by withlovesavannah

NaNoWriMo Week One Update // Starting My Novel & Actually NOT Having a Meltdown

Y’all, this is so exciting!!! This will be my first time ever writing an update for NaNoWriMo. I’ve done it before for Camp NaNoWriMo, but it’s not quite the same.

Real NaNo is the real, big thing and it’s daunting but exciting (especially knowing loads of books written during NaNoWriMo have been published! namely the night circus, one of my all-time favorite books.

I don’t feel like introducing my NaNo book, so you can check out my post about it here. I don’t think I really changed anything since I wrote that post but I definitely do have my story more figured out.

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I have a name for my book!! It’s probably only temporary but I held a poll on Twitter to see what name I should choose for this book so that I actually have something to call it by besides My NaNoWriMo book.

And so the book is called These Memories Shall Burn!

applausehp

I wasn’t 100% sold on this title (even though I came up with it haha) because I thought that it might sound kind of like a fantasy book but it’s really grown on me. It goes with the story really well since my main character has PTSD.

I also figured out what caused my main character to have PTSD! I knew that I wanted it to have something to do with what happened to her as a child before getting put in an orphanage.

I’ll probably have to search for sensitivity readers so if you have PTSD or if you were an orphan and you’re interested in being a sensitivity reader once I’m done writing this, let me know and I’ll add you to the list!

Stats:

Now to the stats (and then snippets!)

My current word count is 6,162. I think this is fairly good, but I really wish I would have been able to make it to 10k by the end of the first week. I mean, it hasn’t been a full week yet, so I do have time to reach that goal.

I pumped out around 4k words one day when my internet was out (best time to write a book oh my gosh – just go somewhere without internet). I got so engulfed in my book I didn’t want to stop writing, but I did lose inspiration and it was late.

Snippets:

snippet1

This is the very beginning. As you can tell, this book is very emotional. When I wrote those 4k words that one day, I had to bring myself into a depressed state to write in this voice.

I really do hope that I finish this book, and that when I do it will give a voice to those that don’t have one in young adult books. This is always my goal when I write. If I can give a voice to even one marginalized person out there, my job will be accomplished.

Goal:

My goal for the next week is to make it to 20k. I don’t want to pressure and stress myself over this goal, but it would be really amazing if I could make it.

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Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, how has your first week been?

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35 thoughts on “NaNoWriMo Week One Update // Starting My Novel & Actually NOT Having a Meltdown”

  1. Pingback: Your WIP in Gifs Tag // watch me (kindly) shove my book down your throats | The Book Prophet
  2. Pingback: November Monthly Wrap-Up // Explaining my unplanned hiatus & Failing NaNoWriMo | The Book Prophet

    1. I love it too! It’s so cool whenever writers from around the world come together to meet their own goals. Thank you so much!! I completely lost my motivation soon after the first week haha so now I’m only at about 8k words

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  4. AWWWW SAVANAAAAH. What you said about wanting to give a voice to at least one marginalized person is so so sweet and powerful, especially to me (marginalized in a lot of ways). And oh god those snippets. That poem was beautiful and that scene was heartbreaking and I’m so excited to keep up with your novel’s progress; it sounds amazing. ❤

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    1. *pops the champagne*
      wait… we’re both underage
      erm…
      *opens the bottle of apple juice and pours you a glass*
      Thank you so much!!!

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  6. Good luck! Looks like you’re doing well so far!

    I do think there is more energy during NaNo than Camp. If only November weren’t exam month 😦 (AKA a big part of why I haven’t participated the past two years . . . but I am graduating so maybe next year?)

    It would still be interesting to see which published novels were written during Camp.

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  7. I loved that snippet so much! And YES I was rooting for that title, it sounds so cool! I hate when my internet is down but it was down yesterday and got quite some writing done! Suddenly all the distractions are gone haha

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    1. Thank you!! I have to admit, it does sound cool 😀 I’m glad it ended up winning. Haha, during NaNo losing internet can be the best (or worst if you’re researching) thing that could happen

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  8. Amazing! Good job on your first week! My first week has been a little dismal. My time management has been off and coupled with the fact that worked has been kicking me in the butt doesn’t help. But, I’m optimistic, going to try to pump out as much as I can within the next few days. Good luck towards the second week!

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  14. 6k+ words is amazing!! I know you’re chasing the NaNoWriMo word count, but it’s still a real achievement, especially as you’ve figured out more of the story elements along the way. I do love the idea of the poems and the poem in the extract works really well. Hope this week goes to plan!

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  15. Ooooh, congratulations on finding a title albeit temporary. It’s so hard to come up with titles *sigh* haha
    And wow, I like the snippet. (That kind of could work for the beginning of a fantasy novel too xD)
    I love what you want to achieve with your book. I hope mind could too, if I ever finish it. Good luck in reaching your goal! ❤

    Btw, I'm participating too this month. I'm working on a WIP I wrote for Nanowrimo last November, but I kind of changed everything except for the characters and most of the backstory.
    What's your name on Nanowrimo? 😀

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    1. Yes! Titles are soooo hard! You have to make the title engaging and yet have it describe your book. Haha! It could! Ah good luck!!! It’s The Book Prophet 🙂

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  16. Yay congratulations on finding a (temporary) title for your novel and reaching such a fantastic word count! It’s honestly so impressive! I’m also participating in NaNo but I’m not really focusing on my word count that much—my goal is to have the main points in my story outlined and my characters fully fleshed out so I can start writing it at the end of the month/in December! I was away for the weekend so I “only” have 1.2k words so far but I’m really proud because that’s basically more than I’ve written all year 😂 Good luck with reaching 20k next week and I can’t wait for your next update!

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