Overachievers: Beyond 50k

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Overachievers: Beyond 50k (formerly Beyond 50k before September 2019 and still known by this moniker) is a NaNoWriMo forum devoted to discussing goals and challenges beyond the standard 50,000 words. It was created in 2013 as a result of Wrimo feedback and serves as the primary overachiever forum. As of September 2019, this forum lives within the Reaching 50K forum. For this reason, "Overachievers: " was added to the forum's name to differentiate between writing more than 50K and what to do after reaching 50K.

Before the Beyond 50k forum came into existence, the primary overachiever spot was one thread in This is Going Better Than I'd Hoped. This thread became large and unwieldy very quickly, at one point making up over half the posts in the forum in a single thread.

Forum Description

"So you've hit 50k, and you still have story to write. Now what? Set an insane goal for November, looking for your fellow overachievers? This is your home for everything after you've made it to the finish line, and want to keep on trucking!" (2013-2014)

"Going for an ultramarathon? Hit 50K and haven’t found the finish line? Keep writing! This is the home for your and your fellow overachievers." (2015-present)

Topics and Threads

The sticky thread usually contains basic information on the forum, a reminder of the "no cheating accusations" rule, and information on accessing the #nanooverachiever IRC chatroom. Threads are often started for various goals (such as the millionaire thread or the "Five-Digit Fight Club") for those with similar goals to gather, as well as specific challenges like 50K Day or 50k Weekend. Usually, tips for overachiever-specific topics such as writing fast, dealing with writing-induced health problems, or tackling multiple novels can be found as well.

"Slug Club", a thread for writers with low WPMs, is a recurring thread. The ONE OF US thread (a hangout/joke thread referencing the friendly peer pressure of the forum/cult comparison) also usually shows up. There is often at least one thread for celebrating successes or commiserating over failures - although Beyond 50k is well-populated (outranking This is Going Better Than I'd Hoped, for example), it is not so heavily trafficked as to make duplicates or posts suitable for other forums a problem.

Because of its name, Beyond 50k is sometimes mistaken as the forum for the post-writing and December process - threads on such topics are redirected to Novel Draft Aftercare or Life After NaNoWriMo.

Beyond 50k running gags

If someone announces in the Beyond 50k forum that they're considering raising their wordcount goal or doing an additional novel, the response will overwhelmingly be "DO THE THING". Because of this and the common refrain of "ONE OF US", Beyond 50k is often jokingly called a cult. The ONE OF US thread has spawned several jokes of its own, such as references to Kool-aid, excessive use of strikethrough, and a tentacle monster.

OAR is commonly used as the term for a word war. It originated as a typo in the #nanooverachiever chat and was deemed amusing in light of the common abbreviation for overachiever (OA) so it stuck.

Several jokes are based off of running gags of individual members, such as #wrimosfortheeatingofsushi (after well-known forum member sushimustwrite) and cannibalism (a running joke of past forum moderator tiakall.)

Another running piece of lore in the #nanooverachiever chat is Grandpa and his Fire Truck. This came in to being after members of the chat were listening to the police scanner after Cleveland won the NBA championship in June 2016. Twitter mistakenly reported a fire truck went stolen. Also, an elderly man went missing as well. Thus, the legend of Grandpa stealing the Fire Truck and going on adventures was born.

Moderators

Current Moderators

Former Moderators

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