Hello there lovelies,

Please bear with me while I set up this new blog. ^_^  My current one will eventually be moved over to here (if I can ever figure out how to integrate one WordPress site to another one), but until then, if you’re curious, you can check it out at Sanctuary of Silence.

Along with deciding to rebrand my personal blog, to more accurately reflect who I am now and where I’m going, I figure what better way to kick off the dreaded first blog post than by cutting to the heart of things and fill you in on NaNoWriMo – the month-long writing challenge I’m entering for the first time! (Savour the impression of joy, butterflies and adrenaline … before you pick up on the trepidation I’m feeling).

Performance anxiety aside (not that kind silly), this will be a unique opportunity to push myself to write for personal reasons every day, which is something I’m certain  writers entering NaNoWrimo decide to do too. After all, you don’t lightly decide to take on a 50,000 word challenge; it’s something you enter to prove to yourself, and the world by default, that you have the dedication to stick with something you’re not being paid for.

After scouring the web and seeking advice on how to plan, prep, and do NaNoWriMo, the below are posts are ones I’ve found the most value from:

• NaNoWriMo Prep Page – because it’s official advice
  – along with “Foods to Eat”
  –  what “Not to Do”
  –  and some “Novel Outline“guidelines
• WikiHow –  Wiki’s rock
• Terrible Minds – Because Chuck Wendigo is funny and concise, and has numerous related posts on his site that can help
• WritersDigest –  They know what they’re doing after all
• Surly Muse – Advice for last-minute panic prep
• Self Publishing Help – 5 good tips for Indie writers

My current plan of action is to go with my feeling of “just write and keep writing”, so I haven’t created chapter outlines or character sheets (I can almost hear the fastidious amongst you gasping in horror – but don’t run away just yet). What I do have at my disposal is my sheer stubbornness and determination to get this novel out of my head, along with the basic outline of what the untitled novel will be about (currently called “the unentitled”in my head).

So things such as the basic plot, what the main character storylines will be about, what the end of the novel will be, along with the basis for a second book have been pre-thought of. Yes, yes, I did pat myself proudly on the back for having some semblance of a plan – I think Captain Mal Reynolds would approve.  So though I have no paper companions as of yet to assist me, I have a feeling they’ll be something I’ll turn to as the weeks wear on. Right now though I’m enjoying having these characters all to myself for the next 3 days.

As this novel is something I’ve been toying with for the past few months, but haven’t actually planned out in detail on paper / typed up as of yet, it’s time to stop dreaming (which I’m oh so good at), and start doing (work in progress with this one).

Tomorrow I’ll post on my my NaNoWriMo Survival Kit (it’s a thing). If I’m very good, I may even sneak in a few posts next month during the challenge … if my characters don’t kidnap me for hours on end. ^_^

Let me know if you’ll be signing up to enter NaNoWriMo and what your plan of action is!