CAMP NANOWRIMO, 2021 – a subtle change of plans + my camp nanowrimo survival kit

good morning, cyberspace!

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. I suppose I should have seen this coming, since nothing I plan ever goes quite like how I want it to, but I can’t say as though I’m disappointed with the very sudden turn of events my life–most specifically my writing life–has taken.

Do you guys remember how I mentioned very recently how The Plan for Camp NaNoWriMo 2021 was to finish the first draft of Project Goblin? A draft which I was already upwards of 30,000 words into? The draft of which I was confident I could finish within a single month?

Lol. Yeah, that plan flew out the window towards Neverland and hasn’t been seen since.

So, as it turns out, I’ve been struggling with writing this book for a couple months now. As a Plantser, I never truly know where the story is taking me until we get there–that’s part of the fun and mystery of writing for me–but I am familiar with the gut feeling that what I’m writing is wrong. Somehow, inexplicably, I can feel when what I’m writing isn’t what’s supposed to be written, and this division between my conscious and subconscious completely stalls the process.

And for the past two months or so, I’ve been feeling this exact phenomena. Day after day I’ve sat down to write, only to find myself staring at a page half-filled with words which don’t feel true to the story I’m trying to tell. And day after day I’ve wondered if perhaps there was something about this story that I’m missing. But the stubborn writer inside of me decided that this was just a phase–that if I just kept pressing forward, I would eventually hit the rhythm that I’ve been searching for.

Unfortunately, I can now report that this did not happen. I did, however, find something a little bit better.

I found an epiphany.

I don’t have these rare moments of brilliance often. In fact, I’ll confess that I typically only have one true moment of complete genius per book–if, of course, I even have one at all–but every so often, usually at the peak of frustration, all the pieces I’ve been struggling to fit into place finally click together. Suddenly, everything that was once foggy and uncooperative is perfectly clear. And that is precisely what happened with my smol trash gremlin, Project Goblin.

I was sitting at Pizza Hut, scribbling down a list of the story’s main cast members in a tiny notebook with a garish pink pen, when all of a sudden I had this beautiful, mind-boggling epiphany. An epiphany so shiny and perfect and new that I immediately began scribbling down ideas for it, completely ruining my linear character chart and ignoring my sad slice of pizza as it sat steaming on the plate in front of me.

All thoughts of food were gone; there was only room in my head for a single thought.

“they’re off to see the wizard”

Except it isn’t a wizard they’re off to see, but a goblin. And they weren’t going to ask for something they never had, but what was once stolen from them.

Despite the fact that “they’re off to see the wizard” really has absolutely nothing to do with the new direction of my book at this point, it still serves as the main epiphany moment, and is therefore my battlecry as I set off on this brand new reinvention of the story before me. 30,000 words of Draft Zero were stuffed away in a separate drawer–potentially never to be seen again–and I am now working from a brand new document, titled Project Goblin 2021. (I’m very clever with naming things, you see.) I’m about 2 and a half chapters in, my main character is finally (oh my WORD IT’S HAPPENING) starting to act like an actual human, rather than a cardboard cutout that just sort of wobbles around the world I’m building from scratch, and–best thing of all the things–I’m finally excited about this story again. That thing I thought was missing has finally been found, and I no longer have to question whether or not I should press forward or head back. I have direction. I have inspiration.

I finally have hope for this mess of a book.

And in honor of the fact that I completely ditched everything I’ve written for the past five months lolololololol finally have direction, I thought it’d be fun to finally reveal everything inside of my NaNoWriMo survival kit! Because I promised if I got around to it, I’d share that with you all, and I figure this will be a NaNo quite desiring of a survival kit if ever there was one before. (my sanity ditched me like five days ago and hasn’t since returned, so.)

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kenzie’s camp nanowrimo survival kit — 2021 edition

i. greg

Some of you may know this, others may not–my laptop’s name is Greg.

I do not, despite popular belief, tote around a singular man named Greg where’ere I go for writing inspiration. If, however, your name is Greg and you would like to apply for the position of part-time writing assistant, the fact that your name is Greg will probably (not) give you an edge on your application.

ii. usb drive

I haven’t backed up my novel in about five months. This is actually a terrible decision, and I wholeheartedly recommend NOT doing this if you’re planning on making any considerable sized dent in your manuscript this month. XD

Please, please–if you have any sort of consideration for your novel and time at all–buy a good (emphasis on GOOD) USB drive and backup your novel. Frequently. Once a day is good, but TWICE a day is better, especially if you’re writing a lot.

Many years ago I went through this phase of using adorable animal-shaped USB drives, and every single time my novel got corrupted and I lost thousands of words.

It was awful. I soon despised that penguin and octopus, let me tell you. So while the dark, stick-shaped drives at Best Buy might SEEM boring and unassuming, sometimes that’s precisely what you need in order to make sure your manuscript is safe.

Don’t trust your book to an octopus, friend. I beg of you.

iii. story-themed notebooks

Even though I tend to write my books on my laptop, it doesn’t feel like I’m actually writing a book until I have a story notebook to go along with it. everlost had a bunch of wide-ruled school notebooks–bits and pieces of story and plot bunnies scribbled out across them to the point where finding what I was actually looking for was somewhat of an impossibility. Project Sunset had a single squatty journal purchased specifically for that project. (the theme color for the story was yellow, and therefore I obviously needed a yellow notebook) And Project Goblin has an adorably wonky looking thing which I got from one of my coworkers as a birthday/parting gift when I left my last job. So, in order for this month to be a success–or, at the very least, survivable–I’m keeping this notebook close at hand for any moment when writing on a screen just won’t cut it.

