In the Star Wars series, the Rebel Alliance fought to bring an end to galactic tyranny. They fight against the rules established by the Empire in an effort to complete their missions. And even within their own ranks, some rebel fighters went against commands in order to do what they felt was right.
This same mentality applies to many writers. We often fight against conventional rules of writing in order to tell the story we want. This rebellious spirit extends beyond our individually pages. When it comes to writing challenges, rebel writers make their own rules.
What is NaNoWriMo?
For those not familiar with NaNoWriMo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every November, fiction writers around the world set out to write at least 50,000 words of a new novel. Some writers spend all of October plotting out their stories. Others prefer the discovery writing process where they start with only a basic idea and let the words fall where they may.
Technically, the challenge of NaNoWriMo centers around starting a new novel. But as with anything where there are rules, there are also rebels who don’t follow those rules. NaNo Rebels don’t start new projects, They finish old ones, work on short story anthologies, and all kinds of other projects. For the NaNo Rebel Alliance, the challenge still means 30 days of creating just not necessarily something completely new.
Why I’m Joining the Rebel Alliance
I don’t do NaNo every year, but the challenge always tugs at me. In 2019, I used NaNo to write the first half of a book I started on a whim. I completed the challenge with just over 50,000 words. I set the draft aside when I went on vacation over Thanksgiving. This year, I plan to use NaNo do write the second 50,000 words of that book.
Right now, I’m in the editing process for my current Work-In-Progress. Starting something completely new would be chaos. But dusting off the old project gives me a way to still participate in NaNo without losing my mind.
Two years ago, I hadn’t planned on doing NaNo. But after some abrupt changes in my life, I found myself in need of creative therapy. I am normally a plotter. However, deciding to do NaNo the day before the challenge meant a chance to try writing a genre I love reading but had never felt confident enough to write. I’ve always enjoyed the thriller genre, specifically the crime and/or psychological categories.
I started out writing that story with only a vague idea of my main character. As the story evolved, I realized how much I loved the idea. I also began to think the characters were strong enough to eventually turn into a series. I completed the first 50,000 words in about 22 days.
My Plan To Win NaNo
Although I’m enjoying the editing process for my current novel, when you see the same story over and over, it’s easy to get bored. I know this means extra work and time management, but I believe renewing my creative energy will benefit both projects.
So, here’s the plan. I will fully utilize the live writing sprints hosted by my online writing group. I’ll spend part of my designated writing time working on edits and other part on adding to my NaNo project. That way I can make daily progress on both.
I’m using the next two weeks to plan for the craziness of NaNoWriMo. In addition to working on edits for my current project, I’m planning how I will complete the NaNo challenge.
As a Rebel, I already wrote the initial part of the story. Now, it’s time to refine it and write the second half. Step One is to re-read what I wrote two years ago. I know there are things I will change. But from there, I can better define my characters, setting, and outline the full plot.
If you need me during the next six weeks, I’ll most likely be sitting in front of my computer. It’s going to be a wild ride. Let the Rebels unite!
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Cheering you on Rebel.
Thanks! I love the characters and overall scope of this story. It’s going to be fun to finish this first book and see what happens for a possible series for them.