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JessLynnBabblin'

Writer's pictureJessica Nacovsky

173: NaNoWriMo Prep

Howdy! NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is coming right up! For the unfamiliar, that's when writers commit to writing 50K words over the span of November, ideally of the same story. Some folks go farther and fully complete the first draft of their novel. 


And do I know what I'll be writing? Nope! But I've got some ideas. A list of 50ish now actually, from which I've pulled 3 that I think I could focus on for a month. When I'm in between projects, sometimes I'll give myself a 24 hour time limit wherein I'll jot down 20 story ideas, some vaguer than others. The better ones make the master list. Of the three I'm most feeling, the leading concept occurred to me yesterday, when I set out to think up more, as I wasn't settled on either of the two I was leaning towards. The story is essentially teen Hansel & Gretal meets Baba Yaga with perhaps a sprinkle of Snow White for good measure. 


Once I've picked the story, I outline the plot. I’ve tried pantsing (making the story up as I go) and found that method doesn't work for me. The draft ends up being fully scrapped as I re-write what was worth keeping. So, being a hardcore planner, I make lists of characters, and a full timeline of the plot, including a scene list. I also compile research snippets into an accessible folder to refer to mid-project. There are story concepts I’d ultimately prefer over those I'm considering but they require way more research than I can commit to at the moment, so they remain on the back burner. 


If I go with the Hansel / Gretal dark teenage fantasy, I'll need to pick a when and a where that's more specific than old-timey Russia, and in placing the setting, I'll need to build it up with relevant details. I actually might have a novel set in pre-1900s Russia on the Kindle so if I can find it, I'll read that. Otherwise, Wikipedia is my friend. 


Some writers do their planning during NaNo. Some plan prior. I am prone to both. I posit that the average NaNo writer is trying to write ~1667 words per day while maintaining a full time job and likely parenting. My schedule is lighter. I'll keep making art, manning my booth to sell them, querying, and dogsitting, but none of those require 40 hours out of the house, away from writing, and dogs are significantly less demanding than children. Meaning I can plan during. I have the time.


I don't have concerns about not meeting my word count. I can word vomit with the best of them. I do struggle with progressing in a meaningful way through the muddy middle and I hope the scene list will help avoid slogging there. 


So yeah. That's where I'm at. Still brainstorming but I'll settle on a story soon and go from there. Thanks for stopping by! A drop a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!




Newsletter

Howdy! This past Saturday I ran my booth at the Art Walk at Hotel McCoy in College Station TX. It was my first time taking part in the event as a vendor and while my sales were minimal, their regular vendors informed me this was a fluke, likely due to it being scheduled at the same time as a local football game (I'm in Aggieland and the community is well invested in how A&M does), as well as several other Halloween events, and Otaku-Fest.


Sunday I stopped by Otaku-fest at the Post-Oak Mall. There weren't as many merch vendors from last year, and I didn't show up at the right time to see sumo-wrestling but there was a cosplaying dancing on-stage to K-pop hits which was neat. Can't say I knew the character or the songs but it's nice to see the community gathering at our local mall.


November 1st is First Friday so I'll be selling art in downtown Bryan TX, from 5-10pm then. In the meantime, I'm prepping for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, aka November) and knocking out more painted wood burnings since customers prefer those over my other wares. 


This past week I finished the Four Eyed Devil, Skull, and Animal Crossing Jack o'lanterns, the two-headed calf, a mandrake, and five kodama woodburnings. These took about two weeks, all told. On Thursday & Friday, I also made a mushroom and a marigolds bouquet. Glow-in-the-dark pieces take much longer than the standard, due to how many layers need to dry and how long that takes when the paint is very watery, which is necessary for a consistently smooth layer & glow. I did also update older works while layers were drying and inaccessible.



I'm still querying Soul Walker, my paranormal women's fiction novel, though not as actively as I should be. It might need another round of revisions post-NaNo.


I'm reading The Martian by Andy Weir. I'm about six chapters in and it's leaning heavy into math and science but it's definitely a page turner.


Unrelated to anything business-y, I picked back up Animal Crossing: New Horizons recently and I've decided to turn my island into a Ren Fair. Here's hoping that goes well!


Thanks for stopping by! I drop a Newsletter every Monday. Toodles!


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