NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon Of The Day - Day 27: Make A Nice Meal

Continuing with the dragon experiments. She's growing up a bit 🤓 and sprouted wings! (Well, or she's like a sibling or something since the two dragons have a different colouration). I think the wings in particular look pretty cool.

It was this amazing story about a farmer who finds one of her chicks hatched a dragon egg by @dycefic that inspired me to try and draw a tiny dragon. I think she's very cute indeed even if she doesn't quite match the dragon description from the tale. @dycefic's stories are wonderous to read and I highly recommend exploring their blog!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - December 2nd: Thank Goodness It's Over Party

It's tradition to go out with a bang! We achieved something extraordinary: we wrote our stories. Now, it might be in first draft & still need a lot of work. It might not be finished yet or polished, but it *exists* and that is enough for now. Today: we celebrate all we DID do. We have cheered each other on, perhaps we read extracts from each other, perhaps we did sprints together or shared wordcounts and hurdles. We might have gone at this alone or with the entire community at our backs: we are here & we wrote! It's the giddyness of creation. Of creating something out of words and making it near tangible.

Dec 2nd: Thank Goodness It's Over Party

So: let's dance! Let's pop that champagne! Blow up those balloons & strings. Print out your novel and make it real for yourself: you did this. You wrote all these words - however many you wrote. Today is for partying. For the relief of being done with NaNo 2022. November is over. December is for resting, for recouping and for celebrating and our myriad of holidays that are coming up. Traditionally, from January, the Now What? Months of revision and editing begin and then Camp NaNo is not far around the corner. I wish everyone a blast in taking their stories to the next level (if desired) and encourage you to keep creating in the broadest sense of the word.

I myself have enjoyed the experience of creating these cartoons and these accompanying texts for you all. I have loved reading each and every response. For me, it's now time to take my leave and dedicate my NaNo energies to my other two Rebel projects that are clamouring for attention. It has been my pleasure and my joy.

If you have enjoyed these cartoons, if they helped you in any way or brought you a smile: I would love love love to hear from you. (For any future readers: this will still apply. I come from an older age of the internet where it doesn't matter when something was posted: responses are still welcomed. We interact with literature written literally millennia ago. I'll still be happy to read a response even if you are reading this much much later than I am currently writing. :-) ).

Thank you all & good night! Let's celebrate.

The Timeless story No End, No Beginning by MandyCandy is endlessly fascinating. It's a powerful what-if? A reimagining of our history if at certain tipping points things happened differently.

One person's utopia is another's dystopia. This is one of the most far-reaching options I have read on fighting Rittenhouse by dismantling the very structures that made & kept them powerful in the first place.

By whom is history recorded? Lucy is a historian multiple times over in this story and it's powerful & real. Tecumseh is a wonderful character and seeing him in glimpses to see the impact he could have had is powerful. There is so much history & research that went into this story - there's a full bibliography & maps in the final chapter - and it is marvelous. As a European, American & Canadian history is not something that was touched upon a lot and stories like these bring me tipping points that I like to read more about.

Jiya is so resourceful & necessary to the plan in this story & Rufus likewise has a tangible effect on history.

It's a powerful reimagining. The story takes a bit to come into its own (as it was written & revised on the go as we often see with fanfiction) but stick with it. It's well-worth it.

NaNoWriMo – My Cartoon of the Day – Day 23: Just Keep Writing

We are approaching our final week! Are you flying yet with your story well advanced? Or does it feel you are slowly crawling your way up a mountain? Regardless of where you are: we can keep writing and even crawling is progress. If you need to rest for a bit to lick your scrabbed knees: enjoy the view and remember the view from the summit will be even sweeter. An empty page cannot be edited and having gotten this far: we can make it to the final stretch. One more week to go till we can enjoy the satisfaction of having made it to the finish line.

