Unstable(d) Writer's Challenge Closed

Like many others in the group, I've paired this activity with October Novel Prep, which has been more helpful to me that I'd expected. I tried to use it last year and ended up frustrated and abandoned OctoPrep and pantsed it–I must have been in the wrong headspace. I've worked hard this year without pushing as much as being diligent, and that's really made a difference. Also, interacting with the folks here and on the OctoPrep forums has been helpful in getting me prepared in terms of motivation. The energy of both groups has been fantastic.

What is least helpful? Least helpful is when I push myself to come up with answers to questions posed or when I try to squish my story to fit a mold or make my characters fit into a character profile I think I have to fill out completely. When an assignment asks for things that don't match my story, I've learned to adjust the assignment to make sense with my story instead of the other way around, and it's made everything less stressful and helped me feel a lot more confident, and competent. I have to keep reminding myself to do my own thing.

Are you nervous about anything? Yes! I've never been nervous about NaNo before–I think this will be my eighth time participating in fourteen years. I think I'm nervous because I have planned and plotted, and I'm excited about the things I want to include in my story, the lit devices, the details about the characters I've developed, the locations and the scenes...but I'm afraid it'll all go out the window when I begin writing. Oh, and I haven't figured out where my story begins yet! That's one thing to be nervous about. I've been so focused on planning and completing the assignments that I've almost forgotten that there's writing to follow. Then again, I might just be really excited and can't wait to finally begin.

I'm also nervous that I don't have a partner for the writing part of this challenge. I'd been partnered with Annette, and she's no longer participating. Is there anyone left without a partner?

Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this group, Tina! It's been awesome so far.

Angie