As my busy week draws to a close a new busy week begins and then it’s a month of absolute insanity as NaNoWriMo.org is about to take over my life.
What’s NaNo you ask?
I’m sure I’ve mentionned it before, but I’ll explain again because I love it so much.
Nano is a self-challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It’s Fun, It’s Insane and It’s a Blast.
Here in Vancouver it’s a huge event. We’ve already started the festivities. Last weekend was a pre-welcome and orientation session to give newbies a chance to ask advice and feel not so alone and old friends to reconnect without disrupting their writing frenzy.
This Sunday, on October 31st. We’ll have our kick off party at Moose’s Down Under. One of my favourite restaurants. Afterward, we’ll go home and wait. Some of us will hop on to our IRC channel and chat until the stroke of midnight. Once that clock hits 12 we’ll start writing.
During the month we’ll have all kinds of write-ins and social events. The Vancouver NaNo Group (also called VancoWriMo.ca) has grown so big we have 3 MLs (organizers) and several mini-bosses (official volunteers who will help host events). We also have the IRC chat open so people who are writing from home can still participart in the social aspects of the month.
Then, at the end of the month we have two TGIO (Thank God It’s Over) dinners. One on Dec 1st and one on the weekend to make sure everyone has a chance to attend.
Seriously, if any of this appeals to you sign up and join the fun – it’s free (except for the cost of the food or drink you order at any of the hosting venues). The fundraising we do is to help the MLs regain some of the money they’ve spent on the goodie bags and such, anything left over goes to NaNoWriMo to help them keep the fun happening.
I’ve been busy prepping the prizes for fundraising games at the kick-off event and helping the other MLs create the welcome goodie bags. Our theme this year is 8-bit games. Our amazing mini-boss of the internet has created 8-bit avatars of the volunteer team – here’s me (I’m adorable in 8-bit – who knew?) ———->
I’m super stoked about this year.It will be my forth Nano and hopefully my forth win.
I’m not a plotter, I tried once and failed miserably. I much prefer the thrill of the hunt for the next story line and the challenge of avoiding plot holes and not writing myself into a corner. Although this year, I seem to know more about my story than in years past.
I’m going to try writing fantasy – from a teenage boy’s point of view. I already know who my main character and his ‘infliction’ and have a couple of scene set ups in my mind. But, I also know that can all change once I start writing. Like I said, it’s the thrill of the hunt.
I’m off to do the Sunday Brunch Writing Prompts at Toasted Cheese, then it’s off to bag some goodies and do the final edit for one of out authors at PaperBox Books – whee, more books coming soon!! I can’t wait.