HAPPY NOVEMBER!!! NaNoWriMo is HERE. And that of course means Know the Novel Part 2 has also arrived!

I seriously cannot believe we have officially made it to NaNo. Last month was full of prep and anticipation (and maybe some panic and a good existential crisis or two) and here we are at last able to spew those words that have been building up onto the page!

It’s time to create some magic.

If you missed it, last month I opened up Know the Novel, my 3-part linkup series for writers. And ooooh my goodness, did it bring me such joy getting a peek into everyone’s amazing ideas. The sheer amount of creativity blows my mind every. single. year. I’m so ecstatic about ALL these magical tales coming into being! Definitely checkout the linkup in Part One to see all the goodness!

Now that we’ve introduced our stories, it’s time to pull back the curtains and reveal a day in the life of a writer (spoiler: a lot of caffeine and overusing the word “just” is involved). Welcome to part two of Know the Novel!

Read on for all the info!

(Or skip right to the questions. You are busy creating a whole novel after all, I won’t judge.)

KNOW THE NOVEL

What is Know the Novel?

Know the Novel is a 3-part linkup series for writers, 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 – Last month was full of telling us all about your novel and sharing the magic to come and just— *clutches heart* So much brilliance! So much epicness! A humongous thank you to everyone who participated! It was thrilling getting to read about your ideas. You can find everyone’s links HERE!

SIDE NOTE: Just because the official linkup is closed, doesn’t mean you can’t still use these questions! They’re free for the taking ANY time. A link back to my blog would be much appreciated, but otherwise use them however you’d like!

NOVEMBER

• Part Two: Within the WIP – Here we are in the thick of things! This month is all about how the writing is coming along. At any point this month you can take the questions to share on your blog or social media as a means of giving your readers an update on your progress, the ups and downs, and maybe a sneak peek at the delicious novel that is being formed straight from your fingertips.

DECEMBER

• Part Three: Words Written – It may seem far off now, but December WILL arrive and with it a pile of written words! For this month the questions center on how the process went, your favorite and least favorite parts, what you learned along the way, and if any surprises sneaked out of your caffeine-induced brain (like that side character who wasn’t supposed to appear for more than two pages who shoved the protagonist out of the way and stole the show…)

In Summary…

For three months I 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. Easy and fun for all!

QUICK NOTE: I am doing this during National Novel Writing Month season since a lot of us are joining in. 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!

You also by no means had to have joined in Part One to do this second part. Take any and all question at any point in time. I would certainly be grateful for credit, but otherwise there are basically no rules here. It’s simply for fun and to provide an easy way to keep your readers updated on your writing!

KNOW THE NOVEL
PART TWO: WITHIN THE WIP

I’d be honored if you used this graphic for your posts, but it’s certainly not required!

THE QUESTIONS

1. How’s the writing going overall?

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

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

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

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

7. 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?

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

9. 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!)

10. 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!

SHARE YOUR LINK

You definitely don’t want to forget to add your link so we can all read your post!

Once your post is published, share the URL in the linkup widget below.

Part 2 of the linkup ends at midnight on November 30th. Part 3 will be up at the beginning of December!

The smell of tea and coffee…keyboards clacking…pens swishing on the page…late night madness…creativity electrifying the air…the adrenaline rush of word sprints…ideas buzzing…hilarious typos…surprising plot twists…brainstorming with fellow writers…

The month of writing is HERE.

I know it is by no means all glamorous. Truth be told, its mostly a month of exhaustion, questioning one’s life choices, not getting nearly enough social interaction (or sleep), and desperately counting down the days to December.

But it’s also the month of turning goals into reality. Seeing words form into something that has been aching to get out of your head. Watching characters come to life before your eyes. Exploring new worlds and experiences and adventures. Sharing the love of story with fellow writers and cheering each other on during the hard days and the victorious ones. And, most importantly, creating a story that otherwise would never exist if not for your hard work and tenacity.

It’s a month of magic. And sometimes magic isn’t all sparkling flicks of a wand, but making hard choices and rigorous work and perseverance. But that is how the best things are formed.

So go out there, magic makers, and create something spectacular. It is always worth it.

Happy NaNoWriMo!

Can you believe it’s officially NaNoWriMo? How are you feeling today? Did anyone stay up to midnight to write? (I totally did. *sheepish grin*) And if you’re not doing NaNo, are you excited about November? Any fun plans? Tell me ALL.