Well, the biggest event of the writing year for us writers is almost here - next month we start our efforts to write a 50k novel during the month of November. I am once again going to attempt to 'win' Nano although I have not got a clue how, as a teacher with Ofsted hanging over her head, I will find the time.
I have found it best to have an idea of what to write before November comes; the first year I did it I made it all up as I went along and the outcome was... different to what I would normally write. Last year and the year before I had chapter overviews to guide me and I was much happier with my finished product. Mind you, I say finished - The Histories made 60k words in November and then it took another ten months to write the same again to complete the draft. Last year's book I am itching to edit, but The Histories is still taking up what little spare time I have. And ultimately that's what Nano is for me - a month to get something on paper, a way of carving out some writing time that otherwise would be given to my actual job... or cleaning my flat. Once November has gone it's on to editing and that is a thankless task as you face confronting the agony of your bad prose and paper thin characters - but just occasionally you stumble across a nugget and think - wow! Did I really write that? That makes it all worth it.
See you on the online Nano forums or at the Piccadilly write-in.
I have found it best to have an idea of what to write before November comes; the first year I did it I made it all up as I went along and the outcome was... different to what I would normally write. Last year and the year before I had chapter overviews to guide me and I was much happier with my finished product. Mind you, I say finished - The Histories made 60k words in November and then it took another ten months to write the same again to complete the draft. Last year's book I am itching to edit, but The Histories is still taking up what little spare time I have. And ultimately that's what Nano is for me - a month to get something on paper, a way of carving out some writing time that otherwise would be given to my actual job... or cleaning my flat. Once November has gone it's on to editing and that is a thankless task as you face confronting the agony of your bad prose and paper thin characters - but just occasionally you stumble across a nugget and think - wow! Did I really write that? That makes it all worth it.
See you on the online Nano forums or at the Piccadilly write-in.
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