So Nanowrimo side of writeblr, how are your Nano’s going?
I’ve hit the target word count every day so far. That’s a first for me this far into NaNo lol.
My novel makes no sense, but I’m leaning into the pantsing this time lol. I don’t even have a blurb… but here’s my off the cuff attempt.
Toria is attacked by a kind of creature from the Shadow Dimension that no ne has ever seen before. Good thing the threat to her life allowed her to access a type of magic that no one has seen before either.
For a time Toria is essentially held captive by the Institute, a group of males who want to use her talents to save the world… But will Toria survive this process? Or will she be rescued and work iut how to save the world on her own?
Haha even my blurb makes no sense. But I definitely am having fun writing it.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Riann asked, apropos of nothing. She and Rafe were lying head to head within the cool, shaded enclave of the old willow tree. Sunlight dappled the ground, filtering through the willow fronds in mesmerizing patterns. Earlier, Rafe had tried sketching the patterns, attempting to mimic their natural beauty, but he had given up the task now in favor of basking in the warmth.
“A superhero,” Rafe said eventually. “I want to make people happy, and help them when they’re sad or in trouble.”
“That’s ambitious,” Riann said. It was a neutral statement.
Though Riann didn’t see him shrug, she heard the soft swish of his shoulders moving against the dirt. “I’ve got magic,” he replied casually. “What’s the use of that if I don’t use it for good?”
Comments: I wanted to post an update earlier, but unfortunately real life has been conspiring against me these past few days. I’m about 2 days behind, but I think another good 2-3k day should get me back up to par! I’ve finally started fleshing out my characters, which has been exciting. Still, though, I’m not cut out for long-form writing! It’s indescribably hard to craft a compelling, cohesive narrative that lasts longer than 5k, especially when I’m pantsing my novel this year lol. NaNo is fantastic, but I’ll be glad to return to short stories once the month is done.
It’s okay if you change your mind about participating in NaNo.
It’s okay if a week into November, you get an idea and decide you want to participate after saying you weren’t going to do it.
It’s okay if you realize that NaNo is stressing you out too much and you want to stop halfway through the month.
It’s okay if you want to join or quit for anyreason, at anytime.
NaNo is meant to be a fun and productive event, not a measure of your worth as a writer. It’s fine whether you do or don’t want to participate. It’s fine whether you do or don’t want to participate after the event has already started. Do what works for you!
I’ve just spent a few months cycle touring and very regularly this story kept creeping up at the forefront of my mind. So now that I’m back, I’m getting down to business and it’s now all about the planning.
Let’s get this thing ready for NaNoWriMo (but quite possibly earlier).
Prompt from 11/8/20 - And like the raging ocean, my heart could not be contained.
TW: blood, violence, death
Your skin as fair as summer’s breath, those eyes like dew drops; fresh, bright. The shadow you cast in my doorway at night, as you wake me, drag me into the garden to watch the stars fall. Sundresses, secret smiles, the way you punctuate your sentences with your airy laugh.
Every aspect of you was intoxicating.
Being with you was like walking on air, like flying. You understood me. When we touched, it was electric. But being with you wasn’t enough. It was like an addiction, a craving. You always left me wanting more.
I remember that night, as we lay in the grass watching the tumbling stars streak the sky with light. Your lips, soft as anything, brushed my ear as you whispered. You told me about space, of stars and astrophysics, and all the possibilities that lay out in the void above us.
Each word was a sonnet, your voice a symphony, for me and only me. Only me.
But, then, the stars stilled. You yawned, stretched, and made your leave.
And I was left alone, laying in grass that was now cold without your heat. And once again, I was left wanting more. Needing more.
So the next day, when you visited clutching your wicker basket of muffins, I invited you inside for tea. We sat at the table, across from each other. You wore a strawberry-patterned dress, your hair was carelessly tied back. Beautiful. I couldn’t stop myself from gazing at you, seeing you as only I could.
