It's November (again?!) and that can only mean one thing - NaNoWriMo!!! Or for those not in the know - National Novel Writing Month. This is the month when everyone in the whole world sits down and tries to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel in one month. Well, everyone who wants to anyway.
I performed this mean task back in 2008 to much success and I thoroughly recommend it to any budding or established writer out there. It's fun too - in retrospect.
I don't know too many people doing it this year, but I do know that my friend Heidi is giving it a crack - so best of luck Heidi!!! And good luck to everyone else too!
As for me, despite the title of this post, no, I am not involved in NaNo this year. However, my November will be filled with writing and novels as well - just not on a national scale.
What's up then? Tell me more.
Well, this month, I will be working my guts out to complete a draft of my novel for my in-house editor by November 23. I have decided that she needs to read it, even if I am only 80-90% happy with it. It's about time someone other than me read this monstrosity!!! And a monster it is too. So fingers crossed on that one.
On non-related news, I still plan to add my Ibiza diaries to the webisphere - currently waiting on Day 6 - but it looks like they will form part of a whole new project that I will release shortly.
Can't keep up writing one blog? Why not try two?!
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Thursday, December 04, 2008
It's Over But The Writing Continues . . .
Fifty thousand words and thirty days later: NaNoWriMo - done.
It was an immense challenge, but I surprised myself with my commitment and planning, ensuring that I kept up the word count, meeting and exceeding my daily quota of words on a regular basis. I also proved to myself that a regular writing schedule can be squeezed around a full time job, which has always been a big hurdle for me. In addition, not only did I develop some good writing habits, I took a big step forward towards finishing the first draft on my novel.
The writing doesn't stop there, though. I still have my target of finishing this first draft before dawn on the 19 December. The challenge is to keep the momentum going without the fun of a contest or without that feeling of camaraderie with other writers that is experienced during NaNoWriMo.
I'm doing it a little different for December too. I'm not aiming for the same word count each day because I don't want to rush the intricacies of the final quarter of the book. Instead, I have a goal of 90 minutes of writing a day. The first few days of December made me quite proud; despite a busy schedule at work, I met my 90 minute goal and exceeded 2,000 words in each sitting. The rest of the week has been a debacle due to increasing work commitments; no time spent on writing. Some catching up is required but I feel confident that I can do that over the next two weeks.
NaNoWriMo was a very beneficial experience and I learned a lot - as I suspect everybody participating did - so congrats to everyone else who took part - well done! Looking forward to next November.
Elsewhere on the planet, news of the Harrogate 2009 lineup has been published and for me, the highlight is the attendance of George Pelecanos. He would have to be one of my favourite authors, if not the favourite. His novels are a pleasure to read and are super cool. He is such a great guy too. The last time he was at Harrogate, he gave some inspiring words of advice that helped me kick start my novel and get over the fear of tackling such a big project. That advice was given to the general audience, so I hope I'll be able to sneak in a five minute chat with him at the bar next July, one on one. Quite an exciting prospect.
I'm not alone here: the ladies, especially those on Mark Billingham's forum, have their own reasons for getting excited about Mr Pelecanos's attendance:
It was an immense challenge, but I surprised myself with my commitment and planning, ensuring that I kept up the word count, meeting and exceeding my daily quota of words on a regular basis. I also proved to myself that a regular writing schedule can be squeezed around a full time job, which has always been a big hurdle for me. In addition, not only did I develop some good writing habits, I took a big step forward towards finishing the first draft on my novel.
The writing doesn't stop there, though. I still have my target of finishing this first draft before dawn on the 19 December. The challenge is to keep the momentum going without the fun of a contest or without that feeling of camaraderie with other writers that is experienced during NaNoWriMo.
I'm doing it a little different for December too. I'm not aiming for the same word count each day because I don't want to rush the intricacies of the final quarter of the book. Instead, I have a goal of 90 minutes of writing a day. The first few days of December made me quite proud; despite a busy schedule at work, I met my 90 minute goal and exceeded 2,000 words in each sitting. The rest of the week has been a debacle due to increasing work commitments; no time spent on writing. Some catching up is required but I feel confident that I can do that over the next two weeks.
