NaNoWriMo and...a Cover!

  It's here, folks! Grab your computers and start writing! We've made it! The countdown is...counted down! Let's get going!
  Now, to kick off the festivities, I made a cover for our very own Poppy Red. :) Here it is, the world debut!

  What do you think? Like it?
  If you, too, want a cover (it's not much, but it's something, right?) then just let me know in a comment what kind (general description) and I'll make you one.
  November is here and it's time to get going on our novels!
  "World, Phil! You could change the WORLD!"
-President Fantasy
P.S. Speaking of which, there are new Ceiling Fan episodes out! Go check them out at their website, which is www.ceilingfanpodcast.com. And go watch Miss Templado's second Breyer video on YouTube, entitled Miracle: Episode 2. And make her a Writing Buddy on NaNoWriMo -- her username is Eggfig.
-President Fantasy (again)

We're Almost There! (Or, Covers to All and to All a Good Night

  NaNoWriMo in only a few hours! Am I excited? You bet! This is the climax of the year! Too many exclamation points!
  Anyway...
  The real purpose of this post is to see who wants a cover. If you want me to design you a cover, please leave a comment with the title of your book. (The one you want to appear on your cover. For example, you might want to have a subtitle or something.) And then, give your full name or pen name or whatever name you want to appear on your cover. Then, give the general appearance you would like.
-President Fantasy

2 Days To Go!!

Whoo! Who's ready for NaNoWriMo?!  Looking forward to a great November with lots of Pumpkin Pie and writing.

30 Covers, 30 Days!

  'Nuff said. If you want a super awesome professional designed cover, you can click this link: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node/1258140 and fill out their form.
  Or, you can also just talk to me...I'll do a cover for you. :) It won't be quite as awesome as theirs, but it's something, right? Just leave a comment saying the title you want on the front, the author name you want to use, and a basic idea of what you want it to look like. Or just a description of the book, that works too.
  NaNoWriMo! Woot, woot! And...vote 4 Romney!
-President Fantasy
P.S. The 30 Days, 30 Covers deadline for submitting your entry is Sunday. Just to let you know.

I Feel Like Singing

I have it! I am literally jumping up and down right now! Why, may you ask am I so excited? I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO WRITE FOR NANOWRIMO!!!!! I think I am going to call it, "What They didn't know". And it is of Mystery genre.
-Poppy Red

New Tabs

President, would you mind giving me a little intro of the new tabs?
-Poppy Red

NaNoWriMo in...TWELVE DAYS!

  AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Is it really only twelve days left? Has it really been a year already since last NaNoWriMo? This is crazy! We've only got, like, twelve days left! Did I mention that? Oh. Sorry.
  Anyways...
  First I should probably say that if you haven't seen it yet, go onto YouTube and look up "Miracle Episode 1 Breyer". It's the first episode of Miss Templado's Breyer video series, which she is writing and filming and I am producing and editing. Check it out!
  So now, back to business....
  NaNoWriMo!
  Here are some more tips for NaNoWriMo:
  So, once you have your main character (otherwise known as the protagonist), your conflict, your climax, and your resolution (see my previous post "30 Days Left!"), then you are pretty much set. More detail is nice to know, but if you know those four things, you're good to go. Other things you could know are supporting characters (anyone who's not a main character), your antagonist (your bad guy), setting (where the story takes place), and themes. But if you know protagonist, conflict, climax, and resolution, you've got a story. (I do suggest that you have some idea of what your setting, antagonist, and themes are, incidentally.)
  But that's not the point right now! Right now, the POINT is...
  I forgot the point.
  Right! Tips for NaNoWriMo!
  Remember, if you need help during November, this blog is your one-stop place for noveling advice. No question is too crazy to be asked here. Whether you need to freak out because your story is going in the wrong direction, or whether you need to rejoice over a brilliantly written page of dialogue, or whether you need to ask advice on whether pirates or FBI agents are more effective evil henchmen, just ask here -- we're all in this together, so to speak, and ready to help out.
  Also, if you did NaNoWriMo last year, you remember that we each had a separate page for our novels and we uploaded stuff onto the pages as we wrote it. Since then, our formatting has changed somewhat, and the majority of club members can no longer create pages. So this year, if you write more and want to add it to your page, you can just email it to me and I'll upload it directly onto your page. OR, alternately, you could create a post and continually post stuff onto there, and I'll move writing from there onto the page. Or maybe you're my sibling and can just ask me. At any rate, that's how it will work this year. (You'll also notice that I've created new pages for all the novels we'll be writing! If you don't see a page for your novel, it's probably because I don't have a title for your novel yet. As soon as you tell me, I'll make you a page.)
  So...that's all! Have fun, valete, kairete, and vote 4 Romney! :)
-President Fantasy

AHHH!!

I have no idea what to write for Nanowrimo, and it's, it's the 16th of October! That means I have two weeks to figure out what to write..

On the other hand, yesterday I was riding my brother's dirtbike I crashed it; And now I have six beautiful stitches in my knee. I am in a lot of pain and can't do anything athletic for a week.
-Poppy Red

Help!

