#this has happened with nanowrimo events a few times

[lastoneout]

Hey so why the fuck is NaNoWriMo's AI policy page talking like the challenge is about writing a book that you then go on to publish and not a challenge where writers throw caution and their sanity to the wind in the interest of getting a first draft out within 30 days?? Do people usually edit their NaNoWriMo novels while writing them? Do they send them off to friends or paid editors while writing for feedback and grammar/spelling checks? Do they immediately take what they wrote and start pitching it to publishing houses as soon as the clock hits midnight on December 1st??

I've never completed NaNoWriMo but I was always under the assumption that this is a fun challenge mostly for amature/indie writers that's about just finishing a draft of your story at all, it's not about trying to get a book completely finished and published within 30 days?? I mean just WRITING a first draft in that time is impressive, but pulling off also getting it all the way to store shelves in a month?? That's not just absurd it's fucking impossible. No one is doing that.

Like under classism they are saying not everyone can afford an editor...but who the fuck is sending any part of their novel off to an editor or reviewers mid write?? And for ableism, arguing that not everyone can "see" the issues in their writing...it's not about that?? Like Shannon Hale said, your first draft is shoveling sand into a bucket so later you can build castles, if you're worried about fixing errors mid-write you're never going to finish anything. Plus NaNo has never had requirements that your story be polished or edited or whatever, it's just about word count. And focusing on the indie writer scene and publishers??? Again, that's not the goal of this challenge???? You're just supposed to finish your first draft, everything else comes after. Even writers who do plan on trying to get their novels published are probably not sending their FIRST DRAFT that they wrote while sleep deprived over the course of 30 days to editors and agents?? Arguing that some people need AI to make a publishable, edited, polished novel is missing that the point of NaNoWriMo was never about writing something perfect the first try, it's about shoveling sand into buckets so LATER you can build castles. Or idk just shoveling sand into a bucket for the fun of it.

Like am I insane?? None of these arguments hold up for loads of reasons but specifically because if you are doing NaNoWriMo you do not need an editor or reviewers because your first draft is just supposed to exist, adding on the burden of taking that novel from first draft to polished and publishable while also just trying to finish it at all in 30 days is a fever dream, not an achievable aspiration. You don't have time to do that AND write. Hell, most writers in general will tell you to never edit as you go!! Where is this assumption that anyone is doing this to make money coming from?????

(And like, if you do want to go on to look for feedback/editing and try to publish your story and you feel like you need AI for that, you're wrong, but you can do that AFTER the event, that isn't something you need to do while it's happening. While it's happening all you need to do is write. The few times I tried NaNoWriMo I didn't even fix spelling errors as I wrote, I just wrote because all that mattered was the word count. I could worry about the rest later.)

I mean, I know that apparently the team got gutted and replaced which is probably why this shift happened, it's well documented that AI fanatics cannot conceptualize someone making art simply for the joy of creating rather than producing something they can sell for money, they legit see the process as secondary to the goal of getting rich which makes them incompatible with almost all artistic communities, because artists do what they do for the love of the process, not just to have a sellable final piece, but like christ alive I have never seen such a disconnect between what the people running a community think everyone is there for and the wants and needs of the actual people in that community.

Writers don't want AI to write our stories!! Take it from someone who grew up dirt poor and is disabled in a way that makes writing extremely difficult(dyslexia, adhd, hEDS, chronic migraines, fibromyalgia, ect.) I do not want AI to write any story for me. I want to write it. Beating a dead horse here but you are not defending poor or disabled people, you're using us as a meat shield so you can pretend your plagiarism and pollution machine is totally the future~ and take it from me, we're FUCKING sick of it.

From what I remember NaNoWriMo was never about making money for the people who took part, it was about sharing the joy of writing with other writers while tackling a huge challenge. This shift is bullshit for a lot of reasons but it's absolutely bullshit for misunderstanding what the hell drew people to the challenge in the first place.

[nanowrimo]

How to Set Realistic NaNoWriMo Goals

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Dabble, a 2023 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a tool specifically designed for fiction novelists. Today, Dabbler Robert Smith shares a few tips to help you set daily writing goals that will work for you:

November looms, and with it the thrilling, harrowing, and sometimes carb-loaded journey of National Novel Writing Month. As we tie our writer's capes and ready ourselves for a month of intense creation, there's a small matter we need to address: our writing goals.

The Weight of 50,000 Words

Setting goals for NaNoWriMo is like setting a pace for a marathon. You wouldn't expect to sprint a marathon. The same goes for writing. If you try to sprint through, chances are you'll burn out faster than a candle in a windstorm.

However, only doing the minimum can leave you in a precarious position. Because if something comes up—and something always comes up—you’re suddenly behind on your goal, and that can really hurt morale.

So here are some goal setting tips to crush NaNoWriMo this year:

1. Start off strong, so you can end strong.

There is a simple fact about motivation. It starts strong and wanes with time. 

Now to be honest, you won’t be able to write a book with motivation alone. It requires a lot of discipline, and you’ll have to write even when you don’t feel like it.

But a great way to get the most out of that early motivation is to channel it into higher early output.

We all know that 50,000 words split over 30 days is 1667 words a day. But authors who win NaNoWriMo often don’t start there. They shoot for 2,500-3,000 words a day in the first week. That way they build up a buffer for the later weeks where motivation isn’t as high.

Plus, it gives them great forward momentum on their project. So consider setting higher goals early and taking advantage of your early NaNo fervor.

2. Account for daily life.

Even if you've cleared your calendar for November, life has a knack for throwing curveballs. 

Kids get sick. Work projects pop up. You know what I mean. If your word count goal is teetering on the edge of feasibility, any small disturbance can throw it off. 

To combat this, make plans and backup plans. Schedule your writing time around family gatherings. Plan what happens if you miss a day. Set yourself up for success before those situations arise.

3. Use the buddy system.

Find a writing buddy to be accountable to. It could be a friend participating in NaNoWriMo, or even someone you connect with in the NaNo community. 

Check in with each other daily. Celebrate your wins, commiserate over the tricky bits, and hold each other accountable. 

Sometimes, knowing someone else is in the trenches with you can be incredibly motivating.

4. Have weekly check-ins.

Instead of focusing solely on daily targets, also have a weekly goal. This gives you a broader view and allows for some flexibility. If you have a slower day, you can make up for it later in the week without feeling like you've thrown the entire month off course.

5. Actually track your goals.

Obviously, you need to track your goals, but there are multiple ways to do it.

Dabble integrates with NaNoWriMo, so you don’t have to manually submit your word count. And if you fall behind a bit, Dabble will automatically adjust your daily goal accordingly to keep you on track.

