It is OCTOBER! Which means NaNoWriMo is one. month. away. Which also means, it’s time to bring back my annual writer’s linkup: Know the Novel!

That’s right, guys, National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. And by that I mean LITERALLY 26 DAYS AWAY. *pauses and politely waits for the screaming to die down*

Ahem.

Gonna be real, I am psyched for this year’s NaNo. I mean, I’m always excited, but I’ve had a novel idea that’s been plaguing me for months now, begging to be written. Be proud of me. I’ve resisted the urge to jump into it so I can work on more pressing matters. BUT THE TIME IS ALMOST HERE. And ohohohoho I. AM. PUMPED!

I imagine many of you have stories you’re itching to get started on, stories demanding your attention. And maybe stories you’d love to tell the world about for that extra boost of motivation. WELL. That’s what Know the Novel is all about!

This is honestly one of my favorite things I do here on the blog, and I am thrilled it is time to bring it back for the 3rd year in a row!

But if you have no clue what I’m talking about (does anyone ever really know what I’m talking about? Do *I* know what I’m talking about???), all the info is below!

Introducing…

KNOW THE NOVEL

WHAT IS KNOW THE NOVEL?

Know the Novel is a 3-part writers linkup series, one for each of these last three months of the year. Each part will feature ten questions you can answer on your own blog (or anywhere else on social media, if you’d like!). The questions will be focusing on different parts of your novel and how the writing is going.

The linkups go as followed:

OCTOBER

• Part One: Introduction – This month’s questions will be centered on you telling us about your novel! What’s it about? Who are the characters? Have the plot bunnies eaten your soul? We readers want to know!

  
  

NOVEMBER

• Part Two: Within the WIP – These questions focus on how the writing itself is going. Has your novel thrown you some surprises? Any problem areas? Have you decided to just kill off all your characters because they’re driving you crazy? This is when we pull back the curtain and reveal all the joys and, let’s face it, disastrous, caffeine-induced word-vomits that writing really involves. You know you love it.

DECEMBER

• Part Three: It Is Written – Ah, December! When we get to take a breath, realize the laundry pile has eaten the floor…and the furniture…and maybe the dog, and say WE WROTE A NOVEL. This month’s questions are all about how it went! The victories, the hardships, and what your plans are for you newly drafted novel!

In Summary…

For three months, I’ll throw ten novel/writing-related questions your way, you can take the questions and answer them on your own blog, and then share your link in the linkup I’ll attach below so others can read about your delicious novel-y goodness! ‘TIS A FUN TIME.

QUICK NOTE: I am doing this during National Novel Writing Month season since, ya know, a lot of us are doing NaNo. BUT. You DO NOT have to be participating in NaNoWriMo to join the linkup! You can answer these questions for any WIP you have. It’s all just for fun and to help us share and encourage one another in all our writerly endeavors. I adore seeing what all my fellow writers are cooking up, so whether you’re doing NaNo or not, please do take the questions if you want and answer them for any WIP you have!

Alrighty! Now that we know what’s going on here, let’s get to the linkup!

KNOW THE NOVEL PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

I’d be honored if you used this graphic or the banner at the top of this post for your posts, but it’s certainly not required!

THE QUESTIONS

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary if you’d prefer)!

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

9. Name a few unique elements about this story.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

SHARE YOUR LINK

Now for the important bit: ADDING YOUR LINK!

Once your post is published, share the URL in the linkup widget below so we can all read about your fantabulous upcoming WIP!

Part 1 of the linkup ends at midnight on October 31st. Part 2 will go live Monday, November 2nd!

I hope you’re all excited about the 3rd annual Know the Novel! I AM!!! Being able to read about everyone’s absolutely epic WIPs is one of the highlights of my year! Cannot wait to see what your beautiful, creative brains are formulating this year!

And yes, I shall be answering these questions myself later in the month. Once I, ya know, make some sense of my scattered plot notes I’ve been tossing around since March. Yeah, this novel has been plaguing me for a while. I cannot wait to tell you about it! *grins* In the meantime, you can find my NaNo profile HERE if you want to buddy me. Which I would absolutely love!

I seriously cannot believe NaNo will be here in less than a month. But I am EXCITED!!!

LET’S TALK!

Obviously the most important question here is: ARE YOU DOING NANOWRIMO THIS YEAR??? Can you believe it’s so close? Are you excited Know the Novel is back? Don’t forget to add your links to the linkup above if you join! I cannot wait to see everyone’s WIPs!