S. W. Raine

It’s that time of year again—Preptober is here! In October, writers all over the world are setting goals, creating checklists, and figuring out how to survive November’s writing marathon.

This year’s project is gonna be fun: Plan A is to work on Project Spin-Off 2, the second book in my steampunk Adventures of Captain Keenan series. I’ve been looking forward to returning to Keenan’s story. Of course, I also have a Plan B in case I get stuck: a series of steampunk choose-your-own-adventure short stories—just like the one my newsletter subscribers got to read recently. Having a backup plan always helps me keep the momentum going.

A Pantser’s Dilemma: Attempting Structure

If you’ve followed my Preptober posts in the past (you can find them here: 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023), you know I’m a Pantser—someone who writes without much planning and lets the story unfold as they go. However, this year, I’ve realized that being a Pantser has been slowing me down, especially when it comes to revisions and edits. My edits have been going at a snail’s pace because of the mess of plot holes and inconsistencies it creates.

This year, I’m attempting something different: creating a rough outline using the Five Act Structure. It feels like a huge, unknown leap for me. As someone who discovers the story as I go, I’m not entirely sure how well it’ll work, but I need a better framework to avoid the chaos of editing fixes. As much as I love letting my characters lead the way, it’s becoming clear that I need to rein them in a bit to speed up my revision process. Here’s hoping this new method helps avoid those annoying pacing issues I’ve struggled with in the past!

Rewarding the Journey… Without Assassin’s Creed

Rewards have always been an important part of my writing process. Normally, I treat myself to Canadian Cadbury Crunchie bars for every 10,000 words, and I splurge on the latest Assassin’s Creed game once I hit the 50,000-word milestone.

Unfortunately, this year, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed until February 2025, and I haven’t been able to get my hands on any Crunchie bars. So this Preptober, I’m on the lookout for some new 10k milestone rewards to keep me motivated throughout November. If you have any ideas, please drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear them!

A Family Tradition: My Son Joins the Writing Journey

One of the best parts of this writing season is getting to share it with my son. Over the last two years, he joined me by working on smaller projects. Watching him develop his storytelling skills has been amazing. His first year was all about a Pokemon fanfic, and he knocked his word count goal out of the park. Last year, he started with a different Pokemon fanfic, but after a severe case of writer’s block, he moved on to a memoir/educational-type story. He surpassed his bigger word count goal, and I couldn’t be prouder!

This year, though, he’s not quite sure what he wants to write about yet. He’s still exploring different ideas. Writing alongside him is one of my favorite parts of this challenge, and I’m excited to see what he comes up with this time. There’s still a lot of Preptober days left!

Navigating Complicated Feelings About NaNoWriMo

Now for a more difficult topic—NaNoWriMo. I’ve done NaNo for the past 17 years (and won 16 times!). It’s shaped my journey as a writer and author. However, last year I learned of a serious scandal involving NaNoWriMo and their forums—an issue related to grooming minors. As a mother with a young child who writes, this news left me very uncomfortable. While my son isn’t old enough for the forums, it hit too close to home for me to ignore.

The scandal raised concerns for a lot of long-time participants, and many decided to step away from NaNoWriMo entirely. It’s been a really hard issue for me to grapple with. Then there was another controversy about NaNoWriMo’s stance on AI, which stirred up even more debates in the writing community. But I don’t want to delve too deeply into that.

At this point, I’m still deciding if I want to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I know I don’t need NaNo to complete the challenge. But NaNo has been such a huge part of my life as a writer, it’s hard to walk away completely. For now, I’m taking it one day at a time and focusing on the writing itself, regardless of whether I officially join the challenge this year.

Looking Ahead

So here we are—Preptober 2024. I’m excited for the challenge of writing another novel and experimenting with a new method to my process. I may not have all the rewards lined up yet, and I’m still grappling with some tough decisions about NaNoWriMo, but I’m ready to dive into this project and see where it takes me.

What about you? Do you enjoy reading during the colder months? Or are there other hobbies you dive into as the seasons change? Whether you’re curled up with a book, doing a creative project, or planning something entirely different, I’d love to hear how you’re getting ready for the end of the year.

Raine