#nanowrimo 2022

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #27

[masterlist]

Prompt found here

Thanks @stealingyourbones and @newdog14 for the prompt!

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"—the door will remain locked and sealed, with a small amount of anesthetic gasses pumped into the room at ten minute intervals, until either you're rescued or one of you answers my riddle! What... Does the sign at the cemetery say?" The Riddler asked through the speaker above the door.

"Do not pass."

The answer was out of his mouth barely a second after the riddle was said; though, to be fair, it was less of a riddle and more of a pun—a death pun at that, which he'd spent the majority of his teens researching and creating more of. Jazz had said it was his way of coping with his accident, and, well, she wasn't exactly wrong, okay?

Danny's stomach dropped to his knees in realization. Three simple words, spoken reflexively and without intent, had just destroyed everything. He was supposed to be keeping his head down, not drawing attention to himself, and here he was, throwing three years worth of hard work down the drain. He was screwed. Jazz was going to be so disappointed in him, he knew it.

He was starting to worry he'd been wrong, and his fellow hostages were about to see him get shot or something equally traumatizing, when the light on the lock turned green. He breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously opened the door. Riddler could usually be trusted to keep his word, but Danny wanted to be safe. He didn't want to put his faith in the man relying on a single riddle—a pun at that—for his entire plan. The universe just wasn't that kind to him. But no, there really had only been the one pun locked door between unconsciousness and freedom. Danny sighed. This just wasn't his night.

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When Danny had finished with his report, he wasn't surprised in the least to get called to Gordon's office. He hadn't been there since he'd been offered his promotion, which he was coming to regret accepting in spite of the serious boost to his paycheck. Ever since he'd been promoted to Major Crime, he'd been having more and more run-ins with Gotham's rogues, both on and off the clock. He'd known it was only a matter of time before he caught the wrong kind of attention, the kind of attention he'd been hoping to avoid for as long as possible. He could handle rogues, he could handle some extra scrutiny from his co-workers for how often he got away from said rogues unscathed, but the Bat? He had wanted to avoid him for as long as humanly—and inhumanly—possible, but after tonight's events... Let's just say he hoped he'd be able to transfer to another city's police force once Batman was done with him.

"Nightingale, you up for some old fashioned stair climbing tonight?" Gordon may have phrased it like a question, but Danny knew it wasn't.

"Yes, sir," he replied with a sigh. Oh well, might as well get this over with. And besides, he kinda wanted to see the bat signal up close and personal before he was outed as not human.

=============‹«⟨∆⟩»›=============

On the roof of the police department, Danny glanced at Gordon before he walked over to the giant spotlight that had become so iconic. The bat symbol in the center of the unlit light provoked such a sense of relief and respect in the normal Gotham citizen when it was seen, but Danny could only see his visions for the future go up in smoke.

"I'm assuming I'm up here to meet the big guy?" Danny asked without looking back at his boss.

"He said he had some questions for you. Hope you don't mind."

He sighed but shook his head. "Not really, I actually was kind of expecting it at some point, considering my track record so far." Danny heard the soft sound of someone carefully landing on an asphalt roof and took a bracing breath.

"Daniel J Nightingale, twenty-four, from a small town in Illinois, one sister, one cousin, no parents on record. Your records are good, they nearly had us fooled, but Oracle found something you missed when falsifying them."

Danny turned to face the dark knight. He leveled the man a challenging look. "What are you going to do about it?"

The man slowly stalked toward Danny until he was within arms reach. "I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago," he said. Danny blinked and suddenly, Batman's arms were around Danny's shoulders and he was being drawn into a hug. "I'm sorry I never knew about you. I'm sorry I never looked." After a moment to process what was happening, Danny melted into the hug and returned it.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known. I forgive you, dad," he whispered through his tears. Well, that wasn't as bad as he'd feared it would be.

=============‹«⟨∆⟩»›=============

Sorry for not posting anything at all yesterday, as you may know, it was my birthday yesterday, and life got a bit hectic (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠) and not in a fun way. We had some bad news come in from a family member out west, and it threw all our plans into chaos and disarray. Today was better, no bad news bombs got dropped on me today, though it was very exhausting, so I'm not sure how well this ficlet turned out, sorry (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

I'm probably going to play a bit fast and loose with my personal NaNoWriMo rules for the rest of this week, cuz I've been struggling to find prompts I'm actually interested in writing (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠）hopefully I can get a few sequels or third parts out before the end of the month!

Have a good morning/day/night!

