#countdown to nanowrimo

[afoolandathief]

Countdown to NaNo: Part 1/? — WIP Intro

Jade Shaw, a witch and one of the few seers left in the world, has been using her ability at Las Vegas’s casinos for years, but lately even that hasn’t been enough to pay the bills.

So she doesn’t object when vampire and former hit-man Casimir Mraz offers her a deal.

Caz says he only wants to kill and drain the blood of people with no chance for redemption, and asks Jade to determine for him whether the city’s worst of the worst will re-offend.

But things go sideways when a cop catches Jade and Caz dumping a body, and blackmails them into helping solve an unsolvable case. Soon, the two are dealing with werewolves, Fae, and several of Caz’s exes.

WIP: Something Wicked

Status: Draft 3.5 (rewrite)

NaNo profile: afoolandathief

NaNoWriMo 2022 Goal: Your classic fifty-thou

WIP taglist: (ask to be +/-): @author-a-holmes, @avian-writes, @captain-kraken, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @digital-chance, @diphthongsfordays, @drippingmoon, @ellierenae, @enchanted-lightning-aes, @faelanvance, @fearofahumanplanet, @flowerprose, @frankiestfrank, @houndmouthed, @joaniejustwokeup, @leiwritess-moved, @mjayatlas, @outpost51, @purplezebraproductions, @rhymingteelookatme, @somealienquill, @thegreatobsesso, @thelaughingstag, @vylequinnewriting, @writing-is-a-martial-art

[novella-november]

I see people are talking about Nanowrimo again and discovering their pro-ai stance and are looking for alternatives, so if you are looking for an anti-ai alternative to Nano, check out my blog here :D

I'll re-reblog my post with links to various free sources for writing to put it closer to the top of my blog here, but if you're looking for a tag and community to use in November as you write, please feel free to use the #Novella November & #Novella November 2024 tags !

If you have any questions or just need some writing advice, please feel free to send in an ask, and if I (this blog is run by 1 person with autism) can't answer it, I'll post it to see if any of my followers can help out!

right now it October tenth, day ten of "Ominous / Outline October", which for this month is both a time to work on outlining your story, and also optionally write some spooky stories each week, totalling up to 5k words each week as a warm up for November!

For *Novella November*, the official word goal is 30k words, which is 1,000 words per day, but you are more than welcome to go over (or under!) that goal to better suit your needs!

Today's countdown:

21 days, 19 hours til Novella November!

[juliannepepper]

NANOWRIMO IN THREE DAYS!

Holy shit my outline still isn’t done ;-;

[byoldervine]

Motivation For Writing

Getting Off Your Butt:

1. Aestheticise it. Let the light in through the curtains, turn on your fairy lights, lay a blanket over your lap, light some candles, whatever you need to do to feel like a writer. The right vibes can go a long way

2. Picture that one scene. There’s almost always a moment you’re super excited about that basically inspired the whole book. Picture it, play it out in your head in full cinematic fanfare, gush to yourself about how cool it is and how everyone will love it, picture a future fanbase going nuts for it. You might get excited enough to go back to writing

3. Set a word count goal. During NaNoWriMo this year I think I wrote more than I ever have in one go. The thing that kept me coming back was the desire to not fall behind. I ended up with ~45K words after some complications irl caused me to drop off in the final few days, and that’s all just because I was adding up the 1667 a day word count goal and realising where I needed to be at to keep up. I definitely can’t stay as rigid as I did with 1667 words every single day, but seeing that you’re only a few hundred words off of a goal is super motivating - just be sure to set realistic, easy to achieve parameters for just general use, like 1000-2000 words per week. I know 200 words per day is a popular one for people trying to establish a writing routine that can’t dedicate forever to the craft

Maintaining Motivation:

1. Writing sprints. Writing sprints are a godsend for me, I like to set myself up in the living room with Abbie Emmons’ writing sprint video on. The video lasts two hours and is broken up into two parts; 25 minutes to write and 5 minutes for breaks between writing, so four 30 minute sprints overall. Having the timer and countdown with peaceful music and an aesthetic background is both relaxing and encouraging, as well as giving me a specific time for how much longer I have to push through. It’s easier for me to say “Okay, only ten more minutes, then you can take a break” then it is to say “Just keep going, we’re not stopping until I say so” which is too arbitrary for my brain to accept

