An Introduction to my NaNoWriMo Novel || LOTS of sand + illusions + unnamed characters + AESTHETICS + I AM INSANELY EXCITED

Posted on by iamanolive

If I’m being completely truthful, there’s only two things in this world worth living for (okay, see, I didn’t say surviving, right? so completely analyze the FACTS before you directly jump to the conclusion that the person writing this is a maniac. though she might be. just sayin’. A FAIR WARNING) : 1) reading 2) writing

And since we usually talk about reading on here, and though it is the best thing in the world, and generally very, very amazing, we shall talk about WRITING today because I do not want to have people getting bored and running away, right? WRONG because I have been very brave and daring and also unusually stupid (did this even come as a surprise? i really don’t think so), I have decided to partcipate in NaNoWriMo this year and I am scared and nervous and excited and aghhh, YOU DO NOT LIKE BEING TRAMPLED UPON BY ALL THE EMOTIONS ALL AT ONCE AND END UP LIKE A MELTED, DIRT FILLED LITTLE PUDDLE OF AN ICE CANDY WAITING FOR SOME DREAMY LITTLE PERSON TO STEP ON YOU AND RUIN THEIR NEW, GORGEOUS LITTLE SHOES, OKAY! so. lo behold, my brand new NaNoWriMo account.

But before we go any further, because there’s some little peeps over here that haven’t been paying much attention (I see you, little penguin over there!) and do not know what NaNoWriMo is, here’s the basic idea (I would have tried explaining but no use in making you more confused and THEN having you go over to google, right?)

And since I am a very kind and universally acknowledged AMAZING little bookworm and human in general, I am going to show you some small little bit of my novel (even though it is a bit of a cyclone that does not like to stay calm at the moment. we are working on that) that I have spent all October (okay, who am I kidding?) plotting. i hate plotting beyond the edge of the universe but i still try to do it because apparently THAT IS WHAT YOU’RE SUPOSSED TO DO?? see? number one idiot right here. So i will stop blabbering unimportant stuff and wasting your time, and actually start with the important stuff now.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Harper Everdeen can see illusions of monsters and unearthly creatures when she turns around corners. A deserted road fills her dreams. A castle, a girl, a boy and a tragedy. A tragedy that shook a town to its core, killing its residents and leaving it deserted. No one knows how. The town is lost, hidden, a legend. But not in Harper’s dreams. She can see visions of it blooming with life. She can hear laughter on those streets, she can see people walking, skipping, she can see happiness, life. She can taste the magic in the air, the excitement, as if something special is about to happen. Sometimes. When it’s a good day. 

Other times, the same streets transform. They lose their vivid beauty, the life that filled them just the past day, the magic that coated the air, that flew around like wisps of a dandelion flower, filling everyone up with unseen energy and joy. The streets become dark. Deserted. Ripped of life. The magic in the air is replaced by a wind that only blows through streets, a town, that has experienced a tragedy. She can sometimes see people walking down the street, very rarely. But their faces are sunken, their eyes hollow, as if every last bit of life has been scraped out of them, leaving only a shell of their past self behind. She knows that a tragedy did this to them. But that tragedy is unknown. 

She thought it was all a dream. A fantasy her brain made up to keep her entertained. But when a boy appears outside her window, floating seemingly in mid air, he takes her on a journey. A journey to the town that has filled her dreams since as long as she can remember. The town that felt like home to her. The town that haunted her life. 

A history she hasn’t yet discovered, secrets left uncovered. 

And since this basically just talks about the protagonist and nothing else (IT TOOK ME THREE HOURS TO FIGURE OUT HER NAME. BUT NOW I LOVE IT TOO MUCH) here’s a smol list of other themes that the book includes.

  • Friendship + Forbidden Romance (I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN ROMANCE BEFORE SO THIS IS EXCITING) + deserts (!!!) + lots of sand + abandoned towers and castles + MONSTERS + did I say lots of sand? + secrets + illusions + coming to terms with your past + DID I SAY SAND?? i don’t think i did
  • its going to be kind of spooky (because hello, monsters) and exciting and kind of twisty but like, i haven’t figured most of the plot out yet because I HATE THAT and I am plotting-hater extraordinaire.
  • I need to figure out a name for the town and I haven’t even TRIED working on the world-building, and it is all basically a bit of a mess right now, but IT’S OKAY.
  • I also discovered that pencils are humankind’s greatest invention because I ACTUALLY CAME UP WITH IDEAS??! while I was supposed (HOW DO YOU SPELL THIS???) to be studying math??! But yeah.
  • I AM INSANELY EXCITED AGHHH

