2017 NaNoWriMo Update #1: What I'm Writing, and What I'm Reading

Y'all know what time of the year it is: it's November, which means, it's time for National Novel Writing Month, aka, NaNoWriMo. I'm so absolutely excited to get started on a new writing project again... I've been waiting for this since July!

And for the first time, I'm doing something a little new. But I'm hoping to come out of this not just with a collection of relatively finished short stories - a structure I haven't really written in since high school - but to find that drive to write every day again. It's hard to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and NaNo is really great for helping me find that off-center mark: the more you're working on, the less afraid you are of failing. You don't have time for fear, here. You barely have time to write!

So, without further ado, just like last year, here's my mock cover and blurb synopsis for this year's NaNoWriMo project: Leave the Light On, a collection of supernatural short stories.

A father's visit to a local parenting support group, reveals a secret community in need of help. A new collegiate, excited to take part in sorority life, comes face to face with a neighborhood ghost. A down-on-their-luck couple finds an unlikely source of protection, in a lamp that won't turn off. An angry teen finds his life is left a lot quieter, after damaging an old woman's strange music box. 

Finding their footing in real, daily tragedies, the true ghouls of this collection are not otherworldly so much as firmly grounded in the realities of many, from grappling with the heartbreak of losing a relative, to the inescapable loneliness of feeling abandoned, and the pervasive social ills of sexual assault and domestic violence. 

These supernatural stories, and the characters within them, explore the boundaries of personal horror, by flipping the focus from the ghosts and demons found within, to the misfortunes of the human experience. Together, they form a compendium of shorts, which highlight all the ways the exaggeration of horror and fantasy give way to pedestrian truths: pain cannot help but be felt, everyone deserves your respect, and true love can transcend anything.  

Meanwhile, if there's anything that stands as a daily struggle during NaNo that's not just tied to writing, it's figuring out what to read, too. I have a big problem with reading fiction during the month of November, just because I feel like inevitably, the voice of the writer I'm reading, interferes with my ability to write using my own voice.

But it's not like I'm just going to stop reading, because that's neither productive, nor is it, in the long run, going to help my own writing all that much. I still need a ways to relax, take a break, and get out of my own head every once in a while, and that's why reading can be such a crucial resource during the month of NaNo.

So, I went to the library last week, and picked up a couple of good books to prepare for the month ahead. Because I wasn't invested in reading too many stories that would distract me, here are the genres I chose as my focus, instead:

• business-oriented and self-help books : I'm still caught in the miserable throes of trying to find a job, so at least this way, I'm still being productive in my down time. I'm excited to finished with Leave Your Mark, by Aliza Licht, so I can get to Drive: the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink, and Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resistance, and Finding Joy, by Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg.  
• cookbooks: It's no secret that whenever I go to the library, I return with at least one cookbook, so nothing too out of the ordinary here. I'm big on breakfast, and these freezing Fall mornings have been making it difficult to get out of bed, so I'm excited to go through Rise and Shine, by Katie Sutherland Morford, to find something delicious and new. 
• poetry: I've had an itch for poetry since this summer, when I found out some of my friends and favorite Internet creators still had a habit for writing it. I haven't really devoted myself to poetry since maybe middle school, so it would be nice to get back into the habit, which is why I picked up The 100 Best Poems of All Time, edited by Leslie Pockell. 

Hopefully, these reads will still be entertaining enough to loosen up my strained brain when I need a writing break, without being so distracting that I'd rather spend my time reading than writing! 

my stats for 2017 NaNoWriMo Week 1, as of the end of Sunday, 11/5: 

total words: 12,528
average words per day: 2,505
my best day: 3,361
short stories completed: "Superkids," working on: "Keep It Down"

Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo? What does your writing project look like this month? Let me know, in the comments below!