S.O.S.! Send out the fire brigade! Call the police! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Okay, I'm done on my rant about needing help. Why, do I need help, you're asking. I'll tell you. Or write you. Whatever.
 I need help, firstly, on my interview. President Fantasy, you're the only one who has the power to do this, so...everyone else, please ignore this. If you want to read it, go ahead, but if you want to skip ahead to my second reason, please do. Don't worry: the second one involves all of you. President Fantasy, I was reading our interviews, and I noticed that they need to be updated on those of us who have new stories to talk about, or new ideas, or just want to change it. It says on mine that I am still writing Kanadia, which is not happening anymore, so can you please help me change it? Thanks!
Second reason: I am in desperate need of help on my NaNoWriMo novel. I know that a princess is kidnapped for her own good, but other than that, I'm lost. Any ideas? Oh, and I would like it to include a dragon. Please comment if you have any stunning ideas! (Oh, and by the way, if you don't have any ideas, or don't want to comment...DON'T. Seriously, if you don't want to do this, ignore it. I'm just wondering if anyone actually has any good ideas.)
-Tigerr

All Set Up!

My Nanowrimo account is all set up! I'm ready for November. I just need something to write about... Well, I have all of October to figure that out. :)
-Poppy Red
I use !!! too much, don't I?

NaNoWriMo's in the House Tonight...

  It is required that you sing this title to the tune of Party Rock Anthem right now, wherever you are. If you've played Just Dance 3, do the dance along with it. Wake up everybody in the house. Make some noise.
  Done?
  Well, then, here we go!
  The NaNoWriMo site is relaunched and good to go! If you head over to ywp.nanowrimo.org and try to log in, you will have to re-agree to the terms and conditions and re-inform them whether you're elementary, middle, or high school, but then you will be all set and ready to enter in your new stuff! There's an awesome new word count calculator that you can try. It gives you ten minutes to write in, then asks you how much time you think you will have during NaNoWriMo, and then it calculates an estimated word count for November. Pretty cool, right? Apparently the right word count for me is
77,580 words, according to the word count calculator. Who'd've thunk, right? (Is having two apostrophes in the same word legal???)
  Anyway, if you head over to the site you can get your new info entered in and figure out your word count! Just make sure you're challenging yourself. I mean, we all know you can write 1,000 words, right? Think about it like this: If your word count was easy last year, increase it. If it was too hard, decrease it a bit. Just make sure it's not too easy.
  I'm excited! How about you? Great things are afoot!
-President Fantasy

Trouble Logging In

Has anyone else had trouble logging in to their NaNoWriMo accounts?
-Poppy Red

30 Days Left!

  It's the beginning of October, and you know what that means!
  Right?
  What? Wait...you don't?
  Oh.
  Well, it means that it's only 30 days until that wonder of wonders, National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known to all participants as NaNoWriMo!
  GASP!
  That also means that now is the time to get all your outlining done. As your president, it is my duty not only to get you super excited and freaked out about November, but also to give you some helpful (DOUBLE GASP!) tips on outlining.
  Here are the most important things to know about your novel before you start writing:

  MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR NOVEL BEFORE YOU START WRITING:
  1. Know your main character. This doesn't mean that you should know all about your main character, although that's important, too. It means you should know who your main character is. This may seem trivial, but it's bigger than you might think. The official definition of the main character is whoever makes the big decision that either saves the day, or loses it. The main character is the person who ultimately decides the outcome in the climax. (See below.) Remember, you can have lots of characters, but only one main character.
  2. Know your conflict. The conflict is the big problem of your story. What's the main problem your main character is trying to solve? It could be hard to figure out, and it could be debatable, but the main problem or conflict should drive everything in the book. Maybe Red Riding Hood is trying to get cookies to her grandma's house. Maybe Berry Blue istrying to rid the world of fleas. In the first one, the conflict is "Will Grandma get her cookies?" In the second, the conflict is "Will fleas conquer the world?" Hint: If you're having trouble stating your main conflict, remember that it can often be stated as a question.
  3. Know your climax. Remember this? The climax is the big decision your main character makes that saves the day, or loses it. So if Berry Blue suddenly decides to create a flea spray, and the flea spray rids the world of fleas, the moment in which he decided to create the flea spray is the climax. It can also be defined as the turning point. You know that part in a movie where the hero says some heroic phrase, makes some decision, and the music suddenly changes -- becomes more dramatic? That's the climax. Imagine your climax as the moment where the music changes.
  4. Know your resolution. This is pretty easy. Resolution just means how stuff turns out. What happens to Berry Blue? Does the flea spray really work? Does he get rich off the flea spray and live happily ever after? Do the fleas die out forever? That's what the resolution answers. Your resolution might not say much, but it should exist. The story shouldn't end with the climax.
 
  And that's it! I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, please tell me in a comment below! And...have fun getting ready for a wild ride this November! You'll have lots of fun, I guarantee it.
-President Fantasy