Last week I mentioned that I had the ideas “Fall and NaNo” for a post this week. Sitting down to write the post, I honestly couldn’t remember what that original idea might have been! Note to self: write better notes to self.

I’m now a month into classes, feeling completely overwhelmed, and questioning my choices in life every other day, but that’s all overshadowed by the return of chilly nights and mornings and the leaves turning red and gold and brown. Fall is coming! And with fall comes NaNoWriMo!

National Novel Writing Month is a November tradition for me, and has been for over a decade now. The actual event began in 1999, and is now a world-wide phenomenon. The goal of NaNo is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Doesn’t that sound easy? Honestly, sometimes it is.

I can happily say that I have “won” a few times, and fell short many more, but every time was fun and frustrating and a real learning experience. I alternate between “planner” and “pantser” depending on what ideas I have for a story, and this year I am wearing my planning hat. (Pantsing means to just write by the seat of your pants, which is its own special joy.)

The planning for this year’s story began over the summer, the idea percolating away as I obsessively watched the three absolutely gorgeous seasons of “Versailles.” Based in the 17th century, it is a delicious drama about Louis XIV’s court at Versailles, and oh my is there so much to have fun with. I’ve read two memoirs from women of the time and let me just say that our modern day soap operas have nothing on the Sun King’s court.

My favorite part of NaNo (besides the writing, of course) is preparing for November. Creating a calendar to log my word counts, putting together a virtual mood board of pictures, and coming up with prizes for word goals reached. (Last year my 10K prize was a copy of “Captain America: The Return of the Winter Soldier” omnibus. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach the next goal. It was my first semester of grad school and, well, grad school + working full-time = what was I thinking?) I also consider which snacks to stockpile, make sure my tea supply isn’t in danger of running low, and (because I have the most wonderful boss in the world) plan a day off in November to spend all day writing (and pretend I am a full-time writer).

Funny enough, I’m still a grad student and still working full-time as an administrative assistant, but I am determined to get something written that isn’t part of a class assignment. Fanfiction? Historical RPF? Haven’t decided which way to go, but I’m enjoying checking out old books from the library and taking notes in a special notebook with a specific pencil (a Blackwing, omg I love those pencils!).

NaNoWriMo has a brand new website that I am still getting used to, but I took a few minutes today to register my new “project” and next week I will design and upload a book cover. October will be when I decide on how the story will go, write up some character sheets, pick which historical events I will use for the story based on my notes, and finish up the research so I don’t get bogged down by looking up details while writing.

It’s a lot, and I won’t get it all done by November 1st, but that’s part of the fun. To learn more about National Novel Writing Month you can visit the website HERE. In November my posts will most likely be all about my process and progress, so if you want to know more about the inspiration for the story, I very very enthusiastically encourage you to watch “Versailles” on Netflix (mind the rating). There are only 3 seasons, which is a shame. I fell in love with the characters and their stories.

Who else is gearing up to take on NaNoWriMo this year?