Worldbuilding Wednesday: NaNoWriMo Kickoff!

50k starts today!

Happy November, writers! And as many writers know, November means it’s NaNoWriMo time! National Novel Writing Month is here again, and I’ll be joining thousands upon thousands of other folks trying to create 50,000 words by November 30th.

It’s a wild challenge — and one I love! I’ve decided this year that Nano needs to be a treat to myself, to help me get back in a better writing flow than I’ve had for a while. I’m going to work on Book 4 of the Aven Cycle. I already know the place, the characters, the major moving pieces, so I’m hoping that will make the actual act of writing fiction an easier habit to resume.

So, as I mentioned last week, I’m going to share some prompts for anyone who would like to use their worldbuilding to power them through to the 30th.

The prompts in coming weeks will be more specific, but today, we’re all looking at blank pages! (Well… by this point in the day, maybe not all of us are. I know some folks like to kick-off right at midnight, but I am tragically acclimated to my 9-5 day job schedule, and so that’s no longer a thing I can do. 😅) So the prompt is going to be a little on the vague side, since many Nano-ers might not yet have a lot to work with.

What is your favorite thing about the world you’ve built? Or, if you’re building on the fly, what’s a shiny idea you’re excited about but might not have figured out how to incorporate yet?

Write a character interacting with that thing.

So, for me, my favorite thing about the world of the Aven Cycle is the system of magic I created and how it weaves into daily life. That’s a pretty broad scope to start with, though, so I’m going to narrow it down further: I most particularly love how it interacts with Aventan religion and politics.

Tonight’s scene will, I think, start in one of those two places. Latona in the midst of a ritual, perhaps; or Sempronius, contemplating the crucible he’s put himself into. They may not end up being where the novel itself begins, but they seem like good entry points for me to get back into this world.

If you’re out there Nanoing, good luck to you! And check back next Wednesday for some more prompts to help you keep the words flowing.