It’s PREPtober! That’s right. 31 26 days and counting until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

This marks my 15th year participating in NaNoWriMo. I have won a few years (2017, 2020), but not always (2021), and some years (*cough* 2022), I barely write anything (including a blog post!).

One year (2013), I even traveled to San Fran and had a blast a NaNo’s the Night of Writing Dangerously, an all-night writing extravaganza. (Sadly, this event, like most, was cancelled during the covid years and I don’t think they’ve revived it.)

But I make it a point to participate every year since 2008.

For me, NaNo is a great way to flex my creativity and get in a daily writing habit.

Normally, I’m a pantser. That’s NaNo speak for someone who writes by the seat of their pants as opposed to planners (those who outline and plot out their story). I am terrible at preparing. I can’t even publish blog posts on any kind of regular schedule because I never know what I want to write about. I wait until I feel compelled or have a flash of inspiration (like writing about Preptober).

As for NaNo, some years, I’ve gone into November 1 without any idea of what I’m going to write. I sit down to a blank page and just start writing. In 2016, I started with a blank page and filled 3 B6-sized Maruman notebooks.

(Yes, some years I do handwrite my novel. But it is a pain to have to manually count all the words.)

Other years, I might have a character or a spark of an idea. Three years ago, all I had was a character, a ghost dog. I had lost my precious furbaby Lil D earlier that year, and he was on my heart and mind a lot. So I channeled my grief into a story about a girl who’s haunted by a ghost dog.

This year, I have a spark. I saw an instagram post where a person commented that their seven-year-old asked where dreams go when we wake. I thought, what a fascinating question . . . that should have an equally fascinating answer. (I love kids’ amazing imaginations.) And that question sparked an idea, which I’ve tentatively titled Dream Walking.

I am also trying to shift a bit more towards the planner side of the pantser-plotter writing spectrum. Maybe a plantser? Although that sounds like someone who has something to do with plants.

Anyway, I’ll never be a full planner. I will never have any kind of outline. But I am trying to approach this year’s NaNo with a bit more than a blank page and a spark.

To help, I’m tuning into L. Penelope’s YouTube channel on Mondays and Wednesdays as she walks through prepping for NaNoWriMo.

As a published author, Leslye brings an experienced perspective on how get ready for writing a novel. She provides great advice and answers questions during the chat from writers like me.

So for the next 26 days, I’m jotting down thoughts, mind-mapping, and even doodling. Anything to get the creative energy flowing and developing some kind of story focus. Then starting November 1, I’ll be writing, writing, writing with the goal of geting to the winner’s circle (aka the 50,000 word mark)!

Are you planning to participate in NaNoWriMo 2023? Share your writing goals in the comments below.

And if you are on NaNo, feel free to buddy me (@wanderinglynn).

Happy writing!