CHARACTERS

Characters are the most fun but also the most difficult part of the book, and you’re actually supossed to have NAMES? WHO KNEW? And the names aren’t supossed to be a jumble of random letter typed out by smashing keyboard keys at random, and WHO THE HELL INVENTED LAST NAMES? Weren’t names enough, but you expect me to come up with LAST NAMES TOO? I spent HOURS thinking stuff up, but haven’t really gotten far, so there’s still a lot to work on, but yes, I created aesthetics (!!!) for three of my major characters. And I actually like how they turned out???

HARPER EVERDEEN

dreamer ~ chaotic ~ introvert ~ ravenclaw ~ wild ~ funny ~ writer ~ libraries ~ hides herself ~  obsessed with fantasies and magic ~ she/her ~ obsessed with the impossible ~ loves risks ~ she/her

ALEXI MONTROE

quiet ~ radiates calm ~ dreamer ~ sweet ~ never gets jokes ~ easily scared ~ VERY SWEET AND NAIVE ~ loves stories ~ night is his best friend ~ sad past ~ hides himself ~ AND BASICALLY AN AMATEUR LAZLO STRANGE WITHOUT A BROKEN NOSE, OKAY?! ~ hufflepuff ~ he/him

ESTER

mysterious ~ sad past ~ practical ~ always composed ~ smart ~ rule follower~ misunderstood ~ obsessed with science and space ~ loves looking at the stars ~ immortal ~ gryffindor ~ she/her

QUOTES

And finally, a random jumble of quotes and stuff that I came up with (helps with motivation, okay? And I LOVE DOING THIS FOR SOME REASON). And I even wrote some poems (!!!) What can I say? Procrastination + obsession = HAPPY HUMAN = ME!

***

As darkness takes over,
The monsters prepare to come out of hiding,
Enter into the big human world
To make two girls face their fears 
And a past that haunts them both. 

***

The monsters lurk on the border
And the only people who can see them
Are a girl who will not speak
And a girl who refuses to remember.

***

There is the fear of loss
As long as there is the hope of a tomorrow.

***

ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN NANOWRIMO THIS YEAR??? If yes, tell me about your WIP! ARE YOU INSANELY EXCITED TOO? How do you come up with character names?? Do you make playlists and aesthetics for your novels? DO YOU WANT TO BE WRITING BUDDIES???

Published by iamanolive

I’m Anoushka (formerly known by a couple of other random names, but I currently like this one better, so that is what you shall remember). Welcome, human, to my little corner of the internet, my blog – Dipped in Ink, a cozy (or sometimes not) little place where I share my opinions on books, rave endlessly about my terrible writing skills and my busy, chaotic life, and, most importantly, a place where I can escape from this horrid old reality that seems to be my very worst enemy. Oh and I also talk a lot about my hatred of time, so that’s important.

35 thoughts on “An Introduction to my NaNoWriMo Novel || LOTS of sand + illusions + unnamed characters + AESTHETICS + I AM INSANELY EXCITED”

  2. GIRL. Your writing is so good like WOW. I love the last quote so much haha. I tried to do NANO last year and I got to about 13k words, which honestly isn’t bad, but the thing is I didn’t plan out my storyline so I just lost all my motivation haha. But maybe this year? Anyway, I loved reading this post and good luck, Anoushka!

    1. Oh my gosh, really?? That means so much to me Ritz, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ❤️❤️ 13k in a month is really, really good (I’ve never written so much) Yes, I get that, the same has happened to me so many times too, I never plan out the novel and then lose all motivation after a couple days. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR WIP!!! Thank you so much Ritz!

  4. Okay wow, this sounds super cool! Usually paranormal is s very interesting genre to write about, even though I don’t read paranormal much, I have written some stories in the genre. And boy do I love your idea! I can’t wait to read your novel ?.

    1. Ahhh, thank you so much! Yes, same! Ahhh, I REALLY WANT TO READ YOU STORIES, NEHAL!
      AHHH, that means so much to me, thank you so, so much! ❤️

  5. Not gonna lie, I came to this post hoping to find some solidarity in the fact that I signed up for NaNoWriMo but have literally no clue about my story haha!! But you seem to have everything planned out (I’m so jealous rn lol) and the entire thing sounds AMAZING!
    Also, I ALSO NEED TO KNOW WHO INVENTED SURNAMES (as if names weren’t enough) SO I CAN DUEL THEM because currently my WIP has exactly 1 named character (and I spent a painful amount of time on her alone)
    Oh, and the link to your NaNo account is not working (it takes me to my profile lol), so could I have your username so we could be buddies there??

