LoCoWriMo: Difference between revisions

From FrathWiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
(link to moved page for July 2010 LoCoWriMo participant list)
No edit summary
 
(4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Summary:'''
* write a story in your conlang this July!
* do it at the same time as other conlangers and use the power of peer pressure to help you out :)
* [http://listserver-emu.dreamhost.com/listinfo.cgi/locowrimo-conlang.org join the mailing list]
== History ==
'''LoCoWriMo''' or '''Local Conlang Writing Month''' is inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.  It started with a post by Arthaey Angosii to the CONLANG mailing list (11 June 2009), proposing that several of us simultaneously write a sizable piece of original fiction in our conlang.
'''LoCoWriMo''' or '''Local Conlang Writing Month''' is inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.  It started with a post by Arthaey Angosii to the CONLANG mailing list (11 June 2009), proposing that several of us simultaneously write a sizable piece of original fiction in our conlang.


NaNoWriMo sets a goal of writing a novel-length story, 50,000 words or more, in any language (but usually, I suppose, one's native language), between November 1 and November 30.  Few if any of us have sufficient fluency in our conlangs, or conlangs thoroughly developed enough, to make that a realistic goal.  Arthaey suggested 5,000 words as a goal for writing in a conlang; after further discussion we decided each person participating would set a challenging but attainable goal for themselves based on how complete their conlang is and actual experience with how long it takes to write a certain number of words (or characters, lines, pages -- however you want to measure your progress and define your goal).
===Past LoCoWriMos:===
# [[LoCoWriMo/2009_October|October 2009]]
# [[LoCoWriMo/July_2010|July 2010]]
# [[LoCoWriMo/July_2011|July 2011]]


The [[LoCoWriMo/2009_October|first LoCoWriMo was held in October 2009]] and the second in [[LoCoWriMo/July_2010|July 2010]].
==Inception==


As with NaNoWriMo, one should start a new story from scratch on the first day of the selected month.  Writing a plot outline or character background notes, figuring out what words you're liable to need and creating vocabulary for the semantic domains involved in the story you'll be writing, figuring out pragmatics and stylistics issues you haven't addressed before (e.g., how do dialogue tags and reported speech work in your conlang?) --  you can and should do that kind of  thing ahead of time; but the story you write for LoCoWriMo should be written entirely during July, not incorporating previously written scenes.
NaNoWriMo is an annual events which challenges people to set a goal of writing a novel-length story- 50,000 words or more- between November 1 and November 30.  The story can be written in any language (but usually it is assumed that a participant will write in their native language). Few if any conlangers have sufficient fluency in their conlangs (or conlangs sufficiently developed) to make 50,000 words a realistic goal. [[User:Arthaey|Arthaey Angosii]] suggested 5,000 words as a goal for writing in a conlang; after further discussion it was decided that each person participating would set a challenging but attainable goal for themselves, based on how complete their conlang is and their experience with the amount of time it takes them to write in their conlang.


To figure out what would be a challenging but attainable goal for you re: writing fiction in your conlang, it makes sense to do a timing exercise ahead of time; write a different story, or just some stand-alone scenes (for this purpose you don't necessarily have to have a plot sufficient for a complete story), time yourself, and measure your output for a writing session.  Given your words (or characters, lines, etc.) per hour for this practice run, estimate how much you could write in July if you give the project most or all of your free time for the month.
==How to LoCoWriMo==
As with NaNoWriMo, a person wanting to participate should start a new story from scratch on the first day of the selected month (usually July).


Alternatively, you could just start writing on July 1, time yourself and measure your progress for the first writing session, and then set your goal for the month from there.
===Preparing for LocoWriMo===
*Write a plot outline or character background notes,  
*Figure out what words are liable to be needed,
*Create vocabulary for the semantic domains involved in the story you'll be writing
*Figure out pragmatics and stylistics issues you haven't addressed before (e.g., how do dialogue tags and reported speech work in your conlang?)
 
Many Wrimos have only the vaguest of ideas of what they will write about at the start of the month, and those who do plan ahead are encouraged to not do much more than a simple outline and listing of characters. The goal is to have fun being creative, not to write the next masterpiece.


