Well, damn and blast it. After initial mad enthusiasm, I have failed dismally to update my Olympic Storyteller site with new stories.
The last story I wrote was in August. I am hanging my head in shame.
Then someone kindly pointed out the link to my profile page on the Olympic Storyteller site wasn’t working. So, for one awful moment, I thought I had been expelled from the site. But they had just moved the pages around. Whew.
I must do better…..
Time to boast? So sorry, but yes, I won the Crime Story Competition in Writing Magazine and my short story was published in the January 2012 edition of the magazine.
I won the Crime Story Competition in Writing Magazine and my short story was published in the January 2012 edition of the magazine.
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.
With a bit of luck, I will get a few thousand words done on Monday and Tuesday and be able to submit for the word-count-hickory-thingy on NaNoWriMo Web site by Wednesday morning. Great achievement!
On the downward slope now, heading for the magic 50,000 words, full steam ahead.
I have a day, tomorrow, when I am unlikely to be able to write much, as I have a work commitment. Yes, I know it is a Sunday!
With a bit of luck, I will get a few thousand words done on Monday and Tuesday and be able to submit for the word-count-hickory-thingy on NaNoWriMo Web site by Wednesday morning. What a great achievement, considering I started so damn late in the month.
I do have a problem though. With 50,000 words nearly done, I am less than half of the way through my novel. Either I have written too much in the first part, or it is going to be a very long book. Reading back through some of the chapters (and, yes, I know you aren’t supposed to do this during NaNo), I spend a lot of time explaining stuff. That is one of the problems with Sci Fi, you feel compelled to explain the quasi-scientific background to some of the devices you employ – like how exactly you travel at faster-than-light speeds through sub-space or, the faster variation, between systems by quantum leaping.
Anyway, editing the thing down to a reasonable size is for another month. This month has only four days left. Write, write, write …..
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 