November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.
The idea is a simple one - basically you write a novel in a
month.
1670 words a day, producing 50,000 words in just 30 days.
50,000 words of a draft novel, no editing allowed, you just
keep your head down and write.
Sounds mad? Absolutely.
BUT I have signed up. I am the girl that jumps in with both
feet remember and then considers the consequences at a later date!
I am not alone in this adventure, according to the title this is national
but it’s more like international. I have teamed up with others all over the UK
and beyond. We are in this together; some of us NaNo virgins and others who
have taken part before and are willing to do it again – so it can’t be that bad
then can it?
A year ago I had never even heard of NaNoWriMo.
A year ago I was coming to the end of my first year without
Andrew and preparing to face the anniversary of his death and planning his 50th
birthday that we would celebrate without him.
November is not a great month for me emotionally so why put
myself through something that could have me tearing my hair out well before the
end?
Party because it should be a good distraction, something to
stop me becoming maudlin or dwelling on my loss.
Also I desperately want
to write a novel. (I have a good idea, at least I think so, I will share that with
you another day.) I have wanted to write a novel for a long time and I once
heard it said that when you actually write one you are way ahead of all the
people who just SAY they want to write.
There will never be a perfect time to write, life always
gets in the way and I am a great procrastinator.
In some ways this is a test to see if I can actually write
enough words to form a first draft. So
much of the past few months have been taken up writing flash fiction, very
short stories, can I actually write something with more than 500 words? Can I
develop a story to novel length?
I’ve always said I would love to turn “unravelling-edges”
into a book but it is hard plunging back into those raw emotions of early
grief. The material is all there so maybe one day it will be more than a blog.
For now I am looking forward beyond my grief and pushing
myself with the NaNoWriMo challenge.
Only time will tell if I make it but with the support and
encouragement of the new friends I have made I am already winning!
I'm sure you'll give it a good go, and I can always give you a nudge if needed :) nicking the NaNo pic btw, looks great hehe
ReplyDeleteGood luck: I wish I had your self-discipline! I just can't seem to generate so many words, so quickly. Sticking to the 'slowly but surely' approach.
ReplyDeleteYou'll make it Sarah! I never thought I could write one...then I tried. You'll be so happy when you've done it, and it'll be a fantastic achievement. My first novel, written over ten years ago, was okay, but I've been rewriting it over the years and it's resembling something much better. Then last year I wrote a stand alone book, and put it on Kindle, couldn't believe I'd actually done it and people liked it! Now for NaNo...I'm going for a novel using characters from my last one...not so stand alone after all!
ReplyDeleteGo for it and enjoy it, you've got us all cheering you on!
Good luck Sarah.
ReplyDeleteI did NaNoWriMo for the first time last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mind you I spent more time being distracted by the various forums than actually writing.
I'm having another go this year and if you're looking for any 'writing buddies' you'll find me at mjshorts
Have a great time.
Still haven't figured out how to add buddies, trying NOT to get drawn into all the forums or even the admin side of NaNo, will have to figure out how to add my writing at some point to tally up my word count. You can find me at "reravelling" - would be great to have you as a writing buddy!
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