Sometimes you just need a good stack of paper and a pen in order for the thoughts to start flowing, and when that time comes, it’s a lot easier to have a notebook already squared away for that exact purpose than to start asking random strangers in the restaurant for their napkins and half-chewed pens.

iv. pens & pencils

To go along with the notebooks, you always need a fresh assortment of pens and pencils to keep your creativity flowing during a high-stress month such as this. In fact, I would highly recommend beginning your collection of favorite writing instruments sooner rather than later, because those things have a nasty habit of disappearing right when you need them most.

v. project playlists

I recently got Spotify Premium with my family–hello, no ads!–and oh my goodness, I’m obsessed with making playlists! Most of them are for my drives to work or actual work (we get to play our own playlists over the speakers. it’s phenomenal), but quite a fair few in my dragon hoard are handcrafted playlists perfectly tailored for my books. The ones I’ll be using the most this month are for The Girl and The Goblin King and Project Sunset, since those are the stories I’m currently working on, but blogospherical is another well-loved music set which will be used quite frequently. XD

vi. my writerly muse

a.k.a. my smol bird friend, Durachi. I think the majority of you know by now that I have a cockatiel, but I think I fail to mention just how integral he is to my writing life. Durachi is incredibly helpful during the drafting process. He’s very patient with me when I start daydreaming during play-time, and exceedingly helpful with choosing which pens and pencils to use.

The scary ones, of course, get thrown away. (my hunch is that he can sense when they have no creativity left inside them, and therefore that makes them frightening. which, I mean, same. XD)

vii. my kindle

Since I’m going to be reading and taking notes on Project Sunset this month, I kind of need something to read it on. And since reading it on my laptop will only make me want to go in immediately with a red pen and edit All Of The Things, I’m going to read it on my kindle instead. This way, I can train my brain to see it in actual ebook format, rather than “writing” mode, and the only remaining danger is accidentally setting my entire kindle on fire out of sheer embarrassment and having to buy a new one from Amazon!

viii. reading material (for when I’m stuck)

I recently stopped at the library and picked up an embarrassingly large stack of tomes to read when I get creatively stuck, so hopefully these will get me through those annoyingly depressing dry spells….

(and also I hope I can renew these because there’s NO way I’m gonna read them all in two weeks….)

ix. an assortment of snacks (for when I’m hungry)

Aside from the typical chocolates and candies, I’m also going to start squirreling away tea and Dr. Pepper. Because sometimes you really just need a caffeinated boost to get you through the writing day, and there is truly no caffeine boost like that of the Dr. Pepper…

(I also work at a coffee shop, so for the most part I’m set on tea. In fact, I should probably stop drinking so much of it when I’m there. XD)

x. a good dose of dedication, persistence, and just a singular ounce of sanity

To be fair, I usually don’t have a whole lot of either of these at any given time, but I’ve learned that if I’m very, very careful, I can typically find a little bit of each if I try hard enough.

The sanity is entirely hit or miss, though. I never know if I’m going to have my head when I wake up in the morning, but by golly, I’m officially getting good at going throughout my day headless. At this point, I should probably move to Sleepy Hollow or something.

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talk to me, peasants!

And that, my friends, is my Camp NaNoWriMo update/what’s inside my survival kit! For all my fellow Wrimos out there, what sorts of things do YOU put inside your survival kit? have your camp nanowrimo plans altered at all since the start of the event? and have you ever had an epiphany so wonderful and huge that it made it physically impossible for you to eat pizza? (this was a first for me, and I’m genuinely curious if it happens to anyone else.)

As always, let’s talk about All Of The Things down in the comments below, and until next time…

*flings cookies in the air and disappears*

Camp NaNoWriMo, 2021 – preparation

good morning, cyberspace!

Camp NaNoWriMo is just over a week away, and I am officially starting to panic. Not in an “oh my goodness I’m going to die” kind of way, but an “lol things are happening and I’m not sure if they’re good but YEET LET’S DO THIS ANYWAY” kind of way. It’s honestly very inspiring, and I’m even more excited for April than I was before, which is … saying something.

Aside from panicking about the approaching NaNo, my brain has also decided to start splitting itself away from the projects I’m supposed to be focusing on, and has instead popped a very intriguing, very time-consuming idea into my head. As of right now, it’s still in the very first stages of speculation. I still don’t know when or if or how long it will take to finalize should I continue with it, but I can say that while this new project is exceedingly exciting, I’m forcing myself to keep its progress to a strict minimum in the weeks to come. Most–if not all–of my writing time is currently devoted to Project Goblin, this blog, or writing random short stories for my own sheer amusement. Anything else is simply a distraction.

…or that’s what I’m trying to tell myself, at least.

I definitely did not start a Scapple board two nights ago onto which I’ve started flinging all of my wildest hopes and dreams for this project. Definitely not. (stop looking at me like that, I’m completely fine.)

Anyway, in honor of Camp NaNoWriMo’s ever-quickening approach, I’ve decided to make a list of completely non-writing related things I’d like to accomplish before the first of April! I mentioned in last week’s post that there really wasn’t much to do for Project Goblin prep-wise, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing I can do to mentally prep for NaNo! So without further ado, let’s dive right in!

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camp nanowrimo, 2021 — preparation

one – deep-clean my room

First thing’s first, I’ve been undergoing a deep, DEEP clean of my room lately, and I’d like to get that finished up before Camp NaNo comes. It’s not so much of a “this will help get me in the mindset for writing” kind of thing, but more of an “if I have all of this random stuff-purging done before April, I won’t have any excuses to procrasticlean”. And let me tell you–I am the QUEEN of procrasticleaning.

So the first step on my to-do list is to get all of my random junk tidied up and sorted out! And while I’m sort of half-n-half when it comes to cleaning, I’m actually weirdly excited for this one. I’m really enjoying the purging process, and I feel like once I’m done, I’ll have more of the things I truly enjoy, and less of the stuff that’s simply taking up space.

two – set up my story board

Or, as my writing group fondly dubbed it, my murder board. Essentially, I recently had the grand idea to start plotting out the scenes that still need to be written for Project Goblin–and any editing notes I’m going to be making for Project Sunset–out on my corkboard! My mom gave me a whole stack of neon-colored index cards which are PERFECT for color-coding different stories, and I’m extremely excited to start. Plotting has never gone too well for me in the past, but I think if I leave it open enough, my curious brain will still find nooks and crannies to investigate and pilfer through, which will continue to add a sense of discovery to the writing process which my brain so clearly craves.

three – prepare Project Sunset notebook

In order to start taking notes on Project Sunset, I need to get my notebook ready. I haven’t taken notes on a draft since everlost, and I’ll admit I’m a little bit rusty. But I have some Thoughts on how I want to take notes for this project, and while it may seem a little too advanced for my simpleton of an easily-distracted brain, I’m still choosing to be optimistic about this approach.

