I have the lovely Charlotte joining me in my discussion about November’s NaNoWriMo, aka the event that will leave most of us crying in a corner because OH MY GOD 50K WORDS HOW AM I GOING TO GET THAT DONE. It should be fun.
(Also, Charlotte coded this little chat area for me. Isn’t it prettttttttty? :D)
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Guess who’s going to torture themselves with NaNoWriMo!
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I blame Cee completely for this, she roped me in. Just like with Camp NaNoWriMo. It is more official this time though, there was NaNoWriMo friending and all.
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That’s not really answering the question. Way to go, Charlotte.
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It’s pretty obvious though but anyways, IT’S US. YAYYYYYYYY!This year’s NaNo is bound to be filled with lots more crying, eating, writing, no sleeping, crying, writing and did I mention crying? |
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So much crying. And pain. Lots of pain. Pain. Pain. And more pain. Get prepared, Charlotte!
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HAHAHAHAHA. I’m never prepared for NaNo but that isn’t going to stop me from winning… for the 5th time ;D But I’m being rude to my host, Cee, please share your accomplishments and story first.
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Wow, humble, much? I’m an one-time winner of NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo, so just two in all. And hopefully another win for November NaNo. I’m gonna kick some ass with the upcoming one, which is about SPIES! Yes, dudes! Spies! My favorite trope! Awesome sneaky spies with their tragic past. Two sisters working for opposing agencies. One for the greater good of the country and the other for money. Their partners promising a messy romance that only ends in pain and bloodshed. Lies and sex, and all the good stuff. When it all collides with each other, well, that’s my story.
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I’m always humble. But *jumps up and down* SPIESSSSSS, SISTERHOOD. I JUST. YOU GUYS. I WANT THIS. AND KNOWING CEE, SHE’LL BREAK HER CHARACTERS, ME AND EVERYONE ELSE. *FALLS TO GROUND*
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ALL WRITER’S CEE’S FAULT. SHE KNOWS WHAT WILL KILLLLLL PEOPLE. SHE’S DEADLY.
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SERIOUSLY, I hate Writer Cee. She’s the worst.
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She is, but I can’t live without her. So, what are you planning to write for NaNoWriMo?
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Well… this year’s going to be different. I couldn’t come up with anything I liked enough to write so I decided to do a collection of short stories which will also be a project I’m going to showcase for my internship. Basically kill two birds with one stone. The stories won’t all add up to 50K so I might just write some filler stories and all but the point for me this time is to just write and explore. The stories are going to be creepy, dark, thought-provoking, y’know think The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand!
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Man, I love that book. I was just so creeped out and mesmerized. Such a weird combination. I’m excited to read this. Have you written anything creepy or Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls-like?
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Fabulous book, Claire Legrand is my role model for all the creepy stuff. I have! I did a picture book for school last semester that was very much inspired by Cavendish. It’s definitely interesting writing something dark and creepy for children because you have to maintain a balance and not make it too scary. No doubt it’s a challenge but it pushes you further as a writer.
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Oooooh. Speaking of challenges, I’m a bit worried about my story because I always start with character development, but in a spy story, there needs to be scenes where it’s completely devoted to the politics and secrets and all the good stuff, and I’m no good with that stuff. I predict research in my future, and by research, I mean watching tons of shows like Alias, The Blacklist (which is fucking awesome), and The Americans. (I am taking suggestions for spy shows and movies!) Very conducive to my writing. Or a distraction.
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Ooo exciting! Definitely isn’t going to be easy but I believe you can do it (although the distraction part *cough*) But yes, distractions! They’re abundant, any tips for fellow NaNoWriMoers?
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Find a buddy to write with! Do sprints with each other. The reason why last year’s NaNoWriMo was successful was because my BFF and I “cheered” (actually competed) each other on. We Facetimed and wrote for around 20 minutes. At the end of those minutes, we compared how much words we’ve written. It was a satisfying feeling when I had more words than my BFF. I can get weirdly competitive. It really does help you get that word count up. What is your tips?
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*gasp* You? Competitive? I never would have imagined :O Lol.
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Rude, Charlotte.
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Hehe ;D But anyways, NaNo tips. Make sure you set realistic targets for yourself everyday, BACKUP YOUR WORK (very important, I once lost the first week of NaNo writing and had to rewrite from scratch), outline before November rolls in and participate in word sprints. For word sprints, you don’t need to be actively conversing with people but if you see someone starting a sprint (I think NaNoWriMo has a twitter account specifically for sprints), hop in and join! You’ll be surprised at how much you can write. Finally, don’t care about being perfect because this is not your final product.
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I know Susan Dennard have twitter sprints too! Follow her and @NaNoWordSprints if you’re interesting in participating! But oh god, an outline? Welp, I have yet to have one. I should write one, but #yolomode? ;)
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You really should.
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Do you have any plot ideas for your creepy, Claire Legrand-like stories?
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NOPE, that’s the scary part of NaNo this year. I have no clue whatsoever and this is the first year I’m going into it without even a plot to rely on. I’m just gonna wing it. Find a prompt and just wrangle it. I do want to write an extended creepy version of my picture book though which scared the shit out of me already so there’s that?
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Ha, #yolomodeftw!
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It’s really scary how frequently you say #yolo now but yes, YOLOING IT.
Now, let’s make this even more interesting, why do you participate in NaNoWriMo? |
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Oh man, that’s a hard question. I get distracted easily, so having NaNoWriMo helps me focus on my writing and keeps me in line. Also, it helps knowing that there are plenty of people who are writing towards the same goal and crying in pain. We’re all in this together! What about you? Why do you participate in NaNoWriMo?
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Likewise! There’s a huge comfort in knowing you are not alone and there are so many writers out there who know exactly how you feel. But NaNoWriMo also gives me a focus and goal to work towards which I desperately need to keep myself motivated.
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YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I’m seymouring and Charlotte’s thesimpleflower. ADD US. JOIN US. CRY WITH US.
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I am participating in NaNo! I’m super pumped. This is my second year. I had to work today and then I have a friend thing I’m getting ready for now, BUT I still managed to type 2072 words today. I think that is a good start. Good luck!
I’m doing NaNo. Gahhh I’m pretty terrified. I’ve tried to do this several times but I’ve never finished. I’m determined that this is my year! Happy to know that other book bloggers are participating! :D