Photo Credit: J. Paxon Reyes
What are you doing this summer? I have big plans. In June I’m joining a group of other daring writers and writing a novel for JuNoWriMo (June Novel Writing Month).
I’ll be writing the sequel to my recently published novel Gateway to Reality in a new character’s point of view. I don’t yet have much of a plan, only a rough idea that Emily has as much of a story to tell as Wes did. But I’m not worried and not even really working on plot yet—that’s what May is for.
Prewriting for JuNoWriMo
For all of us June WriMos, May is prewriting month. What is prewriting? It’s different for each writer. For me, prewriting looks like this:
- Create a brief (1 – 2 paragraph) synopsis as a general guide
- Determine the overall story question
- Writing up character profiles for the main 5 – 7 characters
- Collecting images on Pinterest that inspire scenes, characters, or location
- Write a chapter by chapter scene outline for the entire book
The last one is the biggie, and the most crucial to my own success. If the word “outline” makes you break out in hives or if the whole idea of prewriting is daunting and sounds impossible, don’t fret. You don’t have to prewrite, though it will help your chances of getting 50,000 words written in 30 days.
But if having a plan sounds like a good idea, or if you’re a bit curious and would like to try out the whole prewriting thing, there’s a great series by Aaron Pogue on JuNoWriMo.com that breaks it down into steps and makes the process very simple (and relatively painless). Follow that to the letter, or improvise and create your own strategy. The important thing is to go into June prepared.
Write with Me
If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so on the site. Also, “like” JuNoWriMo on Facebook and follow @JuNoWriMo on Twitter to stay up to date. Anna Howard and myself run the show, but if you want to hop on board and lead some word sprints, we’re accepting enthusiastic volunteers. Email me (beccajcampbell@gmail.com), and I’ll add you to our list of sprint leaders.
Over at the JuNoWriMo blog, we like to focus on some of the authors participating for JuNoWriMo, so if you know what you’ll be working on and you’re interested in being a featured author, send me an email and I’ll give you more information on that (I’ll highlight this more when it gets closer).
Are you going to join us in June? I hope so!
~
You might also be interested in:
Pinterest for Writers
Get the Crap Out
6 Ways to Maximize Word Count During JuNoWriMo
Great advice Becca! I’ll definitely look into some of your pre-writing suggestions. JuNoWriMo is going to be my first attempt at writing a novel, so the excitement is palpable for me!
Yay! I’m excited for you. First novel-that’s excellent!
Just joined! whoohoo
Glad to have you joining us, Carlyle! 🙂
Becca, I’m excited for you all as June approaches! I don’t think I’m up for joining in yet this year, but maybe in 2014! In the meantime, perhaps some of your June WriMos would find my new series of prewriting/storytelling articles helpful. They’re available at Aaron’s Unstressed Syllables blog: http://www.unstressedsyllables.com/category/prewritingstory-telling/
I’ll be rootin’ for you guys! : )
Cool. I will check them out. Meanwhile, good luck with your writing adventures, and I hope you get to join us soon. 🙂
Well, I’m participating in JuNoWriMo, of course. What else would I be doing? I can’t wait, now if I could just narrow the story idea down, I’ll be good.
I’d hoped you would, Sydney! This is going to be a bit like a reunion from last year, but with a lot of cool newbies, too. I’m excited.
Becca, I found you through the A to Z blog challenge site, and I’m thrilled to hear about JuNoWriMo. I was rather bummed about having to wait until November to do the book challenge again, and now I find that I don’t have to sit and twiddle my thumbs. Fantastic! And thanks!
Kristen,
That’s great! I’m so glad you’re joining us. Make sure you enter the giveaway after you sign up.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