NaNoWriMon FAQ
The site won't recognize my username, but I have an account on nanowrimo.org. What's wrong?
First of all, make sure you've already created a challenge for this year. It should show up on your user profile as in this screenshot:
If you're not seeing that, NaNoWriMon won't work for you! You need to first create a project, then create a goal for that project specifically associated with the November NaNo challenge. Here's how!
To create a project:
- From your home profile page, go to "Projects" in the menu directly above the "About
" block. - Click the "Announce New Project" button at the top of the page.
- Fill out the form with info about your novel. At the bottom of the form, check the "Associate with a NaNoWriMo event" box, then select this year's November challenge from the drop-down list that appears. Make sure it's this year's challenge; you can choose from previous years' NaNos, plus Camps and other events, and you need to make sure you specifically pick the current year's NaNo challenge.
- Click the "On to Goal" button, fill out as appropriate, then "On to Details" and add anything you'd like to.
- Hit "Save Project," and you're done!
If you already have a project and simply need to enter it for this year's NaNo, do this instead:
- From your home profile page, go to "Projects" in the menu directly above the "About
" block. - Scroll down until you find the project you want to work on for this year's NaNo.
- Click the "Create a New Goal" button associated with the project.
- Check the "Associate with a NaNoWriMo event" box, then select this year's November challenge from the drop-down list. Make sure it's this year's challenge; you can choose from previous years' NaNos, plus Camps and other events, and you need to make sure you specifically pick the current year's NaNo challenge.
- Fill out anything else you'd like to, hit "Save Goal," and you're done!
Once you've done that, your novel should appear on your profile as shown above, and you'll be able to create a NaNoWriMon.
If you've already created a novel but are still getting rejected by the NaNoWriMon page, there may be an issue with your username itself. Usernames with special characters (like "#" or "~") can cause issues, and there are other bugs I still haven't worked out, too. If you encounter problems with your username, please contact me about it so I can try to figure out the problem and fix it for other people. But even if you're having problems with your username itself, you should still be able to make a NaNoWriMon by using your system name instead. You can find it by visiting your nanowrimo.org user profile and looking at the final portion of the URL, after the last slash:
Copy and paste that portion of the address into the "NaNoWriMo Username" field of the NaNoWriMon form, and you should be good to go. If that doesn't work, either, then something's really wrong, and you should definitely let me know about it!
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
Why can't I make a charizard/pikachu/other evolved pokémon?
Your NaNoWriMon's evolutionary stage is determined by the number of words you have. If you're starting with zero words, you'll only be able to make pokémon at their lowest evolutionary stage--and until you register at least one word, they'll stay an egg!
If you want a powerful evolved pokémon, you have two options: come back later in the month, when you have enough words to create a pokémon of a high level, or start with one of its lower evolutions and level it up until it evolves.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
When will my riolu/eevee/etc. evolve?
Pokémon without level evolutions will evolve at a random level between 30 and 50.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
How can I stop my NaNoWrimon from evolving? I want it to stay a pikachu forever!
When creating your NaNoWriMon, the "Form and Evolution" inputs determine how and whether your NaNoWriMon evolves. For any evolution you don't want to make, select "Do not evolve." For example, if you want your pikachu to stay a pikachu, select "Do not evolve" instead of one of the raichu forms.
A NaNoWriMon will always stop before the FIRST stage marked "Do not evolve." So if you have a charmander, mark charmeleon "Do not evolve," but choose forms for charizard and mega charizard, it will permanently remain a charmander rather than skipping the charmeleon stage.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
How can I display my NaNoWriMon in a post on the nanowrimo.org forums?
To display a NaNoWriMon in a NaNo forum post, copy the HTML code displayed for you after confirming your NaNoWriMon, then paste it into the forums' post editor. The screenshot below shows an example of what this looks like, with the relevant code highlighted.
Note that you can NOT insert a NaNoWriMon by using the "Image Gallery" or "Upload" buttons in the post editor. Pasting in the code is the only reliable way.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
How can I display my NaNoWriMon in my nanowrimo.org forum signature or profile?
You can't.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
I made a NaNoWriMon in a previous year. Will it work for this year's NaNo?
