Preptober!

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Morgan_R

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Anyone else planning to spend the month getting ready for NaNoWriMo?

I've signed up for two free Preptober courses:

https://theworldneedsyourbook.teachable.com/p/nwpchallenge/

https://learn.thesimpletarot.com/courses/

I have a few ideas for potential NaNo projects... all middle grade, in the hopes of having something that will actually be complete at 50,000 words. I may do preliminary prep for more than one of them and then pick my favorite, but right now the leading candidate is The Witch's Nine Cats.

How about everyone else?
 

vicelimmer

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Those are already nice edals, I dont hav eany additional idea
 

Animad345

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I'm moving house in November, so I had concerns about doing NaNo this year, but posts like this really fire me up! I'll definitely check out those links.
 

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Cheering you all on!
I came up with inspiration at the end of September, and really exploded that idea last night when I started picturing my main character, and it led me to realize the actual plot.

I decided to use my rare night alone in the house to work on plotting, and I can tell what my biggest liability is going to be in November. It's the cat. She wants to be in my face and on my computer. I've spent a lot of my night pushing her away and/or snuggling with her.
 

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I am going to be continuing work on the same project I started last year, so mostly I'm just ... thinking ... about it. I already have a good outline, very detailed, but for me it's about getting in the headspace. When I'm in the zone, the imaginary world is more pressing than the real one, and I can't live like that all the time (responsibilities, bummer) so it helps if I do the mental prep to get ready for that.
 

Morgan_R

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Glad some folks are gearing up, cats or no cats!

I'm not really doing the courses... they're based on printable PDFs, while I'm doing everything on my phone while holding a sleeping baby. I did take the idea of a single-card tarot draw (which I do here) and am using that to answer brainstorming questions along the way.

I'm also only brainstorming on one idea so far, but I may try another take or two on the same concept to see if I can come up with something stronger.
 

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With the election coming, I doubted I'd be in the mood come November to write something totally new. So, I started "NaNoWriMo" back in September and wrote 90k words in 20 days. :) I'm currently doing a read through of it and fixing some of the more obvious problems I noticed while I wrote. It's my first attempt at writing first person, and my first foray into horror.
 

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Cheering you all on!
With the election coming, I doubted I'd be in the mood come November to write something totally new. So, I started "NaNoWriMo" back in September and wrote 90k words in 20 days. :) I'm currently doing a read through of it and fixing some of the more obvious problems I noticed while I wrote. It's my first attempt at writing first person, and my first foray into horror.

Way to go!

And that’s very smart. In 2016, I was very prolific in the first days of November, but couldn’t concentrate on Election Day or the days following it. I did manage to hit 50K that year, but I remember how hard it was, & once I got past 50K, I stopped (only finished the book this year).
 
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Sage

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Sigh. I changed my home region to Columbus, Ohio because that’s where I did my first 11.25 NaNos & all my writer friends live there & it’s all virtual anyway. I thought the time zone might be a challenge, but, nope, all scheduled events so far are perfectly reasonable times, even in California... But all virtual events are midday Sundays, which I have always worked regardless of where I lived. So maybe I’ll see what my actual hometown’s events are & switch back (& just write-in with my Columbus friends one day a week).
 

Fiender

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Wow, Fiender, that is super-impressive! Congrats on your blazing writing speed, and good luck with your edits!:D

What do you think contributed most toward your being able to write so quickly?


Thank you! :)

My speed was partly because it's a story I've kinda been aching to write since the summer, and partly because I follow a reliable routine to keep my daily word counts up (Credit to "2k to 10k", by Rachel Aaron).

Planning out the goals of each day (which story beats I wanted to reach), setting aside enough time each day so I'm not looking at the clock every 10 minutes, and staying enthusiastic about the work. If there was a scene I was hesitant to write, it was usually because there was something wrong, conceptually, with that scene.
 

Morgan_R

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Fiender: Very nice! Thanks for mentioning 2k to 10k, I could stand to reread that.

Sage: Ahh, too bad... hope things work better in your current region.
 

Fiender

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Wow, Fiender, I can see how the multi-pronged approach you used would boost your productivity. Congrats, again!

Re: setting aside time to write...did you wake up earlier each day, or did you clear time in the afternoon/evening?

