NaNoWriMo Guest Post: Seana J. Vixen (and my NaNo update)

Hey! First off on this post, is going to be a NaNo update. My word goal was 20,000 words and I was very confident I could write that this year, however I did not think I would be as busy as I am with the musical. (Our shows are next week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday!! we still have so much to do!) The first few days of NaNo I was writing like crazy. I got up to around 10,000 which seems really far along, but it took me a long time. I really haven't made any progress at all after that though, because I have musical every day after school, except today, until 6:00-6:30. I don't get home until 7:00. Then I still have to do all my homework to do, plus showering, and all my normal chores such as dishes, cleaning up, etc. Let's just say NaNo is not going well right now and I think I might have to lower my word goal. *dismay*

Now let me introduce this week's guest poster!! Her name is Seana J. Vixen.... you guys may have heard of her ;) Anyway, Sea is one of my best friends <3 and thankfully she was kind enough to come back this year to do another guest post (she did one last year during NaNoWriMo too)! Sea loves to read, write, draw, sing, all the fun stuff! She writes some book reviews, writing tips, and other hilarious posts on her blog which you can find HERE! 

Imagine a dragon. Imagine this dragon with a pink tiara, when out of nowhere, BAM here comes Prince Charming coming to save the princess from the dragon in the pink tiara. What does this make you think of? Chicago? Of course not. Unless you live in some part of Chicago that I've never heard of that houses dragons, it's probably part of a fantasy world.

I've always been a bit of a fantasy nut, and I've found a few ways to boost up your fictional (and possibly fantastical) world so that you not only tell the readers how amazing it is, but you suck them into an amazing place that takes all of their senses to explore.

- GIVE IT A NAME

Give your fantasy world a name. It doesn't matter if you simply call it Earth, Utopia, or Land of the Frozen Ducks, giving your world a name will make it stick with the readers. Without it, it just doesn't have the same impact. When choosing a name, think about what's in it. If you name it Land of the Frozen Ducks, make sure that there's are reason behind it. Maybe the guy who discovered it lost his pet duck in an ice storm and that's why it's called that. Having a reason for the name of the town, city, or entire world will show that you put a lot of thought into it.

- GET TO KNOW IT

If you're planning on showing your readers this magical world, you should know what's in it beforehand. Ever tried to describe somewhere you've never been to someone else? It's really hard. You can't say what you smelled, heard, or tasted. Your description falls flat. What I like to do is create a map of my world. It doesn't even have to be detailed. Mine consists of a purple blob called "The Mountains" and a giant orange splotch that represents the castle. Get to know your world's little nooks and crannies, and it'll be much easier to bring it to life.

- KNOW WHO LIVES THERE

You also gotta figure out which of your characters calls this place home. If Susan lives next to Bob, but Jerry lives next to the giant lake full of squids half a mile away, you have a visual of how long it will take Susan and Bob to run to Jerry's house and save him from the squids. Knowing who lives in the area will help you to get to know what customs that town or world might have that's different from people who live in another part of the country.

- HAVE FUN WITH IT

This is your baby. This is the world that you're creating from the ground up and building. Don't feel like you have to keep it low key so that readers aren't scared away by the frozen ducks. Make it yours. Don't be afraid to just spend some time coming up with as many wacky and unusual things that will make your world yours. Play with those little details that will paint the reader a picture of the sights, the sounds, the smells, and everything else that goes along with the Land of Frozen Ducks.

That is all.

Cheers,

Seana