Author R.A. Gasparac

Welcome to my introductory post about Nano, giving you the absolute basics to get you started this year. What are we covering in this post?

• WTF is NanoWriMo really?
• Nano survival kits
• Fiializing your Nano Novel Idea

WTF is Nano

There are many reasons people participate in NanoWriMo.  The most important is to accomplish something that would otherwise never exhist.  As human beings, our main atribute is being creators.  We exist to create something.  We are instruments of change.  Ideas and concepts come to us, and we feel the compultion to make them a reality.

NaNoWriMo is one of those things that help us facilitate that change in our world.  The end goal is to birth 50 thousands words into a consecutive narrative.  On paper that sounds relatively easy.  The truth is that is is harder than any new writer can imagine.  You have to develop not only dicipline, but maintain your levels of interest in your story.  Because beleive me, your love for your story will receede the longer you work on it.

I first attempted Nano in 2008, and FAILED MISERABLY. The equivalent of falling flat on my face and scraping all of the skin and flesh along the asphalt.  I wish I was exaggerating. I forgot the most important part was dicipline, and walked into it thinking it was childsplay.  So, if my first time was that difficult, why am I still participating after having already won?  Because of what it means to me.

Nano forces me to focus on building a draft within a short amount of time, without letting my inner editor take control.  Our inner editors want to make everything perfect the first time around.  This is normal. However, it is difficult for them to edit when there is no time for it. Forcing your inner editor to sit in time out is the ONLY way a first draft manuscript can materialize.  Make peace that the first draft will be a bloody mess, and move on.  You can work on that later – but you cant work on writing if you are editing. So write first, edit second.

NaNoWriMo Survival Kits

No two survival kits will be the same, first and foremost.  How you will build yours will vary based on intense introspection, and knowing your shortcomings.  The point of a survival kit is to keep your flaws in check, by planning for them to rear thier ugly heads.

If you want to peek at other participants  kits, check out the Forum HERE.

Here is a list of possible items to include:

• sticky notes
• outline
• writing totem ( mine is a sketleon painted rubber Ducky named Xavier)
• scented candles
• Youtube Playlists
• Beverages of choice ( beer to Coffee and Tea)
• Snacks ( some healthy, some fatty, some salty, and some sweet.)
• visual inspiration for writing and/or story
• pinterest Writing boards
• plush onesies ( MY uniform is a Plush Ghostbusters Onesie.)
• takeout/ fast food menus
• water bottles
• reference books
• wrtie or die
• Scrivener of iOS
• notebooks
• blanket/ shawl
• favorite book ( fiction to keep your focued on prose)
• Nano Forums 
• Netflix
• yoga mat
• writing buddies
• story binder, pre-writing
• timers

Whatever you choose is up to you, and only you.  You know how you will try to self sabotage your writing, so plan for it.

Finalizing your NaNoWriMo Novel Idea

Chances are, if you are attempting Nano, you already have a slew of ideas roaming through your head, or if you are lucky, only one.  Either way choosing an idea to commit to has to challege you.  Why? Because if it is too easy, you will shrug it off, and not work on it.

Challenges motivate us to take a risk on something to see if we are strong enough.  For instance Initially this Nano (2016) I was going to attempt a BEAST of a 100k word SciFi novel.  The closer it got to October, the more I feared starting.  So I knew I would never start, thus never win.  2014’s Nano I won writing Di Inferi, Those Who Dwell Bellow because I could write 50k.  So I took stock of all of my writing projects and took an honest look at what stories I felt more attached to, and discovered I had three Novellas (25k words each) that wanted to exist more than my SciFi idea.

So, I opted to challenge myself with 75k words.  I could easliy write 25k, so why not 3.  That way, If I only complete two, I still have two first drafts instead of one. Best case Scenario, I have three.

So, your homework today is to look deep within yourself and ask why you want to write your project.  ( I will tell you a secret- any reason is a good reason to write- unless the end goal is fame and fortune. If that is your goal, you dont have it in you.) You need to decide what story inside of you makes you excited, and write down everything you feel about his project.  Pin it to your wall where you can see it each day before you write. This will help you stay focused on why you are doing this.

What are some reasons you will be participating? Share it with us!!!