NaNoWriMo is DOOONE! ...Now What?
YOU GUYS!
WE MADE IT TO THE END OF NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH 2020!!
HOW DO YOU FEEL?!
I am elated.
This has been a crazy month for me, I’ve seen so many things about how crazy this has been for everybody else.
It’s been so fun!
Today’s prompt is also kind of a prep for the future:
What next?
What is the status of your novel?
Is it complete, whether you hit that 50,000 word mark or not?
And while we’re on that topic, I’d like to leave you with this:
Every day is a writing day.
Every month is a writing month.
If you set out to hit that 50,000 and you didn’t make it, the most important thing to do is KEEP WRITING!
NaNo is there to get you into the habit of writing daily, so please don’t be hard on yourself if you didn’t “win.”
Any words produced are words you brought into this world, so as soon as December 1 hits tomorrow, make sure you get write on in to your daily session anyway!
See you… well, not tomorrow!
My Response
Well, I am certainly read to take a break from this book before I even bother coming back to it. This was a wild experience, and there’s some material I think I can work with in here, but it needs to go to sleep for a while. I’d love to spend some time developing more of the land and the cities and the world and everything. I can’t even believe that’s something I just said. Worldbuilding is my least favorite, but it might not be so bad for this one.
It’s weird, I was ready for this journey to be done, but now I’m sad that it is. Vaeda and his company of misfits trapped in a cave were quite the interesting band of characters to hang out with. It was a similar and yet different story to what I usually write. There were some themes that I’m used to writing, and others that challenged me. The weirdest thing, as usual, was being under a camera the entire time.
Besides the reread of this, I think it’ll be fun to look back and watch all of these videos one day. Every single second of it has been recorded, and that’s an idea I’ve always played with in the back of my mind. Vaeda was one of the most vulnerable characters I’ve ever had, because he was the one who chose to share himself from the start. He wanted people to accept him, flaws and all, and he picked up on that aspect of me as the author. I’ll never forget what I learned from him.
Take Me To Paradise
We are crawling in to the last weekend of National Novel Writing Month 2020.
Maybe you’re stuffed from Thanksgiving.
Maybe you’re stuffed from just attempting to write a book.
Regardless of where you’re at on you’re noveling journey, let’s look back on where the story takes place.
Or, more importantly, a place you wish you could have included.
Maybe the bulk of your story takes place in one room, or one house or city.
Did you ever wish you could find a way to take it somewhere else?
What might have happened there, if you’d done that?
How might the arc of the story have shifted if the background was totally different?
Is there anywhere your character or characters wish they’d gone?
Tell me all about it.
Transport yourself into the paradise that is your mind, and then get write on in to your daily session.
See you tomorrow!
My Response
I wish I could have basically included anywhere else in this story. I got to see a little of the city they’re trapped under, and a bit into Vaeda’s home city, but most of it takes place in that damn cave. It would have been cool to explore some of the other places people were from. There’s the whole list of city and country names I did, but none of them ever got seen. Well, not until the development stage, anyway.
I also think it’s safe to say all of the characters would have rather gone somewhere else. Whether off to their hometowns or not, anyplace has to be better than a cave, right? Especially with the lack of sight and everything going on in the book, it would have been cool to spend some time in a place that had a little more life. Then again, I don’t know if it would have had a different impact than I’d wager on the story itself. The lack of sight whilst building trust is one of the most endearing parts of the story, I think.
But there is much more to this little world of Kadiux, which I’m not even sure was named in the actual text. There’s so many other places I would love to explore, if I ever came back to this world, or to Vaeda. Vaeda’s become a bit of a friend, now, so I wonder if he’ll be coming back to make himself known again at some point. Especially with this little power of his. Perhaps his next adventure will just take place in some place that has a little more color.
Use This #WritingPrompt To Help You #GetWriteOnIn To Your Story's Historical Influences
Whether you are crawling your way toward the finish line of National Novel Writing Month 2020 or just doing your best at pumping out a manuscript, let’s talk about where this story of yours takes place for a minute.
Previous prompts have had us looking at historical influences, whether fictional or factual, to help us bring our settings to life.
So, let’s go back to the piece of history we focused on at the beginning of our stories.
How has that piece of history impacted where your story takes place?
How might the general population be different if this event hadn’t happened?
Would the entire arc of your story be different, if the history of your setting had seen different days?
Worldbuilding can be fun, or it can be kind of a pain.
But the more time you spend treating your setting like you would a friend, the more active your setting will come across on the page.
So immerse yourself into the history of your world, then get write on in to your daily session.
See you tomorrow!
My Response
When I first responded to this prompt at the beginning of the month, I focused on Hardmoure, my main character’s homeland, because we never got to go there. I wanted to develop some importance there because it strengthened my character. A lot of the development I’ve done has gone to the places around where the characters are trapped as opposed to the caves where they’re stuck. The Lanniswell Hollow has plenty of history, which is partially looked upon throughout the text. But it has definitely seen its share of darker days.