But even if you’re just marking off your goals on a napkin at your desk, tracking your progress will help you stay the course to victory.

Now go forth, share your stories, and remember: it's not all about the word count; it's about the words that count.

All NaNoWriMo participants can use the discount code  NANOWRI2023 for 20% off 1 year of Dabble! Offer expires January 31, 2024.

Robert Smith is a Dabbling Writer, and a Writing Dabbler. He likes playing board games with his wife, and deconstructing plots from movies in his spare time.

Top Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash.

[gwen-tolios]

This month has been a little weird, because in the past it's been the point of time where me and a few others ramp up for NaNoWriMo event planning.

I decided not to be an ML this year - I'm one of the many breakaway regions forging ahead with an independent event for our writers - but several people had been hoping to work with HQ again, and seeing the chatter around that is sad because it looks like NaNo isn't letting it happen.

Last year at this point, everyone who had volunteered to be an ML had been given instructions for this year, and links to order ML kits (usually the annual stickers). We'd get instructions in Aug on how to update digital spaces for the new year, and were encouraged to start scheduling events.

But it's Aug 1st and HQ has never even asked if anyone wants to volunteer this year. It's looking more and more likely that they have canned the entire Municipal Liason program, and if you don't have MLs what's the point of regions? If the community aspect of NaNo is going away, is it just a website now?

What made NaNo awesome was the other writers I'd hang out with on zoom or coffee shops.

I thought i had already grieved my time with NaNo, it had headed down a path I didn't want to follow and I had put so much energy into it. I'm building something new now even! But it's still so, so sad to think that it's just not my participation that has ended, but an entire program. And soon, I suspect, an entire organization.

NaNo is running on fumes, spiraling down and alienating so much of its old user base due to poor management and communication. Will it even run in November, I'm not entirely sure. I don't know if the donations they've received coverage servers fees.

Writers might have to do NaNo, or just write a draft in November, solo and that sounds so sad. I've only ever won because of my community (my region had at least 20 events scheduled in November).

I'd encourage people to reach out to old regions if you can - see if there's a grassroots community it morphed into. Or just any writing community - mine is hybrid now and all our writing events in November will have zoom options.

I hoped maybe the new HQ would build something that would work for someone, but i have a sneaking suspicion that it won't. NaNoWriMo might just become something like NoShaveNovember or Dry January. A thing you do, but no official community.

Feeling real bummed about this, because i volunteered with NaNo for 5 years and wrote for 12.

[boogleboot]

One year since Fateheart

A year ago I posted Fateheart: A Starless Seaquel to Ao3 (link here) - the mammoth fanfic sequel to Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea.

Fateheart has had an incredible year, and has completely changed my life, by all measures. Posting it has connected me to so many wonderful people and helped bring together a genuine community over on the Starless Sea discord (which you should join hey here's a link) who have supported me through the last hellish few weeks of uni assignments as well as months and months of creative projects and ambitious fic writing.

So on this blessed solstice day, here is a lil update for those who are following the slow progress of the unofficial Starless Sea canon as developed in Fateheart.

Oh that's right, baby. It ain't just one fan sequel. It's gonna be uhhh (checks notes) at least four.

I really really wanted to get the next book out at this year mark - on the solstice and year anniversary - but despite hitting that 50k mark for NaNoWriMo last month it just didn't happen (it's been a rough couple months - I am currently doing a master's course that is kicking my ass).

But I am determined to get Fever Pitch, the next full-novel-length follow-up story, out in full as soon as humanly possible. Toward that end I have gone ahead and made a posting for it. The first few chapters are done and have been done for a while, so I shall slowly be posting them as I work on the rest.

Watch this space!!!!

I never really intended Fever Pitch to be a fully-fledged sequel. Mind you, I didn't intend that with Fateheart either, but in a different way. In my mind the next book in the sequence is and always has been a story called The Lotus Flowers. Nearly 180k words of that one exist, but it is too important a story not to get right. So I'm gonna give it as much time as it needs - and it may need quite a lot.

But in working on Lotus Flowers, I came to realise that a lot of the world-building and character development which I was taking for granted was in fact not as obvious to the reader as it would be to me - LF is, after all, set ten or so years after Fateheart, and considering all of The Starless Sea (at least for Zachary and Dorian) takes place in about two weeks, ten years is space enough for a LOT of story.

So in order to strengthen my sense of where Zachary, Dorian, and Kat have found themselves by the ten year mark, I started noting down some of the more important moments from that decade of time. And then just kept writing. And writing and writing and writing until a handful of them were fully fledged novellas.

I have put up the polished ones - they are collected together on Ao3 as 'Fateheart: The Extended Canon'. Which is. A bit pretentious. But whatever. (Also I'm not kidding myself that all the fics in this collection are vital plot points, but there are a couple standout ones which are Canon Events in my mind, that will be referenced in later full-length fics. Namely A Heart That Won't Break, Death in the Valley, and The Man Named Sky.)

But one of these short (aspirationally) stories seemed as I wrote to have particular space in it for so much of that world-building and exposition, and that was Fever Pitch.

Fever Pitch takes place five years after the birth of the Harbour, and the events of Fateheart, and is an Alice-in-Wonderland themed story which explores the lives of all the main Fateheart characters (Zachary, Dorian, Kat, and Leander, namely), introduces some new players (shoutout Tabuzae and Kirsty Baudeville), as well as establishing the limits and life of the Harbour they live in.

I'd say a solid sixty percent of this story currently exists, and I'm gonna amp up the pressure on myself to complete it by posting it as I go - something I've never done before, so bear with me.

It means so much to me that there are people out here who care as much about these people and this little world on the Starless Sea as I do - even more so that so many people have loved my offerings of more story. The above photo is of my christmas present from a housemate who was one of Fateheart's earliest readers. It's so beautiful it makes my heart leap.

We rise, we fall - as stories do.

I am committed to seeing this story through, by the way - all the way to the end - and that is gonna take years. But we start here - with the next book in the series. First few chapters to appear over Christmas.

Until then, happy solstice. To seeking x

[spotofmummery]

OOC: State of Mummery 2023

On the eve of Amon’s Nameday (tomorrow), I just wanted to take a moment to talk about Spot of Mummery, my creative endeavors (rather the lack of), a bit about what’s happening IRL, and what I’d like to do more of in 2024.

Feel free to take a peek into my life if you wish, below the cut. Your suggestions are always welcome!

I want to start this with a disclaimer – I’m going to talk about difficult things that I don’t normally address here, but I am doing okay. I’ve learned how to work through many difficulties the last couple of years, and this is not a post of lament.

Some might know that I lost my father unexpectedly right before Christmas last year.

