One of the great things about NaNoWriMo is that it has just a huge, supportive community.
There are so many other writers out there in the same boat as you are. Some are published, some are not. Some have a few books written, others have one or none.
You can speak to people your age, who work in the same field as you, who write in the same genre as you, etc. Or not. You can take to people who don’t write in your genre and are not your age. You can make friends with anyone.
The point is, we’re all writers trying to do one thing: write a book.
If you’re active on the NaNo website, I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of fun in the forums.
There are so many different categories, such as genre, age groups, tips, mechanics, resources, etc.
I’m going to share some forums (or specific threads) that I find inspiring and helpful to me. I hope you check them out and they help you too.
1. Reference Desk — This is a forum with many, many threads. It’s basically like Google, but you’re asking real people who may know the answer from experience. You can post a new thread and ask something yourself, but there are so many questions already asked that what you’re looking for might already be answered. Check the Index first and if you don’t see your question, create a thread. Someone will help!
2. Word Wars, Prompts, & Sprints (and Crawls!) — This is a forum for all things fun in order to boost your word count. These challenges give you a little push of motivation in order to get your daily word count done for the day and plus more if you want. My favorite thread is Write So Many Words If… where you have to write as many words based on the scenario. Be warned: the word count adds up fast.
3. Adoption Society — This is probably the best thing ever. People post their own ideas, such as titles, superpowers, opening lines, etc. It’s basically a bunch of lists people can use freely for their own novels. It’s great to check out when you’re stuck or don’t want to think too much on something.
4. Helpful Resources & Sites — NaNoWriMo isn’t the only place that knows all things about writing. There are many other websites, books, apps, etc that can help you with writing. Here people post their favorites and helpful things they’ve found. It’s great research.
Of course, then there are the forums for each genre and different age groups as well the regional forums. There are off topic threads and also what to do after NaNo, such as editing and critique swaps.
It’s probably impossible to go through every single thread, but if you did I’m sure you would be an expert in all things writing and NaNo.
Do you have a favorite go-to thread?
