Reghan Skerry

There’s a little less than a week left before NaNo officially starts, and I’m feeling really good about my story.

If you’re just tuning in, I’m rebelling this year. I’m still aiming for 50,000 words during November, and I’m not counting the words I write before then (obviously), but this year it was much more important that I strike while the iron was hot and start writing my story as soon as I was ready.

That turned out to be Tuesday.

So far, I’m thrilled with the story. The writing itself is still a bit slow—I’m always a bit slow until I find the rhythm—but I’m just about finished the opening scene. And that scene is completely different from the one I’d originally planned, but it’s also a million times better: it’s darker, more atmospheric, and my main character has an unexpected sassy streak that she didn’t demonstrate in either of my previous attempts to write this story. (I also expect it’ll impact this draft in ways I’m not expecting, which should be fun.)

That said, I haven’t made as much progress with my advance writing as I’d hoped. Working out those details, the ones that improved my opening scene so much, took time, and I haven’t had much opportunity to write this week. But that’s fine—this is bonus time, anyway, and it still means I’m not starting November trying to overcome the inertia of starting a draft. And I know that, if I’d waited until next week, I would have just barrelled through, and written the opening scene as I’d originally outlined, and it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good as it is now. (And I’m not sure I ever would’ve hit on this particular scene, even in rewrites.)

So. About five days to go.

I still haven’t written my synopsis, and I’d like to get that done before I get too far into the story—I mentioned it last year, but it really is remarkable how much that one little step clarified the story for me. I’ve got vague plans to make some kind of moodboard for the story, just as an experiment (usually I just throw things on a private Pinterest board that I never look at again. I’d like to see if having something that’s both more concentrated and more tangible helps).

And, of course, I want to find the flow of the writing itself. That’s the important bit.

How is your NaNo prep going? Are you ready for next week? (And… have you ever made a moodboard/aesthetic for a story? If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it. I have no idea what I’m doing.)

(Don’t forget: I’m always looking for writing buddies! Feel free to add me, and, if you’d like, say ‘hi!’ via NaNo mail. I’m usually available for motivation or commiseration.)