One day, I will do my NaNoWriMo prep early.
Today, though, is not that day. Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Pen, where I promise to learn my lesson about writing and then promptly do the opposite! At least it’s entertaining, though, right?
October Progress
While there’s still a couple days left in October where I might accomplish something, as it stands, I currently have very little of last month’s goals accomplished. I didn’t finish writing that segment of short fiction I promised myself I’d finish, and I haven’t achieved a ton outside of that.
HOWEVER, I outlined that segment so it’ll be easier to tackle in the future, and I wrote a scattered 2,116 words.
Okay, I know I swore I’d stop measuring progress in word counts with the exception of NaNo for this reason, but yikes. Not a strong month. 😶
NaNoWriMo Plotting Check-In
Oh, this is where it really gets interesting. You see, I thought I was going to do a sapphic Orpheus/Eurydice sort of thing. And then my brain decided that one needs to simmer on the backburner for a while, and instead, I ought to tackle my angsty sentient weapons project that I’ve had stewing for about a year or so. Have I named characters? No. Have I tried to come up with a good title? Sort of (but none of them are really sticking just yet). Have I written down an outline? Definitely not.
Basically, what I’m saying is that NaNoWriMo 2020 begins in four days, and despite my desire to be at least at plantser with a written outline to reference, I am this close to pantsing it.
Send me your good vibes, friends, because this is going to be a wild ride from start to finish, if my planning abilities are any indication.
October Lessons
Ah, October, thank you for allowing me to make this section short and sweet. If this were old school detention, I’d write this month’s lesson over and over on the blackboard until my hand was about to fall off (though it’s debatable whether I’ve actually learned anything in the end).
I will not wait until October to plan for NaNoWriMo.
That’s it. That’s the lesson, which is brought to you by the outrageous amounts of hot chocolate I’m about to consume over the next few days as I try to herd all my ducks into a row. Have you ever tried herding ducks? Or plot bunnies? It’s more time-consuming than it looks, that’s for sure!
November Goals
All I’m asking is to reach the official NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words in one month. And for at least some of them to not suck, I suppose. Now that I’m thinking of it, wouldn’t it be cool if I came up with some proper titles, too? Or is that maybe pushing it too far into unrealistic territory?
No matter what the answer is, those are the top priorities on my very big and very stressful priority list. “Meaghan, if you’re stressed, why do NaNo?” you may ask.
The answer is that this will make six years of NaNo in a row, and when I latch onto something out of stubborn spite, I will see it through. Even if it’s by the skin of my teeth, it’s happening. 50k, here we come!
Wednesday Pen Connections
Want to connect with me during NaNoWriMo? Or at least maybe catch snippets of my drafting process? The best places to do that are the official NaNo site, where you can see me update my progress daily, or through Twitter! The latter is the place you’re more likely to see actual content and not just a smattering of numbers and frantic updates to reach my word counter. Twitter is the authetic experience ✨ (which mostly means it’s the most chaotic available option).
At the end of the day, though, let’s touch base! Are you doing NaNo too? What kind of project are you talking? Let’s chat!