NaNoWriMo: How to Decide What to Write

So, I've been a little thought-consumed lately with NaNoWriMo.  It kind of brought me to a standstill on some of my other writing projects.  It's like... Like I'm on a roller-coaster that I've been anticipating for forever.  But, just before we can descend the first hill, it freezes.  It promises to start soon enough, but what to do before then? 

The fact of the matter is that I, personally, know what I'm writing for NaNoWriMo 2018.  I'm a lucky duck as in that I have the second half of a novel to finish.  But not everyone else has that.  And not everyone wants to work on what they worked on the year before.  So, what to do?  Well, I have a few suggestions.

First, I would take a good, long look at the type of books you've been reading as of late.  It's not a foolproof plan, but sometimes it helps.  Are you reading a lot of Fantasy books?  High Fantasy or Contemporary?  Or Urban?  Really dig deep into your subconscious and ask yourself what you feel like reading about that hasn't been written yet.  Then, just maybe, you'll find what you need to write.

And if that's not working for you, there's always digging through your trunk stories/notebooks.  Maybe there's an idea from years ago that you put away, but now might be ready to come back to.  Take the time to read through what you wrote a long time ago and see if it sparks you.

Also consider doing a non-traditional NaNoWriMo.  That is, maybe you want to write a collection of short stories or some fanfiction.  There's no real hard and fast rules on this for NaNoWriMo.  In fact, I did fanfiction back in 2010, and that was the first year I hit 50,000.  Whatever it takes to get the juices flowing.  Writing is writing, and while you might not be able to sell most fanfiction, you at least might have had the opportunity to work out some ideas that could lend themselves to a future, original work.

My last suggestion is a fun one.  I've done this one twice now.  Arrange a prompt swap with some friends.  The first time I did this, myself and two of my friends each wrote up a prompt.  It gave a basic summary of an idea, suggested some characters, as well as one or two funny scenes we wouldn't mind seeing.  Everything past the summary idea was considered only a suggestion.  Then, we dropped our names in a hat and swapped.  I still have the story in my trunk from that year, and it's on my agenda to attempt again in the future.  The second time, there was only two of us, so we just wrote prompts and swapped.  That one became the second and third NaNoWriMo's I've ever won.  The novel I'm finishing this year is also that one's sequel.

So, in the end, grab a writing buddy, prep like crazy, and get to writing.  NaNoWriMo's only about a week away!  (A week!!)  

Book Haul!!

So, once again, I'm a little late.  I'm gonna move these postings to Friday, due to some scheduling conflicts... and yes, I know that means I'm still late, but I've been busy.  Now I have a sinus infection.  Yay... But, for today, we have some fun stuff.  Book haul!!  I recently did an order of 8 books (for under $30) from Thriftbooks.  Dude... this place is awesome.  Books ranging from new to used--acceptable, and a lot of them priced under $4.00.  Now, one book pictured here actually came from Amazon.com.  But, still, I urge you to give Thriftbooks a look.  I'm not sponsored or anything, I just love it.  In fact, in only two orders, I've earned enough points for a free book.  It's great.  Now, on to the haul!

This is the one I got off of Amazon, and I've actually already read it.  I'll save reviews for my end of the year post I have planned.  This one is the new book by Anne Rice, released at the beginning of this month, from her New Tales of the Vampires.  Written all in Lestat's point of view, this is actually more of a novella in length.  I got it as a very belated Mother's Day gift (it was pre-ordered for me on Mother's Day).

This first of the eight books I got from Thriftbooks, and a classic.  Also, it's my current read (about halfway done as I'm typing this).  I wanted to read this one, kind of as a return to my Goth roots.  I actually tried to read this one in high school and failed miserably at doing so.  But I'm loving it so far.  Very apropos for Halloween, yes?

Continuing a theme... this is the Dracula story as told solely from Mina Murray/Harker's POV.  I actually heard of this book a few years ago on Goodreads in a giveaway that I didn't win... but it stuck with  me as interesting, so I bought it. 

I have the shakiest hands... But this is The Kiss of Deception.  I was drawn to this book because of a single detail that many of the Booktubers I watch kept mentioning... See this is a story of a Princess about to enter into an arranged marriage... until she runs from it. Now, the Prince she was going to marry and an assassin sent to kill her are both after her.  The catch?  In the Prince and Assassin's POVs... you don't know which is which.  Mind blown.

So, honestly, the whole reason I decided to try the first book in this series... I got a Whimsify book box for myself back several months ago and got a soap (Silver) based on this series.  Apparently, the magic users are divided into two kingdoms, Reds and Silvers... So, why not?