Sunlight glazed your skin as you spoke, golden rays that shone for you.
It was in that moment I knew that I couldn’t be without you.
So I stood, excusing myself to get a drink from the fridge while you continued to talk, your voice a melody I could hear forever. I turned my back on you, reaching for the cutlery drawer. Silver blades glinted at me, as though daring me, taunting me.
The knife was cold in my hand, but your blood was warm.
In the moments when you drew your final breaths I stared down at the knife, at the scarlet slowly staining your strawberry dress.
A pang of regret, sharp and sour.
What had I done…How could I ruin something so pure, and beautiful? For fear you would leave me?
And now you’ll never leave me. Your skin as fair as summer’s breath, and your eyes of dew will haunt me. Your sundresses, and smiles, and airy laugh will forever torment me.
The silence of your absence will be deafening.
Hey guys check out my latest writing project that I’m doing for my university portfolio X
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a wonderful event where writers connect with each other and support each other throughout the month of November, all in hopes of reaching a goal of 50,000 written words by the end of the month. This is a really fun month long opportunity to focus on your writing projects in the coziness of November. I am personally in need of the camaraderie this year to get to the finish line a couple of personal projects.
We have just built the a group on Facebook for witchy writers participating in NaNoWriMo. The goal of this group is to offer an inspiring and encouraging space for writers planning on writing witchcraft, magic, divination, metaphysics, and/or supernatural topics. Whether you plan on following the traditional path or have less conventional goals (like I do), I invite you to join!
This is so far a small group and a wonderful opportunity to work side by side with other writers. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments or send me a DM.
As some of you know, and others were able to guess, it’s an event that starts every November 1st here in Internet Land where you try to write a 50k novel in a month by setting up a daily word count goal. There’s a website for the event, which you can check out here. You can sign up on the site to participate, but it’s not a requirement.
To help you guys out, I’ve complied some links from this blog and from others in the community. If there’s a post you really like that I missed, let me know. There are likely a ton. These are just some of the ones I had bookmarked.
The awesome, super-talented FernsfromDomme-Chronicles and I are about to throw down on 30 days of D/s blogging. For NaBloWriMo(or NaBloRrrrawrMo for lions), she’ll be writing and I’ll be drawing comics. What does that mean for you? As she put it, “…and you, dear readers, will get the benefit of a veritable glut of beauteous D/s content." -grins-
Now that National Novel Writing Month has officially kicked off, I thought it might be nice to take a look at a novel that started out as a NaNoWriMo project and later became an international bestseller. In 2011 Erin Morgenstern wrote in her NaNo pep talk:
The circus was my variation on the wise and ancient NaNo wisdom: when in doubt, just add ninjas. I had this plodding, Edward Gorey-esque thing with mysterious figures in fur coats being mysterious and doing very little else. I got tremendously bored with it because nothing was happening so I sent the otherwise boring characters to a circus. And it worked. I ended up tossing that beginning and focusing purely on the circus. An imaginary location I created out of desperation expanded and changed and became its own story over many non-November months of revisions and more revisions and now it is all grown-up and book-shaped and published and bestselling. And it all started with NaNoWriMo.
To all of you who are starting NaNoWriMo tomorrow: best of luck!
I’m properly participating for the first time this year, and I am very excited to get started on my story. Will I actually be able to finish it? Who knows - but hopefully it’ll be a fun journey either way.
For this blog, that means that I probably won’t post any reviews for a bit - unless inspiration strikes, of course.
NaNoWriMo stands for NationalNovelWritingMonth. It begins on November 1st of every year and goes until 11:59 on November 30th. During this time, participants must write a novel that is at least 50,000 words.
If you win NaNoWriMo, you get some perks that are listed on the website each year. Examples include discounts on writing software, free downloads, and some free physical copies of your self published book.
There is also a related event called Camp NaNoWriMo. This is the same as NaNoWriMo, but with a few differences:
Camp NaNoWriMo takes place in AprilandJuly.
