November is National Novel Writing Month. [NaNoWriMo]For those interested in participating in NaNo, Hogwarts.io wants to help incentivize your efforts and encourage you to finish your novel. The goal is 50,000 words completed over the course of 1 month, a notion that may seem insurmountable but it does not have to be. We want to see you complete a novel of your own and have it published, even if it is nowhere past HiO. For the month of October players are invited to start a thread in the Library (a new sub-forum has been made) to plan their book. This is a place for you to brainstorm and for helpful players (if they want) to give their input. There will be 5 tasks for the month of October, each worth 10 sickles.

1 - Create a setting. This would be where it takes place, be it a school, a house, a city, an imaginary world, etc. We want you to be detailed in this. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
2 - Create a main character. This would be your main protagonist. Tell us about them - what do they look like, where did they come from, what are their strengths and weaknesses and what are their flaws. Why are they in this story and what do you want them to gain from their adventure. Be as detailed as you can regarding this. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
3 - Create a main plot. This is where you talk about the main story itself. What are they doing? Is this a journey, a coming of age experience, a battle against a terrifying nemesis, etc. Consider doing this in an outline format to make things more organized. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
4 - Create 2 subplots. Subplots are other important and relevant stories that are ongoing but are not a part of the main story. Love interests or dealing with a school bully/rival are a few examples of this. Again, consider writing this in an outline format to make things more organized for yourself. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
5 - Create at least two secondary characters. Who are they? What is their relationship to the main character? No story is ever only about one character, there's a whole world full of people around your protagonist! Think about why they are important and what their function in the story is. There need to be 300 words per secondary character.


In the month of November you will be encouraged to start writing your story. Each post in a single thread can serve as a chapter and the thread as your book. We will have a total of 5 milestones with progressive rewards for each one. More will be announced the month of November for those that wish to participate in NaNo. 

How to Participate?
1 - Make a new thread for yourself in the new Library Area
2 - Complete the errands.
3 - Once complete you can post in this thread so that a moderator (probably me) can give you your rewards at the end of the month. Please just edit your post in this thread if you are getting multiple rewards. You can only get one of each errand reward but there are several errands available for this month that are associated.

Restrictions:
Because this will be published IC in universe and on site, this cannot be a Harry Potter fanfic as it will take too much time for the moderation staff to monitor and review to make sure that the writer adheres to the canon. This cannot be an AU story of this community that uses the players here, these players belong to their owners (their writers).

Eek!  I’m so excited!  I’ve started writing so many novels, but never stuck with one for long, so I hope that this contest can change things!

Here’s the novel thread.  I’ll be posting replies to the same thread whenever I add the other errend portions and updating this comment whenever I do!



Completed:
- Setting
- Main Protagonist(s)
- Main Plot
- Side Plot(s)
- Secondary Character(s)

Valerium Valley

First errand is done!
Second errand is done!
Third errand is done!
Fourth errand is done!
Fifth errand done!

Putting down my little compilation topic.

Once upon a time

I will be updating this post as I add more to it.

I have a question. Are collections of short stories allowed? If so, what are the rules for those? I've tried writing a novel about my world for years and kept running into trouble, so I've been wanting to try doing short stories set in the same world to see if that works better for me.

Heather Ruby wrote: I have a question. Are collections of short stories allowed? If so, what are the rules for those? I've tried writing a novel about my world for years and kept running into trouble, so I've been wanting to try doing short stories set in the same world to see if that works better for me.

Unfortunately not. NaNoWriMo means National Novel Writing Month, the goal of this project is to write a manuscript of a novel with 50,000 words. Many people don't reach the that word count, but you can still try: create a setting, set up a plot, write your main characters etc. The journey is the destination here.

Thanks for answering my first question, but I have one more. Could you please explain what you mean by "outline format"? Do you mean like a list of bullet points? How do you get 1000 words out of bullet points?

Heather Ruby wrote: Thanks for answering my first question, but I have one more. Could you please explain what you mean by "outline format"? Do you mean like a list of bullet points? How do you get 1000 words out of bullet points?

Solomon Lear wrote: Consider doing this in an outline format to make things more organized.

What I assume the Headmaster means with this is that it could be beenficial to you to not write this as a continuous tex, but rather make a few main topics and then structure them in such a way that you have subtopics underneath them. This doesn't mean that your whole outline has to be done in bullet points, just that you make key points and then elaborate them to get a clearer view on what you want to achieve. A running text is harder to organize, so an outline can help you keep track of what you want to do and where your story should go.

I found that this guide on How to Write an Outline, it's quite helpful if you don't know how to go about writing an outline.

I have a question, and I'm really sorry for asking it, but having worked in publishing, I feel I need to ask this before participating: All rights (global) for any work created as a part of this errand remain with the author, correct? (Not HiO, its staff, its affiliates, etc.) I'm asking because in the event any work produced gets picked up at a literary journal or other publisher, I want to ensure those rights remain with the author. (Journals often ask about first place of publication and associated rights.)

Thank you, and I'm really sorry again about having to ask this, but I feel it's important because it pertains non-Harry Potter related work, i.e. work that may well find a home elsewhere. I'm assuming we do retain rights, but I wanted to be sure.