national novel writing month – Page 4

Internal Editor – I’m trying to gag her

Last year, when I didn’t know what I was doing and started from scratch with a character, from which a story just evolved, it was easier to gag that bitch of an Internal Editor. If she started saying “that’s not good enough” or “rubbish!” or “call yourself a writer, this is a joke?” – I could just give her a kick.

Doing NaNoWriMo this year, I am having far more trouble with my internal editor this year compared to last year.

Probably, the reason is this: I have invested far more time and effort into the NaNo novel this time and have great expectations of myself. This story matters to me. So I don’t want to mess it up.

This year, not only have I have had time to plan and think through the NaNo book, but in the past 12 months, I have studied the art of writing. I have bought and read books on writing, harvested the internet for sites that teach writing skills, done some critical reading, completed the Open University course “Starting to Write Fiction“, and dragged myself from a state of nearly complete ignorance to one of self-conscious self-awareness.

So, there is more at stake this year. I am no longer a beginner. I have even written one short story that has won a prize and will be published shortly.

My internal editor has thrived on all this extra knowledge. The more you know about how to do it right, the more you see your own mistakes. She is whispering in my ear, constantly, advising me to choose a different word, change that sentence there, revise that paragraph, alter that section and, on a really bad day, telling me to get rid of that chapter completely.

At this rate, I will finish NaNoWriMo in January 2042. Not only will I, in all probability, be dead by then but – as all NaNoWriMos know – that kind of timescale does NOT count as a NaNoWriMo win!

So, back to my Internal Editor. Any tips on how to gag her?

NaNoWriMo – better late than never

NaNoWriMo this year? Easy-peasy. Bring it on! Hmmm. When things seem like they are going to be almost too easy, you can bet they probably are not going to be as easy as all that.

I was really organised in the build up to NaNoWriMo this year.

I had the story all planned in my head with the characters fully formed and the plot outline in place. I knew who was going to do what and when. I had to stop myself starting the damn book in September, so enthusiastic and ready to go was I.

So, NaNoWriMo this year? Easy-peasy. Bring it on!

Hmmm. When things seem like they are going to be too easy, you can bet they probably are not going to be as easy as all that.

Had a huge piece of work to prepare for and didn’t get going on the 1st November. No problem. Last year, I started a few days late and soon caught up. Then a work colleague went off sick. Then another one. Then I got sick too – fever, sore throat, aching limbs, diarrhoea, hacking cough with retching (you really did want all of this detail didn’t you?).

Finally started on the 6th November. Shame on me. Now playing catch up like mad. And having terrible problems with my internal editor. Will tell you about her another time …. but for the moment, please excuse me – I have another 2,000 words to bang out before tea time.

NaNoWriMo – Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is a NaNoWriMo book, by Sarah Gruen.

It came in the top 10 (at number 7, to be exact) of the #FridayReads group in Twitter, for the 1st week in Jan 2011.

I am going to order it from my local library. Tomorrow.

Or, maybe, buy it from Amazon.

Meeting the Muse

No prompt! My mind went blank. But the clock was ticking and I had 6 minutes.

Here is today’s Six Minute Story.

Today (being Friday) there is no prompt.

Freeform prompt. Every Friday, writers face a blank page without any prompt. They write whatever they want in six minutes or less.

No prompt! My mind went blank. But the clock was ticking and I had 6 minutes. I started off, meaning to write about NaNoWriMo. But the story just evolved into something a bit different. Thank you muse!

Here it is, below, in case you can’t be bothered to follow the link. And yes, I resisted the temptation to edit.

Meeting the Muse

This was the month she was going to do it. Yes, really. This time.

Sitting down at the keyboard she faced the blank screen. First things first, time for coffee.

Now she could start. Come on, come on, come on. Where is my muse?

She strokes the keboard, searching internally for inspiration.

PUFFFF!

At first she thinks the computer screen is broken. Or maybe a virus has hijacked her software. She peers in astonishment.

A green face is forming in front of her eyes. At first the details are vague and hazy. Then it grows clearer. Yes, definitely a face. The nose may be a little large and there may be horny outgrowths on the forehead and, maybe, the eyes should not be that vivid red colour. But, all these things considered, definitely a face.

“Who, on earth, are you?” She didn’t mean to say this out loud.

A smile spread across those green lips and a voice, crackled and gravelly, like an old gramaphone record with a dusty stylus, replied.

“I am your muse.”

“Good heavens. You are a ugly bugger!”

“Yes, my dear. A little like your writing.”

And that was when she gave up. Writing.

6 minute story – The Elephant Dragged its Feet

I am procrastinating, as usual. Instead of finishing my NaNoWriMo novel, I am finding other things to do.

Today I discovered the 6’minutestory site.

Here you get a prompt to start your story and you type directly into a text box on the site. The clock is ticking from the moment you start. At the end of six minutes, the story is finished. You cannot add any more words.

The prompt today was “The elephant dragged its feet.”

I love elephants. Could I resist? No.

Did I finish the story in 6 minutes? No.

I will do better next time.

Here is my (unfinished) 6 minute story, entitled The Defeated.

I am feeling sad today because my elderly father is slowly dying. This influenced the writing of this story.