Issue 6: National Novel Writing Month recap
National Novel Writing Month recap
Hi everyone and welcome back! So, I did not technically "win" NaNoWriMo this year, because that would mean that I wrote 50,000 words in the month of November. However I did write 31,762 words in the month of November and that is more fiction than I have written cumulatively in 2023 so far. I won't walk away with a "win" but I will walk away with a stronger drive to write, which is what I generally get out of NaNo anyway.
I am pleased with how the story is morphing and how the characters are developing as I work to complete a full first draft of this story. This is the first year that I started November with a full outline of the plot from start to finish. Though the plot did evolve during the month it gave me drive and motivation when I had that outline available.
The novel continues to focus on the siblings with magic powers, Archer and Zefyra, but as I flesh out side characters and they begin to have a personality, I want to give these side characters whole chapters. While this motivates me to write a lot, I am still unsure of how this book will turn out for the first draft. Is it a distraction to write side-character chapter, or am I making a more believable world? Is this book about more than just Archer and Zefyra? These are the questions I ask myself when I sit down to write.
National Novel Writing Month 2023 was harder for me than I anticipated, but I am still walking away proud of myself for the work I did. I am still writing more than I have all year. I got more words in this year than I have since 2018. And now I have some wonderful parts of the story to share with you, my awesome readers!
Something I love
If you are a writer, or even a prolific note-taker, you know that it is important to have some kind of tool for jotting things down in a moment of inspiration. There are a few reasons I love to keep digital notes as well as handwritten notes: the notes are searchable, you can organize them into folders, and you can theoretically access them from almost any device.
My favorite note-taking app is called Obsidian. What I like about Obsidian is that it does everything I need and it works on all of my devices despite their software. So I can open it on my iPhone and take a note, and then go to my Windows desktop and add to that exact same note again within a couple of minutes.
Admittedly I do pay $99 per year for this synchronization but to me, for less than $10 per month it is absolutely worth being able to access my notes anywhere at any time on any device. So there you have it. I am a nerd for Obsidian.
My world
Right now I am doing my best to focus on my writing and putting it out into the world. I'm excited to say that this includes editing, sharing, and writing more stories from the Orbital Relay Base (the ORB) universe that I started to create in 2016. For now I have chosen Tapas for my publication platform for this series, since that is a series-based web platform that could garner me a new audience. The chapters will be about various characters who live on the floating relay base that orbits Earth, and what their lives are like on the ORB.
I am also attempting to get my poetry and short stories published in (gasp!) online magazines and literary publications. This is admittedly daunting, not only because I know I will experience rejection, but also because it makes me realize how much I crave publication. However, as so many authors before me have done, I will submit, submit, submit! until someone out there wants to share my words. I look forward to sending you an excited email when that happens.
More to come on my December goals for my novel, what tools I use for submissions, and the Portland Poets Society.
Much love,
Coco
PS: If there is anything in particular that you want to know about the writing process or the story, please let me know. I would love to share anything!