No. NaNoWriMon only grow during the year they're hatched in. So, if you made a NaNoWriMon for November 2015, it will remain at whatever level it was at the end of NaNo 2015 indefinitely--you can display it in your signature or on your web site like it's in the Hall of Fame! Meanwhile, any NaNoWriMon created between December 2015 and November 2016 will be active during the November 2016 challenge, and so on. So you'll need to create a new NaNoWriMon each year.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
I updated my word count, but the word count on my NaNoWriMon hasn't changed! What gives?
To avoid clobbering the NaNo servers, word counts are only checked once per hour. Therefore it can take as much as an hour for your NaNoWriMon to reflect your official word count. Technical problems with the NaNo servers can also cause delays; this is more likely to happen near the beginning of November, when the site's servers experience the heaviest traffic.
Return to the main NaNoWriMon page
I have a different question/some other problem!
Feel free to contact me or leave a comment below. If you're having problems with your NaNoWriMon (or can't create one at all), please describe what error you're getting and include a link to your nanowrimo.org profile so I can take a look.
Jess
Posted October 14 2016
Hello, I dare say I have found that my account cannot be verified. my account on Nanowrimo is J. Crowson If we can figure one out I would love a &vulpix
If not I appreciate any effort. Thank you and have a wonderful day, Jess
Nate
Posted October 29 2016 in reply to Jess
This their account I believe:http://nanowrimo.org/participants/j-crowson/buddies Jess, you'll have to sign up to this site with j-crowson as your "username" as I don't believe it allows for "." and spaces in HTML, good luck!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 30 2016 in reply to Nate
Ah, my bad. The form will now accept "J. Crowson" and similar usernames without an issue.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 15 2016 in reply to Jess
Hi! Is this you? If so, the problem is probably that you don't have a novel set up for this year yet! You can do that by going to "My Novels" under the "My NaNoWriMo" drop-down menu, then clicking the big "Writing thsi year? Enter your novel!" link and following the directions. Once you've taken care of that, you should be able to get your vulpix no problem.
If that's not you, could you please give me a link to your profile so I can see what's up?
Yoshi
Posted October 15 2016
Hello! Sorry to bother, but I'm having the hardest time getting this to work. My NaNo is "SamaFox," and I appreciate the help! This little Pokemon is going to be so motivational come November!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 15 2016 in reply to Yoshi
Hmm, what sort of error are you getting, and what pokemon are you going for? I was able to make one for your account no problem.
Neta Barsade
Posted October 15 2016
Hi, I tried adding both codes on my signature, but it won't seem to show up? Just the text shows up and that's it.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 15 2016 in reply to Neta Barsade
You mean the official nanowrimo.org forums? Could you send me a link to one of your posts so I can see what you mean?
eline
Posted October 25 2017 in reply to Negrek
Hello Negrek,
I actually have exact the same problem as Neta Barsade last year. Do you have any idea how it comes?
(https://nanowrimo.org/forums/europe-holland-belgium/threads/417350)
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 28 2017 in reply to eline
I've added an FAQ item to address this problem. Let me know if you're still having trouble.
Neta Barsade
Posted October 18 2016 in reply to Negrek
Here's one example... http://nanowrimo.org/forums/appellation-station/threads/381210 My xomment is at the very bottom.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 19 2016 in reply to Neta Barsade
Ah, I see. You actually want to use the HTML code for the NaNo forums, not the BBCode. So just copy this:
<p><a href="http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon"><img src="http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/serve?user=Neta-Barsade&id=428" alt="" /></a></p>Then follow the steps in this post to get the image to show up in your forum signature (substituting your code above for the one in the post).
rainbowsylveon
Posted October 16 2016
I can't seem to get the codes to work for my signature. I've tried both codes, and neither of them are showing up properly. This is an amazing idea, though!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 16 2016 in reply to rainbowsylveon
I take it you mean on the NaNoWriMo.org forums? Their signature editing interface is a little differently than most, but the images should show up just fine. I'm assuming your nanowrimon is for user rainbowsylveon, with a ralts named Laika. If that's right, here's what you need to do:
<p><a href="http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon"><img src="http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/serve?user=rainbowsylveon&id=437" alt="" /></a></p>That should work!
