Signed Up, Bought the T-Shirt… Now What?

Hm, now what…

junowrimo facebook picThat’s a good question.  Since this is a writing challenge, based mostly on the classic NaNoWriMo, you probably can guess the first thing to do would be write… and you’d be correct.  But we have so much more to offer our members beyond a dramatically increased word count and super-cool t-shirts.

JuNo volunteers offer sprints all through the month to get you inspired.  We’ll mostly be sprinting via Twitter @JuNoWriMo, but we have a dynamic Facebook group too for ideas, prompts, and even the occasional coffee clutch discussions we all need between bouts of word-frenzy.  If you want, there is a word count tracker here and here (older format for people without the latest Office).

We are a community that shares successes and failures and keeps going.

And we write.

So now that you’re here, what do you say?  Think it’s time?  Then…

Just write button

Sign Up for #JuNoWriMo 2014 and Enter to Win Prizes!

Happy April!

Ludicrous SpeedGuess what – it’s April! That means there’s only two months until June. And what happens in June? JuNoWriMo, of course!

What is JuNoWriMo? It’s your opportunity to write 50,000 words in 30 days, whether it be a novel, a non-fiction work, or a handful of short stories. Whatever your project is, we’re here to help you make it happen.

We’ll challenge you with word sprints and dares, we’ll inspire you with pep talks, and – most importantly – we’ll be your support system when the writing gets rocky. The JuNoWriMo community is awesome when it comes to encouraging each other for success. There’s a closeness here you won’t find in other writing challenges. Jump in our forums for a brainstorming session, to hash out a story issue, or to simply connect with other writers. Win badges you can display on your Facebook page at each word count milestone.

The point is, if you have something you want to write “someday,” write it with us – in June! Our theme this year is Ludicrous Speed Ahead, because that’s how we want you to go at it. Jump into your book and write the whole darn thing in a month. Sound difficult? You can do it!

(If you don’t know why we’re traveling at ludicrous speed, it’s because light speed is too slow.)

Sign Up ~ Win Stuff

We’re hosting a series of giveaways for anyone who registers for JuNoWriMo 2014. If you’ve done JuNoWriMo in the past, you’re eligible, too. Just log in to your profile and update your status to show us you’re in for another year. The first giveaway begins NOW!

What can you win? We’re giving away a writer care package that includes: a notebook, tea, a shot glass, pens, art cards, a keychain, and more. A big shout out to JuNoWriMo crew member Alicia Wallace for donating this awesome care package!

junopackage

Our next prizes are generously donated by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi from Writers Helping Writers. They are giving away two copies of either of their books (winner’s choice), The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus, two excellent writing tools for figuring out your pesky characters before June.

Neg and Pos

The final prize in our giveaway is another helpful tool for preparing for JuNoWriMo. Alicia Wallace at Word Wielder is giving away an hour-long novel prep session to one lucky winner.

Giveaway

What are you waiting for? Sign up now, then enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to tell all your friends so they can join us, too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Important note: If you’re already signed up for JuNoWriMo, you should have gotten a newsletter email from us over the weekend. If you did NOT get the newsletter, contact us and we’ll get you added to the list. We’ve had some issues getting previous participants subscribed to our newsletter, and we don’t want you to miss out on anything! If you are registering for the first time, you’re safe.***

Spread the word!

Tell all the people in your realms about the wonder of JuNoWriMo! Post to coffee shops, libraries, book stores, cafes or anywhere writers might gather. But mind the golden rule of bulletin boards and always ask permission before super-glueing pinning it to the wall, etc.

Here for your downloading pleasure, the 2014 JuNoWriMo flyer:

JuNo Flyer (Click to download the .pdf)

Untitled

 

Be Featured on JuNoWriMo.com

Becca J. Campbell
Becca J. Campbell

I’m so glad you’re doing JuNoWriMo with us! June is going to be amazing, and it’s coming soon, so I hope you’re getting ready.

Each year, during JuNoWriMo we highlight a few of our authors. We’re big believers in teamwork and supporting writers. It’s a great way to get to share about yourself and get to know others. I can’t wait to hear about what you’ll be working on in June!

You don’t have to be published or famous to get featured here. You don’t even have to have finished a book yet. This is a chance to share a little about your WIP (or just W, since June isn’t here yet). This year we have only eight spots available, and it’s first-come, first-served. Continue reading “Be Featured on JuNoWriMo.com”

Who’s Doing #NaNoWriMo? We Are!

Howdy gang! I hope you’ve had a great summer and are enjoying the new season. Fall came rushing in on me and I can hardly believe next month is November!

Join Us During November

Anna and I are doing #NaNoWriMo next month and we hope you are, too! If you aren’t signed up yet, go to http://nanowrimo.org and do it now.

We had a heck of a lot of fun last June doing word sprints with you guys. Because of that, we’re bringing it all back during November to help support your NaNoWriMo experience. Follow @junowrimo on Twitter to join in. I’m excited about seeing all my JuNo buddies again.