Most don’t know that for the last couple of years (and right now currently), I’m also dealing with unexplained chest pain on and off through the year. My heart was checked this past year, and that was all fine. It’s undiagnosed, but I’m thinking (and the cardiologist also thinks) it’s a form of inflammation. The pain I can deal with, the worry about “what is this?” is a bit more troublesome.

All this is to say, I haven’t been very creative in 2023.

During NaNoWriMo of 2022, I finally wrote Amon’s triumphant return to Syrcus Tower in the First, as I’ve wanted to for years. But then, my Dad passed, and it took months for me to finish editing and posting all that writing. I did finally get it done, but my focus was other places, obviously.

In 2023, I haven’t written a word for Amon’s story outside of the Choose Amon’s Adventures (which I’d like to get started up again, maybe) and his silly adventures on Island Sanctuary (which I need to complete with the newest content for the last patch).

My RP interactions here have been little to none. My energy for attending in game events has been low.

I did organize my own event around the NA fanfest, and that went great, actually! Thanks to all who attended!

But aside from that, Lunarcon, and a few small art parties, I’ve kept to myself a lot this year. In fact, my game time in FFXIV is probably an all-time low – and that’s not because I’ve fallen out of love with the game.

On a positive note, the whole fiasco at Twitter/X brought me back to this Tumblr account full-time. I was already moving this direction, but now I’m here primarily. I do have a Pillowfort and a Blue Sky account for Amon, but Tumblr is my main gig.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with all this, other than to just note that my creativity and interaction has not been up to snuff this year. I’d love to say something like, “My resolution for next year is to knock it out of the park!” – but the reality is, I’m not sure what I can commit to just yet.

I think what I'd like most of all to start by getting back into enjoying time spent in game with Amon again, for one. Not that I dislike time spent with Amon, just that I recognize that it’s not got that spark that once motivated me (probably user error).

To be fair, though, I haven’t been spending a lot of time with any of my characters in game like I used to. So, it’s not just Amon.

If you’ve gone through a time where you needed to reconnect with your OCs, let me know how that turned out and what you did. I’m open to suggestions!

And if you’ve read all the way here to the end, thanks for listening. You are appreciated, friend! <3

[who-is-page]

Fall 2024: Achievements, Goals, and Thoughts

[Crossposted from my Patreon]

The fall equinox is just around the corner, heralding the arrival of one of my favorite times of year (although our arthritis and its poor relationship with the cold certainly begs to differ). With a new season on the horizon, I wanted to get my bearings on where we're at, where we're going, and our thoughts about all of it.

Achievements. 💡

We were volunteer staff and lecturers at this year's OtherCon! We co-lectured the Alterhumans & Relationships panel with our husband Thomas, which involved going over some of the data gleaned in our Alterhumans & Relationships Survey. We also assisted with the data collection and visualization for our partner Orion Scribner's massive survey, boasting over 1,200 respondents, which was used in their OtherCon lecture Phantom Limbs and Phantom Sensations, Human and Otherwise.

The Alterhuman Archive has reached over 1,400 entries. This is not something that would have been possible without the incredible help of the other archivists and curators working on the project--our friend Nova, our partner system House of Chimeras, and our partner Orion just to name a few--but it's an absolutely phenomenal and unbelievable milestone to reach.

This year's first Centaurus Festival was a massive hit, with 150 people registering and a peak attendance of 134 people. There were 11 panels in total, not including movie showings. Once again not a project I could have wrangled on my own without the incredible support of my friends and the staff team.

Goals. ✒️

Inky Paws #3 has been put on the back burner for a significant part of this year while college and my job took precedence, but I'm set and determined to once again have it published by or before December 31st.

Retail Werewolf is a comedy-fantasy solo RPG about being--you guessed it!--a werewolf stuck in a awful and fantastical retail job, where you're just trying to get through your shift without mauling someone. It's something that I've had in the works for a few weeks now. It's around half-way to completion, and I hope to have it done in time for Black Friday.

The Centaurus Festival website, Discord, and Tumblr need to be updated in preparation for next year. I've already touched base with the staff team on this, and I'd theoretically like to have at least the website updated before the equinox. (With that said, I'm working 55 hours this week, have at least 15 hours of college work left to push through, and will be celebrating my four-year anniversary with House of Chimeras, so we'll see if that timetable holds.)

Thoughts. 💭

We were extremely disappointed to see NaNoWriMo's stance in favor of generative AI earlier this year. If you don't know what debacle we're referring to, I made a short post on my Dreamwidth about it, and several news organizations have written deep-dive articles discussing and dissecting the matter such as Slate's Inside the Heated Controversy That’s Tearing a Writing Community Apart. We grew up writing with NaNoWriMo, and we even won the challenge in 2013 with a cheesy horror story that will never see the light of day and again in 2021 with The Sol System’s Alterhuman Writing Project, where we wrote an alterhuman-themed piece for each day in November. But with that said, the enormous outpouring of support for archiving and creation that we've seen at both OtherCon and the Centaurus Festival and our own past success with NaNo for writing about alterhuman topics make us wonder if it might not be time to reclaim November, which also conveniently happens to be the month in which Therianthropy Day is celebrated, and create an alterhuman writing event or group for it. Let us know your thoughts on this idea, or if you're feeling like you want to take a whack at it yourself!

And on that note, we really want to see people rally and support some of the major community projects out there more-- things like the Otherkin Wiki, AnOtherWiki, Otherkin News, Radiant Obscurities, and similar! We also want people to feel more assured in their own capabilities to create projects themselves, either collaboratively or alone. Seeing Nova's plans for HowlCon next year is incredibly exciting.

In sadder thoughts and news on projects, we must all bid a sad farewell to Project Shift and the Werelibrary, which are currently no longer being maintained. These resources were some of my favorite when I was a high school otherkin over a decade ago, and were also a major inspiration for my creation of the Alterhuman Archive. Although some of the works hosted on them may have been dated, these sites will be sorely missed.

[thecoramaria]

hi, ive been watching your videos for a while now, and i'm currently starting my first real longfic. i've got it mostly outlined, but do you have any tips for starting the actual writing process? thanks!

Thanks for watching! As for the actual writing process, I can only really explain what works, or has worked, for me.

Writing in order. Some people swear by writing out of order, but if I do that, usually the pieces don't fit together and I end up rewriting what happens later anyway.

Reduce friction between writing and not writing. It's the reason why I keep my Word document open at all times: when it's always there and in easy reach, I can go from not writing to writing in seconds.

Listen to music. If you want to achieve a certain mood or atmosphere, music can really help you get into that headspace! I do often get distracted trying to find "the right music" though...

When I finish writing for the day, I write a summary of exactly what happens next in brackets. That way, when I'm ready to write again, I know exactly what needs to happen and just need to figure out how to make the words go.