[penny-anna]

*disco music playing*

[placethatechoes]

Autumn Tree

by Chris Lindhout

Etsy  instagram

[nanowrimo]

What Do You Do After You've Written Your Novel? 6 Tips from Joanna Penn

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Scrivener, a 2022 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is an award-winning writing app that has been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike. Today, they’ve partnered with author Joanna Penn to share some tips on what to do after you finish your first draft:

If you've completed this year's NaNoWriMo, congratulations! But finishing a novel is only the first step on a publishing journey. We spoke with Joanna Penn, author of non-fiction books for authors, as well as best-selling thriller author as J. F. Penn. 

Joanna did NaNoWriMo in 2009, and, while she didn't write 50,000 words, or finish her novel, the experience helped her decide where she wanted to go with her fiction, and how she wanted to develop her career as a writer. Joanna offers six tips for writers who have completed their first novel: 

1. Review your work.

"After NaNoWriMo, I spent the next 14 months in the editing process," Joanna said. At the end of NaNoWriMo, "you've got first-draft material, which you need to then shape into the book you want it to be. About 5,000 of the words that I wrote in NaNoWriMo ended up in the book. But this gave me the seed and the confidence for that first novel; I knew I could sit down and write, and have words that then I could edit later."

2. Formulate your goals.

Writers first looking for publication have choices to make. You can go the traditional publishing route, or you can self publish, and there are many variations of each approach. "If you are set on a traditional publishing deal, then you have to start researching agents. If you are interested in being an independent author, then you can look at self publishing options." 

3. Don't quit your day job.

Joanna is a full-time writer, but it took her several years, and several novels, to reach that point. She started writing in 2006, published her first book in 2008, then took a big initial pay cut when she went full time in 2011. "It's very unlikely that the book you write during NaNoWriMo is going to make you a million and get you a movie deal, so keep your day job while you keep writing." 

4. Do you enjoy writing?

Not everyone is cut out for a full-time career as a writer. Completing NaNoWriMo is a big achievement, but you need to really enjoy writing if you want to make it your career. "I think the question to ask yourself is, 'Did I enjoy writing?'" If the answer is "yes," you need to realize that a writing career won't be built around a single novel. "However you want to publish, it's not about one book, it's about more than one book."

5. If you self publish, you'll be running a business.

Successful self-publishing is a lot more than just writing; you also become a business. "To be successful at self publishing, you have to run a business. And many people don't want to run a business. They would rather have a publisher do the work for them."

6. Model your career on authors you like.

A good way to plan your future is to look how authors you like work and promote their books. "Find authors to model who have a career that you're interested in following. And then start looking at how they do marketing. What are you willing to do for the future that you want? Your decisions around publishing and marketing will come from that."

Joanna Penn is author of How to Write a Novel, and writes thrillers as J. F. Penn. 

Kirk McElhearn is the author of Take Control of Scrivener, and host of the podcast Write Now with Scrivener.

Scrivener provides a full range of writing and editing features at your fingertips, and combines all the tools you need to craft your first draft. All NaNoWriMo participants receive a 20% discount on Scrivener’s regular license by entering NANOWRIMO22 into the coupon code text field in the web store through December 7th, 2022. If you want to try out Scrivener first, you can download a free trial that will run through December 7th, 2022.

[ashen-crest]

both won & lost nanowrimo!

lost in the sense that I definitely did not write 50k this month. (just shy of 29k, actually.)

won in the fact that I slammed through an absolutely mangled, heavily bracketed and bullet pointed draft 0, pinpointed my issues with the story, and am on track to wrap a totally new outline that hopefully addresses those issues.

so in terms of strictly “writing 50k in a month,” I absolutely did not do that. in terms of spitting out garbage to more quickly pinpoint the issues with my book? I absolutely did that.

next up for me after finishing the new outline:

reading a bunch of books with similar Vibes(tm)

prepping more pre-order goodies for A Rival Most Vial

hopefully! a flipping! cover reveal! for ARMV!

[quinnheartfiction]

50,000 words in 30 days! Still plenty of work to do on this one, but 50,000 words done!

[blorbologist]

Two for Joy

LADIES AND GENTS AND DISTINGUISHED FOLKS I’VE DONE IT!

To celebrate, I’m going to start posting Two for joy a few days early - enjoy chapter 1! <3 Thank you for all the support, this was my first Nano and it’s given me a huge head start on this fic! 

How to start?

Where to start?

Vax’ildan starts with Vex:

“What do you want?” he murmurs. Unsure if she even heard him. His sister just keeps crying, unhindered.

“I don’t - I want to go.” They’re the same height when it matters - now, when she tries to burrow into his arms and hide her sobs. “I want to go, Vax.”

