* This is the first of what I’m hoping becomes routine blog posts (aiming for 1-2 a month)- posts about my writing process, behind the scenes of what I’m writing, and more! Feel free to leave a comment below if there’s something you’d like me to write about!

Well, every year I say I’m not going to do it. And every year I attempt it. NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don’t know, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and it’s where writers around the world commit to writing 50k words during the month of November. (If it sounds crazy, it’s because it is!)

Read more: NaNoWriMo Prep

So how is this year different from the years I’ve failed? Motivation and a better outline. I’m going to be writing my urban fantasy (Project Moon). Check out my WIP (work in progress) page to see a description, some aesthetic pics, and my Spotify playlist for this project.

I’ve started and stopped writing Project Moon multiple times. I never had a clear outline and I’ve found I’m really, really not a “pantser”. Despite having an ending in mind, characters that felt solid, and plenty of world building, I got lost without an outline. So I’ve abandoned it at around 15k words each time.

I’m taking this last week before November 1st to really flesh out my outline and get it all written down in one place, instead of pieces of it here and more of it there. I feel like it’s finally ready to go from disjointed notes everywhere to a cohesive outline to a finished first draft!!

If you want to follow along (and cheer me on), follow me on Instagram (@MaerynStills) where I’ll be posting word count updates and more during the month of November!

Until next time!

– Maeryn