Sci-Fi + Hot Air Balloons = Steampunk

I’m a Municipal Liaison for the Dayton, Ohio region for NaNoWriMo.  I have been participating in since 2012, and while I do try to participate in Camp NanoWriMo I am far more successful in November. The pressure and the rigorous pace suit me.  Many people hear “50,000 words in 30 days” and get nervous or scared. But if it wasn’t a challenge it wouldn’t be worth doing, in my opinion.

Writing buddy Oberon...
a cute distraction.

Normally for NaNoWriMo, I write an urban fantasy series starring the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Their story has never come together in a way that’s satisfactory for me, though I love the characters.  This year I’ll be venturing into a different genre: Steampunk.

How I came to my story was a little different than in past years. Usually, I get my ideas from things I see in real life, and then giving them a supernatural twist. But this time, I was inspired by a flash fiction prompt I received for a contest by NYC Midnight.  I was given the prompt for the genre sci-fi, the location of a hot air balloon, and to include a four leaf clover.  I probably won’t place in the contest, but what I created a very cool world in the span of 1000 words that I could live in for a while. The flash fiction format allowed me to play with elements I wouldn’t normally consider. It allowed me to use characters I was unfamiliar with for a short period of time without having to commit to them.  In retrospect, it’s not a bad strategy to take the time to try out your ideas for 1000 words and see how they will work for you. I think I will be using this strategy for idea generation in the future. 

It's a little hard to write with Cicero
looking over your shoulder...

My strategy for daily word count is to steal time during the day. I write during lunch, between meetings, (sometimes during meetings if I’m genuinely not needed), and then in the evening when I can have dedicated time.  I always try to know what I’m going to be writing next – planning out tomorrow’s 1667 words before I go to bed at night.  This nearly eliminates the problem of having to think about what I’m going to write the next day.

I keep coming back to NaNoWriMo because there’s nothing quite like the 50,000 word challenge to get my creative mind busy again.  I love it when I can get passionate about what I’m writing, my characters especially.  The process is like a rush that extends over an entire month. I don't feel this fulfilled any other time of year. I love it, and I doubt my Novembers will ever what they used to be again.

You can find me on the NaNoWriMo site under the name "styrch".