I’m already writing, so any participation of mine in NaNoWriMo will be more or less background noise. But then I thought:
What about the first-timers?
Peeps who are just sitting down for the first time to do something big and creative (I include the peeps participating in NaNoManGo, too, but I suck at art) and may be a little bit daunted. Or experiencing trepidation about the whole deal.
So I came up with NaNoInspo.
Inspirational messages, possibly including a brushtail possum, about starting writing and keeping writing. Why the brushtail? They’re cute, nocturnal, and used to dark places. Much like writers. They’re also capable of a lot of noise, a lot of mess, and will take your finger off if you’re not careful. Much like writers ;D
Things like:
- Of course you can explain your world! In small doses.
- Show us what your hero(ine) is like.
- Every first draft is perfect. All it has to do is exist. (Thank you, Neil Gaiman)
- Edit later. Write now.
- Write now. Edit later.
- All you could write was a paragraph? That’s great progress!
- Stuck? Read it over.
- Characters running away with the story? That’s a good sign!
- You made yourself cry? Wow, you’re good.
- Torturing your characters does not make you a bad person.
- Torturing your readers does not make you a bad person.
- Of course you can finish it after November.
- Keep writing, you’re doing great.
- TV Tropes is research.
- Wiki walks are research.
- Keep notes. Continuity is important.
- Readers are smart. You can let them guess.
- Write someone different to you. It’s great exercise.
- Give them a problem that’s in the way of their current solution.
- Need more words? Describe something.
- Tired of ‘said’? Try showing us what they’re doing.
- Don’t tell me what they look like right away.
- All you could write was a sentence? That’s great progress!
- You’re allowed to take a break.
- Remember: Look after yourself!
And so on. I doubt I could do a month’s worth, but I can try. And that’s what NaNoWriMo is about.
And, yes, I have an enthusiastic-looking possum picture picked out.