Weekly Wattpad Contests

NaNoWriMo Alternative

Making NaNoWriMo Fun!

I know a lot of us aren't participating in the NaNoWriMo festivities, but despite that, I still encourage everybody to let loose and not take writing so seriously this month.

Here are some suggestions for stretching your creative muscles and having loads of fun in the process.

Do a Collab

Writing with others is a wonderful way to rocket up your creative bar. Building off of others' ideas, bringing new ideas to an already interesting tale, finding fun ways to interact through the medium - it's a given!

And not taking it seriously is the heart of the exercise.  and I have given it a go. We opened up a Google Doc, titled it 'Vex and Tim's Super Awesome Collab' and laid down the rules:

- We're free to edit it at any time of the day, even at the same time.

- Anything goes. Never say no!

Go ahead, try it with a friend! The crazy and funny tales you manage to spin will be priceless.

Bonus challenge: What if... You invite your entire Discord Server to participate in writing the story? Should we do it, y'all?

Change Your Colours

So, you're pretty seriously established in your writing. When they say your name, the people know that you write a niche fantasy genre, specifically about toads caught in the Great Wars.

That's pretty neato, but maybe floop and flop and flail around a bit. Take a break for a while and explore the rest of the literary world! You never know what you might find, or perhaps your particular expertise would be exceptionally innovative in another field.

Maybe an oddly specific tidbit of toad-knowledge would be really useful in a romantic drama. Princess and the Toad anyone?

Apart from writing, maybe start reading other genres too. Maybe you'll discover a love for them you never had the first time you tried.

Become a Critic

Remember those reports you had to do on the literary classics in high school? How about... you do that... but with some obscure fanfiction? Study up on the nuances of the craft and you'd be surprised how irrelevant they are.

I'm not saying that literary techniques are useless. I'm saying that people can still tell amazing and entertaining stories without them. It's good to take a step back and rediscover what makes a story fun, and draws you in like your favourite fanfiction. You might just get the burst of inspiration that will make you complete the NaNoWriMo challenge.

Become an Artist

You have to write 50 000 words? Sounds tough? How about some alternatives.

Record an audiobook - read out a novella. Vocal exercises are healthy and practicing speech couldn't hurt. Get a feel for how sentences sound out loud as opposed to how they would sound when you read them. Try to act natural. There's a major difference between how we expect lines to sound and how they naturally would.

Paint a thousand words - you don't need to write them if you can display them in some other way. Don't worry about being bad, just grab those pastel colours, your waterpaint, or a B2 pencil and draw some pictures. 50 pictures should be equivalent, if the old adage is true. And who knows, maybe when you're done you'll have the storyboard for the next great superhero film.

Be an Explorer

Are you a knower of words? Do you know all the words? Do you know some? Nevermind your skill level, you can still try this!

Describe things in as much detail as you possibly can. Try to find different ways to explain ideas, or metaphors you can draw from. Describe relationships between objects. Discover new words and try to use them.

I had some free time at the office and managed to describe a paperclip in just under 800 words. It's very difficult, and you spend more time thinking about what you're doing with your life and the decisions that brought you here than you do trying to think of synonyms for silver, gleaming and curved.

But, an exercise in futility is an exercise nonetheless.

Write a Game Instead

I might have mentioned this before, but have you heard of our Lord and Saviour ChoiceScript? Interactive Fiction is as good as any other platform to vomit words out upon. The scripting language is super easy to learn and you have endless possibilities with what you could do.

Additionally, there is a massive community surrounding these games, as well as tutorials and a helpful forum for finding, sharing, and learning about the platform.

I encourage you to try it out and share your games here!

The End?

If you, like myself, are a wishy washy whooper of the writing community, then these few and commitment free alternatives are just what you need to be able to say that you're still participating in NaNoWriMo, minus all the existential dread.

Happy Writing, guys!

C'est Moi

TimberWulf