Day 23: Just Keep Writing

Remember to take a breath and look around at this glorious experience. When the sweat drips from your brow, your legs hurt and your shoulders chafe from the backpack: there is pleasure to be had in facing the experience head-on and living life to the fullest. Likewise with our stories: there can be hardship in committing those words to paper, but the experience of having done so will stay with you. Stand up straight. Stretch your body. Drink a sip of water. And Just Keep Writing! We can do this.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 22: Which Stories Inspire You?

I fulfilled a childhood dream and have a mini-library in my attic filled with my favourite books. I love browsing through my shelves and findings favourites to read. Writing well starts with reading often. What do you enjoy? What works for you (or doesn't)? How do stories work? For this NaNo challenge: what stories inspire you and what elements are you paying homage to?

Day 22: Which Stories Inspire You?

Bring an element of fairy tales into your science fiction story, add dragons to your historical fiction and incorporate a romance trope into your gritty realistic thriller. Steal your concepts liberally and write generously and keep telling your story!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

It's Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day! Time to show some heartfelt appreciation to all our wonderful volunteers who facilitate our NaNo communities. Everyone who organizes Write-Ins, who hosts and moderates a forum or server, sends carepackages and encouragements: thank you! What I love about NaNo is the self-challenge and the call to creativity, as well as the feeling of community: how all of us are writing our own stories on our own and yet together.

Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

Who would you like to show special appreciation to today? Send some virtual flowers? A surprise plotbunny? A lovable raptor? A nice message filled with kind words?

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 13: Draw From the Well of Creativity

There's a concept called "An Artist's Date":* where you plan a date with yourself to refill your artistic well of creativity. For some, that's visiting a museum, or playing around with pencils or crayons, or taking a walk in nature, or crocheting nice warm dragon scale mittons for winter. Treat you inner artist to a fun, engaging experience that will spark your imagination & inspiration!

Day 13: Draw From the Well of Creativity

During NaNo, we draw heavily from our well! Is the creativity still flowing nicely? Take stock, replenish it & draw upon its stores! Are you inspired by your story? Your characters? Let them experience your walk through their senses! Send them on a mission to indulge their passions! What nourishes your & their inner artists? 

*From Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. She recommends scheduling an Artist's Date regularly to grant yourself the time to refill your well of creativity.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 5

NaNoWriMo is a personal writing challenge and a massive community event at the same time! I enjoy the knowledge that there are so many others who are typing away with me and finding their own stories to tell.

Day 05: Checking in with Our WriMo Buddies!

Let’s shower ourselves and our buddies with encouragement and good vibes. We are approaching the end of our first week and everyone who is still here: you are marvelous! The courage of putting your story to paper is to be applauded and celebrated. Any word you’ve written is more than you had and I cheer you on!

As always: I am always happy to hear from anyone if you enjoy these cartoons. I hope to bring a smile to your faces and encourage you even when the goings get hard. Let’s keep being awesome together.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 14: Adopt a Plot Bunny from the Pound!

Plot Bunnies come in all shapes and sizes! Some are utterly adorable, others absolutely vicious, and yet others both! If you ever feel yourself running out of steam during NaNo, simply plan a trip to the Plot Bunny Pound where there are many lovable twists&turns just waiting to be adopted.

Day 14: Adopt a Plot Bunny from the Pound!

A word of caution: Plot Bunnies often come in multitudes and are know to multiply rapidly whenever they find a loving home. If you ever find yourself in the position where you have too many Plot Bunnies you can comfortably sustain: the Plot Bunny Pound is also happy to work with you to find another writer's home. Come play with these adorable, plot gnawing and heartmelting little creatures!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

NaNo is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. To keep the stamina to last us through the entire month: it is important to take care of ourselves and relax when we need it. Get yourself that nice cup of tea, sit down in the fresh autumn air for a moment and take in the moment. Breathe! Take a moment and gather fresh energies.

Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

Keep writing your story. One word and one day at the time. These storms will pass and the way out is through!