2. Give yourself a choice. If you’re struggling to keep your focus, come up with a finish line and tell yourself you don’t have to do any more work once you’ve reached that point. Finish the paragraph, go for another five or ten minutes, keep it up until your next scheduled break. Whatever sounds realistic and doable without being overwhelming. And once you’ve met this goal, ask yourself if you still want to stop. With any luck, you’ll have gotten back into the zone and will choose to keep going. Maybe you’ll want to take a quick break but you’ll come back later on. And maybe you’ll decide that now actually is a good stopping point. Just remember that, if you do still want to stop, don’t force yourself to keep going. You can’t strike deals with yourself if you know you won’t keep your word and all you’ll end up doing is burning yourself out, which will lead to even less writing getting done

3. Try a new angle. If you can’t be bothered to write anymore, is there anything else you can do for your book? Plotting, editing, worldbuilding, character sheets, one-shots all that sort of thing can still be productive for your book while still being different enough to give your brain a slight respite. It also means less work in that particular area later on

Afterwards:

1. Organise. Clean up your workspace and put everything away so it’s nice and neat for when you come back to it. Or if you don’t need to pack things out the way, set it up in an aesthetically pleasing way so it will tempt you back next time. Let it give you the writer vibe

2. Take care of yourself. Get a drink, have a snack, walk about, stretch your limbs, take a breath, cuddle your pet. Something that gets you away from straining your eyes looking at text for a bit. This is also a good time to reward yourself if positive reinforcement is something you use on yourself. If you always feel shitty after your writing sessions, you won’t want to go back to it

3. Positive reflection. Make sure to tell yourself you did good, even if you didn’t get as much done as you would’ve liked or it isn’t up to a standard of quality you’re aiming for. That can all be fixed later on, and you’re infinitely better off than you would’ve been if you didn’t do it. Be proud of yourself. Tell yourself you’re proud of your hard work and your dedication and your effort. Remind yourself that this is a fun thing you like to do. Marvel over how insane it is that you’ve gotten this far - not many people do - and that you’ve got all this tangible work to prove you’ve accomplished something so many people wish they could pull off. If this isn’t fun overall, there’s no point

[nanowrimo]

Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Adiba Jaigirdar is here to share her advice on how to set yourself up for noveling success:

Welcome to the very first week of NaNoWriMo! I’ve done NaNoWriMo for (almost) every year since 2008. I’ve won some, I’ve lost some, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. In fact, I apply a lot of the tactics I learned in NaNoWriMo to all my writing. When I wrote my second book, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, I ended up with a first draft of 74,000 words written in 30 days. That wasn’t something I would have thought possible in 2008 when I was slogging through my very first 50,000-word novel. That’s why I’m here today to share with you a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up through my writing journey, in the hopes that they serve you and your novel this November: 

1. Accountability 

One of the most difficult parts of writing a novel is that it requires so much self-discipline. It’s not like a job you show up to where your boss is holding you accountable for how many words you’ve written. Only you are ultimately responsible for how much you get done—which is why it’s easy to get demotivated and give up. So, you need to figure out ways in which you can be accountable for your novel this month.

You’ll be glad to hear that you’ve already taken the first step in doing this: you’ve pledged to do NaNoWriMo. You’re here, ready to write. But you can go a step further: ask your friends and family to hold you accountable by checking in on your progress during the month. If you have friends who are doing NaNoWriMo that’s even better; you can hold each other accountable. If you’re on social media, you can share updates every day and be accountable to your followers. There are a lot of ways to do it; so figure out what kind of accountability works best for you! 

2. Planning 

Planning a novel is definitely not for everyone. This is coming from someone who has pantsed many books! Planning can look different for different people. If you are a true-blue plotter, you might have your entire novel planned from beginning to end, with comprehensive chapter outlines. But if you’re not someone who plots out your entire novel before you’ve written a single word, planning is still important.

This planning can look like a rough outline of your book or finishing your writing day and jotting down a few quick ideas of what to write when you come back to writing the next day, or it can be leaving yourself voice memos as ideas spark when you’re nowhere near your novel. Going into every new day of writing without any idea of what the blank page will hold is very, very daunting, which is why planning ahead can be just the motivation that you need to fulfill your word count goal for the day. 

3. Figure out what works for you 

I have published four books so far and I’ve written many more. The process of writing each of these books has been very different. I drafted one in three months, one in 30 days, one was completely plotted with a rigorous outline, while one was plotted with a flexible outline, and two were completely pantsed. What I’ve learned about myself is that to make a book work, sometimes I have to try something different.