I don't really have a set sleep schedule these days, though I prefer working any time that there's daylight so I can have my windows open. But as long as I set aside enough time, and didn't have upcoming obligations that day, just about any time works for me. :)
 

BenPanced

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I was going to work on an idea I've been kicking around for nigh on a year (checks file; just over a year) but carrying on a grand and storied (heh. I crack me up) tradition amongst NaNos, I've been inspired by something else and have to go with it, instead. I'll see about posting the inspiration illustration later, but it looks like it's going to be (yet another) attempt at YA QUILTBAG romance but with paranormal/witchcraft.

ETA: Here's the illustration (attribution in lower left corner). It popped up on my feed on The Facebook and I now have to write his story.

50466346903_77f8e2cf78_c.jpg
 
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Animad345

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Wow, BenPanced!

A: 'YA QUILTBAG romance but with paranormal/witchcraft' - I'd read the heck out of that.

B: that illustration is gorgeous! I'd print it off and stick it on the wall while you write haha.
 
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BenPanced

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A: 'YA QUILTBAG romance but with paranormal/witchcraft' - I'd read the heck out of that.

*crosses fingers* As always, hoping for the best. And a finished ms. Of course, I have to finish it because I'm starting to create this really amazeballs back story for the MC (with absolutely NO FREAKING WAY I'll be copying other teenage witches/wizards out there on the prairie and no "Chosen One" story, which are both easily done when you put your mind to it!) (and if I'm not careful, it could lead to one sequel, possibly two more) and I'm announcing it as "win 17 of 17". Which means I'll disappoint everybody I've ever known, living and dead, if I don't make it.

B: that illustration is gorgeous! I'd print it off and stick it on the wall while you write haha.
The artist did a series of several witches riding brooms and wearing clothing with the various Pride flags' stripes with the "Ride with Pride" theme. I saw the illustration above and something just clicked about him that I want to, again, write his story. And what better time than to give myself this challenge? Yeah, I know, I could've waited until December and worked on the project I'd already had in mind, but this one needs to be worked on RIGHT NOW. And I know all of my writerly friends have never experienced anything like that ever in the history of everything.:sarcasm
 
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For NaNo you have to go with the project you're enthusiastic about. It's just a month. Other projects will be there in December
 

Morgan_R

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I've just posted my NaNo project outline for feedback, here, if anyone is feeling generous with their time in this pre-NaNo lull. I'm pretty happy with what I have, but I need more if I'm going to try to hit 50K. Happy to crit back if anyone else is looking for feedback!
 

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A month or so ago I was pretty excited about a time-travelly idea I had, and actually started trying to work on some world-building and character backstories and even plotting! So generally not the way I go about NaNo at all... And now I think I’ve decided to back-burner that one for the time being, because I was already picking holes in the cheesecloth that was my vague outline of a story, and I think if I’m going to do it right I need to dedicate a bit more time and thought to it, and the problem of having to actually have some things figured out before I get to speed-writing seemed to be giving me anxiety. Sigh. Another time. I still love the idea.

So.....

The plan at this point is to revisit some of my favorite characters in my own personal lexicon (from my very first NaNo book!) and send them off on some more adventures. And that simple plan has made my brain relax and smile a bit more. Whew.

I think I’ll be writing it as sort of episodes, these characters road-tripping around to different spots where their unique and absurd experiences from that first book I wrote give them the skills (or at least the aptitude) to deal with infestations of fairies, angry sea-witches haunting lighthouses, alien abductions in caves, etc... And maybe that will all even connect at some point!

I’ll be using the character I think I had the most fun and easiest time writing, ever, so I’m finally getting excited again! Bring it on, November!
 

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During Camp NaNo this year, I finally recorded a story that had been in my head for a while. At the end of the Camp, I decided to proof read my work, and oh my gods, it was a monstrosity! I had so many plot holes, a character who made a sudden and very drastic change in attitude and beliefs, it was a mess.

My original goal for this November was to rewrite my story with the newly revised edition I've been working on, but then I decided that wasn't challenging enough for me. Now, I'm going to write a serious of short horror stories. I already have 21 stories planned out along with about how long it should take me to write them. I'm nervous about it though because I haven't successfully written a short stories in eight years; they usually end up turning into novels.

I'm really excited to challenge myself this November! If anyone has any ideas/tips on writing short stories, I would greatly appreciate them. I think I can do it, but I will always accept help!
 
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