Next month is the start of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! What is NaNoWriMo? Short answer: It’s when you try to write a 50k word novel/story within the span of one month. Long answer? Check out the NaNoWriMo FAQ!
So what is NaNoing Up a Sun? It’s a Whovian NaNo “group”, or a collective, such as it were. To me one of the best things about NaNo, the most motivating thing, is that it’s a community thing. You’re not doing this on your own, you’re doing NaNo with tons of other people, and when you interact with those people, it’s that much more motivational. Just think about it! There are all these people going through the same things you are, all these people who can help push you forward, share in your success and frustrations, challenge you with word wars and word games, help you work through gritty issues in your writing.
What is the tag for? In the month leading up to NaNoWriMo, and in the month of NaNoWriMo, anyone who wants to join the group can just use the tag: “nanoing up a sun”. As we lead up to the 1st of November, I’m going to be posting in the tag what I consider useful posts that everyone is free to reblog, or interact with, or use as prompts. For example, one day I might post a suggesting that anyone having trouble choosing a plot list their ideas and asks for input on the tag. Another day we might work on outlining, or explore our characters in advance of beginning actual writing; I might post ‘character surveys’, for example. (You’ll be able to tell which posts are mine, because I will use the above graphic, or a variation of it!)
You can also use the tag for NaNo however you want. Not sure what story to focus on? Ask and tag it! Needing help researching a topic? Ask and tag it! Looking for resources? Ask and tag it! Have a link to a cool writing site or post, or a something character related? Post it and tag it! Have a list of awesome resources? Post it and tag it! Remember, only original posts show up on the tags, so if you reblog something and tag it with our tag, no one will be able to see it. (That doesn’t mean you should steal and repost something to tag it, just post it as a link instead, if you really think it’s a good post!)
And when we finally get to NaNo, feel free to check in daily. Update us on your word count! Ask people if they want to Word War with you (two or more people start writing at the same time, for a set period of time like 20 minutes, and see who can write the most words!). Ask for help on sticky plot points, or just look for motivation. Basically, use the tag to connect and have fun. No one has to NaNo alone!
If anyone has any questions about NaNoWriMo or Nanoing Up a Sun, feel free to ask me! There’s not too much structure to this, what it really is, is just a way to connect to other Whovians doing NaNoWriMo on tumblr. You’d be amazed at what a community can encourage you to do!
Please feel free to reblog this post and spread it around. I will be tracking the tag, and I encourage you to track it as well, if you’re going to join in. [Also, while I will be posting mostly with this blog, please feel free to follow my writing blog as well!]