    1. Ahahaaha, now that you put it like that, it makes me feel better about my half done outline. And no, I’ve only got like this synopsis that sounds like an IDEA, but that is where it all ends. I have no clue what to do with the rest of the plot and Harper’s the only character I’ve even TRIED working on, the rest are just vague. BUT thank you so much Rachel!!!
      ME TOO! I shall accompany you and help slit their throat, okay? Ahh, same! Names are SO difficult.
      Oh I am sorry, my links apparently never work (I always do them wrong?) hahaha ? but my username is TheAmazingAnoushka. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I cannot wait to be writing buddies!
      Best of luck for your novel, Rachel! I am sure it’s going to be AMAZING, and don’t worry, you’ll figure it all out and then I will cry because it will be delicious and amazing and I’ll be jealous ❤️

  6. yay a fellow nanowrimo participant! i am SO excited this time for nanowrimo & it’s day 3 – i’ve been on top of my WC goal since day 1! (okay that’s two days. but still.) good luck & could you send me the link to your profile? i can’t see it from where you’ve sent it 🙂 have a great november & an even more awesome nano!

    also YES i love romance. good luck *sends cookies*

    1. YESSS!!! Oh my God, CONGRATULATIONS, I am in awe!!! I am currently very much behind, I’ve managed to write like 1 paragraph so far ?
      I am so sorry, I don’t know why the link isn’t working, but can you try this one: https://nanowrimo.org/participants/theamazinganoushka

      or here’s my username: TheAmazingAnoushka

      Thank you so much! Have an amazing month and GOOD LUCK FOR NANO!!!

      YES! Thank you *eats cookies* they’re delicious *asks for more*

  7. omg your WIP sounds so cool! I am doing NaNoWriMo this year, but I haven’t done much so far. I’m pretty psyched about my WIP though.

    1. Thank you so much!!! Ahhh, glad to meet a fellow NaNoWriMo participant! Cannot wait to hear how it goes! Best of luck and hope you have a lot of fun writing!

  10. ahhh this post is just amazing!! first, i’m in love with the aesthetic and second, your idea is literally so cool, like i cannot wait to read it??? all the best with nanowrimo, it’s so challenging, thirdly– also wow your writing is literally so good and the quotes had me shaking!! literally the best thing ever???? good luck!!

  13. Best of luck with all your writing Anoushka ❤️ and I hope NaNoWriMo is going well for you so far. Also, why didn’t I know NaNo originated in 1999, its so much older than I thought it was. I love that ?? also please know that I am just sat here admiring your premise and those aesthetic boards. Honestly thank you so much for sharing it all, it sounds soooo amazing and the perfect story to get lost in ?? all the details were stunning!! I would definitely pick this book up ASAP!!! Also, yes I hate the plot prep stages too ~choatic mess everytime~!! ?

    1. Thank you so much, Sophie! ❤️
      Haha, yes, unless you consider that I’m way behind my word count goal, everything’s going pretty good! Yes, I know, right? I had no idea either.
      Ahhhh, THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH SOPHIE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH ALL OF THIS MEANS TO ME! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
      Yes, I completely agree, I’m always just waiting to be able to get down to finally writing it lol

  14. Best of luck with all your writing Anoushka ❤️ and I hope NaNoWriMo is going well for you so far. Also, why didn’t I know NaNo originated in 1999, its so much older than I thought it was. I love that ?? also please know that I am just sat here admiring your premise and those aesthetic boards. Honestly thank you so much for sharing it all, it sounds soooo amazing and the perfect story to get lost in ?? all the details were stunning!! I would definitely pick this book up ASAP!!! Also, yes I hate the plot prep stages too ~choatic mess everytime~!! ?

  16. Ah we are at the end of the month and I hope that you managed to keep the goals you set for yourself, but even if you didn’t the fact that you started writing and plotting the story is already pretty impressive!! This sounds soooo exciting and I’m genuinely eager to see how your writing process evolves and to be a part of this journey! ?

    1. Thank you so, so much Karla!! haha, I’m pretty behind on my word count, but its been fun, so i’m not complaining. Aaah, you have no idea how happy this comment made me, THANK YOU! ❤❤

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