The only thing NaNoWriMo requires of you is to write those 50,000 words. How you go about it depends on you. You don’t have to write every single day if that doesn’t work for you. You can write at the same time every day, or a different time every day depending on what sparks your creativity. You don’t have to participate in writing sprints if writing with a countdown doesn’t help you focus. The point is that now’s your time to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. You might be surprised by what methods you swear will never work for you but ends up helping you over that finish line. 

4. Have fun!

This is easier said than done, but try to enjoy writing your novel. Especially when it feels difficult. When I wrote 74,000 words in 30 days, it felt like a breeze because I was having a lot of fun with my book. Try to remember what makes you excited about your novel and go back to that when it’s tough. If writing is what you love, find the joy of it and nurture it throughout this month. The more you enjoy it, the more likely you are to keep writing.

Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies and a BA in English and History. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.

[s-soulwriter]

Alternative Writing Challenges for November!

Hey everyone! As you might have heard, we’re not diving into NaNoWriMo this year due to some controversies surrounding the event and the website itself. ( Atleast I´m not) Personally, I’ve never really felt a strong connection to it, and I think it’s important to find writing challenges that resonate with us as individuals. So, to keep the creative spirit alive this November, here are some unique writing challenges you can dive into instead!

1. NanoWriMo? Nah! (NWN)

What it is: Instead of writing a novel in a month, write a series of short stories or vignettes, aiming for 10-15 stories by the end of November. Each story can focus on a different theme, character, or genre.

Why it rocks: This challenge allows for flexibility and creativity without the pressure of a long-term commitment. You get to experiment with different styles and ideas, giving yourself the freedom to explore various narrative paths!

2. Word Whirlwind

What it is: Each day, spin a wheel of random words or use a random word generator, and incorporate those words into a short scene or poem.

Why it rocks: This challenge encourages you to think outside the box and sparks creativity by forcing you to weave unusual or unexpected words into your writing. It’s a fun way to generate new ideas!

3. Character Countdown

What it is: Create a character a day for the entire month! Use a mix of prompts, archetypes, and unique traits. By the end, you'll have a diverse cast of characters to draw from.

Why it rocks: This challenge hones your character-building skills and helps you explore different personalities and backgrounds, which can enrich your future stories. Plus, you might discover some new favorites!

4. Plot Twist November

What it is: Take a classic story or your favorite book and rewrite its ending with a completely different twist. Aim for at least five rewrites by the end of the month!

Why it rocks: It’s a great way to analyze story structure and learn how to build suspense and surprise in your own writing. Plus, it’s a fun exercise in creativity to see how drastically you can change a story!

5. Poetry Palooza

What it is: Write a poem every day for the entire month, focusing on different styles or themes each day. Explore haikus, sonnets, free verse, and more!

Why it rocks: Poetry is a powerful way to express thoughts and emotions. This challenge will help you refine your writing skills, expand your vocabulary, and find new ways to convey meaning in just a few words.

6. November Narrative Nuggets (NNN)

What it is: Write a 100-word story each day that captures a moment, feeling, or event. By the end of the month, you'll have 30 concise stories!

Why it rocks: This challenge promotes brevity and precision in your writing. It’s a fantastic exercise in focusing on the essence of storytelling and conveying emotions with fewer words.

7. Themed Flash Fiction Festival

What it is: Each week, choose a different theme (e.g., love, betrayal, adventure) and write a flash fiction piece (under 1,000 words) based on that theme.

Why it rocks: This challenge encourages you to explore different genres and styles while honing your ability to tell impactful stories in a limited space. It’s a wonderful way to discover new narrative techniques!

8. Gratitude Stories

What it is: In the spirit of November and for some Thanksgiving, write a short story each week that focuses on gratitude—whether it’s a character expressing thanks or a moment that evokes appreciation.

Why it rocks: This challenge not only helps you write but also allows you to reflect on positive experiences and feelings, creating a collection of uplifting narratives to brighten your November.

9. Dialogue Driven November

What it is: Focus exclusively on writing dialogue this month. Create scenes that are driven entirely by conversations between characters, aiming for one scene per day.

Why it rocks: This challenge helps you sharpen your dialogue skills, focusing on how characters communicate and interact. It’s a great way to develop voice and tension in your writing!

10. Epic Fail November

What it is: Embrace the art of failure! Each day, write a scene that intentionally goes wrong or includes a major plot hole. By the end of the month, compile these “epic fails” for a humorous take on writing.

