In November, hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world commit to the craziness of writing a novel in a month. They do it voluntarily, just for fun – but what does it feel like? To find that out, we’ll follow some of them on their path of surviving NaNoWriMo. For today’s post we asked them to summarize their stories in only three sentences.
“So hard to summarize a novel in 3 sentences! In 1990 a man, tragically, loses the love of his life. In 2015, he finds that he is still searching for her in every woman he meets. Two stories set 25 years apart with two dramatically different outcomes. That makes it sound like a horrible romance novel, and it is anything but that.”
Brian Henry Gray has been writing short stories since he was in grade school and has had several published over the years. He is originally from the northeastern United States, but currently resides in the Dallas, Texas area.
“I’ve decided to try something new for me — fanfic! Set in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, this young adult fantasy story in the spirit of The Hobbit follows the journey of old Bill the Pony, after he is separated from the Fellowship of the Ring at the Mines of Moria. Bill, having been mistreated his entire life until meeting the Fellowship, will try to find his way back to the owners he has come to love by making a perilous trek back through the terrain out of Moria, through Rivendell and finally arriving at a new home in the Shire.”
Martin Eisenloeffel is a writer by profession, albeit one of software manuals. In his spare time, he writes for pleasure, and if it’s not November, he also reads, takes pictures and occasionally creates some music.
“My NaNoWriMo novel is a story of a young couple and their first summer after graduating high school. The issues which plague them over the next year will test both their relationship and themselves. The beginning and end are already planned, it is just getting from Point A to Point B that will be difficult.”
Mike Ackerman is based in Portland and married to his high school sweetheart, with two dogs – a French bulldog and a chiweenie they recently rescued. He holds a bachelor’s degree in animation and a master’s degree in journalism.
“Teens in a small town discover that aliens are invading. They can’t convince the adults that something is wrong. They defeat the aliens and save the world, while conquering some of their own personal problems.”
His mother wanted Mel Walker to become a marine biologist, but he hopes to have kept her happy even if he became a programmer, working on land. Melvin has been doing NaNo since 2005 (albeit his first novel is, in his opinion, best forgotten).
“As I do every year, I am pondering two different story ideas and will decide on one during the first days of writing, depending on the flow of ideas when I write. Both concepts are romance novels, where the characters are faced with challenges to overcome in order to find (or not?) each other.”
Creativity is Julia Altermann’s favorite pastime, no matter if it is photography or all kinds of handicrafts. She first participated in NaNoWriMo in 2008 and managed to achieve the 50.000 words goal in the first instance.
“An apprentice unlocks his fallen master’s secrets. An ancient talisman reenters the world. The Norpi, though old, must gather what forces still remain, and destroy the talisman before it’s too late.”
Writing challenges keep Sean Johnson motivated: He participated in the New Orleans Writing Marathon in July, and will elaborate the ideas generated there for NaNoWriMo.
“This year, I’ll be writing an urban fantasy novel. It will feature a strong female protagonist, high-tech, and old magic. And maybe a love interest – I’m not sure – I’m still ironing out the plot.”
Peter de Tagyos has always loved to read, and has successfully passed his love of books on to his two children. He earns a living by developing iOS apps, but dreams of publishing a novel.
Read More: Surviving NaNoWriMo
Part 1: How writers prepare