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I am an aspiring writer living and working in Hull. I working on a novel, as well as writing short stories to keep my writing skills fresh. I decided to start a writing blog to connect with other writers. So please, take a look around and leave some comments - I'd love to read some of your writing blogs too. Nari X

Monday 31 October 2011

And So It Begins...


NaNoWriMo is just a day away, and I'm feeling the pre-nano nerves. It's the biggest project I think I've done, in terms of the most challenging. My coursework at Uni always involved lengthy planning and countless rewrites and edits (our guidelines were along the lines of 40 redrafts), so this is going to be a very different experience.

If I'm completely honest with you all, I don't feel even remotely prepared. So I've worked out some of the history and chunks of plot and named a fair few characters, but do I feel like a can turn it into a novel in a month? No. I do not.

But then that, ladies and gentlemen, is the point, I suppose. To launch into it and just keep going, letting just the process of writing inspire you. At least I hope that's how it will work anyway.

On the plus side, I've been in the 'Hands-on History Museum' today, and have been reading all about Victorian school ethics, which might come in handy. The places work takes me...
Rob and I have decided that it might help me to keep track of my plot and where I am to put timelines and reems of paper to scribble on all over the walls of the house. No desk yet, but I'm hopeful for this Saturday. I think, however, that most of my novel writing, as ever, will probably occur on my phone, on the bus, while a service user is sleeping, while waiting for dinner to cook, or while himself is playing/watching wrestling.

Well, I don't have much more to say tonight, and my dinner just went 'ping', after Halloween pumpkin soup proved too complicated at 9:00pm having just got in from work.

An average word count should be around 1700 words per day, although I'm guessing I'm going to go over the word count by a lot.  What are your Nano strategies? (Warning: I do not guarantee that I won't steal them. You have been warned.)

See you all on the other side.

4 comments:

  1. Nari, I tried to find you on nano today and couldn't. What's your profile name? Mine's CFB.

    I think I will probably go over the word count too. The completed novel should be nearly double that if it's to be a "proper" novel.

    My strategy is always to have the first sentence or two of the day's writing ready before I sit down to write so that I don't spend half an hour staring blankly at the screen. Either I'll think of the first sentence of the next day before bed, or I'll make sure I leave off writing in the middle of a paragraph or conversation or something!

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  2. PS: LOVE The Picture of Dorian Grey

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  3. I would like to do Nano at some point, but we usually go away in November (this year is no exception). Good luck with it anyway! Wish I could write anywhere - that would help a lot. Don't think I could scrawl all over the walls either - I tend to be very secretive about what I'm doing until I consider it ready to show anyone.

    I predict that a lot of people will go quiet on the blog front this month...

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  4. Good luck Nari. I'm sure once you get going, you'll be fine. Although I'm not so sure I would be. If I was entering I would make sure I leave off the last few lines as the start of the next day's 1700 words.

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