I also have a really cute notebook that I used while drafting this book, and MY GOODNESS I’m so excited to use it again… Toting that notebook around literally made me so happy when I was writing Project Sunset, and getting to bust it out again kinda feels like coming home.

four – equip myself with proper work attire

Fun fact: both jobs I’ve held within the past two years had mandated work attire. At Goodwill, I had to wear a bright blue shirt and–for the first 8 or 9 months–khakis. (this later turned into jeans, and my dear goodness it was the most wonderful change) At the coffee shop, I have to wear a store shirt and either a hat, visor, or headband. (I usually choose the hat.) I never really put much thought into mandated work attire other than the typical “huh. I wish I didn’t have to wear this today” kind of thing, but recently….recently I’ve begun to notice something.

The first day you wear your work uniform, you have this weird sense of imposter syndrome. You look at yourself in the mirror and wonder how on earth you managed to hoodwink your employer into hiring you, because holy guacamole you’re underqualified for this position. But then, as you get trained (or, in the case of Goodwill, thrown on the register and wished the best of luck) and begin to learn the ins and outs of the industry, you start to feel this strange sense of belonging when you go to work. You know what you’re doing (kinda), you love what you do and do what you love, and your uniform signifies that. You’re no longer an imposter in a hat. You’re someone who belongs.

And not only that, but for me, personally, I’ve noticed that whenever I’m at work, I have no trouble getting myself to stay dedicated and determined to succeed for my allotted time on the clock. There’s no sense of wanting to procrastinate. There’s no endless scrolling on my phone as soon as there’s a lull in work. Whenever it quiets down and there’s nothing straightforward to be doing, my brain automatically clicks into “find something productive to do” mode.

It shocks people when I tell them I’m a disorganized mess. It boggles their brain meats. Why? Because the person I give to others at work is a complete opposite of the person I give to myself. When I’m working for someone else, I’m committed and “on” at all times. I’m dedicated to my work and am willing to learn and grow and get better with each passing day. When I’m working for myself, I tend to grow stagnant. I tell myself that this pressing thing I’m supposed to be working on can be done tomorrow. I let myself procrastinate. I tell myself deadlines don’t matter.

But spoiler alert: deadlines DO matter. And as someone who hopes to someday be self-employed, I need to start treating my personal deadlines and goals with as much respect as I treat those imposed on me by others.

So I’ve been doing some self-reflection. I’ve been digging a little deeper into my psyche to understand the why’s behind this most confusing jumble of mental blockages. And after much thought and one too many lost staring contests with the floral patterned wall, I realized that there is one significant difference between my days clocked in as a writer and my days clocked in as a barista.

…at the coffee shop, I have a hat.

And it may not seem like much, but I have come to the conclusion that this hat is instrumental in my excellent work ethic. So after some digging, I decided to purchase a writing hat.

It’s coming in the mail on Friday, and I’m going to start wearing it every time I sit down to write.

…

…I cannot be stopped, peasants.

five – gather and curate my nanowrimo survival kit

Every year, I try to create a survival kit for Ultimate NaNo Success, and every year, I hardly use the things which I so carefully place inside of it. But this year … yeah, this year isn’t going to be any different. But I’m still going to create my survival kit, because GUYS. IT IS FUN.

And if you don’t believe me, you’ve clearly never created your own survival kit, and therefore I urge you to go change this immediately.

I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to be placing inside my Survival Kit this year, but I guarantee it’s going to have some sort of Goblin-esque themed notebook, my USB drive (a must for intense drafting), and an assortment of pens and pencils I shall completely ignore in favor of a random black pen I find in the family pencil basket. (I’ve accidentally stolen a lot of those pens, actually… My apologies to my family members who can never seem to find a normal pen anywhere.)

Also maybe some snacks, my laptop (obviously), and a carefully curated playlist which I will also completely ignore in favor of my work playlist, which is fondly dubbed ’tis but a bop. (I’m so clever, oh my goodness.)

If my survival kit turns out to be something rather noteworthy, I’ll do my best to write a blog post on it! But for right now, I’m gonna stick with a Vague Mention of the thing. XD It really is fun putting these together, though, so seriously. 10/10 recommend creating one for yourself. (and if you DO end up making one, tell me all the things you put inside of it in the comments! I want to hear about others’ survival kits!!)

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talk to me, peasants!

And there you have it–my list of to-do’s to mentally prepare for the gloriousness that is Camp NaNoWriMo! Not listed are the sleepless nights and internal screaming matches between me and the Void, but I figured those were safely implied.

But now it’s your turn! what sorts of things do you do to prepare yourself–physically, mentally, etc.–for NaNoWriMo? do you have any “writing attire” that you wear while writing, or–similarly–any talismans that bring you good luck when writing? what kinds of things do you store in your writerly survival kit? are you participating in Camp NaNo this year, and if not, how can I convince you to change your mind? XD

As always, let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS down in the comments below, and until next time…

*flings cookies in the air and disappears*

Camp NaNoWriMo, 2021 — planning + plotting

good morning, cyberspace!

In honor of nothing particularly interesting happening in February in regards to my writing journey, I move to completely ignore last month’s statistics and instead pretend like everything is fine and my goals for the year are definitely not going up in flames before my very eyes. All in favor, say aye!

…

…

Lovely. Let’s move on!

So! It’s March! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, my writerly muse has finally decided to return from his extended vacation in the Bahamas (thanks, Chess), and I–after a long, tiring winter–have decided that now is as good a time as any to dust off the potential I left to rot in the back of my closet and scrape together some semblence of a writing routine to get me through the next few months! And–with any luck–finally make some substantial progress on my current works-in-progress!

This surge in creating inspiration is aided by the fact that Camp NaNoWriMo begins next month (!!!). This will be my fifth year participating in the Camp session of NaNoWriMo, and let me tell you, folks: I could not be more excited. Camp NaNoWriMo–April’s session, in particular–holds a very dear place in my heart. It has helped me stay accountable to and finish so many of my writing projects, and–with any luck–this year it will be instrumental in doing it again.

I have many plans and ideas and goals for this year’s Camp NaNoWriMo, and while a part of my brain fears I may be biting off a wee bit more than one man can chew, I’m also incredibly excited to see what the next couple months have in store for both me and my projects!

…ah yes. You read that correctly. I’m going to be working on project(s) next month. Because I am nothing if not incredibly optimistic about the amount of side-hussles I can maintain.

