National Pony Writing Month Update #2!

For all the potential writers out there investing ludicrous amounts of time into National Pony Writing Month, Siraj has some new week one pep talk to keep everyone motivated! Check it out after the break!

    Hello my little writers! Siraj here with your week 1 pep talk post. How's everypony doing so far? If you're looking to stay on track, you should be somewhere in the realm of 11,670 words. Of course, some participants might be in the 20 k mark already. That's fine. Myself, you may be wondering? I'm just a few words over 6,400. Yes, I note the irony in running this event and not keeping pace. It happens.
    Something else that happens is that you may have already run into your first writer's block. This can vary between something you can smash with a sledgehammer, or something you may have to get the chisel out for, to craft your way around.  I want to stress this: do not give up. It may be a challenge, you may have written yourself into a corner, your initial idea may have even run dry sooner than you thought. My best advice is to sit down; whether with your outline if you planned one out; a few friends to bounce ideas off of; hit up ponychan, or the ever-amazing writer's training grounds. There's resources out there, don't be shy about using them.

    One more thing I want to do before I finish off this post is have a mini-FAQ of sorts, since I'm still sans Internet and I'm getting some common questions.

Q: When do we have to be done?
A: You need to stop writing, if you're still going, at midnight on September 30th, LOCAL TIME. This means that at the end of this, I'll be getting Aussie and European attempts before I receive anything from the east coast here in the USA. Please, don't try sneaking a few extra words in at 12:01 a.m. on October 1st. It wouldn't be fair to the other participants.

Q: Where do we send it when we're done?
A: You just punt it to eqnapowrimo@gmail.com, the same e-mail you sent your interest e-mail to. Attach either one large document in whatever format you desire, or do chapters. As long as your work is received, along with your name and word count by the deadline, you'll be included in the event roundup at the end.

Q: Can we submit it to EqD?
A: Absolutely! I certainly can't and won't stop you. Just follow the guidelines as normal, and remember that a one-shot fic needs to be at least 3,000 words, and a multi-part needs to be at least 2,500 words per part.

Q: What if I want to participate unofficially/start late/work on something I've already started during this?
A: Go for it! If this little event inspires you to write something that's been lurking in your mind for days/months/years, by all means, write! As a fellow writer and National Novel Writing Month participant, there's nothing that makes me prouder to see "this is my first attempt at writing, this event convinced me to try", and watching them crank out 32,000 some-odd words on their first try.

    I hope this post helped and encouraged you to keep going, or to try your hoof at something you may have abandoned. See you all next week, my friends!