Guest Post: On Writing: NaNoWriMo: Jaclyn from Rambles from Insanity

*Steps on stage*

So, being as this is my first time guest blogging, I might end up rambling. Feel free to drag me out with a giant cane ha-ha.  Any who, my name is Jaclyn and I blog about NaNo out in the Heart of Dixie. I started my blog last year, and my first year to NaNo was in 2008. I believe I wrote 7,000 words that year. Sadly, my computer got an incurable case of the Blue Screen of Death and has yet to be revived. Although I do happen to remember putting poodles in that novel on account of a dare….

*Runs from the giant cane*

Ahem, back to what I was saying…

That novel was horse puddle anyway. My 2009 attempt was a lot better. I remember discussing details of what would happen with my friend while we both sat on giant slides and procrastinated. We’re very bad at that. I didn’t finish that year either…but I do believe I hit the 10k word mark.

I was never really good with longer projects.

*dodges a flying rotten something*

This, as you could probably guess, is why I didn’t finish last year’s novel either. BUT, I handwrote 15,000 words. And I also attended my first write-in. Last year was the closest taste I’d ever had of that finish line and now I have it in me to finish this year.

This is why I have several sheets on copy paper with multitudes of words printed on them to help me plan.

But that is also why I only planned five chapters and then gave up. I knew I wasn’t going to follow it anyway. So, I downloaded yWriter5 and typed up some rooms, [actually, I mainly got them from the adoption thread on the forums <3] and put together what room goes in which chapter. So, when I DO run out of plottedness, all I need to do is pull up yWriter and I have the chapter, the room, a brief description of the room, and I can get to work.

I specifically planned out this NaNo to have the ability to jump around. I’m going to attempt to write out of order, jump write in the middle of a chapter and write where I feel like it. Because each chapter is a new room. And with this, I hope will lead to the success of winning my first NaNo.

I might not have won yet, but you can’t say I’ve given up. :D

*curtsies to the cheers that shake the building, er, blog*

Well, I guess I have rambled enough, if you want to hear more, feel free to hop over to my blog where my madness continues.

Thanks for reading!

Jaclyn

http://stealmedead.blogspot.com