the present owner. Justin wouldn't mind giving up the Estate but doesn't trust his new 'cousin' not to exploit the crofters....
I'm not sure what else happens, which worries me. I think I need to take my laptop to 'bucks for a few evenings this week and do some serious plotting!

What is everyone else working on?

[Mateus]

I've got a 5-part series of a person's memoirs as a framing device for a story about life in Upstate NY. I've got it plotted out and have an incredible amount of details planned, which naturally means I won't end up using a bit of it.

[ange84]

I'm not even going to be stupid enough to register this year, I have the past two years and got nowhere, this year we will be moving house and due to reconnection times for the internet will likely be with out access for the whole month. It would fill in time nicely though for all those holidays I have been made take.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

I'm doing it again (for the fifth or sixth time). I've done a little bit of plotting and don't really plan to do more. The igniting idea is "Vampire dragons and fire breathing bats."

I'm Seaboe over there, too.

Seaboe

[Beejtronic]

I've been considering it, but I know how lazy I am. Also, it would just end up being embarassing fanfic.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by Beejtronic

I've been considering it, but I know how lazy I am. Also, it would just end up being embarassing fanfic.

Why embarrassing? No one says you have to let other people read it. I'm not a fanfic fan (in the sense that I neither read it or write it) but I do know professional writers who think it's a good training ground.

Seaboe

[Phil'sGirl]

I'm in again. I actually have an idea. Last time halfway through November my characters changed the plot.

Rascals.

Does anyone know how I can figure out my word count without counting by hand? I currently use WordPad, I don't have access to anything like Office. I'd like to be able to keep a running count to cheer myself on with.

I counted by hand last year and was off by two thousand words.

I know I stink at math, but that's bad.

[kit_n_caboodle]

Originally Posted by Phil'sGirl

I'm in again. I actually have an idea. Last time halfway through November my characters changed the plot.

Rascals.

Does anyone know how I can figure out my word count without counting by hand? I currently use WordPad, I don't have access to anything like Office. I'd like to be able to keep a running count to cheer myself on with.

I counted by hand last year and was off by two thousand words.

I know I stink at math, but that's bad.

You could use Google Documents. Or you could wait until November 25 and use the NaNoWriMo word count verifier.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by Phil'sGirl

Does anyone know how I can figure out my word count without counting by hand? I currently use WordPad, I don't have access to anything like Office. I'd like to be able to keep a running count to cheer myself on with.

I counted by hand last year and was off by two thousand words.

I know I stink at math, but that's bad.

Does WordPad give you a character count? Divide by 6. Generally, a 26 line double-spaced page is considered 250 words. The average full line of text has 10 words. A typical 50k manuscript (double spaced, 1" margins) should be 200 pages long.

Seaboe

[Insensible Crier]

Originally Posted by Phil'sGirl

Does anyone know how I can figure out my word count without counting by hand? I currently use WordPad, I don't have access to anything like Office. I'd like to be able to keep a running count to cheer myself on with.

I counted by hand last year and was off by two thousand words.

I know I stink at math, but that's bad.

http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/...untwords.shtml

I threw 10,000 words into it using Lorem Ipsum and it was right on the money.

[ElectricBarbarella]

you can also use the FREE open office software.

openoffice.org

Works just like Word only better.

[AniMajor]

I'm doing it this year, and I think I can actually make my goal. I'm using an outline so I can put in the little things that I want, while still keeping the story going. Unfortunately, I've got two conflicting story types for the same story, and I don't know how to fix that. And, I need a major conflict that makes sense, but isn't crazy or too supernatural.

I think I can actually make it to 50,000 words this year.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by ElectricBarbarella

you can also use the FREE open office software.

openoffice.org

Works just like Word only better.

Assuming it will download for you. Last year, when I tried to download it, it reached 98% twice and then aborted.

Originally Posted by AniMajor

Unfortunately, I've got two conflicting story types for the same story, and I don't know how to fix that.

Who says you have to? Let the publisher/reader decide what it is.

Seaboe