#preptober2020

[hanniepee]

Happy Halloween! I hope y'all are having a fun, safe time. Guess what Halloween is? NANOWRIMO EVE! Tomorrow is our first NaNoWriMo write-in. Come join us for hangout times and writing sprints to start November strong. 🌙 Can't make it tomorrow? No worries! Follow me on Twitch, because we're doing write-ins all month.

[artie5o5]

04.10.20

Starting my Nanowrimo novel Early

I guestimated that my book might be somewhere around 70 000 to 75 000 words long. So I decided I would try to get the first 20 000 word done in October

I would be 1/3 of the plot in, that way, entering Act 2. Since Act 2 is the hardest part of any story, Nano would be a huge challenge

Pray that I triumph over the black page

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Witch Blurb

After their mother is murdered, Isla and Noah Hemlock find themselves forced to move to Saint Faith. But moving a thousand miles away doesn’t mean they are willing to let the police handle the investigation.

Besides, it would seem that the mysterious group who targeted their mother moved across the country with them. And they have already decided on their next target.

With their combined magical powers, the help from a mountain lion shapeshifter, and the local hellhounds, Isla and Noah set out not only to find the murders but to finish their entire organization.

The end... 

That’s the temporarily blurb. I hate writing these because I never know how much information to give. Do I try to write it without too many details, letting the reader discover everything? Do I not hesitate to through out major plotlines? Honestly, I’ve seen both on traditionally published books.

I try my best and that’s all I can do, really.

Anyway, next up: Character introductions!

[words-like-nectar]

Hey!!

NaNoWriMo is in 3 days guys, anybody else still completely unprepared? This will be my first year participating and it’s no surprise to find I’m a pantser. At the beginning of October I was pumped to start planning and outlining, just to tell myself I’ll do it tomorrow.

Moral of the story I’m curious to see what state I’ll be in at the end of November. I can already see my trail of tears.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Witch characters: Isla Hemlock

Isla Hemlock is the main character. The female half of the Hemlock twins, she’s a seventeen-year-old witch who loves to swim and walk through the forest (and will later discover she has a talent for baking, I think. I’m not sure I kept that in this second draft).

She has linked her magic to nature, drawing more power from it. Since she loves the outdoors, it made sense. But, like all witches, Isla won’t reach her full magical potential until she turns eighteen.

She is also extremely competitive when it comes to swimming. She is on the swim team and will never turn down a friendly or a competitive match. If it means pushing her body to its limits and beyond, she won’t hesitate to do it.

In the first draft, she found herself the target of attacks. People were trying to kill her and it totally destroyed her confidence. She relied a lot on her boyfriend, got in frequent fights with her brother, and wasn’t practicing a lot of magic.

In this new draft, she is going to also be the target of attacks. Sure, it will shake her, but it will also drive her. They are attacking the wrong witch and they won’t get away with it. Noah will be at her side the entire time, working his own magic. And yes, the boyfriend, Ken, will also still be there. Still looking out for her, but she won’t be the helpless princess anymore. 

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Witch characters: Tate Graves

Tate Graves is one of the two hellhounds brothers to have settled in Saint Faith a few months ago. He’s the youngest brother, the killer of the two, and the more laid-back one. He was also the main character for my first book, Hellhound.

Tate is the kind of guy everyone gets along with. Yes, he’s a hellhound but he’s the reluctant hellhound: he kills to keep the supernaturals safe but he doesn’t like doing it. He’s dating the local siren, Sawyer Pope, who is the only supernatural who can apparently ignore his hellhound nature and give it to him straight. Also, he’s a massive flirt; he flirts with just about everyone (Sawyer knew this and sees it as something he just can’t help).

In the first draft, Tate and his brother didn’t play too big a role. At least not until witches started dropping like flies. Even then, they were reluctant to belief the Hemlocks mother’s murder was related. It’s not until the very end you got to see him in action, when he proves just why hellhounds are so dangerous.

In this new draft, Tate won’t necessarily appear more. Supernaturals generally don’t like hanging out with hellhounds that much: Isla and Noah aren’t any different. He will still be important to the final resolution of the plot though. Other points, I’ll have to think about.

(Also, Tate is one of my favorite characters to write. Especially in combination with Sawyer, whether they are dating or not!)

[farbackroom]

💅THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE 💅 One of my final Preptober acts is cutting off my lovely stiletto nails. NANOWRIMO requires speedy, nimble fingers to attain those daily word counts. While I am a decent typist with long nails, I need max speed for the month of November. I cut them off ahead of time so my hands get used to the shorter length and get back into the swing of things. #nanowrimo2020 #nanowrimo #preptober #preptober2020 #nails #stilletonails #nailremoval #typingspeed #typing (at The Heart Of North Philly ! : )) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8SImzA0LY/?igshid=xy3xdc3f9db7

[jennysandiford]

🌻Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert🌻 • 🌻This is the perfect, motivating read for Preptober. I loved this book so much, and I know it will be one I read over and over again. It is inspiring, energising, and full of wonderful advice about living a creative life. • 🌻Here are some of my favourite quotes:  • 💎“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels—that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in the first place—that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one. The often surprising results of that hunt—that’s what I call Big Magic.” • 💎“And when I refer to magic here, I mean it literally. Like, in the Hogwarts sense. I am referring to the supernatural, the mystical, the inexplicable, the surreal, the divine, the transcendent, the otherworldly. Because the truth is, I believe that creativity is a force of enchantment—not entirely human in its origins…I believe the creative process is both magical and magic.” • 💎“You do not need anybody’s permission to live a creative life” • 💎“here’s a trick: Stop complaining. Trust me on this...There are so many good reasons to stop complaining if you want to live a more creative life. First of all, it’s annoying. Every artist complains so it’s a dead and boring topic. Second, of course it’s difficult to create things; if it wasn’t difficult, everyone would be doing it, and it wouldn’t be special or interesting. Third, nobody ever really listens to anybody else’s complaints, anyhow, because we’re all too focused on our own holy struggle, so basically you’re just talking to a brick wall. Fourth, and most important, you’re scaring away inspiration. Every time you express a complaint about how difficult and tiresome it is to be creative, inspiration takes another step away from you, offended.” • 🌻If you are a creator of any sort I highly recommend reading this book! • #bigmagic #preptober2020 #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2020 #preptober #writingcommunity #writershelpingwriters #bookstagram #writing #writinglife #writingtools #authorsofinstagram #creativelife #magic #booksofinstagram #bookrecommendations #book (at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGpawAUgTws/?igshid=1i3ujqz51ake1