NaNoWriMo was a very beneficial experience and I learned a lot - as I suspect everybody participating did - so congrats to everyone else who took part - well done! Looking forward to next November.
Elsewhere on the planet, news of the Harrogate 2009 lineup has been published and for me, the highlight is the attendance of George Pelecanos. He would have to be one of my favourite authors, if not the favourite. His novels are a pleasure to read and are super cool. He is such a great guy too. The last time he was at Harrogate, he gave some inspiring words of advice that helped me kick start my novel and get over the fear of tackling such a big project. That advice was given to the general audience, so I hope I'll be able to sneak in a five minute chat with him at the bar next July, one on one. Quite an exciting prospect.
I'm not alone here: the ladies, especially those on Mark Billingham's forum, have their own reasons for getting excited about Mr Pelecanos's attendance:
Friday, November 28, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
NaNoWriMo 2008
It's National Novel Writing Month this month and it all starts today!!
The month of November, over the past nine years, has been the month where thousands of people around the world write a 50,000 word novel. Plot, synopsis and planning go out the window - it's all about getting words onto paper or screen, committing yourself to thirty days of solid writing, finishing or at least making a good headway into that novel that you've always said you were gonna write.
A month full of tears, triumph, late nights, early mornings and loads of coffee giving birth to thousands of novels and novel writers. Sure, the output will be drivel at best, but what's a first draft supposed to be but a scattered plotline hastily put together that makes no sense and contains flat characters and clichéd dialogue. That's what rewrites are for, to fix all that stuff up.
But that's for December and beyond, for now, over 15,000 writers will be doing what so many people say they will do, try to do and frequently fail to do - they are writing a novel.
Today, thousands will be hunkered over computers or notebooks, churning out their first draft, keeping an eye on the word count even at this very early stage, calculating how many to go before they reach the big 50k. It's going to be a long month, a painful month, but ultimately, a rewarding month.
I signed up at the last moment. It wasn't even on my radar even though I've always wanted to participate. A colleague at work said that she was doing it this year for the first time and encouraged me to get involved. My mind buzzed around with the status of my own novel, thinking, can I really ditch my recently set goals and start something new? I'd already planned to write 52,000 words this month as it is; could I go back on this?
And then it hit me - something about two birds and a big effing stone.
So I'm on board. I've buddied up with eleven other participants, mainly from the BTZ forum, and we are all going to knock this 50k on the head, and write a novel in the process.
So, good luck to Jo, Tamren, Nethers, RockChick, Sammo, Smudge, Iain, Betty, Chel, Roger and Maria and everyone else!!
Heads down, bums up, people!
The month of November, over the past nine years, has been the month where thousands of people around the world write a 50,000 word novel. Plot, synopsis and planning go out the window - it's all about getting words onto paper or screen, committing yourself to thirty days of solid writing, finishing or at least making a good headway into that novel that you've always said you were gonna write.
A month full of tears, triumph, late nights, early mornings and loads of coffee giving birth to thousands of novels and novel writers. Sure, the output will be drivel at best, but what's a first draft supposed to be but a scattered plotline hastily put together that makes no sense and contains flat characters and clichéd dialogue. That's what rewrites are for, to fix all that stuff up.
But that's for December and beyond, for now, over 15,000 writers will be doing what so many people say they will do, try to do and frequently fail to do - they are writing a novel.
Today, thousands will be hunkered over computers or notebooks, churning out their first draft, keeping an eye on the word count even at this very early stage, calculating how many to go before they reach the big 50k. It's going to be a long month, a painful month, but ultimately, a rewarding month.
I signed up at the last moment. It wasn't even on my radar even though I've always wanted to participate. A colleague at work said that she was doing it this year for the first time and encouraged me to get involved. My mind buzzed around with the status of my own novel, thinking, can I really ditch my recently set goals and start something new? I'd already planned to write 52,000 words this month as it is; could I go back on this?
And then it hit me - something about two birds and a big effing stone.
So I'm on board. I've buddied up with eleven other participants, mainly from the BTZ forum, and we are all going to knock this 50k on the head, and write a novel in the process.
So, good luck to Jo, Tamren, Nethers, RockChick, Sammo, Smudge, Iain, Betty, Chel, Roger and Maria and everyone else!!
Heads down, bums up, people!
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