This is my third year doing NaNoWriMo and I almost opted out.
The last two years I was never able to get further than 15k, and as November drew closer I began to think maybe this just wasn't for me. Besides, I had a novel to edit, children to mother, a holiday to plan, and a fitness challenge to host. Did I really want to add another responsibility on my plate?
Yet here I am the day before November. Despite it all, I can't seem to help myself. I've got the itch. The itch for the community, the productivity, the creativity, and the insanity. While I have one story in the editing stage and one story in the planning stage neither are NaNoWriMo material. What, then, is my story going to be? Well! At some point in my Pinterest meandering, I found these writing exercises used to get you out of Writer's Block using tarot cards to boost inspiration. I'm not much into tarot cards really, but what I did have at my disposal was Magic the Gathering Cards. When my husband and I got married he taught me how to play.
It's a great game with beautiful cards. I mean look at it! There's just so much potential for inspiration.
I researched different tarot card spreads and pieced together a spread of my own with the goal of 1. maximizing my productivity to beat last year's word count, and 2. stepping outside of my niche and fall back to explore a side of writing that I never dared go before. That's all it took. I was convinced. I bought a booster pack of cards, created my spread, and established the foundation of my story. Each day I'll tackle one chapter at the guidance of my cards and we'll see how it goes. |
AuthorMy name is Amanda Hakes. I am a writer, reader, mother, wife and teacher. I like to live with the eyes wide open approach. Categories |