Oh NANOWRIMO! Will I make it?

 Our beloved NANAOWRIMO is almost over. Eleven days and counting. Will you make it? 

Will I make it? eh, not sure. But I do have some good bones of a story to continue on with. 

I always thought NANO should be in January. I mean, half the country is snowed in and there is much more down time than in November, the month where the big holidays begin. 

But what do I know? It's kind of like dry December. If you are even a social drinker, that's when you drink the most. parties, get togethers, heck! I've worked in offices where they break out the wine and beer at lunch in December. People can't wait to start the party. Crazy month. 

Yet, here we are in November struggling to write that breakout novel. I did start on November 1st. I went to one of those plot generator aps and it gave me Mermaids and a person hunting. Hmmm, In my mind I made that a man who hunts mermaids. But the "why" question had me thinking he has to believe in mermaids before he can hunt them, right? So my opening scene had Paul discovering a fish-like woman caught in the sand on a beach in New Jersey in March. If you know New Jersey you know it's chilly at the beach in March, not swimming weather and beaches are pretty deserted.  So Paul sees this vision of beauty and scales on the beach just minutes before it sees him and flips back into the water. Now he might be a believer. Or headed to the nearest psychiatrist's couch? 

Okay, that went for about 500 words before I lost interest. Bah!

On my computer I have dozen's of story premises. When an idea come into my head I jot down the blurb. Those 2 or 3 paragraphs that give the idea some light then I just hit save into the abyss that is the "Ideas" folder.  It was to this folder I went next to find Soul of the Painting. I must have written the blurb over a year ago. 

I hit 3756 words this morning. Nowhere near where I need to be to complete NANO but it's moving along. I actually like this story so it might get completed. I can see the future scenes in my head which is something the Mermaid Hunter didn't give me.  

Let's do the math; To hit 50,000 words in the next 11 days I'd have to write 

4204 words a day. 

I laugh so hard I cry. Challenge or an unreachable goal? 

So how is your NANO coming? Share your word count and your challenges and on November 30th we'll pour the wine whether we make it or not. Because we tried and we have a great story still inside us that will someday make it out. 

Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo

 Most writers know what NaNoWriMo is; National Novel Writing Month in November. It's yearly challenge, started in 1999, for writers to complete a 50,000 word novel within the month. Yes, it's possible. My novel, Soul Mates was a NaNo. Good things come through a little discipline. And coffee.... lots of coffee. 

How???

Here's a few tips to do now to get ready to join the NaNoWriMo challenge. 

Dear NaNoWriMo ~ I Lost My Outline

I'm working on a trilogy. First book done and in rewrites, second book mostly written, third book was just an outline. 

I took a class at the local college and the professor was late. While sitting there the plot for book three started to germinate  in my mind. So I flipped to the back of the notebook I was using and started to outline the story. As I wrote a kind of excitement started to grow inside me. I knew where this was going and I knew the best way to end the trilogy. Any writer knows that feeling of when it all comes together and you know, you just know, you're nailing it. 

Euphoria. 

The professor never showed up that day, the other students started drifting out, but I stayed and I wrote one heck of an outline. 

So, now I'm challenged to do NaNoWriMo; National Novel Writing Month. 50,000 words in the month of November. I didn't really want to take part in it because I have this massive rewrite on the first book in trilogy and I really want to get this finished. So after going around and around with my challenger...I conceded, if I could use NaNoWriMo to write that last book. It's not started, just a scribbled outline in the back of a notebook.  We came to a deal and it's on! 

And I can't find the outline....

I'm digging through boxes and drawers trying to find out where I put it. I know it's here...somewhere. I've got three days to find it. 

National Novel Writing Month? Do You?

Here comes November! In writer's circles this is known as National Novel Writing Month where you pump out 50,000 words to make a book.  I've done it before and, although November can be a busy month as it starts the holiday season, it's possible.

The NANOWRIMO site lets you sign up and find fellow NANO-ers to write with and support each other. I've never used that site, but I see some regions where a lot of people signed up. They go to coffee houses and gather in groups to pump out their 50,000 words. Sounds like fun?

My daughter, a food blogger, likes to write in coffee houses. I'm not sure. I've always written better in a cave. A desk in the corner with the door shut. I find coffee houses noisy and distracting.

Then we have the virtual facebook NANOWRIMO which is part of the regular NANO but maybe less organized with  more easy online access. (Others have set up pages too. NANO world on facebook. )

I'm in the middle of a major edit for my latest WIP and really want to get it done. Would I be a NANO cheater if I just finished that work for NANO? It's a lot longer than 50,000 so it's still a lot of work. A fellow writer isn't sure that qualifies. Now I sit on the edge of writing something totally new or finishing the WIP and I'm not sure which way to go.

So, do you NANO? Are you ready for the challenge?