Anyone planning to participate in NaNoWriMo 2017 this November?

-- What genre(s) will your story be?
-- Have you decided what it will be about?
-- Are you a plotter or a pantser? (Do you have an outline?)
-- Are you doing any prep or just winging it?

I like the NaNo community, but I thought it would be nice to start a thread here for anyone who is getting involved.

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What genre(s) will your story be?

I'm writing a fantasy romance called Enslaved.

What is your story about?

Here's the blurb:

One choice could change everything.

Guilty of killing the man her father wanted her to marry, Tali is a princess on the run. With her blood magic tapped out from the fight, she’ll need help if she plans to stay alive. When she trades a family heirloom to prevent slavers from beating a strikingly handsome merman, she winds up with a body guard. At least, that was the plan…

Caught in bed with the daughter of a powerful necromancer, Niko is certain his luck has finally run out. Then he is purchased, seemingly on a whim, by a young woman who removes his slave collar as soon as they leave the city. Without hesitation he puts the collar on her, claiming her as his own. Sure, he'll help her escape. He wants to leave, too. But until they reach the Elven capitol of Azor Rocha, she will be his.

Then Niko discovers that Tali is the mate he has waited over 200 years for. He must find a way to convince her that life together would be better than anything she has planned. But with their enemies closing in fast, will they live long enough for him to prove it?

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Definitely a plotter, although I tend to refer to my outlines as road maps because their goal is to get me to each key story point or 'landmark'. I write series fiction, so weaving in fine details from book to book really matters to me. Without all of my notes that would be a lot harder.

Are you doing any prep?

Absolutely! I'm trying to wrap up the first book in the series, or at least most of it, because the main character from book two makes an appearance and I want her voice to stay consistent. I have a complete outline that I keep adding to as I 'see' more of the story. I have character profiles, character art, and a beautiful cover and banner to use for NaNo thanks to one of the people in the Artisans forum.

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I'm also hosting this year's Care Package Swap in the All Ages Coffeehouse forum. (Sign ups are open until Oct. 21st).

So yeah, I am and have been busy!

I hope this happens. I had a snail keyper as a kid and I would definitely buy a new keyper if the ones they release are reasonably well made and cute.

Your friends would not be editors, they would be betas. You could pay them or reward them in some way if you wish, but there is generally not a fixed rate for being a beta. It's usually something people volunteer for. I have heard of some authors hiring betas, but I haven't gone down this road personally, so I cannot assist you there.

As for how they can help you, at the stage you are describing, you will likely want feedback on things like whether the story is drawing them in / holding their attention, whether they love / hate the key characters or villains, whether the setting is feeling 'real' enough to them and whether any of the dialog feels stiff or off. Check if there are any terms or ideas specific to your world that are either too confusing or over described. And of course thank them if they catch any basic spelling or typos. It's not a priority at your stage, but it's handy to catch and fix that stuff while combing through a piece of work anyway.

Be careful how many people you give early draft access to and what kind of response you anticipate from them. A work that is still being written can be a fragile thing and you do not want to damage your confidence by having someone shred something you have not finished and polished. There is a time to put it in and let it get solidified like a piece of clay, but this is not it. That said, if you can find a couple people who are genuinely into your story, characters and world it can make it much easier to get the inner critic to shut up, which is crucial when writing a draft. You cannot fix what is not on the page yet.

I wish you the best of luck. Happy writing! BTW, are you planning to do National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November?

Oh, love this idea. A "What are you reading?" thread, like we have that "What are you playing?" in the games cupboard. Brilliant! Anyway...

I'm currently reading Citrine, the fourth book in the Date-A-Dragon series.

Once I'm done that I'm thinking of reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

I'm listening to Sugar, Fat, Salt, a book about the way the food industry uses these things to effect what we buy, on audible.

I adore weird / quirky ponies, but it took me a while to get to a point where I wanted one of these. I decided I did around the holidays, but it didn't go onto a swap list til this year's girly swap. I am now the proud owner of Royal Pink and she is actually one of my favorite ponies.

I love how unique she is, her eyelashes are hilarious. She also has gorgeous dark blue hair with silver tinsel, which is one of the most lovely hair combinations I've ever seen, and her body color is such a soft, lovely pink that works perfectly with it. (I'm not always a fan of pink ponies--that's a big compliment from me.) Plus, she is Sweetheart Sister shaped, which I find pretty, and her castle symbol is awesome.

To put it in perspective, I love BBEs too. I still need to give a seapony and one of those Dance 'n Prance a chance someday, but I have come a long way in adding things to my collection that I wasn't initially 100% sure of.

Eek! I usually like slightly creepy toys or dolls but there's no way one of those would get past my front door.

Still busy playing FFXIV. We are on the Cactuar server. My White Mage is lvl 70, my miner is 55 and my botanist is 51. My best friend is suppose to be starting soon so I'll be busy helping him when I am not gearing up my white mage. That'll keep me busy.

Late, late, late. Doesn't matter what it is, it always seems to happen. Part of it is likely that I don't drive and other people generally aren't as anxious to get to other people's things as the person going is. But that does not excuse the smaller stuff in life that I'm always late for. I was much better about this when I was younger, but time and age have seemingly blurred the lines a bit more than I'd necessarily like.