Gymfan15: Strong as Bronze
Your Nweb and NaNoWriMo usernames, were they inspired by anything?
Gymfan15 on both. It's a slight variation on the first online username created for a gymnastics forum. I went with Gymfan, because I am, and then 14 because that was my age at the time. When I turned 15 I tried changing everything over but it was SUCH a hassle that I swore never again, so 15 it has remained!
Who are you?
I'm a 21 year old who was homeschooled. I am currently working in food service while I save up money for college.
How were you sucked into NaNoWriMo? Did someone person brainwash you into joining?
For quite a few years, people on Narniaweb would start posting about this writing challenge called NaNoWriMo. I always wanted to participate, but one year I found out about it too late, and the next year I was in the middle of moving across the country and couldn't take the time to do it. I've always wanted to write a novel and I tried for many years, but never had the staying power to finish it. So I always knew NaNo was something I wanted to do, I just struggled to find the time.
Was this your first, second, tenth time participating?
This year was my fourth consecutive year.
What was your novel synopsis (or original idea) at the beginning of nano? Genre?
This book was the third in a trilogy about an American gymnast named Erica Larkay. In this book, Erica has just gotten married and has all but put her competitive days behind her. But she can't shake the nagging feeling that maybe she's not quite finished with gymnastics yet.
Was your synopsis the same or different at the end? Or did you end up writing something completely different?
Nope, pretty much the same!
Did you finish? What superpowers enabled you to write 50k in one month?
Yep, I sure did finish!
My secret is writing a lot, and writing often. I use an online writing "tool" called Write or Die which does wonders for making me churn out quite a lot of words in a short amount of time.
What method of writing proved to be the most effective?
Setting a timer and just writing until it stopped. Once I get going it's easy to write; it's the getting going that's difficult.
Did this method involve glue, ropes, caffeine or some other forceful inducement?
Mmm, there was some Coke-Cola involved.
What lesson(s) did NaNoWriMo teach you this past November?
No matter how bleak and unmotivated you are, you can do pretty much whatever want as long as you set your mind to it and just WORK.
Website, blog, twitter, etc you want readers to know about?
www.spareoom.net
http://www.spareoom.net/gymfan15/blog/
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