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MIGHTY PENS: J.W.Ellenhall

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We are so proud of J.W.Ellenhall for winning NaNo, and becoming a Mighty Pen again!! Check out how their November went below:

Is this your first time winning Nano?

Third win!

Have you participated in Mighty Pens before?

Yes, last year.

What made you inspired to join Mighty Pens this year?

All of the positivity in this wonderful group of writers 😊

What’s the working title of your NaNoWriMo22 project?

Letters to Zelon

Give us an elevator pitch of your project!

Billionaire Zelon Bezowitz thought he was about to realize his dream of going to Mars, until he’s taken hostage by one cat. 

This entity in feline attire announces the United Intergalactic Commission’s scheduled termination of Earth and Mars, as neither civilization has offered anything worth justifying their existence. However, one disgruntled SpaceXenial employee Monisha Nair-Jones, the old British Baroness Lady Catsbury, and a lost Martian are about to accidentally surprise The Cats, despite none of them having any idea what they’re doing. Or who their cats really are.

What’s your current favorite part of your NaNo project?

Dear Mr. Zelon Bezowitz,
 
With all due respect, Sir, whilst I do appreciate your efforts with the space programs thus far, I am deeply disturbed after studying your latest model diagrams for the Starship. They show an alarming lack of proper facilities for cats. It is as if none of your designers have given any thought at all to feline needs during a journey of what is likely to be six to eight months in space.

What advice would you give to other Mighty Pens / NaNoWriMos participating this year?

Do the sprints with somebody when you feel like you can’t write anymore. It really helps. Putting in so many words every day is never easy for anyone, not day after day. I do at least 20 minutes a day, regardless of how I feel. Be willing to dive in more on the good days to help make up for when you have to write a bit less sometimes.

 

Want to keep up with J.W. Ellenhall? You can find them at the links below!

Goodreads
Pinterest
Twitter
Instagram
Their Website
NaNoWriMo Profile
Direct Relief Fundraising Page

MIGHTY PEN: Harley Dawn

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What’s that sound?! The sound of another Mighty Pens Winner! Check in to see what Harley’s project is about and how their NaNoWriMo went below.

Is this your first time winning Nano?

The third! 😊

Have you participated in Mighty Pens before?

Yes, in the first year

What made you inspired to join Mighty Pens this year?

As a way to fight the S.A.D

Give us an elevator pitch of your project!

How does the chosen one of a magical realm return to a normal life? The portal hasn’t opened for Marisol since she left 8 years ago. So when she witnesses one of her students fall into the world she thought she had imagined, Marisol follows. Though, she isn’t sure if she wants to save the girl from the same heartbreak or to regain her own former glory.

What’s your current favorite part of your NaNo project?

We walk through an archway opposite the front steps, and there’s a slight resistance. Like pressing through the film on a juicebox. The noise of fifty-odd party-goers hits us in a rush. How did we not hear or see all this?

    I gape up at the archway and its imbedded jewels, then over to Marisol.

    She shrugs. “Magical nonsense.”

    “I thought you were supposed to be teaching me. How am I supposed to use magic with that kind of explanation?”

    Her smile is slight, and far more sad than I wanted. “That’s why I’m not the right person to teach you.”

Want to chat with Harley or follow them to see where their project goes? Find them here on TikTok, Instagram, or on the NaNo Website!

MIGHTY PEN: Leaves

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We are so proud of all our winners, including Leaves (they/them) who is over in the UK! Give them some love, and learn more about their project below!

Is this your first time winning Nano?

It isn’t, actually!  I won in 2019 and 2020 (with different drafts of the same project), and I’ve hit 50k in a couple of Camps in between.  I took 2021 off but this year has definitely been the most fun 🙂

Have you participated in Mighty Pens before? What made you inspired to join Mighty Pens this year?

I haven’t done Mighty Pens before; I only learned about it this year through Sooz’s wonderful wider community, who encouraged me to participate.  I also wanted an excuse to get back into writing, and writing alongside people was a great way of doing that!

What’s the working title of your NaNoWriMo22 project? Give us an elevator pitch of your project!

