Welcome to Gaia! ::

PLEASE VISIT THE FAQ FIRST.

If you honest-to-goodness cannot find your answer there, puhLEASE for the love of writing, double check before you post a topic here!!

This forum is not for asking the same questions over and over. That's why they wrote the FAQ.

And quickie answers for lazy people (like myself--see FAQ for details and/or rationale):

Can I write from an outline?
Yes.

Can I continue something I've started?
No. You must start from scratch.

Can I write a story that I have a partial draft of?
Maybe. There is no clear answer in the FAQ, but I would say that if you don't copypasta your partial draft (like, at all), then you can consider your partial draft an outline. See above.

Do I have to stop at 50k?
No. If you have more words in there, please, get them out. We do not want them to rot inside you.

Can I write the same word 50,000 times?
No. If you're that desperate for a certificate (which, I might add, you have to print out yourself), you need some serious help.

Can I collaborate?
No. If you want to collab, do Script Frenzy in April. (Hey, I don't make these rules up.) An addendum, though: I would say that if you collaborate and make it to 50k per collaborator, then you could take credit for your 50k share. But that's just me. That's not official.

Must I write in English?
No.

For all other questions, see the FAQ. Or post it here and I will (in my legalistic semi-knowledge) attempt to advise you on an answer or solution.

They aren't very strict about this one. I've known alot of Nanoers over the years who continue a story they've begun. What you can't do is count any part of it you've written before Nov 1st. You have to count only the words that you write starting Nov 1st onward.

I've started from scratch every year, but this year I'm thinking of continuing where I left off from last year. In a way, where I left off could very much be an end to a short story. I didn't realize it until later. So it could even be taken as a sequel.

I'll add one I've also seen:

Can I write more than one story?
Not a clear answer to this one either, but I've known people to say they've written five 10K stories instead of one 50K. It's not unusual to see published books that are assortments of short stories. So if that's how you work best, I say go for it.

All true. And I did start from scratch. But I want to finish atleast one! LOL And it's the reachable one. The other I'd want to write is in storage. Of course, if I finish below 50K, I can always start on a second idea and fly with it too. ninja

But it's good to have a place for all the questions like the ones above to come though. So I'll stop hijacking the thread now. mrgreen