National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo. I have wanted to take part for ages now, but have never been able to because life got in the way.
This year is different. As my time as a writer (author?) passes I am feeling more in tune with spending most of my free time sitting in front of a screen. True, I have varied the tools of my trade, investing in an ASUS teeny-tiny-laptop or TTL as I now refer to it endearingly. This allows me to write anywhere in the house. I can lie in bed writing, write in the kitchen, even in the garden. Very important as I embark on NoNoWriMo for the first time.
I register, I join a regional forum, I discover that actually it can be competitive and my interest level soars. By 31st October I am ecstatic that I will be taking part in a global event. As the clock ticks past midnight I silently raise my hands in a gesture of congratulations to myself and mouth ‘nanowrimo’. My partner goes to bed and leaves me to write my first 1667 words.
Week 1: good. It seems that all I have to do is sit indoors and write. Not much different from usual really. Until Wednesday. I start to frequent the forums more and check on fellow writers word counts. I start to feel a little bit competitive. I recognise this as a danger sign, leading to an obsession to win.
Wednesday evening approaches and I decide that I will, after all go to the weekly write-in. It will be held in a bar and I assume that therefore it will be a big piss-up at best, a polite introduction session at worst. I even make signs and get there early.
People begin to arrive and get their laptops out. In a bar. I notice the wi-fi signs and hope that they are checking their email. Not so. The are writing. Writing in a bar. I fish TTL out of my handbag and someone shouts ‘Snap’ and holds up another TTL and a more up to date model. The first person I ask about their plot tells me they are writing porn. The second explains that are into scifi. We all look terrified.
I try to find out who everyone is but they give me their real names not their usernames fro the forum. I write 1000 words than go home, vowing never to return. Somehow, the next day, it doesn’t seem so bad and I might go to the next one after all.
Eight days in and I am hovering around 13337 words, exactly the prescribed amount. Until I see that someone on the forum has written 26000+ words. I start to think like a hones athlete, about pacing myself, about burn out, about the advantages of free-writing over considered content. I read blogs about show and tell, check my position on YouWriteOn and weigh myself against other authors I know. I load my word document, spellcheck then decide to blog.
I can feel all sense of normality draining away as I force myself through my work so that i can write. I make lists of my daily tasks in case I forget to do something at work (like turn up!) – my mind is on nano and my TTL as I now refer to my favourite project.
What will be the outcome? A finished first draft is what I am hoping for. I need something to play with during December, to fill the hole left by my PhD study and nano ending. Two weeks off work and no firm plas: sound like an editorial challenge? I suppose I could go on holiday and take TTL…
So as I happily embark on week two, I have a feeling I will be developing my procrastination skills and writing my blog more regularly.
Nanowrimo!