Today is a spooky day for horror movies and candy, but tomorrow is the first day of November… which means NaNoWriMo, of course!
So get hyped, because a month of frenetic writing is here in a few hours. And how did I spend this pre-NaNo day?
Doing last minute research.
Truth be told, I didn’t really have a lot of free time this month. Not only did my sapphic horror novella What do Nightmares Dream of get published in the middle of October, but I’m also currently an editor for two novels (not counting my day job). One of which just got published yesterday—the lesbian dieselpunk romance Johnny’s Girls—and one other that I don’t feel at liberty to mention at this time, but which is currently under revisions. So I didn’t really have time for any new projects. But, yesterday I sent the last comments for that other novel and had a chat with the author, and finally, finally I got to sit down with my research.
Another thing to mention is that I usually don’t really do any research for NaNo. But that’s because I like writing contemporary fantasy (mostly urban fantasy, horror and such), but this time I’m writing a short story in a historical setting, and that’s not something that I’m comfortable doing. So I needed to do some reading about life in this specific time and place. Thankfully, it’s a short story, not a novel, so not a lot of research is needed and it’s still a folk horror so who cares for historical accuracies (not me). If I cared I would’ve majored in history, not art history. Big difference.
While I’m at it, I’m not doing a NaNo novel. I’m a rebel this year! Doing a bunch of short stories, as much as I can, still trying to catch that sweet 50k. It’s not like I ever managed to finish any of the NaNo novels. Even when I win with 50k words, I’m never done. I just don’t write novels that short.
Which is probably why I still haven’t published a (solo) novel. But, oh well. No one’s perfect.
Another thing I did before NaNo started was checking up on my Croatian writing group and accidentally reviving some forum topic that landed me in another group. This is the first time I wrote in an international forum topic and the first time I managed to join an international, subject based, group. As an introvert, this is a scary development. But I’m totally here to have my full NaNo experience (even though it’s not my first involvement in NaNo).
Especially this hell year. I’m here to talk about writing with new people, to feel connected to the writing community. And maybe this November would be easier to swallow, with this high anxiety over corona and possible new lockdowns.
I need something positive and I feel NaNo will be a good place to start. So, ready, set and… write!
Haunted Narratives 