#Preptober Day 2: Where to begin

Posted at 3:08 am by Jamie Provencher, on October 22, 2018

The Coffee Rabbit

Do you have an idea for the insane and quite possibly one of the most masochistic experiences on the planet, NaNoWriMo. Don’t get me wrong, I do my best writing during November. When it comes to writing, I suck at sticking to a specific daily word count or a deadline, but for some reason, the thought of millions of other people suffering at the same time does it for me.

We all have our kinks.

Anyway, I digress. To start NaNoWriMo, all you really have to do is make the commitment. To complete it means at least you will have to write 50k in one month which comes out to 1667 words per day (unless you like to live dangerously like me and end up writing only 10 days but somehow overworking yourself to spit out the 50k. For example, I had about 7800 needed on November 30th last year, and squeaked the words out roughly an hour before midnight).

But, even as NaNo will tell you, most successful Nanoers have at least an idea of what their book will be about, come Nov 1. That doesn’t mean you HAVE to, but it’s one of the first life hacks that I’ll share to get you through November.

Have an idea. Maybe it’s just your MC (main character). Maybe just a generic plot. But have something. This won’t take away your Pantser title either. But it will allow you to at least have some idea of what to type on the first day.
Remember that you don’t have to have everything fleshed out. But as mentioned in my last post, having SOMETHING sure does make things a hell of a lot easier. In the end though, only ONE THING gets these words on paper or the word processor: actually writing. It doesn’t matter what your idea is, how great your MC is, or how many notes or lack of notes you have. What matters is that initial commitment. What matters is that you sit down and type.

There are some people out there who will tell you that NaNoWriMo is only for “real writers” but it isn’t true. Not in the slightest.

NaNoWriMo is for the dreamer, the person who is ready to at least try to make the commitment to the story that eats at their heart, mind, and soul. Anyone can do it.

Will you?

Author: Jamie Provencher

Most girls dreamed of being a princess or a warrior. Jamie dreamed of both. Spending her days running around in the woods, Jamie spliced together different worlds to create her own unique one. The only things that stayed the same was the balance between good and evil in her characters: oh and fire. Oh and cats. One day her dreams were shattered. She had become too old for make-believe. For a panicked moment, the world was lost, and then she discovered writing: make-believe that was accepted. Even with a strong background of video games and 80’s cartoons, she was really only interested in talking animals. One fateful date in 6th grade, the 11 year old Jamie was forced to read The Book of Three By Lloyd Alexander. The thought of reading something without talking animals (even though her teacher assured her that the was a “talking” pig) was unbearable. She only agreed after being told that someone would be reading it to her. The book changed her life and Jamie jumped from talking animals to the deep rich fantasy that had plagued her imagination as a child. From there, she began to write original fiction, crossovers, and fan fiction. She attended the Maine School of Science Mathematics for high school. She then ran away to Umaine for her BA in Creative Writing and finally ending her school career with a MFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University. She currently lives in Maine with her two beloved Corgis. You can read her blog and other writings at https://curiouswitch.wordpress.com/

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Jamie Provencher