Why it rocks: This challenge encourages you to let go of perfectionism and embrace the fun side of writing. It’s a light-hearted way to explore what doesn’t work in storytelling while allowing creativity to flow without fear of judgment!

[wordplayfics]

1D Wordplay Fic Challenge - 2023 Edition

About the 1D Wordplay Fic Challenge

The Wordplay Fic Challenge is a challenge that runs for five weeks. Every week there is a single randomly generated word that acts as the prompt for that week's fics. Those who would like to participate in the challenge are asked only to do their best to write a fic based on that word in a week's time before then getting the prompt for the following week.

This is meant to be a low-stakes and fun challenge to get your creative juices flowing and help get those words out quickly by allowing you to create five shorter works instead of one larger project (as is done in similar challenges such as NaNoWriMo). It is also a fun way to see how everyone interprets the prompts differently giving us a group of incredibly diverse fics all written for the same prompt.

Details

As stated above, the 1D Wordplay Fic Challenge lasts for five weeks. The words used as the prompts are assigned via a random word generator and posted to the @wordplayfics blog and Discord weekly. Everyone choosing to participate that week will have one week to write a fic inspired by that word. This year, the prompts will be given on Wednesday mornings (Eastern Time) with the fics for that prompt posting the following Wednesday. Each Wednesday morning (August 23, August 30, September 6, September 13, and September 20), the new prompt will be assigned and that week’s fics will post a few of hours later. Authors can begin their work on the next week's fics as soon as the prompt is posted and they are ready to do so.

Those interested in participating are not required to take part in all five weeks. It is preferred that all who sign-up have the intent of participating in at least three weeks, but all five would be wonderful. Life happens and creativity doesn't always come about when you would like it to, which is fine. Just to say it once more, this challenge is meant to be fun and as relaxed as a challenge involving this kind of fast turn around can be.

Rules

All participants must be 18 or older. Please respect this rule.

There are no word count limits or other rules regarding content, though as this fest is a One Direction fandom fest, all fics must include a member of One Direction as a main character. 

The only requirements for the fics themselves are:

They are written within a week’s time and posted to the appropriate collection before that week's fics are revealed

The assigned word prompt is clearly used as inspiration for the fic  

Tentative Schedule (Dates are subject to change):

Sign-ups Open: July 26, 2023 Sign-ups Close: August 22, 2023 First Prompt Posted: August 23, 2023 First Round’s Fics Posted: August 30, 2023

Posting Details

Below is all of the information regarding the details for posting your fics to the collection(s) and what information I am asking you include in AO3 when you post. I will update this post every week as I get the new collection set up for each prompt, but there will also be a link to the collection in the bio of the blog where the prompts are listed for each week, so that will likely be the easiest way to find it. 

The Basics:

Add your fic to the appropriate collection (details below) by 2 pm EDT on the respective Wednesday

Please make a fic post for your fics and tag @wordplayfics  

There will be a masterpost updated weekly with links to the newly published collection

Each week's collections will be able to be found here: Week 1: Poem Week 2: Run Week 3: Stable - Fics post 13 September Week 4: TBA Week 5: TBA

Please be sure your fic is in the collection before 2pm EDT each Wednesday. 

There will be a countdown linked in each post with that week’s prompt because timezones can be hard. If your fic is not already in the collection when I go to publish the fics, then they won’t be approved to be in the collection. You may still post your fic and link it to the challenge–I will even reblog your fic post to the challenge page–but the point of this challenge is to write a fic in a week’s time. I don’t want to give any one person more or less time than anyone else, thus the deadline of 2 pm and not allowing late fics into the collection. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Also remember: you aren’t required to participate every week, but please do your best to participate in at least three of the five weeks this challenge is active.

Once fics are posted, it is recommended you make a fic post. Be sure to tag @wordplayfics in the fic post so it can be reblogged here. (I also recommend you link to your fic post at the end of your fic in AO3. If you don’t know how to do this, please reach out and I will be happy to help you.)

It would be preferred if the fic posts are scheduled to post within an hour of the fics going live so they don't have to be searched for every week and it also helps lower the possibility of fic posts falling between the cracks and getting missed. Tumblr does not always notify me when the blog has been tagged, though, so if your fic post has not been interacted with by this blog or my main @lululawrence by Wednesday evening, please send the post to me!