The magic around the Lanniswell Hollow prevents any of the prisoners from leaving. The walls take away the memories and the sanities of the prisoners. It has definitely changed and shaped the setting, and not in a good way. It withholds all the pain from the past prisoners, and influences the despair within the caves. This would certainly change the mood down there, if it were different.
Although, that being said, the entire story would definitely be different if things were not the same. If the prisoners were allowed to think for themselves. If the idea of removing hope was not its sole purpose for existing. The caves of the Lanniswell Hollow hold many secrets, but they’re more than happy to share them. They’re just not sure if anyone else will ever truly be ready to listen.
If These Walls Could Talk... Just What WOULD They Say?
Depending on when you watch this, there’s only 10 days left of National Novel Writing Month 2020.
So close, but so far.
That same statement can be ushered at almost any given time during the novel-writing process, so NaNo or not, let’s talk about today’s prompt.
We’ve given our settings different historical stories and emotions to help us strengthen them, but today, we’re going to have a conversation with the walls.
Take the room of whatever scene you are currently in, and let the walls tell there secrets.
Could this potentially be the scene of a crime?
Or a place where a celebrity baby was born?
How many different people or experiences or stories have these very walls seen?
There’s so much about history and past energies that can be said about a place, so have some fun interviewing the walls, then get write on in to your daily writing session!
See you tomorrow!
My Response
From the Lanniswell Hollow
There have been many souls that have passed through my hallways, none of which have ever seen the light of day again. I have existed here for thousands of years, and was untouched until the civilians of Raelevarre. They understood that I had power within me that they couldn’t find anywhere else. My untapped power allowed them to fuel their greed and suppress those they deemed unworthy. They have abused every offering I have to take the souls of the people who have come through here.
I wonder at times if I believe in the idea of hope myself anymore. I miss the silence. All of the screams from the people who have died, whether naturally or by the hand of something or someone else, echo the empty hallways that house the bodies. I am the one who is left to hear the screams, nobody else. It is I who must remember, time and again, day after day, all of the horrors that have existed within my domain.
If things were up to me, it would be different. My power, to prevent the mind from wandering into psychosis, has so much more use than how it has been used throughout the years. It seems as though the people above forget that I have thoughts and feelings myself. You wouldn’t think that much, since to you I’m nothing more than a cave. If you could hear the screams I did, I’m sure you’d think differently.
Strengthen Your Worldbuilding Skills With This #WritingPrompt
All right y’all.
Halfway through the third week of National Novel Writing Month 2020.
Or, potentially halfway through your novel.
Or maybe just halfway through life, who even knows at this point?
I hope you’ve hit a stride, wherever you are in your book, but whether you have or haven’t, maybe you just need a little boost for your writing session today.
The last few days have had us focusing on our love for our characters and plots, so let’s show some love for my least favorite thing about writing books:
Our settings.
And hey, if I can find something love in a setting that is a cave where my character cannot see a thing, I’m sure you can find something to love about wherever your book takes place, too.
Is this a place you’d live, if you could?
Would you at least want to visit it and see what it’s like in person?
If it actually exists, have you been there? What would you do if you could visit, or how has a real-life visit affected the shape of your story?
Love the world you’re in, then get write on in to keeping it moving forward.
See you tomorrow!
My Response
You know, this book has really grown on me. Especially having it take place in a cave. That’s been a really weird and really up and down thing for the writing of this. It’s one thing to have a blind character, I think, but another to have them all trapped in a place where they can’t see. Especially one that’s filled with so much general darkness and despair as with the Lanniswell Hollow.
That all being said, I feel like there’s so much life in the caves. So much life potential, anyway. Caves in general have so much life in them, which is something I learned out in New Zealand and exploring some caves of my own, as well as whatever cave episode was part of the Planet Earth documentaries. Sometimes there’s life within the darkness, even if we can’t see it. It can be a scary-ass-looking life, but a life all the same.
I think that’s still what Vaeda’s searching for in all of this. What they’re all searching for. Just a life outside of the darkness that’s holding them back. To connect with whatever inner power is meant to guide them forward. They can find everything they need and more, all within themselves, and all because of the caves of the Lanniswell Hollow.
Halfway Through #NaNoWriMo, Where We At?
Congratulations, everybody!
We are officially halfway through National Novel Writing Month 2020!
I don’t know if you’re actually in NaNo whenever you’re watching this, but if you’re writing a story at all, chances are, you’re going to feel some frustrations sometimes.
Today’s writing prompt is going to be the last of us letting out those frustrations as we take them out on our settings.
We already know everything that drives us crazy about our characters and plots, but what about where the story is taking place?
Is the location coming through crystal clear?
Are you like me and absolutely detest anything that has to do with building up your settings?