If you can access your manuscript from your phone with ease, great! If not, but you want to write on public transport or in waiting rooms, copy and paste the last few hundred words of your story into an app like Evernote and keep writing from there. That's what I do, particularly during events like NaNoWriMo.

Some people say you should never, ever edit as you go, buuuut I do, and I think it's a pretty natural part of writing serialised work anyways, since you're often posting a story before you've finished writing it anyway. Usually my "as you go" edits just start off as highlighting bits I'm not sure about, or making comments to fix certain details for the sake of continuity or improvement. It's when I'm a week from posting when I make sure all those issues are resolved.

I also try to focus on my wordcount over long periods of time rather than my daily word count (unless I'm doing something like NaNoWriMo). That way, I don't have to feel so bad if I have a day or week (or sometimes a month) where I get barely any writing done.

Hope these help! Remember that the Sundae Bar Notice applies here as well 💖

[l-e-morgan-author]

my current wip list

Hands Made for Gentleness is about my two dear idiots Vaniah and Anneka, who get married to dodge an arranged-marriage law. Vaniah is incredibly traumatised by events in his past. Anneka discovers this as time goes by. It's a story of healing, mainly, and mental health. Boatload of trigger warnings (Vaniah is severely depressed, suicidal and all that goes with that, while Anneka is in recovery from anorexia) but I love them so much and I love the energy that's between them. At this moment I'm writing a scene in which they're arguing because Vaniah abruptly shut down a kissing scene without explanation and the conversation afterwards got mildly heated. Also they basically end up in a QPR more than a traditional romantic relationship and I love that for them. They're late twenties or so during this novel. First draft.

Patience, Changing is about Patience and her adopted sister Rhona. Patience is my autistic darling, Rhona is my current Discord pfp and anyway I love them. They have interpersonal conflicts that form the nucleus of the novel, but they work them out in the end. Teenagers, and absolutely no romantic relationships in this story which I love. Also it's set in my home city of Melbourne. First draft.

To Kindle a Flame is the first book of an embarrassingly big series. I first wrote the earliest draft for camp nanowrimo or nanowrimo itself, 2017. It started out as one book, in fact started out as a simple response to a concept outlined and failed to bring to a satisfying conclusion by a Christian book by someone in my denomination - In Search of Life by Anna Tikvah. I loved the concept (girl has questions about life, turns to the Bible and reads it, things happen), but then Verity never questioned that the Bible was true, which seemed wack to me. So I started writing a story in which my main character (Adira) found a copy of the Bible and then began to read it, but the whole time she's questioning it. It turned into about 300k of messy drafting (I've drafted it uhh three times by now and am gradually working on overhauling it, grabbing what bits I can and then finishing the draft, ideally this year) and has become a story about mental health, choices and the way people figure out beliefs. In the Gospels there's a line in which Pilate says "What is truth?" - that's basically the tagline of To Kindle a Flame. It's also dystopian. It's my beloved baby. Anyway I'm normal about this story. Also Adira is autistic. Oops. I didn't intend that. I just looked at her character one day and went Yet Another Autistic Character Ay. xD It's also set in Melbourne, but aforementioned dystopia renders Melbourne unrecognisable. I've done a bunch of worldbuilding on her. Also features the character who was the first openly queer character I ever wrote - Tom, who's bi, though he ends up married to Adira and never has a mlm relationship during the story (has prior - in the story he's side B). Somewhere between first and second drafts.

Do Roses Cast Shadows? was the most recent nanowrimo, and I got a grand total of 12k into it. I uh. Don't know what's going on really. I don't recall much, but I'd like to get back to it someday. My characters are Wren and I can't recall the male main character's name.

They Told Me To Name My Demons is a poetry collection I'm working up to publication someday. It's about Christianity, suicidality, depression, autism and identity. I plan to include 100 poems and 7 prose pieces, of which I've so far written and somewhat edited 84 poems (might have a few more, I haven't crossreferenced with my phone lately) and 4 pieces of prose. The title is from a blog post I read years ago and then wrote a poem in response to. Most of the poems have been written in the last year or two. I chase inspiration where I see it. First draft.

Sparks Under Heaven is a collection of five short stories/novellas, all connected to To Kindle a Flame (one features Adira, two her grandfather, one someone another character knew in his youth and the other focuses on an event from To Kindle a Flame but from someone else's perspective). I've had it professionally edited but the edits are sitting there still waiting to be touched, largely. Second-last round of edits before I self publish.

Through Lightning, Through Thunder was nanowrimo 2022, the happiest novel I've ever written and absolutely beloved. It features Taira (rabbit), Paddy (fox), Sheba (lynx), and various less important characters. It started out life as a Narnia fanfic, focused around my original characters with occasional mentions of the Four. It was 15k. Then I fleshed it out into a full original novel, 100k-and-counting. Oopsie. The good guys are trying to stop an evil dragon being resurrected (based on the Witch scene in Prince Caspian). In the end everyone lives happily ever after. Yay. Second draft.

[Inklings story] is about Hadassah, autistic darling of my heart who is thrown through a portal and discovers a found family on the other side, essentially. Downtrodden autistic but becomes happy and confident. First draft.

The Time Travelling Midwife is about Felicity, ALSO autistic (surprise!). I haven't got very far with this one either, it exists mostly in vibes in my mind. It's best summarised as the story with the time travelling midwife, who travels in time, is an angel, tries to stop evil from prevailing and when it does eventually through the building of the tower of Babel (mainly facilitated by one of her colleagues), her time travelling powers are taken away and she ends up settling somewhere in the 1900s and having a happy life. First draft.

Only the first and second are in active development right now. Please ask me about any part of any thing of this post. I copied and pasted directly from the Discord in which I rambled about them.

If I've forgotten any wips that you know about please tell me, lol. And this is only about full length novels or collections, not shorter stories.

[cemetrygatess]

Some thoughts and tips on beating writers block:

1. You cannot beat writers block by wanting to write

And in fact in my experience, the more you want to write, the less able you will be to do so. For me, the biggest step in overcoming writers block is accepting that I have it and that’s normal and okay. More pressure and self critical thinking has never helped me.

2. Ban yourself from writing

Reverse psychology can be something you do to yourself!! Set a date before which you are not allowed to write (a week, a month your choice). Whenever I do this I rarely make it to the day I said I would without “cheating” and writing.

3. When you are writing, set future you up for success.

Write one sentence of the next section or chapter. Or give yourself a little outline of what happens next. Write a few bits of dialogue for an upcoming portion. Anything that makes it so you are not tackling something empty next time you start.

