Know the Novel – Part One: Introduce Your WIP // A Writer’s Tag

Happy October! We have entered what I like to call “writing season”. Technically, most of us writers are probably working on things here and there all throughout the year, but come on. Something about fall just screams WRITING.

Maybe the first whiff of crisp air stirs up that itch to write, maybe you’re joining one (or multiple) of the great upcoming writing events (pst, Fall FicFrenzy starts October 15th), maybe you have a new story bursting at the seams to get out of you, maybe your WIP has been giving you fits all year and you’re determined to wrangle it into submission before the year is out (lest you move to Antarctica in 2027 to raise penguins as an alternative).

Whatever the case may be, we writers gotta write because we have stories to tell.

But it’s so much more fun to tell them when you have a support system behind you and a fun way to share a little about said story. And that’s why we’re here today!

Introducing…

KNOW THE NOVEL

What is Know the Novel?

Know the Novel is an annual 3-part tag for writers, one for each of these last three months of the year. Each part features ten questions you can answer on your own blog/substack/newsletter/social media account/anywhere you want. The questions focus on different parts of your novel and how the writing is progressing.

The tags go as follows:

OCTOBER

Part One: Introduce Your WIP – This month’s questions are all about introducing your novel! The plot, the characters, the setting, what excites you most about it—give us all the delicious teasers!

NOVEMBER

Part Two: Within the WIP – Part two focuses on the writing process itself, offering a behind-the-scenes look at all the ups and downs of how the writing is going.

DECEMBER

Part Three: Words Written – For the last part and final month of the year, we’ll be looking at how the writing went and sharing what comes next!

In Summary…

For each month I’ll throw ten writing-related questions your way, you can take the questions and answer them on your social media platform of choice, and then share your link in the linkup I’ll attach below so others can read about your awesome WIP. Easy and fun for all!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This tag is for any WIPs you have. Whether you’re doing a writing challenge or writing within your own time, it doesn’t matter. The point here is to just have fun and get a chance to share your ideas with others. And you definitely do not have to do all three of the tags. There are basically no rules here but to have fun!

KNOW THE NOVEL
PART ONE: INTRODUCE YOUR WIP

Feel free to use this graphic 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)!

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

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

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

This is Know the Novel’s 9th year running, and I can hardly process that. It is always such a delight to host these and get to see the incredible stories you’re all creating.

Thank you so much to each and every one of you who joins in and reads along. You make this little tag such a joy every time.

Let’s go make some stories! 💛