== Why '''LoCoWriMo'''? ==
===Setting writing goals===
To figure out what would be a challenging but attainable goal re: writing fiction in a conlang, it makes sense to do a timing exercise ahead of time; write a different story, or just some stand-alone scenes (for this purpose you don't necessarily have to have a plot sufficient for a complete story), time yourself, and measure your output for a writing session.  Given your speed per hour for this practice run, estimate how much you could write in July if you give the project most or all of your free time for the month.


National Novel Writing Month started out as a U.S. project and has spread internationally since then, but kept the name because the abbreviation sounds cooler.  This project looks to be international from the start.  Someone suggested Global Conlang Writing Month, but LoCoWriMo sounds cooler than GloCoWriMo.  And, appropriately enough, ''loco'' means "crazy" in Spanish. (See the CONLANG thread linked below for details.)  After some discussion, we decided that "Local" in this context refers to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Group Local Group] of galaxies, or to any other locality a given participant prefers.
Your goal can be in words, characters, sentences, pages, or however else makes sense to quantify your output. Just make sure that it's a "stretch" goal. Lack of sleep, and excessive coffee drinking is common among "WriMos".


== Preparation ==
Alternatively, you could just start writing on July 1, time yourself and measure your progress for the first writing session, and then set your goal for the month from there.


While excessive planning of your story is discouraged, excessive prep work of your language is encouraged. If you know you're going to write a fantasy story with dragons, elves, and sword-fights make sure you've got those words ready. Similarly, if you're writing about an office-worker, make sure you know how to talk about spreadsheets. The fewer words and constructs you have to come up, with the more time you'll have to actually write your story.
== Why the name '''LoCoWriMo'''? ==


Many Wrimos have only the vaguest of ideas of what they will write about on November first, and those who do plan ahead are encouraged to not do much more than a simple outline and listing of characters. The goal is to have fun being creative, not to write the next masterpiece.
National Novel Writing Month started out as a U.S. project and has spread internationally since then, but kept the name because the abbreviation sounds cooler.  LoCoWriMo, however, has been international from the start.  Someone suggested Global Conlang Writing Month, but LoCoWriMo sounds cooler than GloCoWriMo.  And, appropriately enough, ''loco'' means "crazy" in Spanish. (See the CONLANG thread linked below for details.)  After some discussion, it was decided that "Local" in this context refers to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Group Local Group] of galaxies, or to any other locality a given participant prefers.


== Rules ==
== Rules ==


In general we're following the same rules as NaNoWriMo. Whatever you write must be new (no continuing an existing story), and fictional. The goal you set for yourself should be difficult, but attainable. Lack of sleep, and excessive coffee drinking is common among "WriMos".
In general LoCoWriMo follows the same rules as NaNoWriMo:
* write a '''new story''' (not a continuation of an existing story)
* write '''fiction''' ("non-fiction" written from a conculture's persective is okay)
* set a '''difficult but attainable goal'''
 
Like NaNoWriMo, the emphasis here is on quantity, not quality. While you should obviously try and make your story grammatically correct, editing to improve plot, continuity, or anything else is discouraged. Just keep writing.  


Like NaNoWriMo, the emphasis here is on quantity, not quality. While you should, obviously, try and make your story grammatically correct, editing to improve plot, continuity, or anything else is discouraged. Just keep writing. With NaNoWriMo the goal is to complete a novel within one month. While we may not be able to accomplish the same thing with our conlangs, we can do our best, and along the way many of our languages will improve greatly, which ties in to the lack of editing. By the end of the effort many of us will find our words and grammar have changed in non-trivial ways. If we were constantly going back to update the start of the story to match the the language at the end, we'd never get much written.
With NaNoWriMo the goal is to complete a novel within one month. While we may not be able to accomplish the same thing with our conlangs, we can do our best, and along the way many of our languages will improve greatly, which ties in to the lack of editing. By the end of the effort many of us will find our words and grammar have changed in non-trivial ways. If we were constantly going back to update the start of the story to match the the language at the end, we'd never get much written.