I'll be adding a brief tutorial on how to do this/a code specifically for the NaNoWriMo.org forums, since I think some people are getting confused.
rainbowsylveon
Posted October 16 2016 in reply to Negrek
Ah, it worked! :D Thanks for the help :)
Rebel
Posted October 16 2016
Hi. When I try to get a mon it tells me that I need to create a novel for this season but I've already set up my novel page on the NaNo site. I was looking for a gastly if possible. My name on the nano site is Rebel Atar
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 16 2016 in reply to Rebel
Hmm, is this you? Your profile says "No current novel," so if you tried to create one earlier, it looks like it didn't go through properly. Once your novel information shows up on your profile, you should be good to get your gastly.
If that's not you, toss me a link to your profile and I'll see what's up.
Rebel
Posted October 17 2016 in reply to Negrek
No thats not me. Maybe that is whats causing the confusion.
This is my profile link http://nanowrimo.org/participants/rebel-atar-1422557
Thank you so much for the help
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 17 2016 in reply to Rebel
Ooh, yeah, that most definitely is the issue. If you enter your username as either rebel-atar-1422557 or Rebel Atar 1422557 everything should work fine.
That's very strange, though; I don't know why the site is appending that number after your username. You don't type in the 1422557 when you normally go to log on? You just put in "Rebel Atar?"
Rebel
Posted October 18 2016 in reply to Negrek
Yeah I just put in Rebel Atar or my email address. I had no idea it was adding that number.
It's working now though and I've added my mon to my forum signature. Thanks for helping.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 19 2016 in reply to Rebel
Glad it's working for you now! I'll have to investigate further into the number thing... best guess at the moment is there are some user accounts created before some major software change that can have the same name as more recently created ones (hence why there's that other Rebel Atar person), and the number was added to prevent a collision with that account. Not an easy problem to solve if that's actually what's going on, but at least I know about it now! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Hatsu
Posted October 21 2016
Hello! I'm trying to create a Mon but this error appears every time I try: https://gyazo.com/743ff6e91320005a3e28dc3c72d1335d The tab 'name' also says '500 error', if that helps. I'm Nisaba-Seshat on NaNo and I was trying for a Leafeon...
Thank you! Hatsu.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 22 2016 in reply to Hatsu
Thanks for leaving such a detailed bug report! The problem should be fixed now.
However, if a leafeon specifically is what you want, you might have to wait. With zero words, you can only get an eevee, and that eevee will evolve into one of its evolutions at random. To create a leafeon that won't get reverted back to an eevee, you'll need at least 15,000 words.
Cuddleface
Posted October 24 2016
Well, what a cool concept! I like it... still gotta figure out the template to make it work, though.
zadocfish
Posted October 24 2016 in reply to Cuddleface
Alright, got it! Great service here, I really appreciate it.
Jasmine K.
Posted October 27 2016
I was just wondering if you were planning on adding the new pokemon and alola forms, and if you are, when do you think they'll be available? (Thanks for my two current WriMon, by the way!
)
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 30 2016 in reply to Jasmine K.
Yes, I'll be adding Gen VII and Alola forms as soon as possible. I was actually hoping it would be possible to rip the necessary data from the demo so I could put them in before the start of this November, heh, but it hasn't worked out that way.
Basically, I need two things to be able to add a new generation to the system:
We should get 1 right at the release of the game if not earlier, but 2 depends on the priorities of people ripping data from the game and could take hours to weeks to be complete. One way or another, I won't be able to add anything until the final third of November, so the new generation probably won't be relevant to the majority of people NaNoing this year. It will be available from the start in 2017, though!
slashteddy
Website: NaNo?
Posted October 28 2016
I tried to make a bulbasaur counter and I got a Bidoof error page, which said to contact you. It went through the preview page fine, it was just the page directly after clicking "confirm" that had the error apparently. Did I do something wrong? :x
slashteddy
Posted October 28 2016 in reply to slashteddy
Nevermind! I waited a few hours and tried again, and it went through fine. :) This is such a cool idea! Thank you!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 30 2016 in reply to slashteddy
Glad it ended up working out for you! You stumbled on a very obscure bug, so no, there was nothing you did wrong the first time around. It should be fixed now.
Sturges6
Posted October 30 2016
Hi, I really hate to be a bother, but is there any way to change the gender of a NaNoWriMon once it's been created? I meant to create a female Vulpix but accidentally created a male Vulpix instead.