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camp nanowrimo, 2021

With Camp NaNoWriMo just around the corner, there are two types of people crawling out of the woodworks: the writers who squeal and scream about Camp Nano and all their exciting plans for the month ahead, and their friends, who are even now buying earplugs to avoid the long, endless ramblings of writers who know not when to stop talking about half-bred goblin kings and monstrous trolls who may or may not actually exist.

I, of course, belong in the former category, and rightly so. I earned my “I’m a NaNo Fanatic” badge at the tender age of seventeen, when my friends would roll their eyes every time I started in again on the gloriousness which was Camp NaNoWriMo. “Here we go again” was a phrase I quickly became acquainted with, and one I adjusted to with just as much ease. There was a time when I wondered if perhaps I was a wee bit overexuberant in my NaNo excitement.

I now know that there is no such thing.

This year, however, while I’m planning on working on multiple projects, I am hoping that it’s a quieter sort of NaNo for me. I’ve only just gotten my excitement for writing back since it slipped out the window last autumn, and while I’m trying to get as much out of this sudden inspiration-fueled stint as I possibly can, the last thing I want is to use it all up and be left stranded again. So the plan is to gently grow my creativity over the next two months, carefully easing myself into longer writing projects as I reestablish myself into the writing groove I completely fell out of. Of course, as with most of my plans, I’m not holding out much hope for its success. But they say the best way to grow is to try everything you possibly can until eventually something sticks, so I guess I’m on a solid path.

(me. i said this. don’t judge me, please, i’m small.)

But all that aside, the projects I have prepped for Camp NaNo 2021 are–if I do say so myself–some of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on in a while. They’re books which feel like stepping stones towards the writer I want to be someday, and with a month filled with stories like that, well … what can possibly go wrong?

(*nervous laughter*)

project one – the girl and the goblin king

For anyone who’s been paying attention (lol, not me), The Girl and The Goblin Kingi is my YA paranormal fantasy, complete with goblins (duh), a starving artist, creepy triplets, and an anthropomorphic tree. So, essentially, it’s like a nightmare come to life, and I adore every single part of it.

There’s not a whole lot to do in regards to prepping this one, actually. I’m currently knee-deep in the first draft, so the majority of prep-work is simply me showing up to the story every day and putting words to the page–something I have obviously been struggling with. In a perfect world, I’d like to work out some of the kinks that I’ve begun to find within the narrative before April so I can start with a mostly clean slate, but this is, unfortunately, a first draft. And first drafts are messy, complicated, and in more ways than one, honestly terrifying to look at. If I’m able to simply hit the midpoint before April 1st, I’ll count my preparatory work as a win.

As for the actual NaNo-ing part of this project, my goal is to finish the first draft of Project Goblin by the end of April. March 31st is my soft deadline for this story, but with such a wild winter, I’ll be more shocked if it happens than if not. So my hard deadline for this project is April 30th, and if I don’t hit it, I will cry and eat a cookie in compensation give myself grace, because that is what I would give to anyone else in my shoes.

(oh, look at that. i think i spot some growth.)

project two – project sunset

Ah, yes. Anyone remember my sunshine child from last April? The gang is returning for another Camp this year, but this time, I’m going to be reading the words I wrote last year! (much nail-biting. such fear.) I literally have not done a deep edit or revision since the Great Everlost Expedition of 2018, and–if I’m being perfectly honest–I’m kind of scared to dive in, here. BUT. I remember greatly enjoying the revision process. It’s something I’ve come to love over the years, and taking something that was once pretty good and turning it into a semi-polished really good thing is where I feel I can really shine as a writer. Or perhaps I just feel that way because most of my first drafts are absolute garbage and I’m trying to convince myself that this does not make me a terrible writer. WHO CAN KNOW. XD

Prep-work for this simply involves compiling all the chapters I’ve written into a PDF (already done), and sending it off to my kindle for reading (soon to be done). Since all I’m doing for this project in April is reading through the book and taking down notes for revision, I’m not too concerned about finishing it within a month. This is mostly a “my brain needs a break from Project Goblin–OH LOOK. SHINY NEW THING” kind of project, so it’s very low-pressure, which is NICE.

I would, however, very much like to get the whole book read and have a solid plan for revision come May if I can! But that’s simply a cherry on top of the Project Goblin First Drafting cake. If it turns out that Project Goblin gets finished, and this poor, unfortunate little pancake is left miserably on its own till the end of Camp, I can’t say as though I’ll be disappointed. I’ll be too ecstatic over my brand new book baby to care too much. XD

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In all truth, I really just want to have some fun with my writing next month. I’ve spent so much of my career wondering if I’m “professional” enough to be a writer–if my words were good enough, bold enough, deep enough. Everyone looks at the greats and sees their writings as these deep, existential plunges into the human existence, and there are moments when I look at my life and the words I piece together and wonder how on earth I could ever compare to those who came before me. I’ll never be the next Hemingway or Tolkien or Lewis. I’ll most likely never write something that will be praised by the masses for its intricate tug into the heart of human life. But I can write things that are strange and quirky and odd. Things that will keep both my readers and myself questioning my ever-decreasing sanity. And I am so excited to take that deep, irreversible plunge into my own originality next month. I want these to be the first steps I take in which I truly allow myself to breathe, to stretch my wings and step off the cliffs of normality into the piercing waters of the unknown. And if it turns out that what I create truly is awful and unfit to be published, then I guess the intense fun I had while writing it will completely outweigh its crippling uselessness to me. XD

talk to me, peasants!

what are you guys working on next month? are any of you participating in camp nanowrimo? have you participated in the past, and if so, do you prefer camp or the OG nano? and for all the writers like me out there, have you ever had to remind yourself that writing should be not only an adventure, but fun? I think sometimes we get so caught up in the act of thinking of our writing as a profession that we forget to have as much fun with it as possible in the process–and I don’t want to stay inside that rut.

Anyway, let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS down in the comments below, and as always, until next time…

*flings cookies in the air and disappears*

featured photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

All About That WIP! – in which we take a sneakety peek at each of my projects for 2021

good morning, cyberspace!