4. Classically condition yourself

This one is going to sound nuts but I did it on accident for work. Every day I would play a specific number game (nerdle) to get my brain started and that made we wake up a bit and be ready to code. Now I can play that game and get started working so much more easily than before. It can be anything- a place to sit, a flavor of tea, some activity you do before, etc etc etc. Ideally it should something you like doing but only do before writing. Of course you have to start this while you’re writing, but once the connection is there you can trick your brain later. Also! You may have done this without realizing, in which case, following your old habits might help you write!

5. It’s okay to switch WIPs

If George RR Martin can do it so can you! Will he ever write winds of winter? Seemingly no, but he has written other books. If there’s a Problem with something you’re writing you can and should take a break and write something else. If your thing is too sad, write something happy. If it’s too complicated and plotty, write something simple. You might find yourself drawn back to what made excited about the wip later.

6. Done is better than Perfect/editing is easier than writing

All hail the shitty first draft! It can be terrible! So bad! It’s easier to write poorly than well. Give yourself permission to write poorly.

7. Community helps

Join a writers group or discord! Little group writing sprints and discussions make writing less solitary and more communal. Similarly, doing writing for specific events (NaNoWriMo or fandom exchanges etc) can help you feel like you are writing for something and often there is a community built in! People that wrote a lot for school sometimes find a deadline helpful.

8. Is it really writers block?

You might have writers block, or you might have other stuff going on! Maybe the writers block is actually a symptom of a mental or physical health issue. Maybe you’re really stressed at work or school or by family. I recommend going after the cause if this is the case! See a therapist or a doctor! Finish school! Change jobs! Move somewhere better! The writing will be there when you are ready for it. In the meantime forgive yourself for being human.

[fireartandstylezine]

What Happened to #Nanowrimo

A Micro Essay

By Mutiny Crinshaw, co-editor, Grinning Kitten Press

It often appears to me that people in the press & in society at large think of National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo, as some cute little holiday-style project, if not on the level of Mother's Day, than at least Secretary's Day or National Donut Day. Fun, innocuous, something your quirky writer friend does.

That's a misperception. & the scandal which took down the forums & has Nanowrimo's Board of Directors scrambling proves that this perception is in error.

The rumors I have seen in Reddit & elsewhere in the Nano community indicate an abuse scandal. I will not dive into it; I am sure others can inform you much better than I can, & I am not privy to the most important details.

What I want to point out is that Nano isn't just some happy-fun project for your writer friends, although many of your writer friends also think that it is & can be forgiven for wanting to hang out with their other writer friends for this one month just to write.

I want to put Nanowrimo in its larger context.

What began as friends around a table wanting to Chase Those Words & Write a Novel was something anyone could have organized. You, me, your own friends. We organize little events like that all the time.

Nano simply had a certain social capital & gained a certain momentum.

The question of what creative types do with such momentum tells us a lot. It tells us a lot in the context of AI, the Arts, & late capitalism.

The choice of folks behind Nanowrimo was to take that momentum & create a 501(c)3, which is a nonprofit entity under US law.

The ease & lack of controversy around that choice exists in a continuum that constitutes all the rest, shaping the kinds and forms of abuse beyond the most illegal and egregious. It gives legal cover to the broader social harms.

Certainly choosing a nonprofit form is not a mistake on the level of "mistakes" that led to the kind of abuse rumored to be going on around Nano HQ, but it is not an unrelated mistake.

Because it is a mistake about power.

About control.

About bending people to your will.

Most of Nano runs off volunteer labor. Interns, unpaid regional coordinators, & the like.

It is a lot of work they do, year-round. Moderating. Writing grants. Chasing donors.

Meanwhile, HQ has worked with fundraising, PR, branding, & most of all selling memorabilia . . . & the best part of that is, you do not need to "win Nano" to participate in the shopping. Or the donations.

Another problem with a collective enterprise like Nano in our stage of late capitalism is that it encourages writers to hustle. (A phenomenon related to Large Language Models/ChatGPT/AI, but I will not be diving into that too much here.)

Successful hustlers - the REALLY successful ones - have social capital to burn, have wealthy loved ones & donor networks & credit (literal economic credit as well as social credit) that boosts their projects.

So while thousands of writers hunker down for the month of November to hustle their novel into being, the real hustlers at the top can hustle & make money in the name of The Arts.

The average Nano author will not get rich. Will not public unless it is through Amazon. Will work very hard for no money.

But who will make money off Nanowrimo?

Admin.

Thus, it should come as no surprise, if & when Nano HQ's abuse scandal(s) come more to light, that people have been harmed & abused.

The egregious harms lay atop a pervasive culture of exploitation which permeate nonprofits & shape our entire industry of cultural production.

Harm & abuse go hand-in-hand where charity work & volunteer labor are exploited.

The nonprofit-industrial complex provides legally-recognized covers for the harnessing of collective, creative spirit. It drives profits, offsets costs, & masks marketing & PR under a humanitarian guise. In the case of Nanowrimo, it yokes literacy & creativity for the profit of the few admins at the top.

This is "The Arts" in the US. Grifters preying on idealists. Incorporating. & if you are outside the US, you will not go untouched, for our nonprofits come for you & your culture as much as our for-profits do.

In conclusion, we ought to become & remain skeptical of any artistic endeavor that gains prominence under capitalism.

Whether that artistic endeavor promises a hip new movie studio, an artsy social media platform, a rising music label . . . or even a publishing press.

If the Art World & the mainstream media celebrate it, then you know it hates artists. It abuses writers. It milks us for profit.

The best way ahead for Nanowrimo will be for the unpaid regional leads to de-federate from HQ & create new, anti-capitalist enterprises. Artists and writers, we need to form collectives that will meet nonprofits & corporation in cultural combat. No words but class war <3

A rougher draft of this micro-essay was posted earlier on our Mastodon account. It has been edited for stylistic improvements and linguistic and intellectual clarity.

[em-dash-press]

What Is NaNoWriMo?

You’ve likely seen some posts about NaNoWriMo before. It’s nearly impossible to exist in any creative writing ecosystem without seeing people post about it or use it as a tag. This is everything you need to know about NaNoWriMo before the big event arrives this year.

Heads up! NaNoWriMo starts next month. This guide could help you get ready to join in the coming weeks or prepare for next year if you need more time.

What Is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo is a long acronym for National Novel Writing Month. It’s an event that happens every year in November. People from all over the world open new documents or fresh sheets of paper to write their own 50,000-word novels in 30 days or less. 

History of NaNoWriMo

There is a pretty long history behind NaNoWriMo that boils down to these points:

In 1999, Chris Baty–a writer in San Francisco—decided to attempt writing a novel in a month.

He also asked his creative writing friends to join in the attempt.

