Okay so I just realized this year marks my TENTH YEAR of attempting NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) — that crazy endeavor where you aim to write 50,000 words in only 30 days.
Ever since my very first year of embarking on this adventure (which I did purely because of peer pressure, mind you, and it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me writing-wise)… I have, somehow, managed to actually write at least 50,000 words in 30 days.
No matter what was going on in life. No matter how far I fell behind, I’d muster up the words last minute if I had to and cross that 50,000 word finish line.
A lot of that is because I’m rather competitive, so seeing other writers in my local writing group hit 50,000 words in that time really motivated me to the do the same. No way I was going to let THEM do it but not ME!
So, I did. Somehow, someway. For the last nine years.
And THIS YEAR, I was looking at the NaNo site, contemplating whether or not I should officially enter this year. Yes, I was going to start real work on The Legacy of Lucky Logan book 4 in November regardless (I always love to use NaNo as an excuse to get a really good start on a new project)… but should I OFFICIALLY sign up?
Because, well, this November (as most Novembers though, honestly) is going to be a doozy.
For nine days of the month I will be traveling, attending an indie author conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then hanging out with a few of my most badass readers who are also making the trip out west to hang out, embark on some real-life shenanigans (usually we just cause trouble together in Red Dead Online, heh), and take a horseback ride through the desert! It’s going to be a BLAST all around, but also, I can’t image I’ll get many words in during those nine days. O_o
Then I come home, and one of my sisters who currently lives in Sweden, and whom I have not seen in two years thanks to the pandemic, will be in town!! So naturally, I’d like to spend some time with her.
And then you have Thanksgiving and all.
Yep, it’s gonna be a month, all right.
So I thought long and hard about signing up “officially” for NaNoWriMo 2021. But in the end, I thought, “eh, why not?” I mean, it’s not like you’re PENALIZED for NOT hitting 50,000 words. And then I could still participate in all the fun parts of NaNo, even if I didn’t make the goal wordcount. I’d just have to mentally be okay with not reaching 50k — which I figured would be a bit difficult, yes, because see above comment about me being competitive — but I’ve been psyching myself up for about two weeks now trying to prepare myself for NOT hitting 50k.
That’s a very, VERY real possibility this year. After all, NaNo is supposed to be FUN. You’re not supposed to KILL yourself over it trying to hit that wordcount. (You ARE, however, supposed to CHALLENGE yourself.)
But now… just now… literally… I realized this will be my TENTH year participating.
Nine years of “winning” NaNoWriMo… and now it’s my TENTH freaking year… I mean… I kinda HAVE to “win” this year too now, right???
I can’t NOT “win” on my tenth NaNo anniversary!!!! Right??? Or is that just me???
In any event, I am OFFICIALLY signed up, and I made my “official fake book cover” too, as I do every year to get myself ramped up for the next book! ^_^ And now, I guess I’m gonna try my damnedest to hit those 50,000 words…
Because I can’t let my TENTH YEAR be the year I miss the mark!!! O_o
Therefore, I am happy to announce my next book project, which I’ll be starting in earnest on November 1st:
The Legacy of Lucky Logan book 4: Demon at Devil’s Deep
…. why yes, I realize that cover there says “Demon IN Devil’s Deep” … but originally it was AT. Then when I was making the cover, I thought I liked IN better. But then as I was making the NaNo project, I second-guessed myself again (third-guessed?), and went back to AT. So, final decision is that it will be AT. 🙂
Ah, being an author is fun. Lol.
Now, back in the day I would spend ALL of October preparing for NaNo. In fact, among Wrimos (those people who attempt NaNo), October is generally referred to as “Preptober”. As a general rule, those 50k words are indeed MUCH easier if you do some preparation first.
As the years have gone by and I’ve become a better and more productive writer, that month of preparation has become less and less critical. Although SOME prep does still help.
This year, however, I’ve hardly even THOUGHT of poor book 4, and it’s already October 28th. *insert whimpering here*
Mostly because I’ve been so hell-bent on trying to publish book 3 before I leave for that conference. But that’s not happening due to circumstances out of my control, so now that that’s not hanging over my head, I can breathe a little easier. And I actually took some time to sit down and do some very loose, very rough brainstorming for book 4 this week.
I’ve already written the first chapter, since it will go in the back of book 3 as a sneak peek… and I have about 480 words now of very general scene concepts that I want to be sure get into book 4 somehow.
But I’ve learned my lesson from book 3… I am in NO WAY planning out book 4 beyond just that. I have no expectations for this book, because that’s what almost entirely effed up book 3.
Nope, this time I’m simply creating a document called “scene list for book 4” … and I’m just jotting down vague notions of what I want to happen sometime in the book, and that’s it. We’ll see how well that works out! I hope to add just a little more to it before the 1st, and then I’ll try to sneak away periodically during the conference to get in some words too, probably, at this rate.
Oh boy! Anyway, wish me luck!
Anyone else out there participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Have you prepared better than me? What prep process usually works best for you: plotting, pantsing, or somewhere in-between? Let me know in the comments and we can cheer each other on!
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