A while back, I did a poll over on my instagram as to which post y’all wanted to see from me next, and All About That WIP! sorta kinda won by a landslide. Which … I guess you guys are just really interested in my works-in-progress? Which is wonderful, I’m sure. This is pretty much every writer’s dream, right? To have people interested in their books and wanting to learn more about them?

Unfortunately, I prefer to keep all my projects under a pile of moth-infested blankets stuffed in the deepest, darkest corners of my mind where they can ne’er see the light of day, but I digress. Spilling all the nitty gritty details of my books is DEFINITELY not my worst nightmare which wakes me up screaming in the depths of the night! Lol, no not at all!

….

….

….

All right, let’s just get this over with.

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ALL ABOUT THAT WIP

So! You want to know about Kenzie’s story projects for 2021, do ya? Well, you’re in luck, my friend, because today’s post is all about the projects that I’m hoping to work on this year! Or rather, projects that I’m hoping to continue working on this year, because–not gonna lie–most of these have already been started and then just left to dangle ominously in the middle of their prospective plotlines until I find time to work on them again.

The life of a WIP is a very sad life, indeed.

But anyway. I should probably mention now that I’m not going to be going SUUUUUUPER in-depth on all of these projects. As always, I like to keep some sort of thinly-veiled mystery when it comes to my precious children, simply because I find that spilling the beans on everything often makes me no longer want to work on the story. But, at the same time, talking about my WIP’s helps me gain momentum to continue working on my projects, so essentially it’s just a very complicated balance of how much to share and how much to keep secret.

(are you confused yet?)

But hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll have gleaned a better understanding of the names and projects I’ll most likely be throwing around in a few weeks’ time, so for that, at least, this post should be fun!

But enough about that. Let’s start with the most important project you’ll be seeing around here…

i. PROJECT GOBLIN / THE GIRL AND THE GOBLIN KING / WELCOME TO INKWELL

beautiful mock cover designed by Shannon Aardsma! (links to socials below!)

Ah, yes! Project Goblin! I’ve been talking about this one rather frequently for a few months now, but the first time this particular WIP made its appearance here on Smudged Thoughts was back in 2018 as I was preparing to write it for my NaNoWriMo novel.

I ended up winning that NaNo with over 50,000 words, but–unfortunately–the story I was writing was not, in fact, the tale which I was hoping to tell. In 2018, PROJECT GOBLIN was known primarily as THE GIRL AND THE GOBLIN KING, but over the years, I became rather confused with what its name should actually be, and the name soon evolved into many different forms: The Girl and The Goblin King, Welcome To Inkwell, and simply Inkwell to name a few. The most recent variation, however, has returned to The Girl and The Goblin King, and from here on out, that is what we’re referring to it as here on the blog until further notice–or publication. *nervous laughter*! (and also Project Goblin. Because that is a LOT easier on the typing hand, my friend.)

All Bartholomew Todd wants in life is to draw comics that will make people smile. Unfortunately, when all you’re capable of drawing is the stuff of nightmares and horror films, it’s a little difficult to accomplish this.

More often than not, they run away screaming instead.

But when Todd is inadvertently kidnapped by the very creatures his hands have created, he finds himself torn in a war between two worlds: one he’s spent his whole life struggling to fit into, and one which relies on him–and him alone–to save it.

With a rogue band of misfits in tow, Todd must retrieve a little girl’s stolen smile from the lair of a wicked goblin king before it’s too late—both for Inkwell and himself.

Not gonna lie, this book has become exceedingly difficult to write over the years. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve been trying to write it since 2018, but I feel like the core of this story has evolved and manifested into something so intricate and deep and whimsical that anything I try to write can’t possibly do the world I’ve built inside my head justice. But the characters, the world, the all-around vibe this book has grown into … words alone cannot possibly describe how excited I am to get to share it with you all someday.

If EVERLOST was my trash gremlin and PROJECT SUNSET my Sunshine Child, then I can only claim PROJECT GOBLIN as the book which is–at its very deepest of hearts–my true identity as a writer. This book has bits and pieces of every single one of my sides–darkness, humor, whimsy, pickpocketing gnomes, a guard dragon, goblins, magical pencils, curses, hope, love, enchanted enchantresses, fairies, pixies, potentially a troll or two, a scythe-wielding little girl… The writing of this novel is a complete and utter adventure–as most novels typically are–and following it down every single twist and turn is an honor I’m truly blessed to have.

(also also also! can we just take a moment to appreciate the absolutely DELIGHTFUL mock cover that Shannon Aardsma made for me??? this girl is absolutely wonderful, and I’m so so blessed to have met her through the writing community! you can find her over on instagram @shannonaardsmawriter, or over on youtube! definitely go check her out, guys. she’s incredible!)

ii. PROJECT SUNSET / SK

Writing Project Sunset was the highlight of my creativity in 2020, not gonna lie. Writing a whole book during Quarantine, having my first ever (and most likely only) 10k writing day, scribbling away late into the nights and sleeping way too late the next day… It was a process which I’m so utterly thankful to have had, and while the plot of this book desperately needs some first aid, I have hope that the editing phase will prove just as rewarding as the first drafting.

…with that being said, however, the plot of this book desperately needs some first aid. XD Part of the joys of first drafting is throwing every single idea at the wall and watching the chaos unfold, but unfortunately for me, this means my second drafts are very much me trying to scrape bits of noodle off said kitchen walls and cursing myself for not simply tasting the noodles to see if they were al dente in the beginning.

(…I swear that analogy made sense in my head before I wrote it out.)

Anyway. Once I finish up the first, very messy draft of PROJECT GOBLIN, my next project is going to be reading through the first draft of PROJECT SUNSET, making ALL OF THE EDITORIAL NOTES, and then promptly ripping my hair out as I try to edit the second draft into perfection.

Or rather, into a somewhat messy glob which, if you squint just right and tilt your head at a 90 degree angle, looks slightly like perfection’s second cousin, twice removed…

…

…we’ll get there eventually, okay. Anyway, some of the more interesting details about this book include:

• a main protagonist who is obsessed with comic books
• a group of very old friends who would legit die for each other
• a black hole
• a dude named Casey
• an hourglass which holds the key to time manipulation
• death
• a theme of self-forgiveness
• a single toupe

After the whirlwind that was the drafting process for this book, I’m just SO excited to dive back into it! Part of me wishes I could start immediately, but I have WAY too many things I’m juggling at the moment. ’tis a shame, of course, but sometimes life just be like that.

