Preparation for Nanowrimo

In the last three Nanowrimos, I have not prepared at all.

Last year, I knew I was going to write more fractured fairy tales, following the fun I had with Cinderella in Beyond Happily Ever After. I started writing about Sleeping Beauty and her continuing problem with narcolepsy, and after a couple of days, I scrapped that and went back to Cinderella and turned the short story into a 65k novel. (It took a bit of time beyond November to get the whole 60ks out, but I wrote 50ks during November.)



In 2006, I wrote Diary of the Future during Nanowrimo. It was the story of a 16 year old girl who finds a diary that creates the future. Anything she writes comes true. I'd resurrected the idea from years ago when I'd tried the story of a woman in her twenties with a similar diary, but had ditched the idea. Changing the protagonist to a teenager gave it a different level of conflict and momentum as teenagers tend to speak before they think, and even write before they think with less concern for how their desires affect other people. The entire first draft of that one was completed during Nano but with no pre-planning. That year, Lulu.com offered a free copy of your novel to anyone who had completed the 50ks: see pic.

In 2005, I started Nano with a mere idea -- wanting to recapture an emotion -- a feeling of being 17 again after attending the Moving Pictures reunion gig at the local RSL and meeting the lead singer Alex Smith again. (First time was when I was 17.) Out of that concept came 'I'm with the Band' a story of a 35 year old who, after her husband walks out, finds herself on the road with her favourite band from her teenage years, singing on stage, jumping out of a plane and totally living outside her comfort zone. I reached 50ks easily in that story. I even started late that Nano because I was completing my first draft of Making the Cut over the first 5 days of Nano before I could start on I'm with the Band. And still made it to 50ks.

This year, I have approached Nanowrimo differently. I'm not going in blind and hoping that the muse comes along to play. I've spent the last 6 weeks or so editing Making the Cut,and in the process I've fallen in love with the characters again, particularly the fiery antagonist Kirsty, and a side character -- a washed-up soapie star clinging desperately to her youth, Genevieve d'Vine.

So I've decided to write a sequel. Kirsty is so excited to get her own story that she wants me to get started now, and when she tells me stuff, I can't ignore her or I won't remember it when I get to November. She's telling me a lot of what-if's, there's a lot of contradictory stuff, but so far I have 12 pages of notes.

Looks like she's going to play Louise in the Bilby Creek production of Gypsy, and Genevieve will be playing Rose. (Kirsty says its about time Genevieve played someone her own age!)


Plus there's a sexy new hero, a reality TV director, named Dylan. (haven't found a picture of him yet)

I've never been so prepared for Nano.

Roll on November.

But writing notes is not the only preparation I do for Nanowrimo. I have made a new design for my cafepress store The Writers Zone, inspired by all my recent editing because Nanowrimo is the perfect place to market to writers.



So, that's my Nano preparation to date. What are you up to?