Novel writing

Finding My Writing Flow

Day two of NaNoWriMo

I wrote 1167 words yesterday. After a sluggish start to NaNo, I got back into the flow of writing my novel.

To prep for NaNo, I mainly worked on getting to know my protagonist and a very loose plot outline which lead me to feel very unprepared (and not like me, the woman who makes lists at the drop of a hat).

For last year’s NaNo, I prepared quite a bit and didn’t finish because my novel idea wasn’t quite working. In the last few weeks, I’ve changed up most of my original novel idea while keeping a few elements.

I told my husband last night, “I’m now in love with my story.” I know this is the dating phase when everything is dreamy and perfect. It won’t stay that way as I make my way through the first draft, but I’m excited to be in this phase at least. I didn’t feel this way about what I was writing last year.

On Instagram, I’m participating in a daily writer’s challenge called #WriterFriendsChallenge to connect with other writers during NaNo. You post a photo each day based on the prompts. If you’re on IG, feel free to join in anytime.

Do you create a mood board for your work?

I have a secret board on Pinterest with pictures of my characters, story locations, and aesthetics. Whenever I’m feeling disconnected from my story, I revisit my “mood board” to get back into that world.

How is NaNo going for you? Are you writing every day or are you planning on writing big on certain days of the month?

Written by Ellie Jacobson, @2021 all rights reserved.

I’m a freelance writer and editor from Minnesota, writing my first novel, a psychological suspense novel. Are you a writer? Check out Sparks, my newsletter filled with writing prompts to spark your creativity.

Join Medium and have unlimited access to my writing and thousands of other writers on Medium.