She starts to sink them both to the floor. Oh, no, he can’t do this. “Okay,” he says, “Okay - I need to deal with some business first. We’ll find the others, get you cleaned up and we can make a dramatic exit. Right?”

“No, it’s” - Vex keeps dragging him down, down, down, in the middle of this corridor lined with de Rolo colors and de Rolo portraits and all but the de Rolo they wanted - “it’s - no, I can’t stay here, Vax.”

“Stubby.” Gentle, now. “Come on - up, we’ll get you to Pike and Keyleth. I know you’ll hate me if I let you run through the streets all snotty.”

Vex hiccups a laugh. She still resists his gentle pull - like curling up there, on the carpet, might be all she can think to do.

He finds Pike and Grog rocking Keyleth. Entrusts Vex to their care, trusts Scanlan to find them before they leave.

Trusts Percy not to.

Vax closes the door.

Takes a moment, back to the ornate wood, flanked by dead corridors, to finally shudder out a sob for himself. Bites it into his glove, the gold stitching of Sarenrae’s symbol catching on his worried lip.

A steadying breath. He steals his tears, pockets them and stamps a mantra into the floor.

For her, for her, for her.

[One for sorrow]  [Keep reading on AO3!]

[thecoramaria]

Heya everyone! Look who got published on the NaNoWriMo blog? If you're looking for some tips for focused fanfic writing and actually finishing your fics, then this is the article for you 💖

[adobedragon]

A quick Plance doodle celebrating the fact that NaNoWriMo (2022) is done and I've got 50K of a Plance long fic on my hard drive. Whew! Back to my regularly scheduled glacially slow writing.

[rags-writes]

Me for the last two chapters

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #24

[masterlist]

Prompt found here, thanks to @mewzaque and @stealingyourbones

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Dani couldn't stop giggling, no matter how hard she tried. The memory of the last time Joker had tried terrorizing people was a great one, and she'd never not laugh at the thought of that clown getting pied in the face, but she really loved getting one over on Red Hood. There was just something about the guy that made her feel confident enough to really let her prankster side out. She didn't want to put a name to it, though, so she shook the thought aside and got back to work.

This was going to be her masterpiece, nothing was going to top this, and best of all? She wouldn't be making life all that difficult for him, considering he can and does swing all over the place every single night. A little more swinging to find a few misplaced (but guarded, she wasn't stupid, she didn't want to lose them lose them, just hide them for a bit) tires wouldn't hurt the guy. Now, if she could just stop giggling for a few seconds, she'd be able to get this tire off and Hood's bike would be—

"This has to be karma. This has to be, there's literally no other explanation for this," came a man's voice from the mouth of the ally, startling Dani into nearly dropping her tire iron. She looked up and found herself meeting the covered eyes of Gotham's resident antihero. "Hey kid, you got a plan for those tires, or d'ya got some kind of beef with me?"

She was so shocked, her mouth kind of just... flapped uselessly for a few moments. How—what—wasn't she invisible?! A quick glance at her hands showed that, nope, she apparently was very visible. At least she was "dressed down" and not all ghostly, she still had a chance to talk her way out of this looking human. Though, in order to talk her way out of this, she kind of had to actually do some talking.

Red Hood sized her up briefly before taking a knee. "Hey, if it's something against me, you can take it up with me, you don't have to jack my tires to get a message across. If you need the tires for something else, then tell me, and I'll help you find a different way of getting it, one that doesn't have you jacking tires in the middle of the night. Sound good?"

... a guy that big and threatening should not be able to sound that soft and safe. Jack Fenton was never soft, he was loud and brash, or he was louder and brasher, but if he was quiet, it wasn't a soft quiet. It wasn't a good quiet. Vlad was never safe, even when she thought he cared about her. Clockwork was manipulative, and while he cared about both her and Danny, he... Didn't have the same perspective on things as they did. In her experience, tall, physically imposing men were not soft, and were not safe. The fact that everything in her screamed Red Hood was capable of being both of those things, was being both of them right now, on top of the unnamed thing that made her confident enough to even try half the things she'd done since "meeting" him a few months ago? It scared her. It scared and worried her. She'd only ever felt this way about someone once, and there'd been a very good, very logical reason for that one. She was Danny's clone, she was as close to a perfect clone of him as anyone was going to get at this point, of course she'd feel safe around him after she stopped trying to kill him! Red Hood... There shouldn't be a reason for her to feel so comfortable and safe and understood and welcome—

Slack hands lost grip on the tire iron as something wet trailed down her face. She felt welcomed here; in Gotham, sure, but in Red Hood's presence, especially so. That... Danny felt like that. Danny and Jazz, and eventually Sam and Tucker, but mostly Danny.

