NaNoWriMo Tag

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Those who know me personally know that November is one of those months.  It's hard - for a myriad of reasons - most of them trauma-related.

National Novel Writing Month has been there for me as a rare light in these dark winter months.  It's distraction.  It's joy.  It's something to pour myself into, and a way to get representation out there that I feel is sorely lacking.

To gear up for my writing-related miniseries, which I'll be posting all month, I thought I'd answer some NaNoWriMo Tag questions originally from Natalia Leigh - but seen and borrowed from Gin & Lemonade.

[NANOWRIMO 2020 WRITER square badge]

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1.  How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo? How many times have you won?

I first discovered NaNoWriMo thanks to a mutual on LiveJournal (yes, I'm dating myself, holy cow.)  The thing is, it was like 11 PM on October 29th, 2004.  I had exactly two days to come up with characters and a plot.

I did it.

And I've done it every November since then.  (I've also successfully completely Camp NaNoWriMo every April since 2017.)

After a lot of counting on my fingers, I can tell you I've participated and won November NaNoWriMo 16 times.  I've spent over a third of my life doing this.

Here's to number 17...

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2.  Are you a pantser or a plotter?

It depends!

If it's a new project / series, I do quite a bit of planning!  Through 2015, I had a notebook dedicated to each project, with sections like, characters, chapters, plot, and questions. 

In 2011, I found my favorite character survey that I still use.

In 2016, there were several Google Docs, diagrams, and timelines...  It was a whole thing.  By now (several stories into a series)  I tend to have a Google Doc that has plot points that I want to hit.  Since I know the characters pretty well, I find I need to plan less.  (I did start keeping notebooks again in 2018 just to document the process.)

(Just kidding...this year I have a 30-page timeline and a 25-page character survey in addition to enneagram and Myers Briggs tests for my new character...and a notebook for encouragement / ideas.)

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3. What are the titles of the projects that you have attempted/completed for past NaNos?

Belief (2004), Mercy (2005), Faith (2006)

Community Watch (2007), Fall Rising (2008), Smoke & Mirrors (2009), Stowaway (2010)

Brave New Life (2011)

We Are Who We Were (2012 & 2014)

Tear Down All The Walls (2013)

Don't Look Down (2015)

Disuphere (2016) Blink (Camp NaNo, April, 2017) The Crossing (2017), Somewhere Inside (Camp NaNo, April, 2018) Found (2018; CampNaNo April, 2019), History (2019), Out of the Blue (Camp NaNo, April, 2020)

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4.  What are you working on for NaNo this year?

The eighth story in my current series, entitled Windows.

Francesca (one of my favorite characters from the Disuphere universe) is going to summer camp for the first time!  With Lexie and Jesse (from the We Belong universe.)  Windows will also be the introduction for a brand new character - Weston - who will be working at the camp Fran attends.

This will be a dual POV story.  We'll see camp through Fran's eyes (as a first time camper) and also through Weston's eyes (as a first-time counselor.)

Having had experience on both sides of this (having been both a camper at one camp and a counselor at another) I'm excited to explore these dynamics and situations.

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5.  What is one tip that you’d give to someone else that is participating in NaNo?

Write every day.  Know there are plenty of us out here who want to encourage and help you.  Do it because you love it, because you love the story you're telling.

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6.  What was the inspiration for this novel? Do you remember when the inspiration hit you?

Inspiration for the current series I'm writing came to me via a dream a couple months before NaNo in 2016.  I tried going with a couple of other ideas before Tara finally encouraged me to go with the story I most wanted to tell, which was the one that came to me in the dream.

I'll get more into this in my writing miniseries this month...

The idea for my current story (Francesca at summer camp) came to me courtesy of a friend who requested it for their birthday as a short story (in July.)  I asked if they'd mind waiting because this was something I wanted to explore in a longer form - as a NaNo story - and I hope they're not disappointed!

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7. Read us the first sentence from your NaNo novel last year?

My most recent NaNo novel I started in April of 2020 and finished at the end of October.  Its first sentence is this:

It’s been two whole days since Francesca has gotten to see Giselle - her new bestie. 

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8.  What do you plan to do with your manuscript after NaNo?

Hope people somewhere read it, and get the heart behind it...

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9.  Are you prepared for NaNo? Are you nervous?

I'm excited!  I really can't wait to explore Weston and also to see how Fran does at camp.  Filling my notebook with random scenes that just keep popping into my head.  I have my soundtrack, and my Pinterest board.

But this year is going to be a bit different as I legitimately sprained my finger about a month ago, rage-tweeting about Roll With It.  While it's healing, it has not fully healed yet.

And as I have no doubt in my ability to write 50K in a month - this year is going to be more about me trying to adhere to my goal of 25K.  

My goal this year is self care.

Which, I guess, is one more piece of advice.  NaNoWriMo is not meant to break your body or your spirit.  If your heart's not in it, don't sweat it.  If you're injured, take it easy.

Just do what you can.

Write because you love it.

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Is anybody else participating in NaNo this month?  As a writer?  A reader / editor / supporter?

What's your favorite part of NaNo?

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