it’s nanowrimo time

It’s Halloween and I’m pumping myself for NanoWrimo 2023.

Nick gets it

I participate in NanoWrimo every year and I’ve only hit the 50k mark a handful of times. Regardless, hitting 50k isn’t my marker for NanoWrimo success (and I think the creators of the movement would say the same). I use the month as an opportunity to prioritize writing over - **insert another hobby here**. I have a LOT of hobbies and most of them actually stick around, so it’s helpful to have a month where I can be intentional about prioritizing writing.

I used to be a heavy duty pantser. All I needed were a few characters and vibes and I was off to the races. But over the last decade, I’ve veered towards plotting territory and I now identify my writing style as, “plotter with pantser tendencies.” I like Save the Cat’s Beat Sheet and use that to outline my plot. From there, I let the pantser tendencies take-over, but I frequently refer back to the Beat Sheet to see where I am in my story…and get a good feeling as to how far off-course I’m heading.

The story I’m working on for NanoWrimo is “The Sun Has a Shadow.” It’s my first serious attempt at a fantasy story since college and the lore and world-building aspect is kicking my butt. As a plotter - I’ve created databases and boards to keep track of different world-building elements and the lore but as a pantser…I have this crushing desire to go, eff it, we’ll do it live!

And now, NanoWrimo 2023 is finally here. And all I can think to myself is, “Oh, look. The consequences of my actions.”

So it’s time for me to solidify the world-building and lore, manage pacing, and eliminate plot-holes. And since the MS is only at 60k words, it’s also time to add some substance in terms of character development and plotting.

Let’s do this.

still gets it