National Novel Writing Month

In general, I am pretty good at making time for the things and people that are important to me. But this has been a weird wee year (perhaps read this if you don't know what I'm talking about) and sometimes it feels a bit exhausting trying to keep up (or even start!) things I had planned.

And so I find myself, half-way through November, realising that I totally forgot to start Nanowrimo this year.

Nanowri-oh. (Sorry. I had to).

I've blogged about it LOADS before, but here's a wee recap in case this is new to you. Nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month - a writing campaign that challenges people across the world to write 50,000 words in one month (which works out roughly to be a short first draft). It looks like a terrifying amount of words, but they break it down into day-by-day wordcounts, provide graphs and widgets to track your progress, and have forums full of other writers, all sharing stories of success or laughing at the very terrible things they've written.

It isn't about writing a perfect first draft (or even a good first draft). It's just about writing - learning that you can make time for something, even if you honestly think you fill every hour of your day. It's hard work, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and leaves you dreaming of your characters, but it's SO satisfying. It's one of my favourite points in the year.

And I forgot.

So what do I do? I know I could (and should!) write all year round, but it's the competitive-we're-all-in-this-together part that I really love, and I find it hard to motivate myself if I don't have a target. If I wanted to join in and catch up, I'd have to write 20,000 words just to be on track with today. I have no plot, no characters, and not much time this week - but I know it'll be worth it if I do.

Hmm. Watch this space.

Nanowrimo winner!

During November I took part in National Novel Writing Month (see my previous posts here). The challenge was to write 50,000 words in one month - giving you (roughly) a first draft of a novel to work on. 

& I did it! (PHEW).

Yay! 

This year I cheated a little bit by using nanowrimo to continue a novel I had already started (I wrote 10,000 words in the summer), which means I now have a first draft of 60,000 words. I'm writing a young adult book, so the word count is sort of about right, but I'm not going to worry about that too much until I'm through a couple more drafts!

Now my next challenge is to KEEP GOING. One of the main reasons I like nanowrimo is that I really like working to targets and deadlines & they provide all sorts of fun word count widgets & graphs. I hated being behind, so I really pushed myself to write - even on days where I was tired, or lazy or just not in the mood. Now that I'm working off my own steam it's a bit harder - it's easier to go "ah, I'll just do it at the weekend", and fall back into lazy habits!

So I think I am going to get a diary or something and tick off each day that I write, giving myself mini deadlines along the way. I am determined to keep writing - even if it's rubbish, I really enjoy it!

Nanowrimo update

Hello! I just wanted to share a wee update on nanowrimo. We're onto day sixteen now and I should be at 26,666 words to be on track (I'm not, but I've got all of tonight to write).

Please ignore my terrible working title

It's been loads of fun so far, but definitely tough! This is the first year I've had to balance blogging alongside writing, so it's been a bit of a challenge finding time for both (and still enjoying them). I'm also baking a wedding cake for my lovely pals Jude and Charlotte & am going to their wedding tomorrow - loads of fun, but busy busy busy days ahead!

But hey, I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it. I'm also filming weekly updates on my youtube channel, which you can watch below. Look how fresh faced and enthusiastic I was in week one! Ha. Ha. Ha.

 

& then I'm just exhausted and resigned to battling on in week two.

I'm not going to post every video I make here, so if you'd like to subscribe then you can do so here. Non-writing videos are also on the way (er, when I have a spare moment!). 

Nanowrimo - my top tips!

Hello! So it's almost November, which means it's time for one of my favourite things in the year - National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo)!

You can read more on how nanowrimo works here, but it's pretty simple. You (the budding author) write a 50,000 word novel over 30 days. If you win, you get to feel great about yourself, and you have a first draft to do with as you will. If you lose, then you have still written something (and can feel good for giving it a shot).

I'm taking part for the fourth year in a row, so I thought it would be fun to film a video with my top tips for getting to 50,000 words (and enjoying the process!).

The challenge starts on November 1st so you have two days to prepare yourself, think of an idea and get ready to write. Let me know if you're taking part & we'll be nano pals. 

Nanowrimo

It's November! Which means it's nanowrimo time!

Nanowrimo poster. & an excuse to post a photo of Riley.

Nanowrimo (aka national novel writing month) is just brilliant. So good. So brilliant. You can read a lot more about the what's and why's here, but the basic idea is simple: write 50,000 words in one month. It sounds hard and scary, but it really isn't. & if you are one of those people who always think that someday you'll write a book, or that you would if you could find time, then it is definitely for you.

To complete the challenge you need to write 1,667 words every day.  You'll start the process thinking hard about what to write, or how to word a sentence, or carefully musing for ten minutes on what adjective to use, but about five days in (when you are 1,000 words behind and catching up on a Saturday morning) you'll discover the simple pleasure of just writing. Your writing will be awful. You will start to spell things wrong. You will notice your characters changing as you plot scenes while writing them. You will use too many exclamations marks. (Maybe that is just me). But that is the glory of nanowrimo! It makes you write. & at the end of a (long, tiring, but massively satisfying) month you'll have a first draft. It might be the WORST FIRST DRAFT OF ALL TIME, but that is still considerably better than a non-existent first draft.

Along the way the nanowrimo website holds your hand. You get handy graphs to keep track of your daily word count. Forums where you can discuss ideas and meet local participants (although I'm always too much of a wimp to go to the writing sessions in Edinburgh). & you get pep talks from amazing authors. These are staggered throughout the month and are brilliantly timed to encourage you to keeping writing when you are making excuses to yourself and skiving (my favourites are Neil Gaiman, Jasper Fforde & Philip Pullman).

Hoodie. Mental hair. Crazed eyes. Must be November.

& then at the end of the month you'll have a book! That you can sell and gain riches (*ahem* ) or hide away and sneakily read every now and again whilst wearing your nanowrimo hoodie (which you'll buy in week three, full of love for the Office of Letters and Light). Do it! Do it do it do it!