They started writing on July 1 and six of them reached the word count by July 31.

The next year, the challenge moved to November so everyone could take full advantage of July’s gorgeous weather for vacations and general non-indoor-writing things.

Everyone from 1999’s event invited more friends, so 29 out of 140 reached the word count in year two.

Newspapers covered the fun event, which made it nationally known.

People made a website for NaNoWriMo so more people could participate.

Thousands participated in the annual November event online by following posts on the website.

In 2006, NaNoWriMo became a nonprofit.

Since 2006, NaNoWriMo has grown to include events throughout the year, like the summer program Camp NaNoWriMo.

427,653 writers from around the world participated in 2021.

How NaNoWriMo Works

If you want to see what NaNoWriMo is all about, you’ll have to sign up on the main website. It’s free to sign up so you don’t need to worry about it affecting your budget.

Once you reach your new dashboard, you can set all kinds of goals tailored to your writing routine or hopes, like:

Weekly writing dates

Total words for your story

Word counts per day or week

When you’re ready to start writing, you can use whatever tools you prefer. Physical notebooks, Google Docs, Word docs, and writing software programs are all compatible. Think of your NaNoWriMo dashboard as a separate tool recording your progress while your writing happens on the side.

There are also tons of free resources available year-round on the main website. Check out the resource hub to explore new topics or get the pep talk you need to start your new manuscript.

You can use it to write your first novel or your 50th. It depends on where you are in your creative writing journey.

Benefits of Participating In NaNoWriMo

There are many benefits to participating in NaNoWriMo. Writers enjoy things like:

Finishing a novel

Improving your writing skills

Meeting other writers

Getting feedback on your writing

Having a sense of accomplishment

Tips for Participating In NaNoWriMo

I understand how overwhelming it might feel to think of writing a novel in a month. It’s out of the norm, but that’s the point of NaNoWriMo! You’re supposed to set a writing goal that feels slightly outside of your normal routine. It’s easier to try new resources and writing tricks when you’re in uncharted territory.

Here are a few tips for participating in NaNoWriMo with a little less anxiety than you might feel right now.

Set Realistic Goals

Writing a novel in a month might be literally not possible for you. If your schedule, ideas, or anything else could get in the way of your goal, then it’s likely not realistic.

Set realistic NaNoWriMo goals this year to accomplish your dreams.

You could start by making a SMART goal, which stands for a goal that’s:

Specific (“I will write 500 words this month” instead of “I’ll write this month.”)

Measurable (“To write 500 words this month, I’ll write at least 16 words each day” instead of “I’ll try to write every day.”)

Achievable (“I know I’ll have time for this in my early morning or late evening hours” instead of “I’ll try to find time for my writing.”)

Relevant (“I’ll get to write about a character, theme, or story idea that matters to me” instead of “I’ll write something good.”)

Time-Bound (“I’ll finish writing every day by 10 p.m. at the latest and finish on November 30” instead of “I’ll write for the whole month.”)

Getting specific in these ways makes your writing goals actionable—not just hopeful.

Find a Writing Friend

Search the NaNoWriMo resource page to find writing groups you could join in November. It’ll help to read the forum posts from other participants working through the same challenges you’re facing.

Social media could also be a great place to find NaNoWriMo participants. Look into writing groups specifically for this November’s event. See if there are Discord servers for NaNoWriMo writers or TikToks writers are making about their experiences.

Select a Few Writing Tools

There are free writing resources all over the internet that will help you succeed in your NaNoWriMo goals this year. I’ve got an older list of resources people find helpful, but you can also check out NaNoWriMo’s official resource page.

Take Care of Yourself

You are always more important than your stories. You’re worth the effort it takes to do self-care habits like taking breaks, making quick healthy meals, and getting enough sleep.

Don’t forget to prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional needs this November. Taking breaks during your writing sessions could prevent burnout. Check-in with yourself daily to ask what would help you feel your best and what forms of self-care will boost your writing abilities.

Rewards are another great self-care tool too! What would make you happy? That might look like getting yourself an ice cream cone when you’re done with your first day or going to a movie for getting halfway through your goals. You should finish the self-care activity feeling rested and restored.

Consider Trying NaNoWriMo This Year

Anyone can try NaNoWriMo, no matter how much writing experience you have. Even if your goal is only to write a short story, use this event to practice writing. You’ll have a great time if you set achievable goals, prioritize your self-care, and surround yourself with a supportive creative community.

NaNoWriMo FAQs

Do I Have to Be a Novelist to Participate in NaNoWriMo?

No! The event was created to help the founder finish his first novel. You can join the NaNoWriMo event if you have a novel idea in the back of your mind or even if you just want to write a short story.

On the other hand, novelists are welcomed to join too. You could use the event to tackle your next manuscript or finish the novel you’re working on right now. There are no hard rules about what you can write.

How Much Do I Need to Write for NaNoWriMo?

How much you write for NaNoWriMo is up to you. The average novel is around 50-75,000 words, but that number isn’t realistic for everyone to write in 30 days or less. Set a word count that’s realistic for you given your writing abilities and time.

How Do I Complete NaNoWriMo?

You’ll complete NaNoWriMo by accomplishing the goal or goals you set for yourself on November 1! You’ll be your biggest cheerleader in this event, so make sure you celebrate your accomplishments.

What Happens if I Don’t Finish NaNoWriMo?

If you don’t finish NaNoWriMo, nothing happens. Seriously. It’s an international writing event, but there aren’t penalties for not meeting your writing goals or even falling out halfway through.

Writers set their own goals and keep themselves on track. If you don’t finish, recognize what happened and learn from it. You can always try again next year—or even next month if you want to do it again by yourself!

What Are the Official Rules of NaNoWriMo?

The official rules of NaNoWriMo are easy to follow. They include the following guidelines:

Set an official 50,000 word count goal if you want to participate via the NaNoWriMo free member dashboard.

Set a customized goal through the same dashboard, although it won’t be an official goal.

Follow the Code of Conduct whenever you’re posting in group spaces.

There are general understandings as well, like:

Don’t start working on your manuscript before November 1, including plot outlining and character work.

Don’t continue working on your manuscript after November 30. 11:59 PM on November 30 is the last chance to add to your official word count goal. After that, any writing or editing that happens will be unattached to your NaNoWriMo participation.

Does NaNoWriMo Cost Money?

NaNoWriMo doesn’t cost money! It’s completely free to participate in. However, there are additional things you can spend money on if you’d like to upgrade your experience.

You can invest in writing software or online tools as you see fit. You can also buy merchandise from the organization’s shop, which includes notebooks and a book on writing tips.

