Nanoplanmo/Preptober! | Goals and TBR

The time has come!

Today begins Nanoplanmo, or Preptober as some people call it. This month, hundreds of thousands of people will begin to brainstorm, outline, and develop their characters. I am no different. Once again, I plan on participating in Nanowrimo – this will be my eleventh year in a row doing this, and if I win, my fifth time winning.

This year is particularly special for me: This will be the first year I’m starting a brand new story from scratch in about five years. Before this, the same story in my head would be written and rewritten every year, and I was never happy with how it turned out. But last year in 2018, I finished a draft, and I liked it.

Therefore, it’s time to start something new. I won’t go into too much detail because honestly I haven’t fleshed it out yet (that’s what this month is for!) but the idea bopping around in my head is a comedy fantasy. Therefore, I’ll be doing a bit of prep to get me used to writing in the subgenre.

Nanoplano Goals

• Complete an outline
  • Decide what act structure to use
  • Flesh out major plot points
  • Decide ahead of time what my ending will be (with wiggle room)
• Develop characters
  • Main and side characters
• Do some worldbuilding
  • Develop the magic system
  • Develop the country(ies) history
  • Develop the culture
• Do some planning every day, even if it’s just a sentence or a bullet point
• Read some comedy fantasy to get an idea of how different authors incorporate comedy into their fiction
• Do biweekly (at least!) planning sessions with buddy(ies) who are also doing nanowrimo this year

Normally, I am a pantser, but last year I did a hybrid between pantsing and planning, and it turned out pretty well. This year, I think I want to try even more planning, just because the story is brand new (though honestly I think I might make it happen in the same world as last year’s story).

As mentioned, I plan on reading some comedy fantasy to inspire me to write my own:

TBR

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames – I picked this book up in September specifically so I could read it now. I’ve heard wonderful things about this book, and I’m hoping it’s both inspiring and enjoyable.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett – How can I claim to want to read comedy fantasy and not pick up Pratchett? He’s the king! And somehow, I haven’t read anything by him yet! I figure between this book and Kings of the Wyld, I’ll get a wide range of comedic fiction, and I hope again, that this is both inspiring and entertaining.

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In addition to those two books, I also plan on reading other books this month that don’t particularly have to do with Nano, but hopefully they’ll still be just as entertaining. These two though, along with my buddy read, will be my main focus. Everything else, as you’ll see in tomorrow’s Currently Reading post, will be thrown on the backburner.

Sacrifices must be made!

If you are planning on trying Nanowrimo this year, let me know! Add me as a buddy!

Happy writing, and happy reading!