On the Camp NaNoWriMo website, you can be in “cabins” with other writers where you can chat and encourage each other to write.
You can set your own word count goal for Camp NaNoWriMo.
FAQ ABOUT NANOWRIMO
Do I have to write a novel? Can I write an anthology of short stories?
While the original premise was to write a novel, you are free to write an anthology or short stories (or something similar) if you wish.
Does it have to be original fiction? Can I write fan fiction?
The original premise was to write original fiction, but you can write fan fiction if you want.
Am I allowed to plan my story before November?
Yes! Writers are encouraged to prepare prior to NaNoWriMo.
Am I allowed to start writing my story before NaNoWriMo as long as I write an additional 50k words during November?
You’re supposed to start with a new story, but there’s no one to stop you from continuing an old story or even rewriting one.
Does my novel have to be 50,000 words, or can I go over?
You can definitely go over the word count.
Do I have to be in the US to participate? Do I have to write in English?
You can live anywhere and you can write in any language.
Otherwise, prepare mentally and physically for the challenge of writing a novel in a month. Plan out when you will write each day and for how long. Remember, you need at least 1667 words per day to reach the goal by the end of the month. Find a nice spot to write, have all your notes in order, and back up all your files. Here are some more tips and resources:
One thing you need to avoid during NaNoWriMo is editing. If you edit while you’re trying to write, your writing will be slowed and you’ll fall behind. Just keep writing.
So NaNoWriMo is over (or you’ve finished your novel) and now you have a rough draft of your manuscript. Here are some tips:
Do not immediately send it to an agent or publisher. Tons of people start sending out their manuscripts right after NaNoWriMo and it’s a huge mistake because they’re not sending polished, ready-to-be-published manuscripts. They’re sending rough drafts they wrote quickly.
Leave it alone before you start editing. Walk away from your manuscript and work on something else or take a break from writing. This break could be a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months. It depends on you. Then start editing once you’re fresh again.
It’sNational Novel Writing Month! (Or memoir, or nonfiction of your choice – doesn’t really matter, just get out there and WRITE.)
A while back, I did an episode of NPR’s Life Kit podcast aimed at helping frustrated writers finally sit down and crank out that book. It’s packed with good advice from NaNoWriMo director Grant Faulkner and writers Elizabeth Acevedo,K. Tempest BradfordandKat Chow (tl;dr: Do you write? Then you are a Real Writer). Check it out here!
bitches be like Ooh it’s November First I’m gonna write a whole fucking novel this month despite having lost control over every other aspect of my life. it’s me. i’m bitches.
hi guys! yeah, i haven’t been on here in a really long time. Hi. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans. If you’re family’s weird and judgmental like mine, well, you survived it.
but thats not the reason I’m here.
so as you know, NanoWrimo is this month. I wish all of you participating a belated good luck. but it’s also coming up on the 1-year anniversary of me finishing the first draft of the Hostage Game. And i was reminiscing, and i came across my outline for the sequel (I’ll call it HHA2 on here bc i’m between two titles and i won’t know which one fits better until i actually finish it). And the whole first 14 chapters are done and ready to go, and if we’re going off my length of THG, I only need about 2-3 more to finish it. so my predicament is: to write the sequel, or not write the sequel.
I can’t write it now, obviously. I have a lot of school stuff going on and i’m also working on Darkness (my screenplay that I’m writing for my creative writing class which i probably should be working on rn) so i wouldn’t be able to write it until around february/march/april. But i could at least knock out the first half in that time and write the rest in june or during camp nano. And it’s something i’m really excited about writing - I miss my hostage game characters and the world so much, and i miss drafting in it so much more.
But, if you’ve been following me for a while, you know i’m no where close to being anywhere near done on the Hostage Game. And it just bothers me starting the second book when the first one isn’t complete. I don’t think I’m going to be making any major changes to it, at least not to the outcome of the book, but it needs a lot of work.
so i’m asking those people who have written sequels: when did you write your sequels? after you got published? immediately after you finished the first? i need your help. Thanks already.
