Plans & preparation for NaNoWriMo 2019

NaNoWriMo 2019 is just around the corner! I plan to use this challenge to work on the final part of Blood of Old, the first book in my WIP fantasy series Graceborn. Come and learn the details of my goals and preparations, and tell me about your own NaNo project!! →

It’s that time of year again, folks! Can you believe that the 2019 National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo for short) is just around the corner? To me, it still feels like only yesterday that I was participating for the first time in the 2018 event!

If you’ve been reading my update posts for the last few months, you may have gained a bit of an idea of what my NaNo project is this year. While I considered starting a new WIP, I discarded that option since I’m a little behind on my 2019 goals and haven’t had a chance to plan a whole new project. So today I am formally announcing that:

My goal for NaNoWriMo 2019 is to write the first 50,000 words of part 3 in Blood of Old, which is the first novel in my WIP fantasy series Graceborn.

Graceborn is a fantasy of the epic variety, and Blood of Old is currently in its second draft. However, it’s changed so much from the first draft that it’s almost like writing a first draft again! I really want to have it done by the end of 2019, which is why I am throwing my efforts into this project for NaNoWriMo.

About Blood of Old

“The Old has returned…and what once was, will be again.”

For a thousand years none have dared to enter the Tainted Land, but when Asa O’Dair spills sacred blood on its once-sacred soil, fulfilling an ancient prophecy, an evil long-thought vanquished begins to stir.

Now, Asa and his adopted brother Kael must travel to the city-state of Asphodel, where treachery and dissent lurk within the ranks of the Graceborn, and they learn that a great and terrible destiny awaits them both.

Read the full blurb of Blood of Old here.

Writing 50,000 words in 30 days in no easy feat! To give myself the best chance at success, I’ve done a number of things to help prepare myself for this NaNoWriMo…some of them extending all the way back to the start of the year. Here is what my preparation has involved:

Outlining. In January this year, I wrote a full and detailed outline of Blood of Old, which was itself almost 43k words! Since I’m terrible at pantsing, this outline will really help me come November, as I can focus on getting the words down without being distracted by plotting.

#30kin30days. I hit a bit of a slump in the middle of this year, shortly after I finished both my uni degree and part 1 of Blood of Old. So, in September, I set and achieved a personal goal of writing 30,000 words, which helped me regain some much needed momentum!

October sprint. By the end of September, I was halfway through part 2 of Blood of Old, and made the decision to smash out the rest of part 2 by the end of October. I’ve been writing like mad these last few weeks to make sure I’m ready to start part 3 by November 1st!

Rest days. And finally…taking a break. I haven’t actually done this yet as I write these words, but I plan to take the last few days of October off any kind of writing. This will allow me to rest and refresh my brain, so I’m raring to go by the time NaNoWriMo starts!

There are so many different ways you can get involved in NaNoWriMo! I know I will end up posting about my progress etc on my social media accounts linked below. Is anyone hosting any NaNoWriMo-related challenges or games online? Because I’d love to participate!

I’ve also just signed up on the NaNoWriMo website, so if you’d like to be buddies this November, my username is Rebecca Alasdair!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? What is your project about? Have you done anything to prepare?