Gearing Up for Nanowrimo
This isn’t the first time I’ve done Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). In fact, one year I did hit my 50,000 year goal- about 40 minutes after midnight while I was in South Korea. However, I started with about 18,000 words. The project? The first draft of Collision. This was back in 2019. Now, two years later, I am attempting another 50,000 goal, but I’m starting with 3,000 words. This time, its the first draft of Immersion. (Thank you friend for reminding me that it was coming!)
The good news: I have plenty of material, characters, and know the beginning and ending of Immersion. The bad news: I have no clue what will happen in the middle. Nada. Nothing. This isn’t anything new though. Collision was the same way. In fact, the beginning of Collision has changed multiple times. Originally, Elise was in high school, and she had her friends, Gwen, Niko, and Tate. But in the final draft, only Gwen will appear, and not necessarily in the modern world! I expect new characters to replace old ones. The plot will run away from me. I will have to rewrite the beginning at least ten times. But, the end will always be in sight.
What are some of your struggles with writing? I have problems with the middle, of course. I also really struggle with getting down to writing. Sometimes I take half an hour or more just picking the right song to listen to. If the song is wrong, it can influence how the scene comes out. I can’t be listening to an angry rock song when I’m supposed to write a happy scene!
Finding the right voice for characters can be a challenge, especially if they aren’t ones I write consistently even outside the novels. Right now, I am trying to make sure Elise and Summer don’t sound or act like the same people. Some of it will have to be fixed in editing (okay, not just some, probably most). It’s much easier to see their personalities from another character’s point of view. When you get a limited third person (or first person) narrative, you can see all the emotions and thoughts that wouldn’t be visible if you met them in real life.
At the end though, I am very excited to finally write Immersion in its entirety! I still have a few short scenes I wrote back when I was in high school. Some of them might make it into the final drafts (with some heavy editing). It will be the introduction to my syreni (my iteration of mermaids or sirens, the name may change), and a deeper dive (ha) into the Kingdoms. This will not be the only book that includes syreni. If you check out my Books tab, there are at least three stories about them so far.
Onto some housekeeping! I will be doing blog posts on Sundays, and Instagram posts on most Fridays. Blog posts will have the bigger updates, but through the month of November, I hope to update my word count on Instagram stories most days. (No promises though, I have a very bad sense of time!)
Finally, have any of you written for Nanowrimo? How far did you get? How many times have you won? Are you planning to write this year? If so, let me know in a comment and follow my progress on the official website! Just look up Vivian Hale, and you should find me!
Until the Stars Fall,
Vivian Hale
Current song: Angel by Poets of the Fall