Winning NaNoWriMo and discovering my book
This year I decided to enter NaNoWriMo for the first time and I was not disappointed. At first, I had been sceptical, how was I going to write 50, 000 words in only 30 days when I had exams and other commitments? Well first off, I should probably explain what NaNo is for those of you who have no idea of what I'm babbling on about. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and every November, people begin writing a novel. The target of NaNo is to reach 50, 000 words before midnight on November 30. It is a non-profit organisation that focuses on motivating people to create worlds of their own. Being a student, this challenge presents many difficulties. In the months leading up to NaNo, I began to doubt that I would even be able to write that many words around my exams and study. But I was determined to write and publish a book and NaNo could help me do just that. Starting it was the scariest part. Making the commitment was like leaping off a cliff into the abyss, I had no clue on what I getting into. The biggest thing I've learned since that first leap is that the path of writing is full of twist, turns and pitfalls. Sure there were delays, days where I couldn't muster the creative energy to get into the story. But the days where I wrote were the best. I found my story going down paths I'd never considered, it took on a life of its own. That is an important thing to remember when embarking on the journey of novel writing, your story will always develop twists and turns and lead you in new directions. Then you are presented with a choice, let the story flow on in its new directions, give it freedom to flower. Or you can keep sticking to whatever plot line you have outlined. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong choice, they can both lead to incredible stories. When I first started writing this NaNo, I had a three act plan that leads through the scenes, I had planned my story in a very detailed outline. However, I decided that as more twists and turns appeared, that I should leave it to go down its new path. I had no idea on what was going to happen, I had ended up leaving my outline altogether, which was terrifying. I ended up loving this story more than ever with its new path and continue to embrace the plot line changes. Once you finish NaNo, you will have written at least 50K words in this new world you had set out to create, but it is okay if you haven't! From there, you can keep writing and just finish there, it depends on each individual. I myself have set out for the next milestone of 90-100K. From there I plan to edit and then self-publish my novel. This site is not just a place where I advertise my novels, I will also blog regularly about my writing and any books I have read recently. This site is the official site of the YA author S. M. Stuart. On that note, I'll catch you all later! -Sophie xox