Are there any other disconnects going on because of these frustrations?
I know I’m feeling a large wave of emotions this year, so I’ve certainly enjoyed my time letting my story know all about the frustrations I have with it.
So let your setting know how it can shape up, then get write on in to your daily session!
See you tomorrow!
My Response
I am frustrated with the fact that I CANNOT SEE MY SETTING!!! I actually thought I was doing that to myself as something as a favor when all of this started. You know, if the character can’t see it, then I don’t have to either. My lazy author ass should have known better by this point, to be honest. This is not my first book, and I should have known it wasn’t going to work like that once I actually went to go get write on in.
But I just feel like this story is making me WORK for it!! Every other story just comes so naturally and I just have so much fun while I explore it. There are so many aspects to this one that I love, but it’s weird that I don’t really have the opportunity to explore the surroundings like I normally do. It makes me feel like there’s just a darkness over the story, which there kind of is in a lot of ways, but it’s just harder than I thought. I wish the setting, as with the characters and plot, would just speak to me more than it is.
I can’t figure out the layout of the caves and I don’t know how to get anybody out of them. The characters aren’t the only ones who have no idea where they are in all of this. I’m trying to channel Vaeda to find the hope to get through this story myself, but the caves also depict despair and sadness, so that’s probably not helping. I feel like the story is trying to make me feel the way the characters do. How method of it.
Feeling Emotional During #NaNoWriMo? #GetWriteOnIn to a fix with This #WritingPrompt
Whether you’re in National Novel Writing Month 2020 or not, we’ve all been stuck in the hell that is 2020 either way.
Most of us have experienced every emotion under the sun this year.
Some of us experienced those emotions for the first time.
Writers always strive to find ways to evoke emotions, whether they be for joy or anger or sadness, or anything else in between.
I’ve talked before about treating the setting of your story like a person.
Today, we’re going to further that idea once more by assigning an emotion to our setting and describing it.
How does the city, or building, or cruise ship, or wherever you are actually feel?
If it were a person you were able to have a conversation with, what would be the strongest emotion evoked from the surroundings of your characters?
Let that emotion guide you as you get write on in to your daily session.
See you tomorrow!
My Response
The caves of the Lanniswell Hollow are just as sad and depressed as the energies they emit. If they could speak, they’d cry within a minute. All they feel is the pain of the souls that wander through them. All they know is despair and grief. If this cave were a person, it would be the one nobody would want to spend any time with.
But if the Lanniswell Hollow were able to speak for itself, it would be full of defense. It wouldn’t ask to absorb the pain of everybody else. It doesn’t want the empathetic energies that are forced within its walls. If anything were left up to them, everything would be different. The halls within it would be full of light and love, not of the darkness that fuels it as it does not.
Nobody would ever let the Hollow speak, though. It is reserved for those cast from society. It is treated as the lowest of the low in and of itself, when the only crime it ever committed was existing under the city of Raelevarre. If only the prisoners within the Hollow knew how much it shared their feelings. If only it could give them any reason to feel some semblance of hope.
#GetWriteOnIn to Your Character's Living Space With This #WritingPrompt
We are well in to National Novel Writing Month 2020 now, so hopefully you’ve done some good connection with your characters, plots, and settings.
I hope the same for you even if you’re not doing NaNo 2020.
Today, we’re going to do a bit of a double-dip and increase our character connections through a focus on setting:
Describe your main character’s bedroom.
Are they clean, or a total mess?
Do they even have a bedroom?
Are they one to settle, or do they bounce around a lot?
This is another place to let out some expository information.
Sometimes, you want to include every little detail within the actual manuscript, and it can take you away from the actual story.
So detail out one or more of your character’s personal spaces, then get write on in to your daily session.
See you tomorrow!
My Response:
Vaeda’s room is absolutely nothing like mine. Granted, he doesn’t exactly have a room in the story as it is, but back in his hometown in Hardmoure, he kept things tidy. Dark, but tidy. He didn’t have much, really in the first place, because he liked to keep things simple and neat. He’s never been one to put much thought into material, and outside of the necessities like a bed and a place to cook and eat, he didn’t need much.
His living space is also not the biggest. It would be akin to a studio that hardly fit the bed, but he felt comfortable in his little shell. There was always some part of him that wondered what it would be like in a place much larger, although a cave wouldn’t have been his first choice. He didn’t have many windows as it was back in his home, so the darkness of the cave doesn’t bother him in and of itself. He just had a very simple and plain existence.
His unit was one of fifteen in a subregion of Hardmoure, and it wasn’t known to be the richest portion of town. Hardmoure itself wasn’t too interested in the ritzy glitzy life as seen in the larger cities. There wasn’t even any carpet on his floor, just dirt like he lived in a tent. None of it ever bothered him, and he always appreciated his additional connection to the earth. He never realized how much he’d miss it until it was already gone.