NaNoWriMo Bait 🐟
The perfect November novel writing inspo
Hello Bleeders,
Omg, the end of daytime savings hit me like a ton of bricks. Pitch black at 5pm? No thank you! Anyway, while I acclimate to my seasonal depression, I’ve got the perfect NaNoWriMo inspiration for you.
🎧 Kailey Brennan DelloRusso shares the origins of her novel-in-progress, how it's evolved, and what she’s learned in the process.
If you don’t know Kailey, she’s the founder of the very cool writing community Write or Die Tribe. In this episode, we discuss how she approached the first draft of her novel (during NaNoWriMo!), the benefits of having a writing accountability buddy, the thought (and plot)-provoking questions she gleaned from The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt, as well as the sublime Zen of "holding it loosely." Kailey shares why she started Write or Die Tribe and how you can get involved. Plus, we end the episode with a new edition of Prompt Me, Daddy, so make sure you stick around to the end to get a lesson from Kailey.
🗣️ Shout-out to Matt Bell — subscribe to his Substack for more writing exercises and stay tuned for his interview shortly!
Here’s a preview of my conversation with Kailey:
“One of the things I'm trying to be better about is holding it more loosely. Like it's okay for me, even in this stage, to be playing around with scenes that I might never use or just jotting down notes about a character's backstory that I'll never put in the draft — like not being so precious that my writing time needs to generate words that are going to be in this draft.”
Where I write:
I’m asking each guest to give us a peek behind the scenes. Kailey’s desk setup is perfect. I feel productive just looking at it.
Episode links:
🏃♀️ Follow Kailey on Twitter @WriteorDieTribe and Instagram @writeordietribe.
💻 Check out Write or Die Tribe’s website for info about classes and community membership, interviews, resources, and more.
🎧 And, of course, pop in those earbuds and listen to Work in Progress: Write or Die Tribe's Kailey Brennan DelloRusso on Her Novel-in-Progress + Prompt Me, Daddy on your favorite podcast platform.
Online reading about writing:
When You Need a Little Nudge to Write - Who doesn’t need a little nudge from time to time? Strategies and shortcuts to help you focus and get back on track, even (especially?) when it feels bad, from Nicole Chung via The Atlantic.
Don’t Just Write a Novel This November. Write a Bad Novel. - Let yourself be sloppy for your own good. A NaNoWriMo manifesto by Vanessa Zoltan via Slate.
🚨 Best American PSA 🚨
Until next time, HAPPY BLEEDING!
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️
Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year or are you sick of hearing about it?
Let’s connect on social media! I’m at @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.