Wednesday, August 26, 2015

NaNoWriMo: September

There is a darkness coming, and you only have two months to get ready. That may seem like a lot of time, but it’s not. It’ll move up on you faster than a hawk on a jack rabbit. For many thousands November 1st brings excitement, and dread. Excitement from the energy of the creative masses and dread from the spouses and love interests who know they will be taking a second seat to the endevour. Be warned: Lovers will find sorrow and children will turn to crime for attention while you are off seeking your glory. Bathing will be forced upon you by the many who will be offended, and even the most devout will find a new religeon, presenting offerings to the godess of caffeen.

It’s NaNoWriMo time people. That time of year when thousands sit their butts down to write the great American novel (or what every country you are country in). 50K words in 30 days. Over 1600 words everyday to create what obstentially is half a novel.

Oh, and did I mention the fear? Not from the writers, but all those literary agents, publishing houses, and slush pile readers who know, come December, their inboxes will be full of Vampires, Zombies and all matters of descruction, all in their first draft glory.

But that is December, and this is September, and now is the time to plan. How do I know? I have failed twice and completed four NaNoWriMo’s. The difference between winning and losing is, quite simply, Planning. That may sound basic enough, but understand that with normal writing standards, I am a true Pantser. Now, if you dive too deep into all the Nanowrimo blogs, podcasts, vblogs and such, you’ll find Pantsers saying they didn’t plan, and you don’t have to either. (Actually, I’m not sure they would say that. I’m just making it up.) But I say hogwash. You have two months. Start Your Planning!

Don’t know how? Grab a pen and notebook and start writing down ideas. Are you the type of person that likes software applications, and complexity? Check out Scrivener. Are you an online type person? Check out Hiveword.com. Do a Twitter search for #nanowrimo and see what others are doing. Same with all the other social media outlets. Or, be productive and ignore social media…whatever is best for you.


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