Questions? Concerns? Please let me know and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can.

If you’d like to see what resulted from the Wordplay Fic Challenge in previous years, you can find all the fics in the Wordplay collection on AO3 as well as a breakdown of the weekly prompts and the resulting fics in the Wordplay Masterpost.

[galacticwriter]

24 Hour Novel Challenge countdown: day 4:

I think 10k was my top for a full day of writing. I was very impressed with myself and I have never done it again 😅

I did NaNoWriMo for 10 years straight so I am used to 2-3k days. I like to do timed sprints and word crawls to keep myself motivated. I also sometimes change my text color to white so I'm not tempted to edit while I work! This makes for a lot of typos but more words on the page. And of course I always love to have a good community of writers doing it with me to cheer me on and/or unlock my competitive side!

[teriwrites]

November 2013: The Abernathy Chronicles - The Fatal Choice

Wordcount | 42,502* Genre | Fantasy POV | 3rd Person Setting | Fictional World of Ardeai Status | Incomplete Draft**, Retired *While I did write the full 50,000 that November, the flashdrive I saved it on was corrupted, and this is the most complete draft I have left rip **A complete draft of this WIP does exist but was written at a later time

The Synopsis As I Remember It

Delroy Abernathy left home at the age of 16, looking to make his way in the post-coup corruption of his home, Ardeai. Ten years later, he's settled in with a band of rebels in a valley of the isolated, treacherous Silverpass Mountains. With a quick-learning, academic-bent mind, Delroy's role involves a lot of pouring through the camp's intel, and absolutely no permission to make the difficult journey back out into open country. When two of his closest friends are captured on a recon mission in the capital city of Diaga, however, Delroy refuses to accept their fate. Stealing a steed and some provisions, he sets out in the dead of night. But making it to Diaga is one thing. The far greater challenge lies in plotting his friends' escape, and in discerning who he can trust. And unless he can manage to do both, the countdown to their execution ticks on and on.

First Line

Delroy sat at his desk, running a hand through his long, chestnut brown hair.

Characters

Delroy Abernathy - 26, he's got a case of the three Bs: blue eyes/brunette/beanpole of a man, asexual*, absolutely brilliant academic, absolutely abhorrent in any social situation, somehow still doesn't have a problem making friends, less good at keeping them *iirc, this is the first story I ever explicitly mapped out my characters' sexualities! Unlike my plethora of 'functionally-ace-because-I-rarely-write-romance-but-theoretically-can-be-interpreted-however-you-want' main characters, Delroy is bonafide aroace Raelyn Marinelli - 20s, blonde, hetero (derogatory), daughter of the rebel leader, one of Delroy's friends, honestly idr loads about her role in this first book other than she was there and tried convincing Delroy not to leave Adriana Estep - 20s(??) probably??, lesbian(??) iirc, coily dark hair, tawny brown skin, first person to actually help Delroy out in the city, pretends to be more jaded than she actually is, struggles between empathy and self-interest sometimes (always), big 'aren't you tired of being nice? don't you just wanna go apeshit?' vibes, good secret keeper because she herself has Big Secrets

Pre-Reading Thoughts

In some ways, I remember this story Way more clearly than the previous couple. And in other ways, I don't remember it at all. This particular draft that I'm reading is an incomplete NaNoWriMo draft from 2013. In 2015, I went back and rewrote it from scratch. Most of what I know about this story is drawing off of that second draft, so it's possible that even the synopsis I'm remembering is off. The series that this WIP started off was meant to be four books, and followed the difficult life of Delroy as he grew into what would eventually be the mentor figure for a prototypical 'Chosen One' plotline. It was my first real attempt at fleshing out worldbuilding, and really dominated most of my creative writing in high school. I absolutely loved it, and it was extremely difficult to step away from when I eventually reached that point. But as for this specific draft, I mostly remember that it was a huge pain in the ass. I grew up as a pantser. All I needed to start writing was a vibe, and I'd be off. The problem was, I found it very hard to commit to an idea when all I had towards it was a vibe. As soon as I'd written enough of said vibe to satisfy the urge to write it, I had a tough time putting more words on the page. Which is how I wound up giving up on reaching 50K halfway through the month. I was so fed up with plotholes and getting lost in my own story that I walked away at about 30K. Between a few word wars and things to entertain my friends, I pushed that up to 32K. But then, in the final stretch of November, suddenly a whole slew of the members of my little internet writing community were passing the big 50,000, or else fulfilling their personal goals. And I knew I wasn't done yet. More than that, I knew I was going to win. Long story short, I wrote 8K on the 29th and 10K on the 30th of November 2013. I reached the 'finish line' at like 10PM, with aching hands and so much pride. It was the 2nd hardest win I've ever earned. Don't worry about the 1st. We'll get there. :) So basically all in all, the legacy that this particular draft of this particular WIP has is that it singlehanded turned me from a religious pantser to an obsessive planner, so I'd never had to feel so wildly unprepared when tackling something like this. And I honor that legacy every day by not remembering a single scene from this whole first draft <3