It’s a fantasy currently going by the very boring title of “Elven Adventure”.  My original idea was to create and play a D&D solo campaign, and then write a story based on that.  And then my October fell apart, so I just took the characters I’d made, rolled up some settings, and pantsed from there.  As such I don’t really have an elevator pitch (but I do still want to play that D&D campaign with my MCs…)

What’s your current favorite part of your NaNo project?

Definitely the little scenes I’m dropping in with side characters – so while the main plot lines are slowly edging together to make my MCs into an adventuring party, I’ve also got small inserts of a shipwrecked pirate, a ranger far from home looking after a growing dragon, and a King’s daughter becoming a vigilante.  I like the pirate best!  I’m also looking forward to seeing how my “secondary party”, if you will, might influence the rest of the plot.

What was a frustrating part of the NaNo/Might Pens this year? What was rewarding?

Probably the most frustrating part was how much of November I’ve been absent for!  I knew I was going to have a lot of life stuff going on, but I probably still shouldn’t have cracked 50k in nine days…  The most rewarding part, though, was the community; the fact that even though I was a Mighty Pens first-timer, they welcomed me into the fold and embraced the amount that I wrote (and the frankly ridiculous speed), and encouraged and supported me the whole way.  I love every single one of you <3

What advice would you give to other Mighty Pens / NaNoWriMos participating this year?

To every single one of you, whatever you do, you’re amazing.  Whether you write 50 words or 50,000 in November, taking the time to start writing that story is always a good first step!  Make sure you look after yourself first, take breaks (like I, uh, didn’t), and then think about the writing.  The story will always be waiting for you.

MIGHTY PEN: WildFaerieCaps

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We are so incredibly proud that WildFaerieCaps is our first Mighty Pen winner of the year! Which they accomplished in the first week.

Is this your first time winning Nano?

nope. I’m a self-proclaimed NaNo addict. I’ve been participating seriously since 2018 and have “won” every year.

Have you participated in Mighty Pens before?

yep! the Mighty Pens are my people and keep me going. without them, I’m not sure I’d ever have gotten back into writing. I owe them more than I can ever say.

What made you inspired to join Mighty Pens this year?

uh. did I mention that the whole group is basically my chosen family? why wouldn’t I want to join?

What’s the working title of your NaNoWriMo22 project?

This Bitter Sting

Give us an elevator pitch of your project.

a witch-in-hiding and a jackal-shifter-assassin have a random hook-up that leads to more only…no one expects the shifter mafia? (yeah, look, I’m bad at this.)

What’s your current favorite part of your NaNo project? Feel free to share your favorite line/short paragraph so far!

I’m all about the characters and their interactions. I’ve had a great time writing the two romantic leads but also the friendships that surround them.

What was a frustrating part of the NaNo/Might Pens this year? What was rewarding?

frustrating: staying positive. I’m great at hyping others, not so much myself. rewarding: the camaraderie. it’s hard to stay down for too long with such a great group cheering you on.

What advice would you give to other Mighty Pens / NaNoWriMos participating this year?

every word is a win. goals are great, but don’t let the numbers get to you. it’s not a competition unless you want it to be. you’ve got this.

<insert my trademark bouncing pony gif here>

Want to chat with WildFaerieCaps in real life? Find them on: Twitter, Instagram, Their Author Website, and over at NaNoWriMo.

A Preptober Welcome

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A Preptober Welcome graphic with logo

 

Hello Mighty Pens!

*In my head that came out a la Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam*

It is my unending joy to be welcoming you all back for NaNoWriMo 2022. Now don’t panic, you’ve still got time to plan that novel, figure out if you’re going traditional or working on something you’ve already started, and potentially push off any thoughts of what might be coming in a few weeks.

But, if you—like me—need to actually have an idea of what you’re going to be attempting to crack out this November, you might like to join us for Preptober. This is the time before we are generally panicking at trying to crank out 1,667 words a day. Perhaps a bit less stress and a bit more freedom with how you approach your novel / project. I’m here with a slew of links to folks who have great recommendations on how to approach your novel, hone your craft, and make a game plan on getting to 50,000—or whatever goal you’ve set for yourself!

Now without further ado, on to much more qualified folks to help you take that idea and polish it into a final, finished story:

Of course we have to start you out with the traditional NaNoWriMo Prep 101, enough prep work to cover six weeks and if you finish you get the NaNo Prep 101 certificate of completion!