(also 10/10 already have this thing formatted into PDF for reading on my Kindle. I just need to catch up with myself, apparently.)

iii. PUMPKALAGOO

Aha! A project that I’ve only just briefly mentioned back in my 2021 Goals & Aspirations post! For the most part, I’ve kept rather silent about this project because I literally know virtually nothing about this story. But I’ve also kept quiet about it because … I legitimately do not even know what I’m doing with it anymore.

Obviously I’m still planning on writing it–I’ve had the idea stewing for far too long to let it go so easily now–but the fact remains that this book is … bizarre. It follows a teeny tiny witch and her teeny tiny black cat who live on the edge of a teeny tiny little lagoon which is currently inhabited by a teeny tiny octopus, and their adventures as they try to save their crow friend from the evil clutches of a king who really just wants some delicious pie…

…honestly, at this point, I’m just throwing random gibberish at the wall to see what sticks (I do this a lot, apparently), and unfortunately for me, all of it is sticking. Which means this book is getting oversaturated with absolute nonsense.

Which is, of course, my favorite kind of story.

Sometimes I wonder if I should physically be allowed to write books for kids. After all, I am the one who wrote a whole book with a severed arm which slowly decayed over the course of the entire plot. But then I remember that the minds of kids are far more deep than we give them credit for, and–more often than not–my deepest conversations are held between myself and children over half my age.

Also, what kid doesn’t want to read a rollicking fantasy about a teeny tiny witch who befriends a mismatched-sock-wearing octopus whilst crows get baked into pies?

It’s fine. Everything’s fine. I definitely should be a children’s author. 100% (tell me otherwise and I’ll either cry or stab you with a pitchfork. ye have been warned)

>>> <<<

And that, my friends, are the three main projects that I’m hopefully working on this year! Obviously I’m already working on PROJECT GOBLIN, which, you now, means I’m clearly ahead of schedule and am totally crushing this yearly goal thing….

….

….

lol.

Anyway. There are, of course, some projects I’m working on that were not listed among these, but those will continue to remain slightly secret until I’m more prepared to share them. Which obviously means you will never hear about them ever.

So clearly you should be as excited about them as I currently am. XD

But I digress! I’m extremely excited to dive into these projects, and am even more excited to get them into your hands someday. Eventually I’d love to get to the point where I can throw books at your faces and declare what a pleased novel-mommy I am, but before that can happen, I think I need to … you know … actually write the books.

So please excuse me whilst I go do that. The forests of Inkwell are calling my name, and I must answer.

talk to me, peasants!

what sorts of projects are YOU working on this year? are you someone who typically works on multiple projects at once, or do you prefer to work on a singular project at a time? (and if you DO work on multiple projects at once, how do you juggle them in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming? [this smol writer needs some MASSIVE help. XD])

as always, let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS down in the comments below! and until next time….

* flings cookies in the air and disappears *

NaNoWhyTho: In Which Kenzie Tries Again

good morning, december!

Well, it looks like the WordPress editor has undergone another drastic change. HUZZAH! It really must be a new month up in here. XD

So! Yesterday I told y’all about my smol little book gremlin–Project Goblin. And also about how I kinda sorta failed NaNoWriMo. This was, of course, an unfortunate circumstance. But in true Kenzie fashion, I have decided to bounce back, and bounce back strong.

And this time around, I will not fail.

After some chatting with my lovely writing group–known currently as The Cabinettes (shhh, it’s an inside joke)–we the people decided to partake in a new sort of NaNoWriMo. A second chance NaNo, you could say.

A NaNo which we have fondly stole the title for from twitter dubbed NaNoWhyTho.

I’m not sure if we have a specific goal for the month, but I think the general concensus is trying to write 15,000 words in the month of December–either in the 24 days leading up to Christmas or in the 30 days of Decmeber excluding Christmas.

Honestly, at this point it’s sort of like a free-for-all for all participants involved.

However, for me, personally, I’m going to be trying the latter option–which is to write 15,000 words within 30 days.

Again.

See, November did not go well for me. This I have mentioned before. (see: yesterday’s post) But I don’t want to let this year go by without participating in some sort of creativity challenge! I want to write and be merry and watch the snow fall down outside while cozying up in warm fuzzy socks and lowkey panicking because Christmas is less than a month away and I still haven’t found presents for every single person I’ve ever met… I want to work on my book and feel like an author and simply create. And it’s been a ridiculously long amount of time since I’ve felt this way.

So naturally I should milk this for all it’s worth, amiright?

But I digress. This is a relatively small post to announce a greater act of epic and complete idiocy and chaos, and I’m lowkey extremely excited about this, folks. This is NaNo: Take Two. And if I have anything to say about it, this time around I’m going to win.

(also, I know better than to make any major promises, but I’d really like to keep you guys updated on my word count throughout the month! so I will try my best to do regular posts with–at the very least–word count updates. but if this blog happens to go stagnant silent again this month, you can find updates over on my instagram page, @thesmudgedthoughts. I’ll be doing daily updates in my stories [hopefully], so come check us out on the ‘gram, my friends! [ew ew ew ew i will never use the phrase “the ‘gram” again, I swear)

>>> <<<

talk to me, peasants!

what sorts of crazy, chaotic things are you up to in this new month, my friends? hit me up in the comments and let me know what books you’re reading, what stories you’re working on, and all the many exciting Christmas-y things you’re planning for this last and final huzzah of 2020!

As always, until next time…..

photo credit: Ben Kolde on Unsplash

Know The Novel – Part Two: Project Goblin’s Steady Decline

good morning, cyberspace!

Aaaaaaand we’re back! Turns out November was not the month of intense creativity that I had so auspiciously predicted back in October. November has miraculously come and gone in a blip, and I’m sitting here at the end of it wondering how on earth we ended up here so quickly.

Back in October, I told y’all that I was going to be participating in National Novel Writing Month. I even went so far as to announce which project I would be working on, shared many of the story world’s nifty details, and even promised that a whole bunch of NaNo crazy was going to be coming your way within the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, none of this happened. Which is a shame, obviously, but–as I mentioned above–November was nothing like I had planned. There was a lot of personal growth done, as well as hitting a severe creative slump during the first half of the month which crippled me creatively for a solid two weeks. But I’ve finally started to break through it, and even though my manuscript isn’t near as plump as I would like for the final day of NaNoWriMo, I am definitely all the wiser and–dare I say it–healthier than when I started.