[alias-milamber]

Bastard Widget Returns

Nanowrimo begins for its 24th year, and with it, the Nanowrimo Countdown Widget is back for its 11th to terrorise a new generation. Keep it in your tabs for a low-level fear factor, or on a second screen to keep the terror front and centre.

Nanocountdown.com

(If you're doing a custom set of word counts or times, you can make your own custom widget)

[starcrossedxwriter]

Ok so… my countdown to NaNoWriMo accountability tracker lmaooo these are the things I *hope* to get out this week and we’ll see how we do:

Wicked Fantasies part 7 ✅

Built for Love part 12

Unbreakable part 3

MBJ Smut request

CharlottexMBJ GQ couples quiz request ✅

A Built for Love one shot

We’ll see how it goessssss lol which one are you looking forward to??

[afoolandathief]

Countdown to NaNo, Part 3/4: Character Intro — Caz Mraz

Image by @artbyeloquent

Name: Casimir Jozef Mraz

Alias(es): The Vampire for Hire, the Cottonmouth Killer, the Carpathian Demon, the Byzantine Devil, the Scourge of Venice, Bloodless Jack, der Blutsucher, the 1,000-Count Assassin

Age: 617 (appears 27)

Occupation: Former hitman, current bodyguard

A vampire with a trail of exes nearly as expansive as his record-collection, Caz got stuck in Vegas in the 1940s as a mob hire and is looking to kick the habit of killing innocent people. A polyglot, an excellent dancer and an absolute train wreck of a man

Song vibes: Witchcraft (Frank Sinatra), Fashion Victim (Green Day), Bad Boy Good Man (Tape Five), St. James Infirmary (Cab Calloway), Mack the Knife (Louis Armstrong), Big Bad Handsome Man (Imelda May), New Rules (Postmodern Jukebox cover)

Post 1/4, Post 2/4

WIP: Something Wicked

Status: Draft 3.5 (rewrite)

NaNo profile: afoolandathief

NaNoWriMo 2022 Goal: Maybe 50K? we'll see

WIP taglist: (ask to be +/-): @author-a-holmes, @avian-writes, @captain-kraken, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @digital-chance, @diphthongsfordays, @drippingmoon, @ellierenae, @enchanted-lightning-aes, @faelanvance, @fearofahumanplanet, @flowerprose, @frankiestfrank, @houndmouthed, @joaniejustwokeup, @leiwritess-moved, @mjayatlas, @outpost51, @purplezebraproductions, @rhymingteelookatme, @somealienquill, @thegreatobsesso, @thelaughingstag, @vylequinnewriting, @writing-is-a-martial-art

[novella-november]

today's countdown: 11 days 23 hours til Ominous October (see my pinned post), and 42 days, 23 hours til Novella November!

[juliannepepper]

NANOWRIMO IS TOMORROW!

HOLY SHIT IT’S GONNA HAPPEN!

[on-noon]

Make Me Write Tag!

thanks for the tag @saltysupercomputer

Rules: Make a 24hr poll listing the titles of every WIP you want to work on. (It’s fine if you only have one, still make a poll for the vote count) Whichever WIP title gets the most votes, write 1 sentence for every vote received.

i'll put an open tag on this, if you've been meaning to write but need a little motivation, consider yourself tagged!

info about each below cut:

life friends & friendship ends

my main story right now. almost 5k words. about a king & his friends & i absolutely put them through it. right now the plot is a little flux. (i want Larath to live, but I can't figure it out. i want Zadaf to reunite with his son, but don't know if i could make it fit)

Jacen & Tristan

a fanfic for Star Wars Rebels. i enjoy writing it, it's three chapters in & i've got plans for later (i do need to find out what happens directly next)

Countdown To Magic

the project I've put the most words into outside of nanowrimo. Magic School, where the main character is basically allergic to magic due to her family being intertwined with the Countdown Spell