Are you looking for books to help you hone your craft? A checklist on what you should do to get your story from good to great? You’ll want to check out The Great Novel-Writing Checklist by K.M. Weiland.

Lost on how to give yourself an outline to follow so your story doesn’t go off the rails? K.M. Weiland has something for that too! Check out Preparing for NaNoWriMo: Your Guide to Outlining Success.  

Need help with writing your middles, figuring out how to turn you characters internal lightbulb moment into the catalyst for the book? James Scott Bell can help you with his self-interview The Mirror Moment: A Method for Both Plotters and Pantsers.

Rachel Stephen ran Prep_tober from 2016 to 2018 and has an archive of great prep resources and videos that you can find here.

Have you read Story Genius by Lisa Cron? Or maybe you, like me, are a Scrivener junkie? Gwen Hernandez walks you through how she used Scrivener while utilizing the Story Genius process and helps you get organized for November!

Calling all Romance writers, Gwen Hayes has an entire book called Romancing the Beat which might help you structure out your novel. Additionally, if this speaks to you she’s got a free Scrivener template, which yes can be downloaded as a PDF if you want to go analog.

If you’re looking for a few books that I swear by for craft advice, or NaNo hacks I’d recommend:

Maggie Stievfater has a great workshop that you can buy, and it comes with 8 hours of videos and a 140 page workbook to go with videos! You can find it here.

Finally, don’t forget to check out all of Sooz’s writing advice on her blog and craft books she loves, additionally here are a few of her misfits and daydreamer newsletters that specifically talk about NaNoWriMo, outlining, drafting, and backstory. Did you know? Her top tier substack is free to Mighty Pens through November!

Creating your 2022 fundraiser

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Hooray! You’ve decided to join the Mighty Pens for 2022! Hopefully you’ve made your $10 donation to Nanowrimo, but if not, head over here. Now, at some point ideally before November 1st, you need to create your personal fundraising page for Direct Relief.

Step 1: click on the link in your email or here and click “Join this team.”

From the fundraising page, click "Join this team"

When you click “JOIN THIS TEAM” you’ll be prompted to either log in or create an account with MightyCause.com. Most of us will have to create an account, after which you’ll be redirected to the page. Just click “Join This Team” again!

Step 2: Set up your personal fundraiser. You’ll click through several explanations, and then you can click through their explanation if you like.

step 2
fundraiser step 3

Step 3: Upload a picture to your fundraiser profile if you want.

Step 4: Find a picture or video that feels meaningful to your fundraiser. (You can always change it later! Email or check #fundraising in the Discord for ideas.)

Step 5: Deets! You can set a goal, add an Instagram feed, tell people about yourself—it’s a very flexible page editor. Make sure to fill in all required fields. Categories that still need info will have the yellow dot on the left. You can always go back and change things or add more.

Step 6: Another place to access your personal fundraiser description. Talk about why you’re doing Nanowrimo, why fundraising is important to you, or anything that else that personalizes your page to donors.

Step 7: Under Settings (the two-gears icon on the left), start your metrics on November 1st. Make sure to end on November 30th, 11:59pm (your local time).

2022 fundraiser page metrics

MIGHTY PEN: Rochelle

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WAY TO GO, Rochelle! You’re a rockstar! Congrats on hitting 50,798 words for The Enchantress this year! We’re certainly enchanted by you and your story 😉

Keep up with Rochelle until next year on Twitter!

Is this your first time winning NaNo?

No.

Have you participated in the Mighty Pens before?

Yes.

What made you want to join the Mighty Pens this year?

I know this community is FANTASTIC and having people around to cheer you on (and tell you to write instead of do your work, uh, I mean… never mind) makes the process so much more enjoyable and, honestly, achievable for me. I’ve never won NaNo except in this community, so i figure you all are good luck. 😉

What was a frustrating part of NaNo/the Mighty Pens this year? What was rewarding?

Honestly it wasn’t particularly frustrating for me. Except, maybe being on West Coast time? I missed a few things I wished I didn’t because of dinner. and the community itself is definitely the most rewarding

What’s currently your favorite part of your NaNo project? 

