Hello, everyone! It's your favorite inconsistent blogger with another (inconsistent) post! This time it's all about NaNoWriMo. What's NaNoWriMo, you ask? Well, you fool, it's an event that takes place every year on November in which a bunch of writers decide to push their limits and write a novel in a month! Ha, while yes, this sounds insane and it kind of is*.
So, this year as I have been for the past six years I've decided to subject myself to this insanity and will be attempting to write 50,000 words** in a month while navigating school and life and the such. Am I brave or stupid, you can decide for yourself. So, I want to talk about what keeps me going and gives me inspiration and how I approach NaNo.
*If this is your kind of insane you can go and register for the madness here! Come join us, we're over caffeinated and slightly crazy
**Although, this is a project I've sort of already started and some of these words have already been written, but shhh.
What Keeps Me Going
The thought of all the cuteness to come. I mean, man, my NaNo project is a contemporary about a girl trying to find what in the heck she wants to do with her life post-university* and there's friendship and falling in love and it all promises to be very cute.
That's not all that fuels me, but also the fact that I hate losing and that I am motivated just by the thought of winning. So, on days when it all feels like too much the thought of winning just puts me right back on track. I find that telling everyone you know about your insanity also is a driver because come December they'll ask what about your novel and you'll have to tell them you've brought dishonor on your cow.
*this work is only slightly biographic and as a matter of fact this is where the similarities end.
What Gives Me Inspiration
As I mentioned, there's tons of cuteness in my story and also tons of internal conflict and while that's all fine and good I'm really all about the cuteness. So, a big source of inspiration for me is Pinterest. I have boards for every single relevant character in this story. It's also great for procrastination in the sake of inspiration, if you get what I mean.
Can you feel the cuteness? I mean, there's a dog and someone's a Slytherin and the other person likes books and says darlin'
Another unexpected source of inspiration for me is k-dramas. Now, hear me out. I have little to no cuteness going on in my life. I've got the existential dread, no idea where my life is going thing down to a T, but I have none of the cuteness in my life. So, when I need a good (sometimes cringe-worthy) ole' fashioned cute and butterfly inducing feelings I turn to k-dramas. It's also great for procrastination. WAIT! I think I'm detecting a theme here. Oops. Well, anyway, they help greatly and the drama cycle that just started is so good, it's as if the writing gods have willed it so.
I also draw inspiration from my day to day. It sounds boring, but it's true. The whole idea for this story came to me when I was at a bridal shower for a friend* and I started thinking what if... Obviously, the story has evolved and the characters have evolved in my head since the original idea came to me in like, February or April of this year, but an event in my daily life was the spark. Also, sometimes I have great conversations and to not draw inspiration from them would be a disservice to my wit.
*I was only twenty-one at the time and WAY TOO YOUNG TO HAVE SUCH ADULT FRIENDS OMG
My Approach
I approach NaNo with wariness and armed with snacks. Also, I have a vague outline about the events that should happen and just adventure it from there. Because, where's the fun in a perfectly mapped novel, right? Also, I just like to give my characters room to do whatever the heck they like because forcing them into stuff has never worked for me and they're stubborn people.
So, listen to your characters would be my first tip. You might think it's your story, but really it's theirs and they give no flying cucumbers about what you want. So, I listen to my characters and hope for the best. That being said, there are moments when I'm outlining that they just spring to life and I have to outline whole conversations. It's quite a magical thing.
I'm outlining on paper, mainly because it allows me to outline during class when I'm bored and because there's just something about pen to paper that I love way more than I love about fingers to keys. BUT, I am writing the actual novel itself on a word processor. I use Scrivener usually, but I'm thinking of maybe taking it old school this year and write on Word (the last time I actually finished a project was in Word, so maybe it'll give me some divine inspiration or something). I'm still thinking about that.
Since I have uni and November is going to be hectic (I'm looking at you Art History paper and Final English Project) and just very busy, I'm going to try and write as much as I can every day. That means I'll try to soar above the 1,667 daily goal and push it as much as I can every day. Will it work? Maybe. Will it maybe kill me? Yes. Is it worth it? I'd say yes.
So, armed with my tools and enthusiasm I'll embark on this crazy crazy journey this November.
I'm outlining on paper, mainly because it allows me to outline during class when I'm bored and because there's just something about pen to paper that I love way more than I love about fingers to keys. BUT, I am writing the actual novel itself on a word processor. I use Scrivener usually, but I'm thinking of maybe taking it old school this year and write on Word (the last time I actually finished a project was in Word, so maybe it'll give me some divine inspiration or something). I'm still thinking about that.
Since I have uni and November is going to be hectic (I'm looking at you Art History paper and Final English Project) and just very busy, I'm going to try and write as much as I can every day. That means I'll try to soar above the 1,667 daily goal and push it as much as I can every day. Will it work? Maybe. Will it maybe kill me? Yes. Is it worth it? I'd say yes.
So, armed with my tools and enthusiasm I'll embark on this crazy crazy journey this November.
Are you participating in NaNo this year? If so, what's your novel about? How are you doing it because I could use all the tips.
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