So today, to jump back into blogging and reorient both myself and you guys into the project I’m working on, I’m going to be participating in Part Two of Christine Smith’s Know The Novel linkup! You can read Part One right here, or just dive right in to find out how my writing went–or, more accurately, didn’t go–this month!

KNOW THE NOVEL – PART TWO: PROJECT GOBLIN’S STEADY DECLINE

i. How’s the writing going overall?

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhmmmmm…. To be honest, not very well. XD As I mentioned above, this month was pretty bad creativity-wise for me. I totally thought I’d be able to crank out a solid 15-20k before the end of November, but it turns out that I’ve barely managed to write *checks notes* 10,000 words.

…which is actually a lot less depressing than I thought it would be.

Knowing what I’ve been going through this month, I’m actually really proud of the progress I have made on this story, and also with all the love and enthusiasm that I’ve continued to hold for this project. I still have a LONG way to go before hitting the end, but I’ve been wanting to write this story for so long that I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m going to keep plugging away at it until I eventually find my way. It just might take a little longer than initially planned, and that’s okay. Every story is different, as they like to say, and if this book takes me a whole year where Project Sunset only took me a few months, I’m going to be okay with that.

ii. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?

The discovery! I’ve made many little discoveries just within this month alone–such as the fact that my one character, who, for as long as I could recall, was mute, actually can talk. And not only can she talk, but she’s also extremely snarky with what few words she chooses to say.

Or the incredible epiphany I had about my villain, which I wholly and 100% owe to the beautiful Phoebe, who introduced me to this song right here.

10,000 words isn’t a whole lot to find discoveries within, but the ones that I have found have made what little progress I’ve made so entirely worth it.

iii. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?

Okay, so this one is easy: I adore them. Each and every one is so weird and quirky and odd, and it’s so refreshing to write a cast that freaks me out as much as they fascinate me.

As far as who my favorite is to write about … I would probably have to say Todd. He’s by far the toughest nut of a protagonist that I’ve ever had to crack, but there’s something about his confusing personality that intrigues me. And I know that once I finally crack him open, I’m going to absolutely fall in love with this weird, awkward individual.

iv. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

I don’t think I’ve written enough of it yet to truly be surprised, but I definitely have had some AHA! moments that really helped deepen my love of this universe. As I mentioned above, I had this absolutely delicious idea for my villain, who–up until this point–had been nothing more than a vague blip on my radar. But now I have his character pinned down a little better, and I am SO. STINKIN’. EXCITED. to get to him within the narrative!!! It’s going to be amazing…

Another thing that surprised me was the fact that my goblins have voices. And use English. I was thinking I was going to have to create an entire goblin language for these weird little creatures, but alas. They popped into the story speaking words and talking about ripping out spines and I just adore them to pieces already.

v. Have you come across any problem areas?

I have, actually! My main problematic area has been struggling to get into Todd’s head, especially within the first few chapters of the story. These are the pivotal scenes where we learn his character and motives and what and who he’ll risk everything for, and I feel like I’ve done a rather poor job of setting that up before the adventure begins.

However, as I write this, I now realize that things like this take time and finesse–two things which don’t typically come with a first draft. So maybe my problem is more my inability to let myself to move forward and enjoy the discovery of it all. Maybe I’m clinging too much to the idea that this draft has to be perfect that I’m not giving myself the chance to discover who Todd really is.

….and I think I just blogged myself out of my writer’s block, guys.

vi. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

Aside from the fact that I just figured out where my writer’s block came from, I think my biggest victory has been in creating an outline that works for me, rather than against me. I suppose this could be attributed more to the planning stage of this novel, rather than the writing of it, but outlines have always been so negative for me. So the fact I’ve been able to create one which I actually enjoyed writing and–more importantly–following feels huge. I love my outline. I love how vague yet stable it is. I love knowing that if I’m ever stuck, I can follow my Plot Checkpoint map and get myself back on track within a matter of minutes.

But as far as actual writing goes, I just really love getting to know my characters better. They’re all so strange and different, and I’m loving every second I get to spend with them.

vii. If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you’d be? Would you take any different actions than they have?

Okay, Christine, WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ASK SUCH FASCINATING QUESTIONS. I am in awe over here, okay.

But I digress. I’d really like to answer this question as truthfully as possible, and I’m not entirely sure what the answer is.

Part of me says I’d be Iniko–the strange old wizard who likes hitting people over the head with his cane and saying things like “aye” and “ye bloody idiot”. But then another part of me says I’d be Jasper–a scarecrow with a horrible sense of humor and a penchant for setting things on fire.

And then, clawing in the back of my head like the annoying little turnip that he is, Reality tells me that I would most definitely be Todd. Because he is awkward and strange and does virtually nothing with his life until two knobbly goblins come crashing through a crack in his wall.

And I mean, if that isn’t me, I don’t know what is. XD

As far as actions go, I honestly can’t say I’d do anything differently than any of these characters. If I was Iniko, I would 100% do everything he’s been doing (including dying, which … I mean, we’ll get into that later). If Jasper, I would probably accidentally set my hair on fire, but I’d definitely still pester Martin to the end of days and continue to make a fool out of myself willingly.

And if I were Todd … well, I think I’d still make the choices he’s going to make. What those choices are, I’m not entirely sure yet, but I have p l a n s, and out of most of those plans, I think I’d make the same calls as he will. After all, it’s not like I’m giving him much of a choice…. *insert mysterious snickering*

viii. Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!

And here’s where things are gonna get scary. XD Oh goodness. I hate sharing first draft material, but I guess I must. You know, since it’s part of the tag. please don’t judge me, peasants

OPENING PARAGRAPH

She wouldn’t smile. That was the thing about girls—no matter how hard you tried, they refused to smile, especially if they were in a a sour mood. And the girl staring back at Bartholomew Todd was in the sourest mood of them all.