“This isn’t highschool. He’s not just my friend you’re following around between recess and PE anymore. He is a father. And I don’t think you’re ready for that…”
She never thought she’d see him again. She never expected her silly school girl crush to hit her as hard as it first did fifteen years ago. And she definitely never saw herself falling for a widower and his beautiful son…
My thus far untitled “Nora Roberts Tribute Act” has FCs now - I am indeed fuelled by spite also big shout out, love and SORRY to my discord babes who had to suffer through the casting process
If you have a difficult time plotting, try writing or outlining your story backwards—from the end to the beginning. Writers who have a difficult time outlining, plotting, and planning their stories often benefit from this technique. You’ll need a general idea of what your story is about for this to work, and of course you need to know the ending, but you might be amazed how helpful this trick can be.
Why is writing backwards easier? Basically, instead of answering the question “this happened… now what comes next?,” you’ll be answering the question “this happened… so what would come right before that?” which narrows the possibilities for your next move and can help keep your story on track. (Incidentally, it’s also the way Joseph Gordan-Levitt’s character comes out on top in the film The Lookout.)
Writing backwards can also help you more tightly weave together your subplots, themes, and character relationships, and keep you from going too far down any irrelevant rabbit holes.
If you don’t want to write or outline completely backwards, remember that you’re free to jump around! If you’re feeling stuck in your story or novel, jump to the middle or end and write a few scenes. Many writers get stuck because they feel they have to write their story linearly from beginning to end, which results in an overdeveloped (and often irrelevant) beginning and an underdeveloped ending.
So go work on that ending! It’s much more likely that you will need to change your beginning to fit your ending than the other way around, so spend time on your ending sooner rather than later!
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The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my post guide, or hire meto edit your novel or short story. xoxo
Even if you’re a pantser, you need a plan for NaNoWriMo because you don’t want to waste your precious writing time with research and mulling over plot points that go nowhere.
What you need:
A Plot. Just the very basics. Beginning, middle, end and what ever you know about special scenes that come to your mind. Notes on scrap paper or an unsorted list are just fine.
Characters. You have to know something about your main characters. Write down their names, gender, species and quirks.
World facts. You don’t need Tolkien levels of worldbuilding but you want to write down the basic facts about your world so that you don’t have to worry about it as you write. Again, this can be just notes on scrap paper.
That’s it.
You will add to all of this of course as the story grows, you will learn more about your characters and about your world and you can just add it to your notes. But this is your base to grow your story on.
The but/therefore method* is an easy way to create your plot and test the cause-effect connections between your plot and character motivation.
If you don’t have a plot yet, it can help you create one. If you already have one, the method almost always reveals gaps that need to be addressed with new or stronger chapters/scenes. (For help with your character motivation, check out the PDF “Creating Character Arcs” in my Free Resource Library.)
Use this template for each scene or chapter:
[Main character] wants ______, but _______, therefore ______.
In the first blank, put the motivation for that chapter or scene.
In the second blank, the conflictorobstacle.
In the third blank, the resultoraction the character takes, which leads into the next goal, and so on, and so on.
Chapter-by-chapter it might look something like this:
Chapter 1: Julian wants to ask Matt to the dance, but he’s scared of being rejected, therefore he slips a cryptic note into Matt’s locker.
Chapter 2: Matt doesn’t see the note. Now Julian wants to get into his locker and retrieve it, but the principal sees him trying to jimmy open the lock, therefore Julian is given detention for a week.
You can also do this scene-by-scene. My suggestion would be to start with the chapter outline, see what it reveals, then move into the scenes. If you’ve already written a draft, you can outline your draft using the template, which should reveal holes in character motivation, plot, and cause/effect, all with one fell swoop!
Hope this helps!
*I adapted this method from South Park writer Trey Parker, who first introduced it in the documentary Six Days to Air.
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The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my post guide, or hire meto edit your novel or short story.
