Here we go again!

If you’ve never heard of NaNoWriMo, basically, it’s a personal challenge to write 50k+ words in a month. Traditionally, those 50k+ words compose the first draft of a novel.

The first year I participated was back in 2010, and I barely managed to squeak past the finish line. Since then, I’ve participate 4 more times (won twice more and lost twice). This year will be my sixth time participating.

However, unlike past years, this time I’m planning on being a rebel. As much as I love creating complete novels out of nothing, I really need to up my game on short stories. I need to get some more added to my portfolio and, hopefully, out into the world through contests and publishing.

Prep for me in the past has been creating characters, scenes and general plot, but this year, I’ve been researching calls for submissions and marking down topics, word counts and due dates. I have several possibilities with interesting topics, but I doubt it’s enough to take me through 50k words. Once I’ve exhausted my concrete submission opportunities, I’ll be drafting some generic stories – horror, ocean, fairies, fairy tales, etc. The goal is to draft as many stories as possible in November, taking me over that 50k threshold, then doing some editing and submitting December onwards. 

This is completely new for me, so I’ll see how I fare. I think doing Inktober Writers Edition has been really helpful in getting me into the flow of short stories and writing daily (even if it is only 50 words!). Follow my progress on facebook and twitter, or, if you’re really brave, join me in the NaNoWriMo challenge! You can find out more info on their website.