Arms wrapped gently around her, lightly tugging her closer but not demanding. She followed. "Hey now, shhh, it's gonna be alright. I'll help you, whatever you need, alright?"

Dani couldn't help but laugh slightly hysterically at that. "Can you take down an abusive, corrupt billionaire who isn't entirely human? Can you dismantle an illegal, government sanctioned lab? Cuz life would be much better if you could." If I could...

"Kid, who do you think I am?" Red Hood said with a thin veneer of amusement barely covering his concern and anger. "If I can't do it on my own, I've got connections who can. You give me the slightest bit of proof for either of those things, I'll give you a status update in a few days and results in a few months, at most." He rubbed her back soothingly. "But neither of those two things would be solved by jacking my tires, and there're better ways to get my attention, as well," he said lightly, tone implying he'd be giving her a look if he could.

Dani flushed in embarrassment. "I was... kind of... trying to play a prank on you," she muttered into his warm leather jacket.

Red Hood was motionless for a long moment, causing Dani to start tensing, before his shoulders started shaking. It started small, and honestly she probably wouldn't have noticed if she weren't still being held like a little kid, but soon she could hear him stifling his laughter. "Oh gosh, this is karma. I can't—hey kid, you got somewhere safe to stay tonight? I've got some friends who'd love to meet you."

=============‹«⟨^·∆·^·∆·^⟩»›=============

HAPPY (belated) TURKEY DAY!!! Have some Dani and Jason fluff! Don't mind the light sprinkle of angst sauce, it's just a garnish, it's nothing too vital (⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`⁠) at least, not yet ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

I successfully managed to get through all of today without a single breakdown! I did take a two hour nap after the big meal, but everyone ended up waiting almost that long before having dessert, anyway, so I didn't really miss anything too important (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) food was good today, company was, too. I hope y'all had a good day, whether you celebrate Turkey Day or not (^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

I don't have much to say about this ficlet, except for the fact I might continue this at some point 乁⁠(⁠ ⁠•⁠_⁠•⁠ ⁠)⁠ㄏ no clue, but I do see a lot of potential for this!

Have a good morning/day/night!

[penny-anna]

november 30th also means its time for my semi-regular post nano Novel Draft Reunification and dang ok this book is just too long huh

[dresupi]

Final word count for Nanowrimo 2022

[nanowrimo]

5 Videos to “Watch” While Writing

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Wondrium, a 2022 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a video streaming service where you can unleash your curiosity. Today, the folks at Wondrium are here to share some tips on how to keep your mind busy and focused:

Greetings from Wondrium—your friendly, neighborhood educational streaming site. 

We’ve partnered with NaNoWriMo before to help aspiring writers like you find exactly the right writing resources. This time, I’m here to share the best in background noise. 

Some writers require silence. I am not one of them. So, here are five videos available on Wondrium that you can keep on while you write. These videos both offer excellent background noise, don’t require 100% of your full attention, and (BONUS!) may teach you something or inspire you. 

1. Language A-Z

John McWhorter cuts through the bafflegab and teaches you how we got from fiddle-faddle to FOMO. You’ll be absolutely astounded to learn the origins of the words you are writing with.

2. Effective Editing 

Level up your writing skills by learning the key elements of self-editing. Keeping this video on while you write, so that Molly McCown’s tips are top of mind, may help you reduce rewrites later down the road.  

3. Building Great Sentences

Save this video for the moment when you just don’t know what to write next. We have all been there. Dr. Brooks Landon jump starts your writing by helping you master the art of the sentence.

4. Writing Your Story 

I know, I know, it’s National NOVEL Writing Month, not Memoir Writing Month. But they always say, “Write what you know.” Joyce Maynard talks you through how to craft personal stories that you can then repurpose into “fiction.” 

5. The Great Writers

Let the stories of other writers inspire you and your story. You can find videos on: Tennessee Williams, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, the Beats and the Beat Generation, T. S. Elliot, E. M. Forester, George Orwell, Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, A. A. Milne, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, and more. 

As always, Wondrium is here for you with resources to help you with every step of your writing journey—from plotting to publishing.

Wondrium is the place for you to unleash your curiosity. Stream unlimited videos, documentaries, series, travelogues, courses, and more. Explore everything about anything on Wondrium—yours to stream anytime, anywhere. Get 50% off quarterly plan for the first 3 months + a free trial using this link. Offer expires December 18, 2022.

Top photo by Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash.

[teriwrites]

yeet

[relevy]

I have ~20k left of my nano WIP left and I'm going to finish it today. Absolute lunatic behavior let's go girls.