Month: October 2012

Thinking of NaNoWriMo

Just for fun. My picture of “Nemo” from the Boston Aquarium.

I said in my last post that October was a busy month at my house, and that I was thinking of signing up for NaNoWriMo again. I’ve started twice.

The first time, I began a romantic suspense novel that was lots of fun to write—but I got about 23,000 words in and realized that, if I could make time to write for fun, I could write the book that matched my real passion, instead. The finished product didn’t have nearly the excitement or any exotic locations, but that’s when Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens was born. (My son carried on and finished his 50,000+ words on deadline. He was 13.) The next time we sat down to try NaNo, my mother-in-law became gravely ill, and creativity, and a lot of other things, went on hold for a long time as we coped with our loss.

So, it’s been a while since I thought about a 50,000-word November. And thinking about it has made me start looking for resources and NaNo tips that I can pass along, whether you’re thinking of a November marathon or just getting your writing on track.

1)      Here’s a link to Kristen Lamb’ Blog that I recommend you visit soon. For the past 5 Mondays, she’s been writing about structure, which in her words is “critical. Why? Because structure is for the reader. The farther an author deviates from structure, the less likely the story will connect to a reader.” Her weekly tips will keep your story on track and help you make that essential connection to your reader.

2)      Some writing starters might be handy. These are ones that I’ve created. There are some links to other writers with great writing tips and prompts in my blog roll, too.

3)      And to get you started a link to Lucienne Diver’s post on beginnings.

So have I made my decision about NaNo? Not yet. But the more I think about it … Well, I’ll keep you posted. What are your writing plans for November? Do you have a system that keeps you accountable for a daily word or page count? I’d love to know how you meet your writing goals.

October Writing Prompts

I love October. Where I live, it means rainy and foggy days mixed with days of glorious sun and the bright colours of changing leaves. It’s also birthday month for my husband and me and our anniversary. Lots of excuses not to cook dinner! Who could ask for more?

I’ve created some October writing prompts to keep you busy now, and perhaps thinking ahead to NaNoWriMo. Are you thinking of signing up this year? I might sign up, just to post a running writing record for the month–and not worry about the word count. Just doing the writing at all will be a big enough accomplishment.

Here you go–

1. Try these opening sentences and see what happens.

  • “Can you see that, too?”
  • The cellar floor was damp and cold, and after two hours, my body felt the same.
  • Halloween isn’t for ghost and monsters; it’s for bullies.
  • The rain drenched my clothes and slapped my hair into my face, but I couldn’t stop now.
  • The trick would be getting into the party unnoticed. The treat would be finally getting even.

2. Freewrite around one, some or all of the following: moon, apple, paper, echo, scent, running, cat

3. See if you can find inspiration in things orange and black: pumpkins, cats, sunsets, midnight, tigers, Baltimore orioles, paint, licorice, chrysanthemums, warning lights, jelly beans.

4. Here is some dialogue to play with.

  • “What’s in the bag?”
  • “None of your business.”
  • “But–“
  • “But nothing. You’re safer not knowing.”

*********************

  • “Let me help you.”
  • “I’m fine thanks.”
  • “Everyone can use a little help.”
  • “Ow! That hurts!”

Hope your October is off to a great start!

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