If you like what you see, please consider using the tip feature on my posts! I run this site for free, but will always appreciate the financial support. 💙

[snotsloth]

Hey y'all,

So, as you have all probably seen, I've been participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time in like a decade and having a fantastic time. I've written more in the last 15 days than I have in a very very long time.

But some stuff has happened. Unbeknownst to me, while I was having a grand old time writing my little (irresponsibly long) Baldur's Gate fanfic, the NaNoWriMo forums were on fucking fire.

And for good reason! Apparently, for basically an entire year, moderators and staff have been stifling dissenting voices of forum members who brought up legitimate and serious concerns such as, but not limited to, official sponsors who were scammers that had been previously identified and called out in the forums, inconsistent forum moderation (including favoritism and special treatment for people they were close with), and inadequate protections for participants under the age of 18.

It got so bad that the Board of Directors had to step in and closed down the forums on Nov 12. The posted a statement, and did leave a few specific threads open to collect community comments and answer questions. You can read what they have to say on the primary statement (CW for talk of harassment, mentions of transphobia and racism, and talk of child sexual abuse) here. That thread also has a helpful list of links at the bottom of the initial post that will help you get up to speed if you wish, though it is a lot of reading and potentially traumatizing if you've dealt with issues like this before.

I'm not going to rehash all the details here because even though I've spent a good chunk of the last two days reading up on this mess. I'm not a direct participant in any of these events and I would rather you read what happened in their own words if you're interested.

What I will say is it looks like the NaNoWriMo organization suffered from chronic under-staffing which resulted in employees working excessive hours at jobs that they lacked adequate skills, training, and support to do effectively. In an attempt to make every donation dollar count, they over-promised and under-delivered on programs and services offered by the org, and fundamental safety parameters were just never put in place.

It does appear like the Board is taking things very seriously and they are working on an action plan. However, none of those actions will be taken until at least Nov 27. So, for me, this is where my NaNoWriMo participation ends for the year. I am still working feverishly to meet my personal goal. I just won't be tagging any updates with NaNoWriMo or Nano2023. I will probably still be doing my daily word count updates because they entertain me and help keep me motivated, but it will just be tagged with generic writing and BG3 tags.

I hope that the Board of Directors is able to get things under control and that we see a new and improved NaNoWriMo organization rise in 2024. This annual challenge and the community around it has been a terrific influence in the lives of many writers. Until then, I'll just be over here, scribbling about blorbos.

[nanowrimo]

Making Time: 5 Ways Writers Prepare for Success With Timelines

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Aeon Timeline, a 2022 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a visual hub for your entire story. NaNoWriMo writers can try out a free trial of Aeon Timeline through December 15! In this post, the folks at Aeon share a few ways that making a timeline for your novel can help your story:

If you are like me your story has been gnawing inside you for months. An intriguing premise; a character to explore; a surprise twist; a cliffhanger ending—something is telling you that you are the person to write this story.

Yet every year, only one in ten Wrimos make it to the end. Over 200,000 promising novels are abandoned—typically in the sticky middle stages.

At Aeon Timeline, we believe that visual planning with timelines can bring purpose to your writing, add depth to your characters, and sustain your creative energy until the end.

With help from authors David Williams and Andrew Hanson, let’s look at why so many stories fail in the middle stages, and the planning you can do now to avoid those mid-novel traps.

1. Steer your story in the right direction

Writing a novel any time is tough; finishing one in a month is crazy. To get to the finish line, you need to make sure every scene is pulling in the right direction. 

I find it easier to maintain momentum when I have the lure of a compelling climax to write towards. Creating this sense of direction is what building a visual story timeline is all about.

Don’t worry: 50,000 words provides abundant room for creativity. Planning a few signposts won’t change that, but it will make writing less stressful.

“I like to write fast and I like to write loose. Aeon Timeline allows me to do more of that, because it encourages me to be spontaneous in the space in-between. It’s actually going to enhance your creativity, and give you more freedom.”

– David Williams

2. Perfect your pacing with the right time frame

We writers talk a lot about setting, but stories live in time as much as they live in space. Time is crucial to controlling pace and tension.

Ask yourself:

What is the chronology of my story? What are the key moments and when do they need to happen?

What if I compressed my timeline? Would it increase tension, and force my characters to act impulsively? Or do my characters need more time to grow?

You could use pen and paper, but using a digital timeline encourages you to freely experiment and find new possibilities:

"Looking at this on the timeline, I thought, that's actually the beginning and end of the story. I’ve taken 20-odd years of information, and reframed it around a single weekend. Just the freedom to be able to throw these events around made me realize I had been getting it entirely wrong.”

– David Williams

3. Cultivate characters with purpose

You determine every choice for your characters, but you want them to bring their own goals and motive to every scene. To pull off this magic trick, each character’s stakes need to be high enough that they can’t simply walk away.

To ensure authentic choices, it helps to build thorough backstories for your characters and your world. What recent events instigated your story? How are they compelling your characters into action? Which historical scars and social pressures provoke their reactions in each scene?

By plotting these histories visually, you can cross reference personal and world events—prompting fresh insights about your characters.

“I start with the characters, and then flesh out the backstory events to make sure that the story logic makes sense. By story logic, I really mean that the events leading up to the present day of the story make sense to the reader.”

– Andrew Hanson

4. Amplify tension throughout your middle chapters

The first quarter of your book is done—your characters have taken that first irreversible step. The final chapters are whispering to you with the siren call of crisis and resolution.

But first, you have half a novel to increase stakes and layer pressure on your characters. That is a lot of empty space to fill with complications that don’t feel repetitive or contrived. You can drop another dead body, but can you really drop five?

It is easy to see why so many stories are abandoned in the middle. Why not plan your escalations in advance, while you have time to experiment and your story feels fresh?

If a better idea strikes while writing, that’s great! But if it doesn’t, your story timeline can keep you on solid ground: 

“The timeline is my barometer of story. It gives me an idea of where the pressure points are in a story, whether the story is working or not. It’s my eyes and ears on the story.”

– Andrew Hanson

5. Plan scenes as agents of change

We have all stumbled on that one scene that doesn’t want to be written. You can’t wait to throw yourself at the next crisis point, if you could just get that one scene right. But until then… Everything. Just. Stops.

Often, this block is surprisingly simple: your scene isn’t doing anything:

“The most important thing that every single scene has to have is change — external plot change or internal character change, but ideally both. If I am struggling with the writing of a scene, I can go into Aeon Timeline and fill in the details to work out where the scene has gone wrong.

– Andrew Hanson

Aeon Timeline is a flexible visual hub for planning your entire story. You can find detailed case studies describing how David and Andrew use Aeon Timeline on our website.