Remember our word count spreadsheet from June? How cool was it to see  everyone’s daily counts? Did you have as much fun racing with your fellow WriMos as I did? I have good news. We’re bringing it back for NaNoWrimo.

We will have a post letting you know when the new spreadsheet is ready, so stay tuned. We had over a hundred people input their names this June. Let’s see if we can get even more next month. Make sure you’ve created a JuNoWriMo account which will grant you access to the spreadsheet.

The best part about this site is the accountability. NaNoWriMo is a big place and it can be hard to get to know people, but here you’ll find a smaller and tighter community. If you’re new, then welcome aboard! We’re happy to have you with us.

Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo

Are you prepped and ready for what it’s going to take to write a novel in thirty days? October is prewriting month and I encourage you to take advantage of it. Starting NaNoWriMo without a plan isn’t just difficult—it’s setting yourself up for failure. Get the bones of your novel sketched out ahead of time so that when the clock turns midnight on October 31st, you’re armed and ready.

What is prewriting and exactly how do you do it? Aaron Pogue has a great walkthrough of how to get ready to write a novel. This post is the first in the prewriting series. Follow his advice and you’ll be ready for November.

More Tips and Free Stuff

One final thing. I’ve saved the best for last. There’s a great new ebook out there called @WriMo: A 30-day Survival Guide for Writers by Kevin S. Kaiser. I highly recommend it for everyone doing NaNoWriMo. This book is full of motivation to inspire your writing journey. It’s especially useful for making you stick with it in those times you really don’t want to write. I read it and loved it. Even better, all the proceeds of the book are donated to NaNoWriMo which means that buying this book is akin to sending them a donation check.

I’m so excited about this book that I’m going to give away a free copy next week! Come back on Monday for a chance to win!

Related Posts:

Prewriting for JuNoWriMo

Prewriting: the Steps

So Many Choices, So Little Time

June 2012 Is Over–What’s Next?

After a whirlwind of a month, June is finally over. For some of us the end of the month is met with shouts of joy and relief and for others it’s received with a few tears and sighs of nostalgia. You might be wondering, “What on earth do I do now?”

JuNoWriMo Stats

This was our (Anna’s and my) first year hosting this event, and it was even bigger than we’d anticipated. Was JuNoWriMo 2012 a success? Most definitely! We started spreading the word around April, but even with only a few short months to drum up excitement, we had a great turnout this year. Here’s the breakdown: Continue reading “June 2012 Is Over–What’s Next?”

Come to the JuNoWriMo Virtual Kick-off Party!

June is almost here!

Let the Insanity Begin

Are you trembling with anticipation? With excitement? With frayed nerves about what you’ve about to  do?

Writing fifty thousand words in thirty days is a big deal. It’s quite a commitment, but it’s also an attainable goal. And you’re not alone in this. We’re all here with you. You can do it! Together we are going to ROCK this thing!

We’ve already had a great number of people sign up for JuNoWriMo. If you haven’t yet, now’s the time (it’s also your last chance to bug your writer friends who need to write that novel)! Click on the “sign up” link at the top of the page.

Something to Celebrate Continue reading “Come to the JuNoWriMo Virtual Kick-off Party!”

JuNoWriMo Features Authors and YOU

I’m so glad you’re doing JuNoWriMo with us! June is going to be amazing, and it’s coming soon, so I hope you’re getting ready.

We Want to Feature YOU!

We’re big believers in teamwork and supporting writers. Through the next few months we’ll have regular blog posts to keep our community connected. One of the things I’m really excited about is our Featured Authors section. During JuNoWriMo we plan on having a series posts highlighting a few of our authors. It’s a great way for all of us to get to know each other better. I don’t know about you, but I’m very curious about what my fellow writers are going to be working on in June. And some of the titles/synopses I’ve seen sound very intriguing!

You don’t have to be published or famous to get featured here. You don’t even have to have finished a book yet. We’d like to help promote you—and this is a great forum for that. Continue reading “JuNoWriMo Features Authors and YOU”

Welcome to JuNoWriMo

This is it, folks—the real deal! Our blog is finally live, thanks to Anna, who has done an amazing job. Isn’t it lovely? *swoon*

All Aboard for Adventure

If you’re new to June Novel Writing Month, don’t fret–we all are! This is a first-time adventure for all of us, and you can bet it won’t lack in the area of excitement. (If you’re curious about what JuNoWriMo entails, go here to read about it.)

We are both big fans of (and participants in) NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). We’re not trying to do it better than them. We’re not trying to get you to stop doing NaNo and join JuNoWriMo. It doesn’t work that way. We’re all on the same team here, just one other organization cheering for you as you write your book. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be writing my second book of the year in November.

Since coming up with the idea of JuNoWriMo, I’ve heard of several other programs that are doing the same thing – challenging you to write 50,000 words in June. Our take on that is—great! That just means there are more writers out there to support each other. If you’re participating in one of the other events, feel free to join ours as well. You can count your words for both. This isn’t an exclusive relationship. We’re not trying to compete with anyone, just create our own little community. Continue reading “Welcome to JuNoWriMo”