My 2013 NaNo novel is set in a dystopian future.
Working title: Chasing Credit.
Tone: A mash-up of 1984 and Brave New World with a contemporary twist.
Words written so far =0 (but it’s only 10 am on NaNo day 1 – so not panicking yet).
You’re doing NaNo too? I’m happy to be your NaNo Buddy.
Forgive me for not writing in complete sentences. Time is short. The future beckons…
I started writing during NaNoWriMo in November 2011. The words just flew onto the page. 50,000 in a month. Easy! But come December, I had lost my steam.
I have been writing a novel for 3 years. It is a great story. I know the characters well. The finished product is clear in my mind.
I started writing during NaNoWriMo in November 2011. The words just flew onto the page. 50,000 in a month. Easy!
But come December, I had lost my steam. I started going back and fiddling. Now some of the early chapters looked pretty good. But I lost my forward momentum. And I got finally bogged down about two-thirds of the way through. I guess I hit what is often known as the “soggy middle”.
Now, all the standard advice goes like this: just finish it. It doesn’t matter what sort of mess you have written, you can knock it into shape during the editing stage. Continue reading “5 year writing project: get a novel published”
So what is the point of NaNoWriMo? And why aren’t I doing it this year?
This year, I have said “no” to NaNo. For a number of reasons. My current work load is pretty overwhelming. The NHS project I have been working on for 5 years is coming to a climax and I am in the second year of my BA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University with deadlines for assignments looming.
So, no NaNo for me this year. I’m feeling sad and angry and left-out, and even somewhat Continue reading “No NaNoWriMo this year”
My NaNoWriMo book, provisionally entitled The Bounty Hunter, had an extensive pre-writing phase. With over 50,000 words, I am only half way through the story. I guess that at least gives me plenty of scope for removing great tracts of gibberish in the re-writing phase
Yes, I made the final word count submission and I am a NaNoWriMo winner.
This is the second year I have taken part and the second year I have completed the 50,000 word count. The half-finished novel from 2010 lies, neglected, in the depths of my PC. I always meant to finish it, but never quite plucked up the enthusiasm to do so. And, since the novel just kind of grew from a character description, I suspect it would take a great deal of work and many months of complete re-writing to get a decent novel out of its rambling paragraphs.
This year, I started with a definite plan and a complete story in my head. It is a science fiction story that I have been mulling over for a couple of years and the main characters and plot line were fully in my mind before I started typing this November.
I just finished reading Amanda Boulter’s book; Writing Fiction: Creative and Critical Approaches. In this, she describes the three phases of writing – pre-writing, followed by writing, followed by re-writing.
My current NaNoWriMo book, provisionally entitled The Bounty Hunter, had an extensive pre-writing phase. Having written over 50,000 words, I am only half way through the story, as outlined in my head. I guess that at least gives me plenty of scope for removing great tracts of gibberish in the re-writing phase.
The worst thing I could do at this stage is quietly forget about it. Having invested two years of pre-writing and nearly a month of writing, I must take it further and finish the writing phase. The good news is that I have indeed worked on the document since NaNoWriMo ended – and, so far, I have resisted the terrible urge to start at the beginning and edit the whole thing. I need to finish the damn story first, then I can work on making it better and see if I have come out with a worthwhile novel at the end.
Today I met up with three other local NaNo participants. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together at the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough and, importantly, we did a solid two and a half hours of writing.
Well, I have nearly caught up with my NaNoWriMo word count. After a few days of hectic writing, I am only 3000 or so words behind where I should be.
Today I met up with three other local NaNo participants. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together at the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough and, importantly, we did a solid two and a half hours of writing. One of our members had finished her 50,000 words already, and spent the time planning her novel in her notebook. She writes different scenes in a non-consecutive manner and her task in the next few weeks will be to assemble what she has done into some sort of order.
I write sequentially. Although, in a bid to actually finish my novel, I am tempted to follow some of the ‘pep-talk’ advice supplied by Chris Baty. He suggests finishing the novel, even if there are sections you have not fully fleshed out during the NaNo month. With the ending down on paper, you have at least a finished story to start playing with.
Progress in the NaNo month has been up and down for me. Actually, mainly down, as this nifty NaNoWriMo calendar widget demonstrates. The red colour, in case you haven’t guessed, is bad!
Anyway: onward and forward. Keep writing.
And this year, I promise myself I will finish the damn thing.
Ruth Livingstone 