Download a free trial on Mac, Windows and iOS.  Discounts are available to all NaNoWriMo participants until December 15. To claim, log into your NaNoWriMo account and visit the Offers page.

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @wintersstreams

Who You Are:

Fen || They/them

I'm a Queer writer from the UK, specialising in horror, fantasy, and post-apoc genres. Only a two-time winnder of NaNoWriMo but both years did kick-start the trilogy I'm currently working on. When I'm not writing, I'm streaming or LARPing!

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy, horror, paranormal, poetry, and sci-fi. New adult and adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

Fantasy - it's so varied! You can merge it with just about any othe genre out there - dark fantasy, horror fantasy, high fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi fantasy… there's so much!

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

Romance. Not because I look down on it but because writing Romance is quite possibly one of the hardest genres to do WELL, and that is something I absolutely cannot do. I have huge respect for romance writers because I honestly don't know how they do it.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

I don't really think about my target audience - people who like Fae? Fantasy? When I was young I had children's versions of folklore tales from all over Ireland and Celtic Britain, so I think my target audience would be the adults of kids who loved those tales as much as I did.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

I don't really consciously choose themes, they just happen. Trops, however - I'm a sucker for a found family trope. Finding your people and knowing you're finally safe, that's what I love about that.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

"It was all a dream" or a last-minute completely implausible Deus Ex Machina, or even forced romances that make no other sense; I don't necessarily want my stories to be realistic but they do need to be convincing, no matter the genre, and sometimes forcing a trope can break the immersion of the story.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

The Oathsworn Trilogy! Working on it since my first NaNoWriMo event, 2020.

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I have an overactive imagination and sometimes the stuff it churns out is good enough that other people also think it's good, and I like having my ideas validated.

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

Genuinely since I could write full sentences in my shaky little hands. Can't say what drew me to it, probably real life being the way it is.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Everywhere! Dreams, sometimes, other works, existing folklore, having everything swimming around my brain and going "wouldn't it be messed up if I smooshed these two genres together and see what happens?" The inspiration from my current project actually came from a writing stream - one of my viewers gave me a couple of sentence and from there, it took on a life of it's own.

What works of yours are you most proud of? Why?

From the Deeps - a very short horror piece about how terrifying the ocean is and always has been.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

From the Deeps was actually accepted by an online magazine! And I wrote a semi-fictional account of my Valheim playthrough for a gaming magazine that seemed to go down well.

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you? Why?

Probably the moment after all the hard work is done and I'm holding a physical copy of my work in my hands - but I'm interested in how I'd get a cover artist. I have a few in mind!

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I just laughed hysterically at this question for a good five minutes. The part of writing that appeals to me most is the part where it's all done, where I get to read back over the words I've written and feel proud of myself. The part that's least appealing is actually writing. To paraphrase a tumblr meme, it takes so much brain to make the words go!

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

My writing process is usually having a flash of inspiration at a really inconvenient time and having to scramble to get somewhere I can write it down before I forget it. When I'm organised, I tend to open mynoise.net and then search youtube for an instrumental track that captures the right vibe for what I'm writing, and have them both playing at the same time in the background. It usually helps ther words go a little easier. Sometimes I need silence, but thankfully those days are rare.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I've been posting my writing on tumblr pretty much since I joined in 2011, but I didn't realise that there was a whole sub-community for writers! I set up my sideblog in… I think 2020, when the lockdown meant I really started writing in earnest.

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

@korblez - his discord link popped up on my tumblr dash one day and even though we had no mutuals at all, I thought "why the hell not?" and joined up. He's got a fantastic little community there and I'm so grateful he let me gatecrash. He also wants to 'eat my worldbuilding' which is one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. @pens-swords-stuff - I look up to them a lot, they're always organising within the community and their writeblr secret valentine was just lovely to watch and be part of @ @corishadowfang - they were my writeblr secret valentine, and went through a good few pages of my writing tags and commented on a LOT and it just brightened up my whole damn day to have that interaction.

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

We are all so excited for each other's work! We know the value of feedback, even just a keysmash comment, and we are unapologetically excessive in sharing that love.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

Sometimes I'll see some distant drama that I had no idea existed, like watching a pile of black smoke rising, so there's probably something that could be done better, butv whatever issues there are seem to have passed me by, thankfully.

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

I'm mostly a lurker - my mental health means that my ability to interact is a rollercoaster on a good day so I mostly just read and reblog. I absolutely could be doing more, but I don't have it in me right now

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

Find the word games, tag games, that sort of thing! Helps me see my own work from a different angle

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

Snippets of my work or posts of the short stories I do. I like getting my work out there.

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

Here's my carrd

Questions For Fun:

Got a favorite video game? What makes it your favorite? Have you taken anything from it to use in your writing?

Yes, the Dragon Age series. I love the story, the world, the characterisation. I love the way you can feel the difference you make in the world as you play the game. I also, as a writer, love picking apart the plot holes and poor writing, and working out what changes I'd make if I'm able to improve them. There's nothing specific in my writing it's helped me with except things to keep and things to avoid. I'll keep the sense of the fantastical. I'll leave the sexism.

Got any go-to track/s you play when you're writing? How'd you find them?

So I don't have a specific go-to track, but I do have a bunch of themed youtube videos - you know the hour+ ones that are titled something like "Epic battle music" or "Villain music" or similar? I pick the one with the vibe I need for whatever I'm writing. At the same time, I'll switch on an environmental sound from MyNoise.net to layer the effect. Feeling like you're in the story helps to write it.

If your writing was a scent, what scent would it be and why?

Petrichor. That wet, slightly acrid smell when the air is thick and heavy and you know there's going to be a storm so big and loud that it blows all the cobwebs awey? Yeah, I think that's what my writing would smell like. I hope that's what it would smell like.

[placesiwrite]

With all of the recent NaNoWriMo drama that's been going on, I'm trying to get back to my writing roots. For me, that means carry a notebook around again, so I asked my spouse to pick up a few for me. So far I've written three out of the last four days, and honestly, that's more than I usually manage in any given month, outside of November... At least in the past several years.

I'm trying to think of this as a positive, some kind of silver lining coming out of all the badness coming out of NaNo HQ.

I used to carry a notebook every day. I still carry a small one for notes and ideas, but I haven't carried a full sized one since leaving college, and these past few years it has felt like the only time I have the time and motivation to write is during a NaNo event. I do really well when there's just a touch of competition, so I have never yet lost a NaNoWriMo, and 2024 would be my fifteenth year, but the more this situation progresses, the more details that come out, the more it looks as if NaNo2024 won't happen.

I need to just write for the fun of it, again, and learn to write without the contest.

I'm Co-ML in my region. On Tuesday, we are getting our region together in Discord, and going Rogue.

[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