Handwritten Stories: NaNoWriMo Redux
The last time I attempted National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) was back in 2020. Needless to say there was enough chaos in my life, that it was difficult to make much progress on the page (despite that I did create some seed stories that eventually became my short story collection Dust Disturbed). I was also in the midst of the second job change that year after being laid off due to the pandemic, working a seasonal job, and then taking on a sales job at an art gallery. Prior to that madness, I had done NaNoWriMo every years since 2011 and produced several drafts of stories that became some of my published short stories with now defunct publishers and a novel under a now abandoned pen name. I enjoyed the community so much that I had volunteered as a moderator for their message boards, a writing sprint leader on Twitter, and a municipal liaison where I was living at the time. And for the last 3 years I have taken a break from the event and the community, and I decided I wanted to take another stab at the project.
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is an event that takes place every November and the purpose is to write 50,000 words in those 30 days. This equates to about 1667 words per day if writing every day. While the culture of the event has changed over time with more NaNoWriMo participants becoming published authors, the original idea was to just write a story, even if you didn’t consider yourself a writer.
Probably around 2015 or so, with my trusty Lamy Safari F in hand I decided to start taking stabs at writing the event longhand. It’s much more common to be pounding away on a computer keyboard (although some participants are typewriter enthusiasts). Handwriting was my escape from my primarily computer bound day job. And while handwriting was slower, I often ended up with stories that needed less editing, since my fingers couldn’t move faster than my brain.
I was still waffling on the decision to embark on this madcap writing journey until I read Sarah Read’s post on the PenAddict: It’s NaNoWriMo and I’m Not Ready. I met Sarah briefly at the pen show after dark in Chicago this past year which was a total delight. We talked a little bit about handwriting stories and working in non-profits. I decided I would join her in my own multi-story chaos so that I can actually finish some fiction (probably a short story… hopefully a novella).
So in the spirits of those handwriting their stories for NaNo, here are my tools:
My trusty Chic Sparrow A6 traveler’s notebook holding two notebooks that are dedicated to this project at all times during the month. I’m going to start in the rebuilt Hobonichi notebook I made a few weeks ago.
Five notebooks-in-waiting that are going to do the double-duty of being where I write, but also a chance to test out a bunch of different papers in my stash. The following papers were utilized: Light Force, Sun Sun Kent, Soliste, Minuet Light Cream, and Slight White.
Whatever pens I have currently inked with my two constants - the copper and fireblue liliputs - to be at the forefront of the project.
A bookmark by local artist Naturally Knotty that will both mark my spot in the notebook and hang onto my mini pen rest by Toyooka Craft that I got in San Francisco. I’ll probably haul around my Penwell Traveler by Good Made Better as well.
Have you done NaNoWriMo? Are you going to give it a try?
In the spirit of NaNoWriMo I made a little game to get me going if I get stuck. Roll d20!
Currently Inked
Robert Oster x Atlas Stationers Polar Vortex - Kaweco Ice Sport Orange Inkball - I love this grey. It’s in that same gray leaning purple category as Diamine Earl Grey and Sailor 223, but lighter than both. I did a refill this week into my “inkball” Kaweco (their version of a fountain pen rollerball) and it’s a great tool, even if the ball is a little squeaky.
Ferris Wheel Press Crystal Blue Legacy - Kaweco liliput copper 14K B - Did a switch up to a wider nib for this ink and I’m enjoying it more in this nib. It gives a chance for the blue shimmer to pool more and gives more of a surprise elegance to the navy blue base ink. This ink launches Nov. 3rd.
Diamine Celadon Cat - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - I could not get this ink out of my head this week, which meant it needed to be inked up. It’s a soft gray-blue and with a little bit of white lightning has great flow (it’s kind of a dry ink without it).
Diamine Peach Punch - Kaweco Sport Mellow Blue B ‘premium’ - Since my 2023 Inkvent calendar got here this week, I was really wanting to retry some past favorites. Peach Punch was one of my favorite standard inks in the 2021 red edition. It’s cheerful and I’m having fun revisiting it.
Diamine Dusted Truffle - Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl M CSI - Somehow I have never tried this ink. I’d seen other people use it, swatched it a few times and liked it, but never put it in a pen. And that was a darn shame because this ink is really interesting. It’s a taupe brown base with a silver shimmer. It was part of the 2022 green edition. I’m having a lot of fun with it and it will likely get inked back up.
Diamine Olive Swirl - Kaweco Sport Cognac M stub - The last time I used this ink was last winter and I remembered having fun with it. I like green adjacent inks and this one is a great option for that with the chroma-shimmer that looks copper in some light and silver in others. It has great flow and just makes me smile when I see it.
Ferris Wheel Press Song of Scarlet - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14K M ‘selvedge’ - Almost empty from last week’s refill. This deep red with blue shimmer has been a really fun ink to play with this month. Torn between inking it up again or giving another shade a try.