SNIPPET ONE

A gush of wind whooshed through the room, whipping Todd’s hair back against his forehead. The crack in the wall was now a solid three feet wide—large enough for Todd to make out the creatures standing on the other side of it.
There were two of them. Short and crooked, with long legs and stubby bodies that sat plumply above their thin, knobbly knees. Thick, square heads perched atop their chubby torsos, made even larger by the size of their enormous, gleaming eyes, thick as dinner plates. Cinched ears poked out on either side of those enormous heads, thin and stumpy in comparison with the rest of them.
Todd’s heart snagged in his chest, and his hand instinctively reached for the first thing he could think of to defend himself: the desk light.
The plug yanked out of its socket, and the metal burned cold into Todd’s skin, but he hardly noticed it as the creatures within the crack poked their large, knobby heads into his apartment. Their giant eyes caught the moonlight and reflected black, catching on Todd almost immediately.
“It’s another one,” the first one hissed, his nose cinching in disgust. “Rotten smellies. Should have known from the stench.”
“We should takes it with us. Give it to his Highny-ness. He wouldn’t chop our toesies off if we broughts him a present…”
“Or perhaps we could eats it. Snap its little head off and drink from its inner juices. It’s been far too long since we’ve eaten real flesh…”
“His Highny-ness wouldn’t like that very much, no-how.”
“His Highny-ness wouldn’t have to know. We could break his spiny ridges and make his Highny-ness a nice new comb.”

SNIPPET TWO

“Is he dead?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How do you know?”
“He looks dead, don’t he?’
“That don’t mean he’s dead.”
“Yeah huh.”
“Nuh uh.”
“Does, too!”
“Prove it.”
“How?”
“Poke him with a stick.”

SNIPPET THREE

“Yer the one who dodged in front of that curse, my dear,” Iniko said from the fireplace, where he was throwing an extra bundle of wood onto the sad smoke pile. “I didn’t ask you to do it.” His voice broke through Todd’s examination of the room, startling him enough to make him jump. The shadow eyed him warily, and Todd fidgeted, wringing his hands together to keep them from trembling.
The potted tulip was not amused.
“I saved your life, you idiot,” she sniffed. “You didn’t have to ask. But a simple thank you would have been appreciated.”
“I did thank ye.”
“You put me in a pot!”
“And thereby saved yer life in return. Yer welcome.” Bouncing up onto his tip toes, Iniko grabbed a watering can off the mantel and waved it towards the flower, driblets of water plopping to the creaky wooden floor. “Speakin’ of, ye need a drink, love?”
The tulip scowled, her eyes becoming slits in her petals. “I loathe you.”
“You look dry.”

…I’m not entirely sure what to think of these snippets, to be honest. XD

ix. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)

Oh goodness, I wish I’d changed projects entirely. That might have helped me through some of my writer’s block. But if there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that switching projects this early on only feeds my bad habit of never finishing anything, so the only choice I have is to persevere.

However, I think the most interesting thing that I’ve witnessed so far with the creation of this novel has been how difficult it is to sink into this story world I’ve spent so much time dreaming about. It’s like I’m so invested in what I want this world to be that I can’t allow myself to write the world as it is. I know in my heart that things never come out on the page as they are in my head, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing that I could just splat everything I’ve ever conjured up about this book into a document and sift through it, stitching the pieces together until its in some semblance of coherency.

So I guess that’s my next step moving forward: stop pressuring myself to write everything perfectly from the get-go. Stop romanticizing the perfect worldbuilding and plot twists. Stop holding myself up to a standard which will come in later drafts and just write.

I feel like I go through this with every single first draft I write, but now that I know this is what’s causing a block, perhaps I’ll be able to actually write through it.

x. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough, cough*)? Tell all!

Oh goodness. A normal writing day this month looks like me glancing at my computer, yawning, and then picking up my kindle to watch Netflix before inevitably taking a nap. XD

This month has been a strange one, guys, I’m not gonna lie.

But a typical writing day for me normally looks like me grabbing my laptop and bullet journal sometime in the afternoon or early evening, sitting down at either the desk by my bird cage or our dining room table, and popping in my earbuds before writing for a solid hour or two. If I’m REALLY trying to push a specific wordcount, I’ll stay up until 10 or 11 writing. If I have to work the next day, I’ll write earlier in the afternoon so that I don’t have to worry about not getting enough sleep.

Back when I worked at a thrift store and typically worked the night shift, staying up until well past midnight was the norm for me and my writing. I would camp out in my room with a blanket and my laptop and write late into the night, listening to the night sounds outside and reveling in the fact that I was doing something magical while the rest of the world slept. Now that I work at a coffee shop and open, however, I’m in bed by 9 o’clock. Which, you know, makes writing into the night a tad bit difficult. XD

It does come with its perks, though! For one thing, I’m typically home by 2:30, which means that the rest of the day is open for my creative endeavors. and now that I’m finally beginning to settle at my new job–YEET!–I’m excited to start using those afternoons for my writing.

So, swiveling back around to the point of this ramble, I don’t really know what my current writing day looks like. But by golly, I’d love to find out. Perhaps I’ll have to experiment and write a blog post on it someday…. *side-eyes teetering future blog post pile*

>>> <<<

talk to me, peasants!

And that, my friends, was part two of the Know The Novel linkup! I know my answers were a bit vague and mysterious, but like … I really haven’t written that much this month. XD Ah, well. There’s always December, right?

Anyway, let’s talk, shall we? What kinds of projects have you been working on this month? Have you been productive, or did your brain–like mine–decide you needed some unforeseen rest? Is anyone else sort of freaking out that Christmas is only 26 days away? And what sorts of books have y’all been reading? (i’m on a massive book binge, so any recs are wholly and completely appreciated XD)

For everyone participating in NaNoWriMo, I’d LOVE to hear all about your stories! And if you’ve written any blog posts about your current projects, PLEASE send me links! I’d love to read them!

As always, let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS! down in the comments below! And until next time…

Know The Novel – Part One: Re-introducing Project Goblin!

good morning, cyberspace!

My sincerest apologies for not having a blog post out this past week. I’ve been rearranging some things in my life, and apparently blogging fell a little bit by the wayside. Y’all know how it is. XD

Anyway! As I’m sure most–if not all–of you are aware, NaNoWriMo is once again on its way! In fact, we only have *checks watch* TWO DAYS (three days? my watch is a bit off, it seems) before it arrives! Which also means that October has somehow disappeared into the void behind us, but I digress. Time has no solidity in 2020.