NaNoWriMo Updates

Hello everyone and welcome to the first day of NaNoWriMo!! Are you excited? I am…but I am also extremely nervous. My nerves already got the best of me…my skin is not happy about that, thanks a lot acne. Well, today I embark on a journey, a new adventure. An adventure so challenging but filled with joy and stress. I am challenging myself to write 50,000 words for my first ever novel. My debut novel is currently titled The Birth of the First Seiren.

As you guessed, it will be mermaid based but I use Greek mythology in my story as well. I will blend true facts with fiction to hopefully create a wonderful tale of love, betrayal, loss, and belonging. So, do you want to know how I have prepared for this moment?

Well, I first found an amazing writing buddy…psst, Stephanie that is you… Once I found this amazing person we talked about ideas. We are sending one another NaNoWriMo survival boxes. Why you ask? Well, we have been warned that this is intense and we want to support one another. I will say if you are doing this and do not have a writing buddy yet…get one! It is helpful to know you are not doing this alone.

I am a plantser. This means that I do plan, but I do not plan every detail out. I first started with my broad idea and creating my main characters. The more I thought on the story, the more it began blooming into something beautiful in my mind. I wrote down a basic plot and a few subplot ideas.

I began saving images that inspired me on my computer but had a better idea…

I created an inspiration board. I know, I know…it looks messy. It, in fact, is not messy. I still have room for more motivational quotes, images, etc. If you have any inspirational quotes or memes that deal with writing, please feel free to share them with me below! I have a large amount of mermaid tail pictures to help me choose for each character. There are some images of my setting as well. Also on my inspiration board is the following quote

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” -Terry Pratchette

I chose this quote because I feel that it reminds me that the first draft does not need to be a perfect, polished product. This is the draft where I simply get my ideas onto paper. I need to get the story out before I can perfect it. That will be my biggest problem…taking my proofreading/editing hat off while I write. I think once I write a few days, it will get easier.

I know NaNoWriMo will be tough, but this is the push I need to really write this story down. I know it can be good…I just need to get it out. I appreciate all of the support. You can click my KoFi button and buy me a coffee, send me encouraging words, or even just comment and like my updates to keep me motivated. I love all of you that keep pushing me to finally write this. If you would like updates on how I am feeling, my progress, etc, please let me know below. I would love to share this journey with all of you and maybe inspire even one of you to join NaNoWriMo next year.

P.S. If you are also participating in NaNoWriMo and want to be buddies, let me know below. Comment your link and I will for sure become your writing buddy.