Tag Archives: national novel writing month

For all the NaNoWriMo pantsers out there who need a little help…

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Okay, so I’m a plantser, with an emphasis on the pants. (And if that’s mumbo jumbo to you, it means that I by-and-large dive into my books with only a vague plan. :D) So as the start of November looms, I was intrigued when Reedsy sent me an email about their plot generator! This is a lot more thought-out than other story/character generators I’ve seen; you can set your genre (drama, romance, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi) and lock in the elements that ring true to you, until you have your perfect story.

So you can lock in any of the elements that catch your eye and keep generating more suggestions until the story’s the way you want it!

I decided to treat the “kicks off” bit as a scene in the book, rather than the very start of the book, since I already have the opening part of my project written. Some of the character jobs I treated a bit loosely, given that I already have a decent conception of my characters, but the whole thing really got me thinking and helped me come up with some decent ideas.

I’m doing a Beauty and the Beast soft sci-fi retelling, so because it has both sci-fi and romance elements I did two of them! Here was the sci-fi version I came up with:

An airship pilot, who has an obsessive nature. A supercomputer, who has the patience of a saint. It’s a soft science fiction story about what it means to be human. It kicks off in the dunes with a fight to preserve alien culture. (Note that: someone in the story has recently lost someone dear.) And there’s a twist! There is an accidental bodyswap at one point in the plot.

And here’s the romance version:

A model, who grows carnivorous plants. A prince, who tends to brood. It’s a paranormal romance story about hoping again. It kicks off at a botanical garden with a botched order for a mail-order bride. (Note that: someone in the story has been struggling to live up to societal expectations.) And there’s a twist! The protagonists don’t speak each other’s native languages.

Anyway, I know a lot of book bloggers are doing NaNo this year, so I just wanted to give everyone a useful tip in case you’re scrambling to figure out your story for tomorrow. 🙂 Check it out here, and good luck with NaNo!

The NaNoWriMo 20 Questions Tag!

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I saw this awesome tag over on Sophie’s blog, and since we’re almost into NaNo season I thought it would be a super fun tag to do! Thanks for putting this together, Sophie. 🙂

Rules

  1. Thank the awesome blogger who tagged you!
  2. Link back to the creator of this tag, Sophie @ Sophie’s Corner. (I want to hear about your NaNo novels!!)
  3. Feel free to use the NaNoWriMo 20 Questions Tag graphics!
  4. Answer the questions.
  5. Tag some friends who are also doing NaNo this year.
  6. And have fun!!!

Tell me about your NaNoWriMo project this year! Give me a blurb!

I’m mostly a discovery writer, which means writing a blurb is nigh on impossible since I don’t know most details of the story until I get to them, but I’ll give the briefest of hooks:

A girl takes her father’s place in an alien abduction gone awry, only to find that her surly extraterrestrial captor may not be the villain he at first appears.

What’s the genre?

Sci-fi fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast!

Describe your MC in three words.

Intelligent, brave, beautiful (I mean, this is Beauty and the Beast lol)

Without spoilers, describe your villain in three words.

Manipulative, tenacious, handsome (can you all guess who I’m talking about? :P)

What is your goal? (the traditional 50K? 20K? 5K? or……. 100K?)

I think I’m going for 21k, which is 700 words/day. I’m a slow writer, for better or for worse. :/

Is this your first draft? Second? Third?

First draft! Ugh, drafting is the worst.

Are you starting a new project (or draft), or continuing an existing one?

I’m continuing an existing draft, which is about 14,000 words long at the moment.

What is your favourite time to write in the day?

Any time I can write with friends, whether that’s after work or in the morning. Having friends with me for “butt in chair” time makes it sooooo much easier to make progress.

Where are you going to write?

At home, at work, at NaNo meetups… Anywhere I can!

Computer or paper?

Computer, using the writing service Dabble. Oh my God, I could never draft on paper. I revise my sentences so much that the paper would be all scratched out scribbles.

NaNoWriMo is a huge commitment!! How are you going to make time to write?

I’m fortunate enough to have some downtime at work right now, so I’m able to write during the day. Also, I’ve actually taken a few days off of work in November to focus on NaNo!

Are you going to participate in local or online NaNoWriMo events? (e.g. kick-off parties in your city, write-ins, virtual writing sprints…)

Yes, absolutely! NaNo events are how I met most of my writer friends. This will be my fourth anniversary for some of my NaNo friendships! ❤

Do you write from beginning to end or skip around?

Beginning to end. I’m a super linear writer, mostly because I’m by-and-large a pantser.

Planner or pantser? (or plantser?)

Plantser, with an emphasis on the pants. I do my best to plan, but things always go awry, and I find my most creative ideas are spur-of-the-moment inventions!

What will be your go-to NaNoWriMo snack?

Hrmm, I mostly write in coffee shops where there are abundant, tempting baked goods. That is not what I need to be eating right now, so… string cheese? Haha, that’s my go-to if I’m at a Starbucks.

Choice of caffeine? (or no caffeine?)

Teaaaaaaaa. Doesn’t matter if there’s caffeine in it or not, just give me an infinite supply, preferably hot and loose-leaf.

Any rewards for milestone achievements? For finishing NaNoWriMo?

Maybe I’ll buy myself a nice pair of shoes; that’s what I did as a reward for finishing my first book. 🙂

Share a tip for other NaNo-ers!

Go to the events! The camaraderie makes it way easier to get words on the page.

Also, try to end each day in the middle of a scene, or even in the middle of a sentence. It makes it easier to start writing again the next day.

How are you feeling about NaNoWriMo? (Excited?! Nervous!? Terrified?!)

Excited and scared, since this book is much more vague in my mind than previous projects. I need to do whatever planning I can prior to November 1st!

Share an aesthetic for your NaNoWriMo novel!

Since I’m not sure who’s doing NaNo, I tag everybody!! 😀 Thanks again to Sophie for creating the tag!

Leave a line down below if you’re doing NaNo this year! What’s your project about?