NaNoWriMo Will Be Different This Year
It is that time of the year. Again. Tempus fugit can go fuck itself if I'm being absolutely honest.
Inexorable passing of time aside, today I'm setting my goals for NaNoWriMo in the volatile format of the digital world. I mean, some form of accountability is better than nothing.
I first participated in NaNo in 2019 and every year without fail I have not accomplished the goal of 50k words. In fact, I always start very strong, reaching the daily goals, to then quickly and catastrophically run out of steam in the proceeding three.
However, this is because I did not listen to my good friend Einstein. I have realised I easily become entrenched in the same stale strategies, and I have been repeating the same formula, expecting different results.
So how am I going to approach this year's challenge? One word.
Multiplicity.
What I mean with this vague and pretentious Silicon Valley-esque pitch is that I'm going to be working in multiple projects at the same time.
The Broken Oath
I believe I am 3/4 done with the first draft of the book, and I am holding myself accountable here. This will be my main focus this upcoming month. I do solemnly swear I will finish the draft before the end of the month and I will start recruiting beta-readers. I think I'll start with around 20, and I will try to get not only writer friends, but people that read outside of fantasy as well. That, however, is to be determined later on.
This first round of editing has involved some extensive re-writing of certain sections and the inclusion of a whole new chapter. Unfortunately, most of that chapter has already been written because I had a random spurt of inspiration and I vomited 1500 words in one sitting.
I know, I should have waited until the actual start of NaNo, but there it is.
By my calculations, around 2-3k words out of that total of 50 will go to the editing of TBO.
The Codex Games, Book I of The Codex Series
TBO was envisioned as a standalone practice novella (later grown into small novel) linked to a trilogy I'm calling The Codex Series.
Now, I'm presented with a bit of a conundrum because through the writing of TBO, a lot of things will need change in the first instalment of that series. The problem is, it will require extensive outlining.
I think it's a bit iffy to include in the total wordcount (I don't know if this is a general rule, but I only count actual narrative).
In any case, The Codex Games is not finished, so I will throw some of the words to this project.
Short Story
Jen Bernardini (her twitter here) is compiling a short story anthology without a firm deadline and I'm contributing with one!
This is an idea I've been toying around in my head for some time now, and after finishing TBO it simply took hold in my brain.
I wanted to switch into something with a more minimal magic system and more historico-politic tone, something more markedly medieval. I know it is a formula that has been beaten to death, but it is what made me fall in love with the fantasy genre and something I thoroughly enjoy in my worldbuilding.
The way I am picturing this short story is as a way to explore this new world that is forming in my head and cement the key features of two important characters. Nevertheless, this idea will definitely evolve into a series with multiple books, more on that on the next section.
Project Medieval Hero
It is still very early days. I've only done a few days-worth of worldbuilding, but from what I can tell you, this will be something heavily influenced by the period of the Reconquista, when the Christian Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula rallied against the Islamic Empire that had occupied the greater part of their territory for nearly 500 years. This is a period of history that has always fascinated me deeply and I would like to incorporate into the fantasy setting.
I have the feeling that both the short story and this major project will accrue most of the words from the total count after the editing of the TBO is done, solely based on the raw excitement.
The tentative Moorcroft Series
This one is a bit of a curveball, but hear me out.
Though fantasy is my genre of choosing, I have a soft spot for crime thrillers. One of the books that absolutely floored me was Think Of A Number, by John Verdon. This is the first book in the Dave Gurney Series and that made me think.
I love crime thirllers, I love Sherlock Holmes-inspired tales, I occasionally binge true crime documentaries on Netflix, and I write. What if I had a mystery/crime thriller series of my own?
Enter detective Martha Moorcroft.
I wish I could tell you more than that, but I can't.
Because there isn't anything. Only the faintest seed of a character and background, not even a story.
However, I think being placed in forensic psychiatry for my last rotation has made that small seed grow some roots, so why not throwing some NaNo words at it?
Finishing my first book definitely felt like the opening of creative floodgates, and now I am thinking many kernels of potential stories might have a place in my writing.
Moreover, it will be a fantastic refuge to still tick away words if I get tired of all the fantasy writing.
All of this begs the question. Am I going to finish anything? Most definitely not. But I'd rather spread 50k words across many different projects than getting stuck in one and giving up yet again. I am fully prioritising the goal, not the finalisation of a project. Perhaps that is the key to reach it.
On a side note, who was the genius that decided to make a national writing month on November? Someone that maybe cares nothing about students? First semester is always the most stressful time of the year for students all across the board.
I have an exam in 24 days, I have just started a new job, I plan to keep up with the channel and pay more attention to the website. How on Earth am I going to do all that?
Poorly, most likely. But I am going to try anyway.
I am implementing the "you haven't done as much as you wanted but you have done stuff, so take a chill pill" clause. Meaning, this is a plan but I will try my best not to go mental if I don't reach the final goal.
I'm going update you every week in my weekly newsletter, so make sure you drop your email here. Very long post, so thank you so much if you have read this far. Let NaNoWriMo commence!
