November is coming. To get ready, we’re taking a road trip to visit Wrimos from around the world, and hear about how their regions can inspire your writing. Today, Puerto Rico Municipal Liaison Amanda Rosa talks about how geography can influence your stories:
Greetings all the way from Puerto Rico. A small island in the Caribbean where you will find all kinds of landscapes. From a tropical rainforest, beaches everywhere, two of the five bio-luminescent bays in the world and I’m just starting. Puerto Rico is filled with colors, smells, sounds and taste in every corner that you visit.
It is no surprise, that through the years I have participated in NaNoWriMo, that Puerto Rico Wrimos are inspired by their surroundings when the time comes to write their novels.
Our characters take trips to the beach in December, get lost in El Yunque rainforest and then get abducted by aliens, and they get stuck in the first rain of May as good luck washes over them.
What I have come to learn from this is that our region takes notice of a character that many people forget about. It goes by a few different names like space, place or setting. I even go a little further and look at the whole Geography of my story.
When we think about Geography, we tend to think about the name of capitals, rivers, and maps but in reality, is much more. On my first day of college, I learned that a main part of Geography is the study of humans and their relationship with the space they occupy. And this has stuck with me through the years. Especially in my writing.
This is why I challenge you to think about the geography in your story. Where is your story taking place? What is the weather like? The sounds? The smells? How does your characters react to them? Do they like it? Or maybe they don’t.
Then think about how they react to liking or not liking it. Are they behaving the way they are because of the setting? If you move them to a different location, would the story be the same? How can the setting in your story move the plot along? Or is it dragging it? Or maybe they are doing an action that when you think about where the story takes place, it wouldn’t make sense.
Next time you sit down to write or maybe do an outline before November (which I recommend) really take a moment to ask these questions and more. Think about how your surroundings affect your everyday life and work that into your story.
I know I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn't been born in Puerto Rico. As I wouldn’t be writing the stories I do if I wasn’t influenced by my surroundings.
Amanda Rosa is a Municipal Liaison for the Puerto Rico Region and participant of NaNoWriMo since 2010. She enjoys writing fantasy, romance and Contemporary NA. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a Geography major. She is currently working at a Law Firm. You can follow her on Twitter @mandylola.
Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Trish Hartmann on Flickr.
Last year, Puerto Rico was struck by a devastating hurricane, and we shared a Road Trip to NaNo post from Amanda Rosa, our Municipal Liaison in the USA :: Puerto Rico region. Today, she returns to share how writing has helped her region and community has persevered in the year since:
Perseverance.
That’s the one word I can use to describe our region of Puerto Rico. Last year was a bad one for us; our island got hit with hurricane Maria a few months before NaNo. For a moment the attention of the whole world was on us as we faced one of our biggest tragedies, one we are still facing. I won’t deny that our activity last year in the event was at an all-time low. Some members had decided to move away from the island, others didn’t have electricity or access to internet or simply other priorities took precedence to NaNo, and that is understandable.
However, that doesn’t mean we stop writing. Our member maitetxu, who didn’t have electricity, started to edit a novel and several short stories she had already started during a previous NaNo. Now, she is a published author! Those same stories got published in the book Ojos Llenos de Arena by Maite Ramos Ortiz. Another participant took the time to start publishing her novel, chapter by chapter, on a popular website. Other Wrimos decided to participate in the various Camp NaNos to make up for the missed event in November.
There is no doubt that it was a hard time for our region—but we kept going. We have persevered. This whole experience has taught me that there are no excuses not to write. Even if you are going through a hard time, writing can be the escape that you need. By building a whole new world with your tears, smiles, laughter, fears, worries, your story can make your life better! That story can even inspire others, from the people close to you to people across the world.
Take this as a challenge to feel inspired and to persevere despite adversity. When the world is telling you no to your dreams, you scream yes! You can make time to write at least 10 minutes every day; or, maybe, you have more time and can write for an hour or more. Every word counts. Not feeling inspired to write? Take last year's NaNo project and rewrite it or take the time to finally edit it. Be a rebel!
So let’s get that countdown to November started and think of all the people that have persevered. They kept trying, even if it was little by little, until they succeeded. And so can you—so finish that novel you always wanted to write!
Amanda Rosa is a Municipal Liaison for the Puerto Rico region and participant of Nanowrimo since 2010. She enjoys writing fantasy, romance and Contemporary NA. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a geography major. She is currently working as a Sales Manager and trying to open up an Etsy store. You can follow her on Twitter @mandylola.
Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Diablo_blanco on Flickr, with added text.
NaNoWriMo is an international event, and we’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear about the stories being written every year in our hundreds of participating regions. Today, Amanda Rosa, our Municipal Liaison in the USA :: Puerto Rico region, shares a short message of hope and resilience:
Last November was the best year for the region of Puerto Rico. There were more members than ever participating, and many crossed their 50K word goal. The excitement didn't fade and we were anxiously waiting for NaNo to start again this year.
Some wanted to achieve the 50K goals again or for the first time. Others just wanted to write no matter the word count; or, like me, they were looking forward to the word sprints we used to have every night.
Then Hurricane Maria happened.
More than 90% of the population of Puerto Rico doesn't have power, and the projection is that is going to take a long time to get it back. Plus, at the time of the writing of this piece, only about 49% of our communications are working––a percentage that may be even higher, since there are still many towns without communications at all.
However, Puerto Ricans are resilient. I know that many will start their novels regardless of the darkness. Plot bunnies will be chased, and from the devastation beautiful worlds will be created. We may miss NaNo this year, but we will be back.
After our communications are restored and the power is back on, we will share our stories with the rest of the world. A storm is not going to stop us.
––Amanda Rosa,
Municipal Liaison for Puerto Rico
To help provide clean drinking water, food, medical supplies, and other necessities to the residents of Puerto Rico, you can donate to Unidos por Puerto Rico.
Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Diablo_blanco on Flickr.
