NaNoWriMo 2013: And They’re Off!

It is the second day of National Novel Writer’s Month 2013 and it has finally occurred to me what I should have done in the run-up to November 1st so that I would be ready to write this tale. Obviously it did not occur to me, but I do have a year’s worth of thinking and two chapters to get me going (I did not count anything written before Nov. 1st in my word count).

Here are the books I should have read in October, but checked out on November 1st:

The one bit of preparation I did manage was putting together a playlist and a Pinterest to help me stay in the right mood:

And then there was the ice cave I visited this summer in Austria, by way of novel research:

Maybe I’m more prepared than I thought.

Not as prepared as I’d like, then? Of course, given my druthers I would be J.R.R. Tolkien levels of prepared. A lifetime worth of study pouring into my novels. Then I’d never write anything! Luckily there is NaNoWriMo to kick my butt into gear.

Seriously though, I was feeling so incredibly unmotivated this year. I am excited about my project and where it’s going, but I felt no drive to write it…or even get ready to write it. Not great considering that I am the Unofficial Co-ML of my region this year. So far I have hosted two write-ins, both with much larger turnouts than last year. That’s encouraging!

I am still raising money for the organization that makes NaNoWriMo possible, along with a classroom writing program for children and teens, in the hopes of making it to the Night of Writing Dangerously. If you would like to help me out, you can donate here

I’ll try to keep checking in throughout the month. How is your noveling going? It’s not too late to start!