Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Participating in NaNoWriMo

Hi everyone!
If you've ever heard of NaNoWriMo, or heard your writer friends talk about it, but never really understood what it was all about, AMA!
I've participated in NaNoWriMo for 13 years, completed it 12 of those years.
So feel free to ask away!

Are you writing a novel this month? If so what kind of story are you writing?

What first made you interested in joining NaNoWriMo?

What NaNoWriMo work are you most proud of?

WOAH!! 12 WINS?? Can you bottle that magic up for us, please? 😱

Roughly how many of those times did you work on a brand new story vs adding the 50k onto an older WIP? Or was it always something new?

And are you a plotter or pantser or some kinda ✨️ hybrid ✨️ 👏🦄

When i used to do NaNoWriMo (6 wins for me I think - the final year I did it I wrote 3 novels at once and ended with carpal tunnel that has deterred me from continuing with it) I would have this intense feeling of being "high on creativity" from all the freedom in its philosophy of no editing and no self-censoring. It was just like... colors were brighter. I noticed and appreciated details around me more. Do you feel that too? If not, what kind of mood does it induce?

I am! It's a fiction story that actually dabbles in both sci-fi and fantasy, because it's about different 'Realms' that exist, and certain people have the ability to travel between them. Some realms are at base development, some are high-tech like the future. And now apparently gods exist in it too hahaha.

I think I heard about it on DeviantART, if I'm being honest. Up until that point I'd only ever written short stories and poems, so it sounded like a fun thing to try!

I'm most proud of my very first story, The Forgotten Brigands, because it sparked a trilogy that I hope to one day have cleaned up and able to publish! But I am also really proud of my steampunk novel, Pewter Ribs and a Pocketwatch Heart. That's another one I wouldn't mind publishing someday

Hahahaha I could try!

Every single one was a new story. One was a sequel, but they were all brand new stories in their own right.

I'm definitely a pantser! The one time I tried to actually plot things out, outline and everything, is the one year I didn't finish. So I've learned to just let my brain flow and not worry about it too much

Honestly, I totally feel that! Some people participate so that they have a project they can work on to publish. At this point, I participate just because it's the one time of the year I can truly dedicate to just writing. The rest of the year I have responsibilities, duties, everything and its mother to take care of. November is always the special time where everything else takes a back seat and writing takes center stage, and the ability to just create so freely and fully is amazing!

What is NaNoWriMo? Also, what was your favorite story that you have written?

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place every November, and writers around the world tackle the daunting task of writing a 50,000-word (minimum) story! The reason NaNoWriMo was formed was in order to help writers actually write their stories. A lot of the times an author will begin a project, write Chapter 1, and then go back and edit Chapter 1, and edit again, and again, and get so caught up in the minutiae that they never actually finish the book! NaNoWriMo encourages writers to just get the words out there, and any and all editing can happen in December and beyond. One of the popular quotes we like to use is 'you can't edit a blank page'.

I think my overall favorite has been the first book of my science fiction trilogy, The Forgotten Brigands. It's written in first-person multiple perspective, meaning that I would switch between the characters' POVs at different times. I found it a lot of fun and it helped me get a feel for each character's 'voice' and personality, so that the reader would know exactly whose POV it was within the first sentence or two.