For those of you who follow my Twitter, you might have picked up that I am having a go at taking part in National Novel Writing Month 2017 (aka NaNoWriMo or NaNo if I am feeling lazy) this year. NaNo is a writers challenge to produce 50,000 words of your novel during the month of November. Fiftt-thousand words. In one month. That’s only 1,700 words per day. That’s all. Eep!!
(that’s the NaNo coat of arms, in case you were wondering!)
I’ve decided to try NaNo as a chance to push myself and really get my teeth into this writing malarkey. The most sure fire way of getting better at anything is to practice. To do. Over and over. And so, with 1,700 words of practice to do per day, I should get better, right?!
It’s also a great chance to meet some of my fellow writers, a fact that has already been in valuable in helping me meet some truly inspirational folks. I’ve also been learning more about the craft of writing in the last weeks than in my whole life to date! It’s not what you know…
I’ll also be in pretty impressive company, with recent years having produced some best-selling novels during or around the NaNo experience, check out some of the success stories here:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/8-best-sellers-started-during-national-novel-writing-month/
My preparation for NaNo started some weeks ago, and we started strong. Plans were hatched, plot was plotted and characters met, all to weave into Relative Horizon. But then, as with so many things, life got in the way. So, whilst I planned to be a “plotter” style writer and have everything planned out, I think I will be half plotter and half “pantser”; one who writers by the seat of one’s pants. Loosely termed a “plantser”, this appears to be my destiny this year, unless I can spend the whole day planning today… which I can’t! Oh well?
In a turn which will come as no surprise to those who’ve known me a while; I have managed to get a playlist of music sorted for NaNo. This will probably be one of the most important things to help me keep going and stay focused. Wrapping myself in a bubble of sound has a proven track record of success when it comes to me staying on target with an objective.
And now for the hard bit, my objectives for NaNoWriMo 2017:
1. To complete between 40,000 and 60,000 words
2. Not to get distracted by going back and editing as I write
3. Not to lose myself, but to keep Twitter, Facebook and this blog updated
4. Actually maintain human relationships during November
5. To write 5 days per week minimum with no more than one day off at a time
5. To enjoy the experience
This last one is important; whilst I’ve got lofty plans and ideas, NaNo needs to be a fun experience, not a stick to beat myself with.
At this point, it’s all a big unknown. Will I do it? Will it work for me? Will my ideas evaporate on day two? I have no clue. But, right now, I am a bundle of nervous excitement to try this out and see how I do! Wish me luck everyone and watch all my social media for updates or, for my other NaNo writing friends, follow my NaNo profile here:
https://nanowrimo.org/participants/sthurtle
See you all in December!