That time of year is here again–well, it’s always here. NaNoWriMo! I have never done NaNoWriMo because I have always been engaged in other writerly endeavors. I am a one book at a time person. Just because I’m outlining a book as I’m writing another doesn’t mean I’ll be writing that book once the outline is done. Instead of being able to participate in NaNo this year, I will be working on The Stars Are Infinite and will be getting back to When Heaven Was Blue.
That being said, I once participated in ViNoWrimo, which was Vicious Writing Month, back when the Vicious Writing group had a publishing company before going under due to poor management. So, take notice small presses: poor management will do you in. Big time. In any case, we were all supposed to write this one book in a month, and the best book received a contract. I didn’t win. I was still green at the time, but I will tell you it was about a 19th century girl giving sexual favors to a much older man in exchange for receiving money to go to university, as going to university was taboo in that day for women. I’ll probably get back to it, because I want to write a Victorian drama, but it will be more mature–still YA, of course, but possibly pushing NA boundaries.
Of course, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to participate in NaNoWrimo.
Guys, I don’t know how authors do it. I can see how self-published authors are able to do it because they can set their own deadlines and change them as they see fit, but with traditional or small press authors, I don’t see how it’s possible. We’re always working on the next novel that we want to be published. Do some authors plan their NaNo novel in advance and eventually want to publish it down the road somewhere? Or is NaNo just a chance for them to let loose? I practically have a NaNo all the time, because when I start a novel, it takes generally a month for me to draft, only because I have a thorough outline. Revisions, of course, take longer, and they should.
Here are a few comments from writers who will be participating in NaNo this year:
Katie Harder-Schauer: I’m participating in NaNo this year. My book is going to be an apocalypse novel.
Jennifer Castillo: Yup! I am. Year two, here I come! Book tagline: She is out for revenge…against those who forgot her name.
Mariah E. Wilson: Part of me REALLY wants to, but I want to finish Pitbully, and I don’t think I can be effective at doing both. I have an idea that I’m mapping out in my head…just in case (but it’s a secret).
Amy Carlson: I’m doing NaNo this year! I have a bit of an outline done, but I’m sure I’ll end up pantsing a large portion of it.
Wanndering: I guess Nano is the kind of push amateur and aspiring writers need to finish their novels. I know it is for me.
And a funny comment from my publisher, just cause. It was in response to sending in The Stars Are Infinite in to him in December.
Raymond Vogel: I was wondering if you were getting me anything for Christmas.
So are you guys doing NaNo this year? What are your plans? Do you outline or pants it? If you’re an author, how do you make time for NaNo? If you’re a writer, what does NaNo do for you?
Tomorrow my blog post will be very simple. It simply consists of a contest I have been entered in to that I hope you will all vote on When Stars Die.
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