Aaah, autumn. Season of back-to-school, sweater weather, pumpkin spice everything, gorgeous foliage, Halloween…
And of course, NaNoWriMo.
We’ve talked before here about what National Novel Writing Month means to me, so we won’t go into it much here. Long story short, Bound was my first NaNo project (started in 2010, revised and completed over several years following that), and without the push to get words out, I doubt I ever would have finished drafting a book.
Now I have a best-selling YA Fantasy trilogy almost finished, plus a few other books drafted or in the works.
(Don’t let anyone tell you all quickly-drafted books are crap. Do you know what they are, though? FINISHED, and that’s half the battle.)
The point is, I owe a lot to the event that sees hundreds of thousands of brand-new and experienced authors pushing themselves to pop out a brand new novel (or at least the first 50K words of one) every November. Even when writing is your job and 1,667 words a day would be exceedingly slow for drafting, there’s nothing like the energy you find in the NaNo forums, the thrill of adding another win to the list, the fun of pep talks, or the excitement of having a good reason to start something new.
This year is going to be a challenge. I’m not technically supposed to be drafting anything new, as I’m going to be extremely busy this November getting Sworn and At Any Cost (Bound prequel novella) ready for publication. I’m going to try, though. I’ll be doing it the old-fashioned way, squeezing words in around my other work, starting a brand new project in an all-new world, and writing my ass off when those two projects go to beta readers.
Totally not intimidating. O.o
Now, my question is this: Who’s joining me?
I have a few items I’d like to give as a gift to someone who’s participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Just a couple of little things to help the journey along.
- A notebook for ideas.
- A pen (because… writing).
- Sticky notes for planning out scenes or plot twists.
- Smarties, because you need energy and they are delicious.
- “Climax mixture” candy to celebrate getting the the high point of your plot.
- And a set of word-tracking stickers for your planner or wall calendar from Miscellany Boulevard to keep track of your wonderful, inspired, delicious progress.
(Please note: this giveaway is not approved of by, sponsored, endorsed, cared about, or remotely acknowledged by NaNoWriMo in any of its forms or entities. This is just me wanting to offer something fun for a fellow participant).
To enter, leave a comment here letting me know what kind of project you’ve got planned for this November (genre, whether this is something new or whether you’re a bit of a rebel, and whether this is your first NaNo rodeo). I’ll select a random winner on Monday (October 5, 2015) and respond to their comment here (and notify by email if possible).
Good luck!
disregard the prologue 
September 28th, 2015 at 11:12 am
I’m joining NaNoWriMo…again. I actually finished my novel last year. This year I’m writing book3 in cozy mystery series. I love NaNo!
September 28th, 2015 at 12:58 pm
This will be my…5th year of NaNoWriMo. I love it and hopefully this year I’ll actually be able to finish my story. I never actually have even though I’ve hit the 50k mark.
I’m writing in a completely new genre this year; supernatural thriller, and I’m still working on my outline so who knows how that’s going to turn out.
I’d love to hear how you prep for NaNo as an writer who’s published books they wrote for NaNo. I think that post would be very edumacational!
September 28th, 2015 at 1:29 pm
Maybe I’ll do a post on that next month!
I wish I could give you bonus points for using the word “edumacational.”
September 29th, 2015 at 6:27 am
I like to make new words, what can I say? You should hear my try to say anemone, it just goes on and on until someone stops me.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Amemamie? Amomaly? Amemblablee?
Been there…
October 6th, 2015 at 12:47 pm
Hey, you won! You can email me at kate.sparkes (at) live.ca to send me your address, and I’ll get that out ASAP.
If I don’t hear from you in a few days I’ll post a comment on your blog (which you don’t have to approve, but I don’t see an email address listed there 🙂 )
September 28th, 2015 at 3:39 pm
I shall be dusting off the pages from my (abandoned) manuscript from NaNoWriMo 2 years ago, and once again exposing the seedy world of Dance Moms. Where murder happens. So far, not in my real dance mom world, but you never know…the bitchiness can only go so far before somebody pops.
September 28th, 2015 at 4:00 pm
I am not a novel writer although I recently contributed the first chapter of our new writers group story entitling it Identical Twins. I have just submitted to the Magazine Rural Roots a short account of a winter storm that locals sometimes still remember with the school buses stranded in town.
October 6th, 2015 at 12:45 pm
With one in three odds (based on commenters who are participating in NaNoWriMo and eliminating multiple comments), sorted by order of comments, with the winner chosen by Random.org…
Congratulations, Nicole Nally!