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Writing
I currently have quite a few projects I’m working on and as most writers will tell you, life does a great job of getting in the way of what you really want to do (or you don’t want to do what you’re meant to, but that’s a different story). Inspired by completing the second NaNoWriMo, although not in the strictest sense of the challenge, I did a quick calculation.
If I write 1,000 words each day, by the end of a year I will have written 365,000 words, which, given edits, and various false starts, having to draft out ideas and do background work, means I should have written a couple of novels, some short stories and a piece of flash fiction for each Friday.
I set myself this target a couple of months ago, and, unsurprisingly, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I keep rearranging my life to make it fit so very soon I should have settled on a rhythm that accommodates everything.
Then something else will come along to throw me off.
During November I have been doing NaNoWriMo. Well kind of.
Most weeks I aim for 1,000 words per day, although as I’m sure is the case with a lot writers I don’t always hit that target (it sounds simple, but don’t kid yourself). For one thing editing gets in the way and sometimes when my mind isn’t on a particular story I don’t want to start another one because lots of unfinished projects is not a good thing.
NaNoWriMo Badge
To hit the NaNo target of 50,000 words I needed to do slightly more than usual and so I’ve been aiming for 2,000 each day. This should mean that as I near the end of the month I’m at 50,000 already.
Well, I’m close, but at the moment I do not have a cigar. Today I’ve had chance to go back through all the stories I’ve written in the last few weeks (more on these next Wednesday) and it currently totals 41,238.
So, can I write 1,700 words each day from now until Sunday? It’s going to be a push, but I’ve cleared some things out of my diary and I’m in with a fighting chance.
I thought about it and NaNoWriMo is a go for me. It’s taken me more than a month to decide but I’ve come to the conclusion that it can only do me good. Or, more to the point, the pressure of the event will work well for me.
NaNoWriMo Badge 2
There is going to be one small difference: I won’t be writing just one novel. What I’m actually going to do is carry on with the projects I have on the go at the moment (see Writing Wednesday for more details), and add in the extra aim if writing at least 50,000 words across all of those.
The reason behind not starting a separate novel (and I do have at least two more that would be worth writing) is that it will invariably lead to me wanting to edit it, tweak it and generally do all those things with it that I don’t have time to get done. It would also mean that I’d be taking a year out of writing the other two novels, as well as not producing the Friday short stories.
So, yes, I’m doing NaNoWriMo, but technically I’m not doing it as it should be done. Having said that the rules for the event are reasonably flexible, so I don’t feel any more disingenuous then normal.
For those who want to find me on NaNoWriMo here is my profile. I will also be blogging about my progress and other NaNo things that crop up.
October makes my thoughts turn to two things: cool autumn evenings and planning Christmas parties.
NaNoWriMo Badge 2
Okay, it doesn’t. What my thoughts have turned to is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNo or NaNoWriMo.
Last year I was just starting out in the world of writing and while I’d written a load of short stories I had no idea if I could write a novel (or how to write one). In October someone mention NaNoWriMo to me and I thought this would be an excellent way to get going.
I planned out a story following a useful guide I’d found and come the start of November I got stuck in. The endeavour was a success (you can read the result here) and I proved to myself that I could write a full length novel.
This year I’m at a different point in my writing. I have two novels underway, I’m also dong weekly short stories and I’m churning out other pieces as and when. I don’t need NaNo as much as I did and so I’ve been wondering if I’ll take part.
On the other side of the coin encouragement to write never goes amiss and NaNo would certainly offer me that. What with the daily word count, weekly meetings and banter in the forums, there’s plenty of reason to write.
At this point I haven’t decided if I’ll be participating or not, but I do know I’ll be giving others support during the month.
In the middle of last year I started writing stories. Some of you may have noticed. In November I took part in NaNoWriMo and by the end of that month I had produced a novel that was just over sixty thousand words long.
The plan there after was to get started on the next novel while at the same time publishing three chapters each week from the novel I had written (The Wandering Year) via my web site. This did happen, but then in January updates stopped appearing.
The reason is simple, but, as ever, I’d like to give you a bit more background.
After deciding I wanted to get on with writing I became aware that I needed to learn quite a bit. Heck, I might think my stories were wonderful, but I’d never been in the industry and even if what I write was half good I had very little idea how to get it published. The solution I thought of was to join a writers group.
After joining and leaving a few that didn’t offering the feedback I wanted (a group of people nodding is all well and good for one’s self esteem but I actually wanted constructive feedback), I remembered that the British Science Fiction Association operated writers groups via the post. The fact that they were focused on science fiction wasn’t a problem as that’s what I enjoy writing. Besides which most members don’t mind a bit of fantasy or horror every now and then.
So, I joined the BSFA and asked to be put into one of the Orbiters (their name for writing groups). Things had moved on a lot since my teenage years, when I was previously a member, and now manuscripts are sent via email. Not only that, but the Orbiters are split between short stories and novels and include published authors and science fiction magazine editors.
Once I’d been accepted into one of the groups I sent out the first section of The Wandering Year and waited for the feedback. What I was told gave me plenty of food for thought. Put simply my writing was okay, but I had a lot to learn, both about the structure of a novel and what bits stay in what gets taken out during editing.
This led me to suspending publishing while I improved things.
As I never wanted to do an entire redux of the chapters which have been published, I have simply shifted some of them around to (hopefully) improve the flow of the story. (Those who have read up to chapter fifteen can therefore continue on without re-reading, and those who are starting from scratch should have a more enjoyable experience.)
So, now, some six months later I am ready to replace what has already been made available and get back on the publishing wagon. In answer to the question at the start, the writing has never stopped but the publishing got put on hold while I tried to learn some stuff. Hopefully it’s worked.
Six days after NaNoWriMo has finished and I have been taking stock of all the things that have fallen by the wayside in the last month. Most of what I’ve had to put to one side was reading various things – magazines, books, forum posts, beta reading other writers work and admiring new art.
I thought I was doing well on clearing up the magazines until I received the latest BSFA mailing. As far as books go I’m just going to have to spend a night or two in as I would really like to finish ‘Still Life With Woodpecker’ and ‘Going Sane’. Forums and looking at pictures can be done a bit at a time, so maybe that will also be solved by next week and I’m going to spend an evening to doing some beta reading.
Of course, on top of this, normal life rolls on, it’s party season, I’ve got the chapters from ‘The Wandering Year’ to check over and publish and ‘A Crow to Pluck’ is stoically refusing to write itself.
But who am I kidding. I’m loving it all.