ChemistMan

the story of Kalro, an anti-politcal son of a senator who gets expelled and has to start at a new school, and he makes a friend (also this has the most sibling dynamics)

soemthing about Edur

Edur's a character from life friends & friendship ends she refuses to use magic at her magic school. I feel like there's more to her story than the side character amount she'll get in the main story

one of the many prompt-based stories in my draft

some of them are almost done, just need to figure out how to end, some have only a beginning. i don't know which one I'd chooose, but it would be nice to finish something.

start something new. open document start typing.

who knows what this will be? i don't really need a new idea, but it would be a nice change of pace.

start a flatland fanfic

i've a few ideas, some more based on the book others more based upon the film. it migth be fun to play around in that world

the Seventh Prince

who knows if this would this be starting over or continuing? not me. it's a pretty fun sci-fi ish story that is about the cousin of the eponymous Seventh Prince while the country is in absolute turmoil. i like playing around with the funky government, as while as the cousins' friendship

superpowers story

a little bit of an odd story. (although i've now gotten it to work without being marvel fanfic!) it's about a society with a bunch of superpowered people (not the majority in the world, but majority in the story because of how the society is stratified). the main character is the son of influential supers, but doesn't have any powers himself. he makes friends with this girl who's parents were from two different super groups & she gets kidnapped back & forth. inspired by sky high. i've only written the first scene, but i like the characters. also there's too much lore to the world

[ahiddenpath]

Life Talk/Creative Talk

Life Update beneath the cut!

The Creative Stuff first, for anyone looking for fic update info.

I will be traveling soon! When I return, I will have a few digimon fandom events to prep for (Koushiro Week, the 02 countdown, and Jyou week). I am not sure if I'll be able to get to all of these things, so apologies if it doesn't pan out.

I'm not sure what's going to happen next with my fics and the drawing series I have open. I usually have a schedule of updates and an idea of where I'm going, but right now, I need to focus on other things. I'll still be here, and I'll even be creating, but not with the intention of maintaining constant/consistent updates.

I also haven't decided what my Nanowrimo 2023 project will be, nor if I can even participate this year. I have a few ideas, including making a time-based goal for myself in November (ie, write for 45 min per day) instead of a word count goal (ie, write 1,667 words/day). That will remove the pressure, but keep me writing. But I don't know what project I'll work on.

Life Stuff

I'm not really sure what to write here, if I'm honest! Work remains stressful, my relationship with my mom is strained following all of that nonsense, and every day is a fight to scrape energy together. It's sad and wild to think that there were times I wanted to scrap the vacation I have coming up because of how stressed I am and how much work planning it is.

My husband and I have been talking about making some big life changes, namely the possibility of having a child. He's more into the idea than I am, bluntly. He's not pushing me, but for the first time, he's saying he wants one when I bring it up (I tend to ask how he's feeling about it once or twice per year, he has always said, "Maybe someday," now he's saying, "Yes, if you want a kid, too.")

I've always told my husband that I can't do a child and work. I can barely crawl through the days with just the job, and I am made to understand that children bring more work with far less sleep. My husband's job could support a three person family, although we will be sitting down to work all of that out before we make any plans.

Truthfully, I've never liked my career or found fulfillment from work. I'm interested in what I do, yes. But the stress of working in biopharma is unbelievable, and it does not play nicely with my anxiety disorder. I work for money- or, more accurately, for a sense of security. But I do have an active mind that requires exercise and feeding. My husband suggests that I try to become a novelist as I take care of our kid, if I don't want to work and have a kid. He works from home and can work whatever hours he feels like, so I wouldn't be alone.

Right now, we're in the "what if" discussions. I don't know, for me, I've never seen kids or family as a positive thing; my childhood was something I survived. My understanding is that some people from similar situations want to give the love/security they lacked to their own kid. But I can't fathom being a mom or having a kid around. My husband, in contrast, came from a healthy family and has no mood disorders.

He would be the best father in the world. I would love to give a kid such an amazing dad. Bluntly, I am not sure if they'd have a great mother, though. When asked if I want a kid, it's just like... How the heck would I know? How do I know if I want something I haven't experienced?

If anyone has been thinking of this stuff, I'd love to hear what you have to say! Parents, too. Just know that this is very much in the "maybe" area, lol, I am under zero pressure or duress. I just have no idea what I want.

I hope you're all doing well <3