What Are You Doing in June? #amwriting #JuNoWriMo

Photo Credit: J. Paxon Reyes

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

Pinterest for Writers

Get the Crap Out

Get the Crap Out

6 Ways to Maximize Word Count During JuNoWriMo

6 Ways to Maximize Word Count During JuNoWriMo

 

 

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