Dude, do I love Sherlock Holmes.  Like, really.  I do.  I've read A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles.  I've also read several of the short stories.  So, when I heard there was a trilogy that follows the descendants of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes as they solve mysteries while attending boarding school... count me in.

I, uh, forgot to take a picture of this one, so this is a Google-found image.  But I've been hearing a lot about this author--who has a ton, a TON of books.  I decided to do some research as to which one I should try, and this one appealed to me.  We shall see, yes?

Some years ago, I read a book called Practical Demonkeeping by Moore, and though I was probably younger than I needed to be to read that book, I still enjoyed it.  Fast-foward to near the beginning of this year, where I found his book The Serpent of Venice which combines The Merchant of Venice with some Poe, and the copy I found was signed!  I couldn't resist.  Then I find out that it's actually a sequel... to this novel, Fool.  So, yeah... now I can read these.

So, I've read a ton of Jim Butcher's stuff recently.  Well, I've not read nearly enough of the popular Dresden Files series (only the first two, which I did love) of his, but I did just finish his Codex Alera series (and loved it).  So, when I found out that he had a new series getting started that was Steampunk inspired?  Count.  Me.  In.

And that's my book haul.  Hopefully, I'll get to do another one after Christmas, winkwink, hopeful.  So what about all of you?  Bought any good books recently?  Let me know!  See you next... Friday, I guess.  Bye!

Prepping for NaNoWriMo

A day late.  My apologies.  I had a teensy stomach bug.  But, I'm better, and I'm back.  Now, to refresh, National Novel Writing Month AKA NaNoWriMo is from November 1st to November 30th.  You write 50,000 words in 30 days, with no worries about editing.  Just get words on the page.  You write a novel.  In a month.  Or, at least, the bare bones of a novel.  And, as it should come as no surprise, there's fair amount of prep needed for this.  Everyone's prep is going to be a touch different, depending on your personal project, but here are a few of my prepping tips that might help you along.

It's Never Too Early

It's true.  While the rule--and we're all on the honor system here--for NaNoWriMo is 50k in 30 days, there is NO rule on when prepping can begin.  Heck, if I wanted, I could begin prepping for NaNoWriMo 2019 in December 2018.  So look at your calendar.  When is a good prep time for you?  For me, it's October.  But that might be different for you.

Read

This should come as no surprise to anyone who seriously wants to be a writer.  A writer is a reader.  But, specifically in this case, I mean, if you are writing a sequel or continuing from where you left off.  Part of your prep should be to re-read what you've got.  Reacquaint yourself with your old ideas and marry them to your new ones.  In my case, I'm writing the second half of my 2017 novel.  So, I will be reading what I wrote last year (God help me).  If you're staring fresh, then perhaps schedule in the time to read a novel, novella, or two in the same ballpark as your novel to get you in the right headspace.

Outline

There's a whole badge for people who don't do this.  They're called "pantsers."  I'm am a planner.  In fact, the only time I've come close to pants-ing it at NaNo is when I had reviewed the last events of my 2016 novel in my head so many times I had it memorized.  Otherwise, I outline.  Now, outlining works differently for everyone.  Some like charts.  Some like vague notes complied together.  Me?  I use Microsoft OneNote and just type, separating everything out by chapters.  Then, I type out what happens in each chapter as if I'm rushing through explaining it in a conversation, adding in specific details only when I really want to include them and am afraid I'll forget them by the time I get to writing the actual chapter.  This really helps me create a cohesive narrative, and it makes me a little less crazy.

Grab a Calendar

There are people out there that make calendars specifically for NaNoWriMo.  On each day, they include what word count you should be at.  To reach 50k by Nov. 30th, you roughly have to write 1667 words a day. Now, last year, I used the Reverse Nano method.  Click the link for a full explanation, but the gist is you start big, and end with only 1 word required to reach 50k on Day 30.  And, guys, it worked wonders for me.  So, I made myself a calendar that reflected this.  Now, I used GIMP (which is freeware Photoshop) to make mine all pretty, but you could add it into your phone, on a paper calendar, a planner, whatever works for you.

Make a Playlist

I don't know about the rest of you, but I CANNOT write without music blocking out the rest of the world and helping to immerse me in the one I've created.  And the wrong song can pull me completely out of that.  So, before NaNoWriMo, making a playlist of songs that fit the story you're trying to tell can help.  Plus, you won't be spending a bunch of wasted energy skipping songs on day 1.

Honestly, I could probably go on for days about prepping tips, but I'll stop here.  These are easily my top 5.  So, what are your tips for prepping for NaNo?  Feel free to share them, and I'll see you next Thursday!