These are the rules for the February 2013 session, they may be modified for the August 2013 session, please check back as we approach August. Please read about the changes proposed for the summer session here, feedback and suggestions are welcome!

The Challenge: To create a 48-page graphic novel during the month of February

The (suggested) Basic Rules:

• Be the sole artist/author of your graphic novel.
• Begin work on final graphic novel pages at 12:00am local time Feb 1st 
• Create an original, stand-alone story, not an adaptation of someone else’s story, or part of an existing series.
• Create one sequential story, not a series of  ”vignettes” or a collection of individual strips.

Before February 1st

• Plot outlines, character profiles and sketches, and research 
• NEW: Scripting and page/panel layouts are allowed (such as these)
• Deciding the page-size of your graphic novel and practicing with the medium and style you want to use is allowed (and encouraged!)

During February:

Let’s be real: drawing, inking, and lettering 48 pages in just four short weeks, while not impossible, is not a very practical goal, so really the challenge is to begin work on a minimum 48-page graphic novel and complete as much as possible. You are encouraged to set your own goals for this month. Here are a few suggested “paths”.

*The Planner Path - If for whatever reason you didn’t get a chance to do much sketching or scripting before Feb 1st, take this month and use it to plan out your graphic novel. Goal: Have 48+ pages completely scripted with layouts/thumbnails.

*The Penciler Path - Don’t worry about ink and lettering just yet, focus on getting the pencils of your final pages finished. Goal: 48 penciled pages.

*The “Going for It” Path - If the idea of getting a graphic novel done in just one month still appeals to you, by all means, go for it! Goal: 48 inked pages.

*The 50/50 Path - Aim to finished a page a day and by the end of the month, you’ll be halfway there. Goal: 24 inked pages.

*The Quartermaster Path - For those who prefer quality over quantity. Goal: 12 inked pages

*The “March” to Completion Path - For those who get a lot done in February and want to keep the good feelings going, March can be a semi-official “Finished your 48 pages month.” The blog will stay active through March and everyone’s welcome to hang around. Goal: 48 completed pages by April 1st.

*Choose Your Own Adventure - Think about your schedule and your artistic ability and habits and set your own page goal before Nagranowrimo starts. Goal: Set your own completion point/completed pages total.

Determining Recognition

The words “winning” and “winners” have been removed from the rules here because Nagranowrimo not a competition to win, it’s a challenge to make you feel accomplished. If you take part and you complete more artwork than you would normally in a typical month, you are a winner.

Since there’s not a ton of participants, the plan right now is to simply write what you finished in February (i.e. number of pages you completed) next to your name on the participants list. 

I think I’ll just ask people to report their completion total with the option to verify. If you want to verify, send in a link to a blog/web album/whatever that has your completed pages posted and I will go take a quick look, count up the pages, and put a little check mark or a “verified” next to your name on the participants list. There will be no judging of content or artistic ability, the purpose is simply to check the total.

I will not share or distribute any participant’s work. I may request participants to submit some of their nagranowrimo work so it can be posted on this blog as an example, but that will be purely on a volunteer basis.

“Rules are meant to be broken.”

These rules are merely to provide a framework. This is not a contest, it’s a personal challenge and you can bend and change the rules to fit what you want to do. If you want to read about the rules and ways to change them, check out the Rules FAQs.