It's that time of year again when writers try to pen a 50,000-word novel in just 30 short days! This will be my third year participating in NaNoWriMo, and I'm proud to say that I completed the challenge on my first two attempts. :-)
One thing I've learned about NaNoWriMo is that, as with most things in life, your odds of success are greater if you prepare for it. I've gone into the previous two NaNoWriMos with a rough idea of what I'd write, and this year is no different. Two months ago, I already started thinking about the story I would tackle. I went through my notebook of ideas and picked one that interested me and that I think will sustain me for a grueling month. After that, I expanded the idea into a half-page synopsis. Later on, I turned the synopsis into a plot outline encompassing about two pages.
(Now that I think of it, a logical next step would've been to break down the outline into thirty chunks so that I had a daily plan. Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to do that and probably don't have time to do so before November starts. Next year, I'll remember to do it!)
The story I plan to write this year is a modern retelling of the Cassandra myth. In Greek mythology, Cassandra possessed the gift of prophecy but was cursed so that no one would believe her. I thought that was an interesting combination and wanted to explore how it would play out in a current day setting.
As with the last two years, you will be able to follow my NaNoWriMo progress on Twitter. Wish me luck!
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