It's October, so NaNo is just around the corner! What's everyone doing to prepare for National Novel Writing Month in October? (which... I think you only find on YWS)
I'm using all my strength to keep myself from writing my NaNo idea! XP I think I'll work on my characters a bit to keep myself happy... and so I'm not going into NaNo completely unplanned.
I'm going to continue my novel using NaNo as a motivation to write faster. Usually, the chapter is broken into two, and each part is finished in one week. Hopefully, NaNo would help me finish one chapter per week, but other factors like internet connection (because I have to post it in YWS and have feedback) and time are going to affect NaNo.
"Writing, though, belongs first to the writer, and then to the reader, to the world.
The subject is a catalyst, a character, but our responsibility is, has to be, to the work."
I'm doing the same, Lightsong! I'm going to be continuing one of my novels and will hopefully be writing the chapters at a much faster pace than what I am doing (about a chapter a week, though it gets slow sometimes). I'm still deciding whether I want to do the YWP or the actual 50k.
I'm probably going to end up doing an outline for Dark Days, though it might end up being lighter than I think. I had a lot of character ideas before I went to sleep so hopefully I remember them and then I'm just going to keep at it all month.
Well, I'm rewriting Book Man (yet again), but I'm adding a bunch of other people's perspectives and basically that title doesn't work for it at all anymore. But I can figure that out later.
First thing: Oodles of research. I'm a horribly inefficient novelist. I never quite know what the story's going to be about beforehand, so I never know what I'll need to research until I'm several drafts in. Among other things: Scottish Highland Travellers, Scotland and specifically Edinburgh (1840s to present), social anxiety, London (20th century).
Second thing: Oodles of note-taking. And world-building. And character sheet-making. Lots of stuff is getting reimagined, so I need to think it over.
Third thing: Outlining. Because really I want to just charge through November and get my draft done so I can take a break in December and get to some serious editing in January.
Hmm...well this is my first NaNo comp. so I suppose I'll just try to write as much as I can, but make myself write at least 35 minutes a day. I currently have an idea but need some feedback to make sure it's okay.
Also, do we have to start writing ON the day the comp. starts or can we start whenever?
If the world was blind, how many people would you impress?
The "competition" or event goes all the way through November, as it's called Nanowrimo for a reason (National Novel Writing Month), so you start on the first of November! If you haven't made an account yet, here it is:
Okay, thanks for the help! I've made an account under the same username as this one and now all I have to do is finish planning before I wait for November 1st.
If the world was blind, how many people would you impress?
If I do it (big if there) I'd start a story I already have planned out, or just use it to complete something I've already started.
Knowing me, I'll write like 1000 words and be like "Umm...now what..."
Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. - The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
I've slowly been getting ideas for what I want to do. Brain fog is not conducive to creativity, but little bits of sun are poking through. I have a genre, and possibly characters, with a detail that may or may not contribute to the overall plot.
I highly recommend Scrivener for writing the actual novel (there will be a NaNo trial edition), but this year I also decided to give Scapple a try. It's made by the same people, and is like a mind mapping thing. You can jot down ideas and connect them. I've never really clicked with those things before for planning, but oddly enough it's working well for me this time around.
My goal is to spend a little time each day adding and rearranging points. Once I have more of an idea I should probably write out little sketches, bits of prose that aren't in the main story but will give me both a better idea of where it's going and a little practice in writing again.