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to Sturges6
At the moment there's no way for a user to change a NaNoWriMon's attributes after creating it, but I manually made the vulpix female for you.
Sturges6
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to Negrek
Thank you so much for your help!
KyrieKaimei
Posted October 31 2016
Hello~ Thank you for creating this! It'll certainly keep me going this year!
But I tried to share my mon on another site - Gaia Online actually - and it doesn't seem to be showing up in the signature there? Gaia uses BBC on its forums so I just copied and pasted it but it doesn't appear to be working. Does it not work on other sites? I wanted to use it there because I'm also very active in the Nano community on Gaia as well...
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to KyrieKaimei
Hmm, no, the images should work fine on any site, and I've been able to put them in my signature on BBCode-using forums before. What problem do you have when you try to include it? Does it show a broken image, or the actual code itself?
Anyway, you can try this code:
[url=http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/][img]http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/serve?user=kyriekaimei&id=955[/img][/url]If that doesn't work, perhaps this one will instead:
[url=http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/][img]http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/static/user/kyriekaimei-955.png[/img][/url]KyrieKaimei
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to Negrek
I'm not sure what was wrong with it; it wasn't showing the image at all, just the little box it shows when an image is broken. Anyway, the second code you gave me worked. Thank you so much :)
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to KyrieKaimei
Hmm, unfortunately if the second code works and the first doesn't, that suggests Gaia disallows dynamic images in signatures. The second code will give you the image, but it won't appear to update normally because it will be cached by your browser and get out of sync with your actual word count pretty fast.
Nothing I can do about that, though. Sounds like the images just aren't going to work properly on Gaia. =/
hopeakaarme
Posted October 31 2016
Hi,
First off, thanks for doing such a cool thing! I can't wait to write together with my little mon. A question, though -- I picked male for my pokemon, but it's showing the female sign on the graphic. I even double-checked, and I definitely picked male, yet somehow it ended up female anyway?
KuroMegumi
Posted November 01 2016 in reply to hopeakaarme
Same for my charmander
castra
Posted November 01 2016 in reply to hopeakaarme
the same thing happened to me too: I checked male but it ended up being female anyway
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted November 01 2016 in reply to castra
You have the fennekin named Karen, right? You want it changed to male?
castra
Posted November 02 2016 in reply to Negrek
Yes! If it's not too much bother ;;
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted November 03 2016 in reply to castra
Done. The change should show up the next time you update your word count.
castra
Posted November 05 2016 in reply to Negrek
Thank you, and sorry for the trouble!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted October 31 2016 in reply to hopeakaarme
Hmm, that is strange. It definitely went down in the database as female.
I changed it to male, but the change won't show up until the next time you update your word count.
badwolfgirl01
Posted November 01 2016
I picked "male" for my Mon, but he still shows up as female! I created my very first ever starter (a male Cyndaquil named Buddy)... I'd like him to be male if at all possible?
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted November 01 2016 in reply to badwolfgirl01
Yeah, managed to introduce this problem while fixing a bug earlier. It should be corrected, and your pokemon are now male. The change will show up the next time your word count updates.
Silver
Posted November 01 2016
Really love this, thank you!
Zephy
Posted November 01 2016 in reply to Silver
This is such a wonderful idea! Thank you so much for putting it together, I entered my stuff and it seems to be working for me. Looking forward to my little buddy evolving as I write!
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted November 04 2016 in reply to Zephy
Thanks, glad you like it! Good luck with your NaNo!
AmericanPi
Posted November 01 2016
This is so cool! Don't mind me, I just discovered this site and it's pretty fun to just poke around it haha. I want a NaNoWriMon, but for this year's NaNoWriMo I'm just targeting 50,000 words of anything by the end of the month (so I'm technically not writing a novel - I just hope to hit 50,000 words with a combination of fics). I'm not sure if the NaNoWriMo site allows for this, so I'll go check now. I'll definitely bookmark this page, though. 8>
Negrek Admin
Website: Thousand Roads
Posted November 04 2016 in reply to AmericanPi
Hey! Doing a "various things adding up to 50,000 words" isn't the "official" NaNo challenge, but it's a variation a lot of people do if they have multiple projects they want to work on. I'm doing pretty much the same thing myself.
Nice to see you, glad you enjoy the site!