Struggling Writers discussion
Race to NaNoWriMo: 2019
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The Race to NaNoWrimo: 2019 Challenge
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My friend has introduced me to the NaNoWriMo recently, and we're seriously thinking about it. However, I seem to be having this issue where I'm just going crazy with insecurity over my punctuation and grammar, that I can't seem to write anything.
I also am not sure if I am punctuating British style or American style.
And if my words are coming out in British spelling, but my punctuation in American, are there actually any tools that can help me detect that all my words be either British or American and not a Hybrid, and that my punctuation matches the choice of words?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the confusion.
Mod
That’s a good question actually, I’m assuming you’re British and interested in writing a story with American characters in it (or perhaps vice versa)?
I personally wouldn’t worry too much about semantics since the most important part of Nano is just getting those words down (and revising later). But If you want to keep a resource in handy, I suggest some type of American-British converter dictionary. There are a bunch online where you can type an American word and find the British colloquial equivalent etc.
www.macmillandictionary.com is one that I found. If you can’t find one that suits you, you could always wait till the end of your story and find an American/British beta reader familiar with both English styles to correct any errors.
Hope that answered your question:)
Ingrid wrote: "Hi Mary! Glad you’re interested in Nano!That’s a good question actually, I’m assuming you’re British and interested in writing a story with American characters in it (or perhaps vice versa)?
I p..."
Oh! Thanks for replying!
For now I also am having a problem of not finding readers.
I've read my chapter like 30 times and each time i only saw one mistake, the fact that it's my own script makes me read it as I know it should be and not how it actually came out as I spaced out while typing or something.
So I've been stuck with just chapter 1 aftermath for like a week.
I tried discord servers, but they were not that cooperative so I left them.
I never had much leg in Wattpad and feel awkward there.
Yesterday, I finally learned of Grammarly (the free version of course), and of Google Docs, somehow I never used most of Google's applications.
And I spent like a night comparing between Grammarly notes, and docs suggestions and copying from here to there.
But Grammarly only seemed to point out words that were British and saying that's non-american and change for consistency.
I don't get if consistency with the app or with the rest of my vocab?
Or consistency with my punctuation? lol
If I am to check every word I wrote to be American or British, I think I'd go crazy and die in one chapter.
This beta reader thing sounds interesting, but I have no idea what it really is and if it's free?
Are there good beta readers and bad beta readers?
Do you mind recommending one?
Mod
I think the best beta readers (at least for me) are the ones that are writers themselves. You'll often find willing beta readers in writing groups (like this one!:D), where you exchange reviews. A read for a read. If you're already active in other writing groups (that have large communities) then you can ask the MOD or go in their forums and chat up with writers who would read/proofread a chapter or two for you in exchange for theirs.
On Grammarly and Google docs: I think both are fabulous tools to use!
I believe if Grammarly is saying to make the words "consistent" then that means with the rest of your vocab. The app is set to a language by default --- which means English, Spanish, French, etc.
There's this article here that goes into detail about how you can select the dialect of English to proofread from in Grammarly:https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to...
The same is for Google Docs (kind of..it focus more on spelling):
https://support.google.com/docs/threa...
Or if you're sick of both you could just pop in your writing in a text tool as simple as :
https://languagetool.org/ which you can change the dialect settings on.
Hope this helps! Again there's no shortage of tools or options available to you so some are better choices than others.
Welcome to 2019! We're almost approaching November, and you know what that means.
It's time to prepare for NaNoWriMo!
What is NaNoWriMo?
Never heard of NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month)?
Check it out here: www.nanowrimo.org and give it a shot.
In short, you are surrounded by a community of people who are pledging to write a novel in a month (50,000 words). That's about 1,667 words a day. While this is a completely crazy sounding idea it is the perfect way to get down that first draft, the one full of gaping holes and barely there characters.
Why is this group participating in it?
As you can see, we dedicated an ENTIRE folder to this. That's because we really love what the movement of NaNoWriMo is about: bringing writers together to build a writing habit (and finish their novels once and for all!)
Years ago, we created this folder to simulate a community-focused writing bootcamp for both young and experienced writers. We know how hard it is to tackle a big goal like NaNoWriMo, so we're bringing it back! The only difference between 2013 (then) and 2019 (now) is that we want to make our goal your goal, and get you to that 50,000 word ceiling as soon as possible!
So, do you have an unfinished novel or just can't seem to start that novel you keep thinking about? Well, your excuses are now void because November is about to be upon us and with that comes a whole community of novelists ready to support each other.
Are there any rules?
The official rules of NaNoWriMo say to start from scratch, but to HECK with RULES! As long as you don't count your words already written you can add 50,000 to a WIP. I plan to take NaNo this year and get another chunk of my current WIP down, who is joining me?
Do I have to?
Of course you don't have to. You can opt to just write with us, and set your own personal goals (even a goal as small as 250 words is great to start with). We just want you to get the most out of all the resources, advice, and accountability we'll be giving!
I dare you to bravely jump into the crazyness with your favorite writing tools and get that novel down. If you have any questions feel free to ask, particularly if you are going to be a rebel (you fall into this category if you are adding to a WIP like I am).
Happy writing, everyone! Share with us below how you'll be preparing for NaNoWriMo!