novelember-official

[novelember-official]

He kept walking, not looking back. The grass swallowed his footsteps; he touched the seeds as they brushed near his waist. The wildflowers smelled like warm sunshine.

Ahead, something was beelining toward him.

A sleek orange and black head appeared.

A tiger!

Her tail twitched, but her golden eyes were soft. She rubbed against him and kept walking.

He knelt by the stream and slid his hand in the water. It was cold and clear, rushing past his fingers.

The branches swayed gently in the breeze; the light hummed slightly redder.

The sun hovered over the distant hills, a bright orange circle.

A slight chill spread over his skin.

A blazing blood red figure stood beside him.

His heart shattered, along with the illusion of freedom. This beautiful place was just another tool in Elena’s hands.

She sat down on a rock next to him. Slid a strand of long golden hair back. “If only you could see how beautiful you look right now.”

He turned away, not wanting to acknowledge her presence.

“How do you like my dreamscape?” she asked.

“Is that what the fourth floor is?”

“I needed a refuge for me alone. And now—for you.” She reached for him; he slid away and leaned against the spongy trunk of a tree.

He felt hungry and tired. Longed to rejoin his team. “Let me go.”

“Why don’t you stay here a while?” She slung a bag from her shoulder and set it on a flat rock. “I brought supper.”

[novelember-official]

From writing today -

~

A pleasant haze settled over him; a dim alarm ran through him that perhaps he’d taken too many. What’s the overdose? Five… I think it was only three…

It was enough to envelop him into a wonderful cocoon that blocked out any unpleasant feelings. He sat back on the bench and drifted into a vague dreamworld.

As it began to fade and consciousness crept back into him, a disturbing feeling carved deep into him. At first he didn’t know what its origin was.

Then it flashed over him like a heatwave.

He shivered as if seized by a sudden fever.

Phantom fingers trickled over his skin, tracing it gently… gliding over more of his skin, meeting the other areas where it traced, gradually claiming it…

No.

I’m not hers.

But she is claiming me….

The ghostly image of Elena was still imprinted on his mind and insisted on staying. As if she was gradually possessing him, piece by piece….

[novelember-official]

Novelember is here!

What is Novelember?

Novelember is completing 1 writing task/day. It can be anything: idea generation, research, worldbuilding, etc. There is 0 pressure. Your goal could be to write one word per day!

 Every writing task is part of creating your novel. Researching, crafting world and character, plotting, editing, and sharing are all part of the writing process, and they count toward a finished product.

Novelember is about having fun writing and celebrating each part of the process. Enjoy exploring your world and characters!

Novelember is about quality over quantity. Rushing, concentrating on only word count, can destroy quality. It can help you get words down, but there are other ways to spark your writing. After all, one of the first requirements of a novel is that you are writing about an idea you're excited about. Sometimes that takes some exploration. Sometimes characters require some chiseling to figure out their true selves. 

Writing is not just for one part of the year. It's a year-round activity. Sometimes, though, you need to jump-start your novel. 

That's where Novelember comes in. It's not about completing a novel in a month. It's about enjoying every dimension of writing a novel. It doesn't matter what part of the process you're at. It all counts. 

Novelember is for people who haven't started their novel yet and need some inspiration. You can explore ideas; you don't have to jump right into your story. Discovering ideas is one of the most fun parts of writing.

Novelember is also for people in the middle of their novel, for example, and who want to work on the rest of it, perhaps finish it.

Novelember is for people who don't want the stress of deadlines. Sometimes they can help, but sometimes you don't have enough time to complete 50,000 words, for example. Life happens. That's ok. You can complete 1 writing task-- such as write 1 sentence, research 1 setting element, etc. 

Novelember is for immersing in the writing process and enjoying it. Rushing can destroy the rhythm and flow of your writing. It can destroy your enjoyment. Sometimes, you just need to immerse in something. Create. Explore. Have fun.  

Your writing goal can be anything. As long as you're doing 1 writing task/day. However, don't worry if you miss a day. The overall idea is to foster a writing habit. And any writing task counts. Sometimes, research can take the form of visiting a park and writing down a description of what you see. Many diverse things can count as writing. Because it is all part of the process which will end up in a finished product. 

Your goal could be to write one sentence per day. In the end, you will have several paragraphs. Perhaps a short chapter. It may help you learn more about your character and world, and this will spark ideas for your novel's plot. Or perhaps you will find that writing some sentences inspires more sentences and they build off of each other and the novel takes off. 

Part of writing is finding out what works for you. You can take this time to play with writing tools so you know how to use them once you start writing your novel in earnest. You can explore novel ideas, write potential scenes, research topics you're fascinated in. You'll learn the kinds of effects different techniques create, and you'll learn the kinds of tools you like and the ones you don't. Because every person has their own writing style. You can develop yours now. 

You can use this marvelous month to begin your writing journey. Follow your inspiration wherever it takes you. 

And share your journey, your discoveries, and snippets of your writing, if you like. Someday perhaps you will also reveal your finished novel!  

[novelember-official]

Here's the official web site:

https://novelember.net