mix: the journey of fifty thousand words (nanowrimo)
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THE JOURNEY OF FIFTY THOUSAND WORDS
begins with a single keystroke
For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo, aka National Novel Writing Month, is a challenge to write a 50k word novel over the the month of November. There's a large community - online, on the offical forums and plenty of unofficial places, and in real life for most large cities, which leads to meet-ups (where you sit around and talk about your story) and write-ins (where you actually write your story). It's a month full of exhilarating ups and downs as you manage to write 6000 words in a day, and then go five days without writing anything; ideas come to you and everything works like it should, and you can't think of anything and not a single character is cooperating. I've done it ten years in a row, despite only winning twice. This mix is kind of an amalgamation of a decade's worth of November experiences.
MEDIAFIRE || SENDSPACE || 8TRACKS
"Here It Goes Again" - OK Go
just when you think that you're in control, just when you think that you've got a hold, just when you get on a roll, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again. 1
Time for another year of NaNo!
"Everybody Get Pumped" - S Club 7
one wild day to the next, everybody getting pumped, yeah, everybody get pumped, yeah, everybody get pumped 2
It's the night of October 31st, and you're getting ready to write.
"Unwritten" - Natasha Bedingfield
i'm undefined, i'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned 3
10... 9... 8... 7... You ready to write? 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... WRITE!
"Day One" - Sarah Slean
oh what a morning, oh what a day to be alive. sweet hope is glowing, in your glorious eyes 4
It's the first day of writing! Everything is shiny and new, the words are flowing.
"Baby I Love You" - The Yayhoos
well sometimes i just can't believe you're mine. but every now and then, i'm ready to say when... oh, baby i love you, just leave me the fuck alone. 5
You love your significant other, really, but they need to go away for the rest of the month.
"Give Our Dreams Their Wings to Fly" - Tim McMorris
and now let's take it up high, high, high, give our dreams their wings to fly. gotta keep the fire, and keep the fire burnin’, keep the hope alive, you gotta keep it turning 6
Sure, there's been a few rough patches, but you just gotta keep that inspiration up!
"Good Thing" - Reel Big Fish
you know we've got a good thing goin' and i don't wanna see it end. you know we've got a good thing goin' and i don't wanna see it end. are these the good days that i've heard so much about? there goes the heartbreak that i can live without 7
You're on a writing streak! Is this what the This is Going Better Than I'd Hoped forum is all about?
"Stay Home" - Self
the happiness rears back as if to say... i want to stay home today (don't want to go out), if any one comes to play (gonna get thrown out). i want to stay home today (don't want no company, no way) 8
You're in a groove, you don't want to go to a meet-up, or class, or work.
"Someday I Suppose" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
could be i can't remember, could be i choose to not, let's move the song along and try to find the plot 9
You're nearing the halfway point, and you've kind of forgotten what you were writing about in the first place.
"Don't Let the Truth Get in the Way (Of a Good Story)" - Gaelic Storm
don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. no harm, no foul, no crime. don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, it’ll get them every time 10
RESEARCH IS FOR THE WEAK, DAMN IT. Or speed-readers. Either way, you don't have time for that shit.
"Flickr" - Jonathan Coulton
a pair of poodles, a broken finger will not bend, soup with noodles, a female klingon's drunk boyfriend 11
You've run out of ideas, and try to take inspiration from anything and everything you can.
"I Can't Give You What I Haven't Got" - The Living End
so don't go getting yourself in a knot, looking for the story but you have no plot. communication lines are starting to rot, and i can't give you what I haven't got 12
You've got nothing. Absolutely nothing. Word has been taunting you for three days and your word count hasn't changed.
"All Time Low" - Less Than Jake
i wish there was someone else to blame, i wish words could change the way i feel today. if words could save my world i'd write all day, forever 13
Real life interrupts; you're slammed with term papers, overtime, family drama, sick pets and kids, you just can't take the time to write (and even if you did, you've got no inspiration).
"Bastards on Parade" - Dropkick Murphys
i've lost all the time that i have in this world, i spent it unwisely, unwisely you see. and i can't get it back and i can't move forward, i'm broken and i'm empty it's over for me 14
You're so far behind in word count, there's no way you can possibly catch up.
"The Final Countdown" - Europe
it's the final countdown, we're leaving together, the final countdown, we'll all miss her so 15
November 30th. Time for that last minute burst of ideas and random word vomit.
"Fail Better" - Clock Opera
no matter, try again, fail again, fail better, everything is coming good, we're going our own way 16
You didn't make it to 50k. Oh well, there's always next year.
"We Are the Champions" - Queen
but it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise. i consider it a challenge before the whole human race and i ain't gonna lose. 17
YOU MADE IT! 50,000 words in one month.
"Friends O' Mine" - Bowling for Soup
i’m so glad that i have these friends o' mine. it started out at a coffee shop in a most unlikely town. and there were casualties but we made it out anyhow. we stuck together through the good and bad times 18
The TGIO (Thank God It's Over) party. Man, that was a crazy month, and you're gonna miss those weirdos from the write-ins.
"All Day" - Girl Talk +1
An hour long mash-up to listen to while writing.
"50000" - Jupiter Star
+2
An amazing song actually about Nano, by jupiter_star RETURN TO TOP © images from nanowrimo.org