It’s a new month and a new challenge. November means NaNoWriMo in the author community. If you’ve never heard of it, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and authors challenge themselves to write 50,000 words or the first draft of a novel.
There are two basic kinds of participants- Plotters, who show up on Nov 1 with a detailed outline. And, Pantsters-those brave souls who wake up on Nov 1 with a good idea, a laptop, and vibes!
I have attempted NaNo several times as a pantster without much success. It finally dawned on me, the person with multiple planners and to do lists, that I’m probably not actually a pantster. Duh! At the end of September I started looking for resources that would be helpful to me in November. I bought the book Save The Cat! Writes a Novel and watched approximately a million videos on YouTube from both traditionally published and Indie authors. I’d had a kernel of an idea in my head for a contemporary romance with two 40 something characters. I used October to flesh out the idea and to my surprise, not only was I able to expand on it, I was able to construct two really interesting characters and a decent plot! I’m not under any impression that I’m writing the next great American novel. In fact, I’m actually giving myself permission to write something that will likely be pretty awful! For me this isn’t just about starting and completing the 50k word challenge, it’s also about letting go. Letting myself do something because I want to do it without any expectation of perfection. Giving myself grace. Not holding myself to the impossibly high standards that always find a way to convince me I’m not good enough or that I’m going to fail. No one is expecting me to be the next Toni Morrison. I think that’s what has given me the most joy during the last month I’ve spent outlining the book. I have no expectations for what I might create so I’m just going for it!
Project Bloom is a contemporary rom-com featuring a couple who had a mutual attraction that never got off the ground in high school. Think Hope Floats meets Something New with a sprinkle of Gilmore Girls. After a meet cute at the farmer’s market, they find themselves on the committee tasked with planning their High School Reunion. What happens when the girl that got away stumbles back into his life with 30 years worth of baggage? What will she do when the boy who’s smile left her speechless breezes back into her life nursing a broken heart? Will they get their Happily Ever After? I guess I need to get to writing to see how it all plays out!
I made a playlist and if you’re a GenXer let me know what song reminds you the most of your high school romance.