NaNoWriMo: an inglorious end

On midnight 30 November, NaNoWriMo 2012 ended. I wish I could report that I 'won' and wrote the full 50,000 word novella. But I didn't. To be honest, I barely wrote anything in the last week. I got wrapped up in other aspects of my life and dragging myself to the computer to type away had lost every ounce of appeal. Instead of feeling guilty about this, as I usually would, I felt rather calm. It didn't matter that I hadn't succeeded first time. To be honest, it would have been a minor miracle if I had. I had given it a damn good try and most importantly, by trying I had learnt a lot. 

I learnt that to write well I need to be in the mood. And if I think of a good sentence or phrase I should note it down immediately.

I learnt that writing takes a damn long time and you need to force yourself to stay at your desk and think and type.

I learnt what I already suspected – that writing something funny is one of the greatest challenges.

I learnt that I really would like to give this a go and so I am happy to report that I have been slowly typing away at my 'novel' since the month finished and one day I might even reach the mythical 50,000.

So, the end tally.

Number of words I wrote in NaNoWriMo 2012 according to the official counting-wizard: 25,092

I reckon that's pretty good for a first go. Yay me.

NaNoWriMo week 2

Cups of coffee drunk as a direct result of NaNoWriMo: 7 
Glasses of wine alcoholic beverage drunk as a direct result of NaNoWriMo: 3

Ok, now I am officially behind. As I write this it’s late on the night of Thursday 15 November. I am exactly half way through the month but nowhere near the half way mark in my word count. The very helpful calculators on the NaNoWriMo website tell me that at my current rate I will finish on December 12 or else I can write 2,023 words a day to catch up and finish on November 30.

This is starting to get overwhelming.

I was at Maleny over the weekend and I thought that would be the perfect chance to catch up on my word count. Quiet, no distractions, no excuses to focus on other things, it was perfect. I did get a bit of writing done early in the morning but then eating and drinking got in the way and worst of all, I started reading a book I couldn’t put down. Self-discipline fail.

 Garden sculpture in Maleny. 

Because a photo of my computer wouldn't be very interesting.

NaNoWriMo: week one

Cups of coffee drunk as a direct result of NaNoWriMo: 1

Glasses of wine drunk as a direct result of NaNoWriMo: 4

Day 1.

I had a terrible sleep for no reason, so at 5am I was lying in bed, staring at my desk and thinking ‘What the Fuck was I thinking. Why do I think I can write a novel? It’s going to be awful and unreadable and even I won’t like it. WHY?!

So it was a really positive start to the month.

Overall, over the last 7 days I have written every day except one. You read about how hard it is, you know that the requisite daily 1,667 words is about 2 A4 pages. But until you have tried to write that much per day on a continued theme or story, you cannot imagine how difficult it really is. Between my job, a blog and personal writing, I can write pages and pages every day. All of which flows easily in comparison to a Novel.

I have been getting up early to write. I am reluctant to wake myself up but I think it is best to write when my brain is fresh. I even write before I have had my first morning coffee.

Having seen this quote by Hemingway many times;

I decided to try it one night. That did not work. After 4 glasses of wine I am in no mood to do anything except have a 5^th glass. I certainly could not have pulled out several hours of creative writing.

So far I am unhappy with what I have written. Any spontaneity has gone and I feel myself getting formulaic, as if my individual voice has drowned under the supposed sea of words. But I suppose that is the real gift in good writing – to have a voice, to communicate your thoughts and feelings succinctly, and ultimately, to transmit emotions over the page. I think humour must be one of the most difficult emotions to get across the page, but that is how I would like to write – humorously. Rather a big challenge I have set myself.

So. Word Count. 

Total goal / where I should be at one week / current total

50,000 / 11,669 / 8.585

I'm pretty far behind, if I'm honest. I just better sit down and have a productive writing weekend.

NaNoWriMo: The Challenge

Yesterday in a moment of madness I signed up for NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month.

NaNoWriMo is in its 13^th year. It is an international project where would be-novel writers from all over the world sign up to write a novel, 50,000 words, in one month, starting on 1 November and finishing midnight on the 30^th.

 

I am not a writer.

I am not pretending to be a writer. I am not pretending that I am about to write the next literary sensation. I’m not even pretending that my words are even any good. However, I have for a long time wanted to sit down and write a book. A short book. Even if it never left the top drawer of my desk, I don’t care! It’s something I have wanted to do for years and I hope that by signing up to NaNoWriMo and committing to at least try, then I will get further than I have managed so far.

Participation in NaNoWriMo is free. It is a mostly online community of fellow writers – some professional, many amateur – who all share the same 50k word goal. Online you can read success stories and writing tips, make writing buddies to share your progress and ideas with; just generally be part of a writing community who support you towards this very tough goal.

Depending on where you live, there may be a municipal liaison officer in your area who may arrange get-togethers at book stores where you can meet fellow novelists and discuss your progress.

NaNoWriMo is run as a small not for profit organisation The Office of Letters and Light, servicing not only the hundreds of thousands of people who participate in the program every year but also establishing programs for  children, teenagers and adults to help them discovery their written potential. You can find out all about them on their website or through NaNoWriMo and you can donate to this worthy cause.

In the meantime, I need to get properly started on the outline for my novel, so that when November 1 rolls around, I am prepared to give it my best shot.

If anyone else signs up to NaNoWriMo for 2012, let me know, I'm love to exchange writing related stress stories. For anyone else, donations of wine to help the writing process will be much appreciated.

Or if you're doing NaNoWriMo yourself - be my writing buddy!