The romance! Oh goodness, I am revising-except-almost-from-scratch this year, and the romance was a new addition. I love it so much.

She came back, stood close enough to Travers that their shoulders brushed. Only a moment later, their hands were once again entwined. “I don’t want Paris more than anything,” Renee said quietly.

“You…don’t?”

“Not if it means losing you.”

“But your work. The people you want to meet. The supplies you want access too—getting out from the supervision of my brother.” It was incredibly short-sighted to give Renee a list of reasons to leave her behind, but what else was there to say?

What advice would you give yourself for NaNoWriMo/the Mighty Pens 2022?

Don’t take yourself seriously. it will be fine.

Love that snippet, Rochelle! We can’t wait to hear more!

MIGHTY PEN: Michelle Bulsiewicz

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Next up we’re celebrating Michelle Bulsiewicz! Congrats on pulling off a win, Michelle! We hope that your 50,064 new words help make your Jane Fairfax retelling a reality! 👀

Keep up with Michelle on Twitter!

Is this your first time winning NaNo?

No.

Have you participated in the Mighty Pens before?

Yes.

What made you want to join the Mighty Pens this year?

I loved the prizes (especially the chance for feedback from authors) and the extra push to achieve my goals from last year.

What was a frustrating part of NaNo/the Mighty Pens this year? What was rewarding?

I loved the encouragement from the community on the Discord. I didn’t participate in that last year, and it made a difference this year.

What’s currently your favorite part of your NaNo project? 

The romance

What advice would you give yourself for NaNoWriMo/the Mighty Pens 2022?

Don’t feel like you have to do it if you can’t. This is about having fun and accomplishing manageable goals that work for your mental health.

YAY, Michelle! Keep up the good work!

MIGHTY PEN: J.W. Ellenhall

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SO COOL! Another Mighty Pens Newbie, J.W. Ellenhall, killed it this year! YAY! Congrats on your 50,157 new words on your story For the Love of Pirates & Pendragons! That sounds SO fun!

Catch up with J.W. on Twitter and keep showing her how cool we are. 

Is this your first time winning NaNo?

Second time winning a November NaNo

Have you participated in the Mighty Pens before?

No.

What made you want to join the Mighty Pens this year?

Sooz! She’s a big writing inspiration of mine.

What was a frustrating part of NaNo/the Mighty Pens this year? What was rewarding?

The world in general is frustrating now, but the community has been super supportive.

What’s currently your favorite part of your NaNo project? 

Enemies to lovers.

What advice would you give yourself for NaNoWriMo/the Mighty Pens 2022?

Pace yourself. Take breaks & catch up another day when you need to. Just type & don’t worry what it sounds like.

Congrats again, J.W.! We can’t wait to hear more about your WIP!

mighty pen jw

MIGHTY PEN: A. B. Henderson

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Wow! Another newbie! Congrats, A.B. Henderson! You pulled off your first NaNo win, and we’re so glad to have you here for the Mighty Pens this year. Hope we didn’t scare you off. 😉 Way to go on your 50,186 words. Just your title “Teacups and Curses” has us hooked!

Check A.B. out on Twitter and pester her into coming back next year, too!

Is this your first time winning NaNo?

Yes.

Have you participated in the Mighty Pens before?

No.

What made you want to join the Mighty Pens this year?

I was determined to win Nanowrimo this year (for my third attempt), and the fundraiser was for such a good cause, I thought it would help motivate me. And it did!

What was a frustrating part of NaNo/the Mighty Pens this year? What was rewarding?

It was sometimes frustrating just trying to get my brain to focus. Sometimes it took a lot just to achieve my writing goal for the day, but I got there in the end.

I feel like this month has helped me develop a solid writing habit, which I hope to continue doing more regularly, and not just for one crazy month every year.

What’s currently your favorite part of your NaNo project? 

I love how much of a mess it is, and I have lots of ideas to clean it up during editing.

What advice would you give yourself for NaNoWriMo/the Mighty Pens 2022?

Don’t worry so much about the word count. Just make sure that you are enjoying the story, and the words themselves. It’s ok to take your time, just keep writing.

Congrats again, A.B.! Keep up the great work and we hope to see you around next year!

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