nano2018

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                               V Alan Greep

Last year I used github to store and share a really bad book I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2017 [https://nanowrimo.org].

This year I'm using github to store the artifacts of the project as I edit it into something closer to a real book. This is my first NaNoEdMo (well, maybe not "national" since I'm doing it at the wrong time).

What is NaNoEdMo?

It's National Novel Editing Month [https://nanoedmo.com]

To win, I must log 50 40 25 hours of verified editing in one month. (I brought this down from the original 50 hour goal because that was really not going to happen.)

Editing is defined as changing previously written material. Editing does not include writing a completely new novel. It does not include planning or researching. It does include anything from correcting the grammar and spelling to substantial rewriting of the novel. So here we are.

Hours logged so far: 20.48/25. (~82%)

2017 word count: 39,166 / 50,000.

2018 word count (as of 2018.11.25, notes included): 128,076

How to read

The new draft

Go to: https://github.com/sparklingrobots/nano2017/tree/master/second_draft

I'm going to be roughly dividing things into beginning/middle/end sections for now. But it's going to be a wild road! Let's figure out this "editing a novel" thing together!

The first draft

Go to: https://github.com/sparklingrobots/nano2017/tree/master/writing

Each day's work is included there as a dated file (for now). There's really no organizational structure as of yet so it's not like there's a Best Way To Read. You can just read in order, or at random. Any file that is titled something other than just a date is sort of meta-information and may shed some light on what's happening...or maybe it won't.

Should you choose to read along, be forewarned:

• Characters will pop up, disappear, change gender, have new names, develop new motivations at the slightest breeze, become different people altogether, merge into one another, split into two or three, and more.
• There will be typos. Paragraphs will turn into long self-cheerleading diatribes.
• Scenes may disappear at any time.
• It's going to be really f*(@ng bad.

If you eat artistic process for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then c'mon in and make yourself at home.

Why would anyone post first drafts on the internet.

1. It just kind of seems like a cool open-source-adjacent idea?
2. I wrote a bunch of poems live this summer and that went really well. Please note: this project will involve literally no editing, unlike the summer poems.
3. I've done NaNo before; I'm curious to find out how publicly sharing my work will affect how I work.
4. Once I thought of sharing it publicly, the only reason I could think of for not sharing is that the writing will be an embarrassment.

I think the coolest part of the whole thing is getting to see how a novel gets written, in real time.

Feedback & Contribution

I'd love to hear your thoughts as I go along. If you like using github, then dig in. If you don't, find me on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/sparklingrobots or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sparklingrobots or just my very regular blog at http://www.tara-king.com.

Contribution welcome in the form of edits on PRs and issues with your thoughts/feedback.

I am dwelling here in a weird margin: most coders don't care about how to write a novel, most writers don't care about using github. So if you need help in either direction, reach out and I'll talk you through it.