== Participation ==
== Participation ==

Latest revision as of 09:36, 8 August 2011

Summary:

  • write a story in your conlang this July!
  • do it at the same time as other conlangers and use the power of peer pressure to help you out :)
  • join the mailing list


History

LoCoWriMo or Local Conlang Writing Month is inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. It started with a post by Arthaey Angosii to the CONLANG mailing list (11 June 2009), proposing that several of us simultaneously write a sizable piece of original fiction in our conlang.

Past LoCoWriMos:

  1. October 2009
  2. July 2010
  3. July 2011

Inception

NaNoWriMo is an annual events which challenges people to set a goal of writing a novel-length story- 50,000 words or more- between November 1 and November 30. The story can be written in any language (but usually it is assumed that a participant will write in their native language). Few if any conlangers have sufficient fluency in their conlangs (or conlangs sufficiently developed) to make 50,000 words a realistic goal. Arthaey Angosii suggested 5,000 words as a goal for writing in a conlang; after further discussion it was decided that each person participating would set a challenging but attainable goal for themselves, based on how complete their conlang is and their experience with the amount of time it takes them to write in their conlang.

How to LoCoWriMo

As with NaNoWriMo, a person wanting to participate should start a new story from scratch on the first day of the selected month (usually July).

Preparing for LocoWriMo

  • Write a plot outline or character background notes,
  • Figure out what words are liable to be needed,
  • Create vocabulary for the semantic domains involved in the story you'll be writing
  • Figure out pragmatics and stylistics issues you haven't addressed before (e.g., how do dialogue tags and reported speech work in your conlang?)

Many Wrimos have only the vaguest of ideas of what they will write about at the start of the month, and those who do plan ahead are encouraged to not do much more than a simple outline and listing of characters. The goal is to have fun being creative, not to write the next masterpiece.

Setting writing goals

To figure out what would be a challenging but attainable goal re: writing fiction in a conlang, it makes sense to do a timing exercise ahead of time; write a different story, or just some stand-alone scenes (for this purpose you don't necessarily have to have a plot sufficient for a complete story), time yourself, and measure your output for a writing session. Given your speed per hour for this practice run, estimate how much you could write in July if you give the project most or all of your free time for the month.

Your goal can be in words, characters, sentences, pages, or however else makes sense to quantify your output. Just make sure that it's a "stretch" goal. Lack of sleep, and excessive coffee drinking is common among "WriMos".

Alternatively, you could just start writing on July 1, time yourself and measure your progress for the first writing session, and then set your goal for the month from there.

Why the name LoCoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month started out as a U.S. project and has spread internationally since then, but kept the name because the abbreviation sounds cooler. LoCoWriMo, however, has been international from the start. Someone suggested Global Conlang Writing Month, but LoCoWriMo sounds cooler than GloCoWriMo. And, appropriately enough, loco means "crazy" in Spanish. (See the CONLANG thread linked below for details.) After some discussion, it was decided that "Local" in this context refers to the Local Group of galaxies, or to any other locality a given participant prefers.

Rules

In general LoCoWriMo follows the same rules as NaNoWriMo:

  • write a new story (not a continuation of an existing story)
  • write fiction ("non-fiction" written from a conculture's persective is okay)
  • set a difficult but attainable goal

Like NaNoWriMo, the emphasis here is on quantity, not quality. While you should obviously try and make your story grammatically correct, editing to improve plot, continuity, or anything else is discouraged. Just keep writing.

With NaNoWriMo the goal is to complete a novel within one month. While we may not be able to accomplish the same thing with our conlangs, we can do our best, and along the way many of our languages will improve greatly, which ties in to the lack of editing. By the end of the effort many of us will find our words and grammar have changed in non-trivial ways. If we were constantly going back to update the start of the story to match the the language at the end, we'd never get much written.

Participation

Followup

If you're overall satisfied with the story as a whole, but dissatisfied with particular defects, you may want to revise it to a greater or lesser extent (or entirely rewrite it), either for aspects where the grammar or lexicon has changed in the course of writing or to fix plot holes or tighten up the flow of the story or whatever, sometime after you've finished the first draft during July. You don't have to; participating in LoCoWriMo doesn't commit you to that.

Tools

External Links

Retrieved from "http://www.frathwiki.com/index.php?title=LoCoWriMo&oldid=62154"