Hey writers and WriMos! I found the NaNoWriMo Tag through Natalia Leigh’s youTube channel, and she tagged everybody, so I thought I’d do my own! Here is Natalia’s tag video…

And here are my answers…

1. How many times have you done NaNoWriMo, and how many times have you won NaNoWriMo?
   I did the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program in November of 2015, and I hit my goal of 35000 words. I also did CampNaNo in April and July of 2016, and I hit both goals of 10000 words! So… Technically this is my fourth NaNo event, but my first real attempt at 50K.

2. Are you a pantser or a plotter?
   I totally pantsed my first NaNoWriMo, and that story is now a project that we do not speak of anymore… Since then, I’ve become a hardcore plotter. Just check out this post about my outlining process if you’re not convinced.

3. What was the name of the first novel you attempted during NaNoWriMo?
   That novel that we don’t speak of anymore was called “Circle Of Whispers.” It was a great idea, but the plot totally died around chapter ten, and since I didn’t outline at all, it was a giant mess that I just didn’t even want to attempt to fix and make readable by the end of NaNo. Maybe I’ll pick it back up one day, but for now it can just stay in that folder of stuff that I never look at on my desktop…

4. Give us a one sentence summary of what you’re working on this NaNoWriMo.
   A group of teens reject their royal blood and magical heritage in order to follow the path of the shaman.

5. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?
   I read this quote somewhere, and somebody famous said it I think, but I cannot for the life of me remember who. Basically it said to write the story you would most want to read. I think this is really important because if you write the thing that you really, really, really, want to read, then somebody else is probably going to want to read it too. If you write something you don’t really want to read, then you’re not going to enjoy writing it, and therefore you won’t put your whole self into it. If you don’t put your whole self into it, then it probably isn’t going to be worth reading. Or at least it won’t be as good as something you were really excited to write.

6. What is your biggest inspiration for figuring out what to write?
   I do not know… Each writing idea comes from something different, and none of them come from one set thing. My brain is a complex and confusing place, and it can take bits of inspiration from twelve different things, mix it all together, and come up with a brilliant, (or completely insane), story idea before i even know what’s happened. I usually pick a project based on how excited I am about it, because the story I’m most excited for is usually the one i have planned out the most, and therefore it’ll be easier to follow through.

7. Read us the first sentence from one of your books.
   Here’s the current first sentence of my current project…
   His gaze is icy, cruel, and calculating as it sweeps over me, and I know exactly what he’s thinking: shaman boy.

8. What do you plan to do with your manuscript after NaNoWriMo?
   I plan to edit this thing and publish it! I don’t know if publication will be soon, or if I’ll wait a few years, but it is going to be published one day. I’m thinking I might actually write the entire series so I can edit it all together though, because it needs to be really tightly woven together for it to work the way I want.

9. Are you nervous for NaNo? Are you prepared?
   I am super nervous because I don’t know how this will work with my crazy school schedule, but I’m definitely more prepared this year than I have been in the past. The only thing I have to do to my outline is put it in order and get my Scrivener project all ready to go, and I think I can hopefully get that done this weekend.

10. There is not a tenth question, and it is driving me batty, SO… What advice do you have for NaNo Newbies?
    Don’t stress over the word count thing. This is to challenge yourself and have fun, NOT to make you scream, cry, and pull your hair out because you can’t write 50000 words in a month on top of everything else you’re already doing. Don’t lose too much sleep, don’t neglect other priorities or things you really want to do. Just sit down, write as much as you can, and have fun in the process! Check out the forums, talk to other WriMos, make new writing friends, and give it the best shot you’ve got! If you win, awesome!!! If you don’t, it’s really no loss except you’ll have to tell your family and friends that you failed at your crazy attempt and hear them say “I told you so,” a billion times over… But that’s what headphones and a notebook are for! Block them out, (because their input doesn’t matter when it comes to your precious writing failure), and keep writing after NaNo is over. There are no NaNo police that say you can’t finish a project you started for NaNo in December. Of course, we all wanna hit that word count for bragging rights if nothing else, but the point is to have fun no matter what!

I Tag:

I can’t actually remember who is and isn’t doing NaNo, so if you’re a blogger doing NaNo and you read this post, then you are tagged!!! remember to leave a link in the comments so I can see your awesome answers!