Guest Post: NaNoWriMo! An Interview with Ruari Blake

Note from Amelia: Welcome Ruari Blake, writer, content creator, and friend. I interviewed Ruari about her impressive decade (and going!) of participation in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, coming up in November (learn more at my blog post here). NaNo Prep 101 begins in September and I hope Ruari's experience and expertise will inspire you to jump in and participate...or just get writing!:

How many years have you been participating in NaNoWriMo?

Ten years, a full decade. My first year was 2014!

What inspired you to start?

There were some old-school Youtubers who participated in NaNoWriMo that I used to watch. I was a huge All Caps fan, so when they came out with their NaNoWriMo song, I listened to it a lot. Finally, in my senior year of high school, I decided to go for it because I wrote all the time. Quantifying how much I could write seemed like a fun challenge. Once I got the sweet, sweet thrill of victory, I just didn't stop.

What inspires you to keep going every year?

I like having a month dedicated to working on my manuscripts. It's the one time of year that I really focus on my writing with no excuses to be working on something else, unless there are real life deadlines that get in the way like last year. It's funny because when I mention it to people, they're really impressed that I manage to do 50,000 words in a month, but it's so routine that it feels like nothing. I'm sure it's the same as someone who runs 5Ks all the time.

How do you prepare?

Poorly. My first year was a "pantser" year, as the NaNoWriMo folks call it, which means I did zero prep. I had an idea for some characters and a vague plot, but not much else. It was a really tough one, especially while focusing on my last year of high school, but I managed to get the manuscript done and that's all that really matters.

My major projects have actually been on a novel I've been writing since I was in middle school, so I know that story better than my own social security number, mother's maiden name, and my birthday most days. As a result, re-writing it is easy, since I know what happens, but it becomes challenging to up my craft with each draft. The only thing I do to prepare is sign up on the website and announce my projects. I don't recommend this strategy for people who are starting because it is the most stressful style.

What do you do with your finished manuscripts?

My first one will never see the light of day. I had another manuscript that I wrote that I do really enjoy, but it has to have major edits, too. I don't know if it will get published, but I think it's good enough to warrant a second look at.

My main project that I've been writing for 16 years is finally at a point where it's time it sees the light of day, so I'm working on what I'm pretty sure is my final draft and I'm looking into self-publishing!

What's the best part of the experience?

Besides the thrill of declining invitations to be social and major bragging rights at the end, I love the dedicated time to just write. It's a lot to put on top of work and school, but I love going back into a story and just living there for a while. I also love watching the graph move day to day as I enter my words in. The NaNoWriMo website has a great dashboard with pretty interesting insights into my writing habits.

What's the most challenging part?

That's a hard one to answer. I feel like every year there's a new challenge depending on where my life has taken me, especially since I started so young. When I first started, my biggest challenge was actually doing the writing and figuring out where the story would take me. Now, the biggest challenge is balancing a full-time job, school part-time, and finding time to write during what ends up being finals.

What advice do you have for other writers who may want to take the plunge?

Remember that the month is all about writing 50,000 words and literally nothing else. It doesn't have to be good writing, but it just has to get out of your head and into whatever writing software you choose. I cannot stress enough how awful my first manuscript is, but it's still 50,000 words of an original story I never would have written otherwise. Especially if you're working on a first draft, remember that your first draft is supposed to be the worst your story will ever look, which is why second drafts and rewrites exist.

Ruari Blake is a writer, content creator, and PhD program reject. She writes fantasy novels and science fiction short stories, some of which are available to read online, but others will never see the light of day. When not writing, she is in class at Northwestern University in their MS in Learning and Organizational Change program or taking philosophy courses by any means possible. www.youtube.com/@BadAstra

Haiku #20: old loves

Ever get the ick thinking about old romances, friendships, even coworkers? May is my wedding anniversary month, and Jonathan and I are coming up on ten years together. Every day I'm grateful for him and for all the good people in my life today. Washing away what no longer serves you is a good feeling:

old loves…
barnacles encrust
a collapsing pier

"old loves," copyright 2024 Amelia Cotter (first published in Frogpond 43.3, 2020)

Poem #9: Stellar Nebula

This poem from apparitions was originally published in a cool but short-lived lit mag called Stentorian Bitch. "Stellar Nebula" is difficult for me to share and, at the same time, my favorite poem I've ever written. It lives on in my book, but I wanted to share it here, too, in honor of National Poetry Month:

People used to mistake me for a boy when I was a child. At times I felt like I was.
I found myself disparaged for being a girl—and a boy.
“What, are you crying? Looks like you’re learning how to be a woman.”
“Men have needs, Amelia.”
“All men are pigs.”

I was almost raped—wasn’t I?—but was told I was not assaulted.
I was eight and didn’t know how to explain what he did.
The doctor examined my body in the wrong place.
No one wanted to feel guilty or sorry for themselves.
Besides, he was just a boy.

At 19, I was deemed the man in a relationship with another woman.
Everyone laughed at the funny joke.
I came out “straight” a few years later.
I dieted and lost pounds to shed what I, and certainly others, felt were remnants of my masculinity.
I entertained some bad men in my quest to prove myself a good woman.

      Erroneous badges of honor. And still I carry that weight.

But I wanted to feel beautiful as a woman, and I did.
I’m a wife now, to a man. He’s “one of the good ones.”

      Everyone sees how perfect I am. And still I carry that weight—

My grown hands clutch at the small hands of the children I used to be: girl, boy, now ghosts.
I marshal us through the vastness, through the darkness of this life that I live for them.

      All for them.

"Stellar Nebula," copyright 2024 Amelia Cotter (first published in Stentorian Bitch, 2020)