NaNo Diaries #1 - Getting Ready

This past month, I've been gearing up to start writing Reborn of Ashes Book 3 of the Phoenix Province Trilogy.  I've been trying to write this story, but life and other circumstances have kept me from getting started. 

And then, here comes my favorite writerly event of the year... TheNaNoWriMo challenge. Yes, 50,000 words in one month. Not just any month, either. It's Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season month!
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​NaNoWriMo, an acronym short for “National Novel Writing Month,” is an online platform, as well as a challenge taking place in November, for aspiring writers to take on and belt out a 50,000-word novel within a whole month! According to its site, NaNoWriMo is “a website, a community, a wildly ambitious writing event – and so much more!”

How I Met Your Mother Himym GIFfrom How I Met Your Mother GIFs

Yep, challenge accepted. This is the perfect time for a kick in the pants prompt to get me started on this book. Like you, I'm eager to see how Sterlyn and Rillion will get out of that mess I left them in Blade of Embers.  

So, I've been working up an outline, even though I know how those things work out. Once I really get into the story, the characters generally tell me to go sit down while they do their job. I'm just there to document. Ha!

Writers understand. Normals are usually left scratching their heads over such nonsense. 
Either way, I just need to get started. The story will come once I start typing out the words. It always does. 
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Here is my starting progress. Act 1 is outlined. It will change, I'm sure. But having some words down is always better than opening a completely blank document. You know? 

I use the Three Act structure to outline my stories. I generally weave in a bit of the Hero's Journey, when I'm writing fantasy. I like roadmaps. They keep me from having to back track and rewrite as much as if I just wrote for discovery.

Writing for discovery is how I started out. It's fun to let the story take you away. I'd eagerly sit down to write because I wanted to know what happens next. But, I also found that I would have to do a lot of work rewriting many of the scenes that just ran on and on. Outlines help keep me from doing that.

​As much. =) 

So, every Friday in November, I'll be doing a check in post. I hope you'll stop in and help cheer me on as I aim for the whole 50,000 words. That's a lot, really. But it's doable. 

With your encouragement, it'll be a breeze. 

Until next time,
​J. Castle