Here's a question for the last week just before NaNoWriMo: have you ever hit up the forums? The forums, not surprisingly, are one of NaNoWriMo's greatest assets when it comes to the challenge, mostly because a worldwide community is at your fingertips. Much more than that though, the forum chat rooms all have one goal in mind regardless of their topics: to help fellow Nano-ers. Just being a Nano-er yourself means you are welcome to join whichever forum you need. As you can see from the screen capture above, there are forums run by the officials of the site. The two main categories this year involve special offers and the opportunity to connect with the sponsors and a pretty snazzy graphic design challenge specifically for designing book covers. The rest range from NaNo Tips & Strategies to dozens of forums about the mechanics, of stories to advice on getting through NaNoWriMo emotionally (don't knock the support groups, they're sacred) and so much more (I especially love hitting up the Genre lounges--you'll definitely see me around there). The best part of it all is that no matter who you're chatting with--everyone's taking the challenge, and everyone wants to help see their fellow writers win! Don't be shy, jump right in and introduce yourself to the community--we seriously can't wait to meet and brainstorm with you! All experience levels are welcome no matter what you click on, all genres, everyone is welcome. Did I mention there's a polling booth this year? Not sure what plot twist to use? Or who your main character should be? Generate a poll in this forum and other supportive NaNo-ers will literally give you feedback and vote on what they think you should do! The NaNoWriMo forums are no joke, there's a bustling community of creative and enthusiastic geniuses who are ready to assist as much as possible, and guess what? They want to hear from you, too! This is a resource you can't afford to pass up, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed at any point in your journey coming this November. The forums may seem overwhelming from the ridiculous amount of choices they offer, but as always, NaNoWriMo has thought of everything by including this interesting little button to the forums:
Here's one thread I'm definitely "watching" this year. Yes, there's a "watch button" you can click to keep up with threads that interest you. Which lead to a "watched threads" page under the conversation tab.
My list is expectedly going to get much more extensive than this, but let's keep it simple for this example. Any time I find myself stuck or lacking in inspiration this year, I'm definitely going to be monitoring the forums for inspiration other NaNo-ers are going to be dishing out. I'll even offer my own if I find the chance. If you're new to NaNoWriMo, or just NaNo's forums (or hey even both) seriously consider giving these forums a try. I fully intend to be chatting up other creative minds and offering my own ideas to get some great ones in return. It's yet another way to guarantee your win so what'll it hurt to meet some new friends along the way?