Last Minute NaNoWriMo-ing

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After spending the day plastering my parent’s house, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month in true last-minute form. So okay, another yay-I’m-going-to-do-NaNoWriMo post. (To be honest, I didn’t even know there was an actual website you interacted on, I thought it was just something you did) It’s slightly funny, because I’m so stinkin’ close to finishing the novel I’ve been working on the past few months – I have ONE scene left in the middle of the novel, and then I’m done. I’ve written the ending and everything.

But despite the minor anxiety that is being caused by not immediately finishing my current novel, I’m excited about the idea of a deadline for a brand-new novel. (I probably will even try to get that last scene knocked out sometime soon) I’ve never worked with a deadline, so I’m curious to see how my creativity responds under pressure.

For the actual content to work on, I thought I had myself set on a newer idea that I’d been exploring a few months ago. But the night before last I had a new intriguing plan present itself. It’s an idea that I’ve had for a long time, but revamped. And, of interesting pertinence, I’ve decided to use this opportunity to push my technical skills as a writer (as suggested by one of the most important people in my life). Besides the obvious issue of the deadline, obviously. I’m going to attempt something I’ve never done before: writing the story from the perspective of a male protagonist. For obvious reasons, I’ve done my fair share of female protagonists, so I’m going to shake things up a bit. It’s a bit weird trying to get into a different gender’s head, but I have enough male influences in my life that I think I’ll have enough help for a good attempt.

I think it’s interesting when different genders try to write the other. Not only is it a test of writing empathy and ability, it ends in either disasterous or fantastic results. I think great gender identity expression and concepts can come out of it. At the very least, it can reveal particular elements of gender identity in society.

Can you think of any great books you’ve read that challenge gender roles and/or expression?

P.S. For NaNoWriMo, my username is Bluescale, and I will be writing fantasy. Come say hi!

5 responses to “Last Minute NaNoWriMo-ing”

  2. Good luck with Nano and completing your novel! Writing from another gender’s perspective can be challenging, but if you do have enough insight, it can be fun and improve versatility as a writer. Sometimes literally putting yourself in your character’s shoes – even if it’s from a different perspective – can have a huge impact and evolve a story in ways you never thought possible.~

  3. […] Last year I completely switched gears and dusted off an old story idea that had been sitting there and doing nothing, and gave it a few twists to make things more interesting. Writing from a male perspective, for example. I learned several things about myself as a writer. But now I’m nervous that I was able to do what I did because it was a (basically) brand new story. I didn’t have 47k words already invested, and several complicated points from the previous book of which I needed to keep track. I wasn’t worried about screwing it up. […]

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