NZ Book Month: Blog 3

Five, zero, zero, eight, seven.

Fifty thousand and eighty seven.

50087 – no matter how you say it, it feels pretty damn good; from writing nine words on the 1st, till the 30th when I wrote a grand total of 8285 words on the day. In fact, after the 1st of November I didn't write anything more until the 13th – the day of my last exam, so I've actually written 50000 words in only 18 days; that’s easily a new record for me.

I was bouncing off the walls after I finished writing; I couldn’t believe I had actually done it. I think the turning point came for me when one evening when I was talking with a friend who was also doing NaNoWriMo, and we decided to have a ‘word war’ – we set the clock for twenty minutes and wrote furiously to see who would write the most words. And at the end of those twenty minutes, spelling and punctuation flung to the winds, I clocked in with a grand total of 1220 words, over a word a second. Usually, I thought, I could average about a thousand words an hour; finding how fast I can actually write when I set my mind to it, I start giving myself lots of little 10- and 15-minute word races, and then ten or twenty minute rest breaks in between.

At the end of 23 November, with one week to go, I had written 10156 words; in my last week I wrote almost forty thousand words, getting up and doing 500 words before going to work, coming home during lunch a couple of times to write another few hundred, and setting myself goals each day. Finishing was a fantastic feeling; I was – and am – so proud of myself.

The meet-ups were great; it’s always cool to meet new people with similar interests as my own, and as usual our group this year was fantastic. We actually all got on so well that we’ve agreed to keep meeting up once every month or so, just to keep in touch and see how things are going. One of our writers, Jonathan, got to 50000 but didn’t finish his novel; so he’s still going in December. He’s already up to 60000, and is aiming for 80000 by the end of the month.

Speaking of finishing the novels, I completed three new landmarks for myself this year. The first I’ve already mentioned, writing 50000 words in 18 days. The second – and one I’ve never achieved before – is that this year, I actually finished my novel. I have never completed a NaNoWriMo novel before, and I’m so proud I did. And during December I’ve already started editing a previous novel, to see if I can get it completed and maybe even ready to be submitted to a publisher one day.

And my third task this November was to write a non-fantasy novel; every year, so far, I’ve based my novel in a fantasy world. I find it a lot easier; you can make up rules, insert magic and mythical creatures, and so on. This year, I decided to write it about the real world. No magic, no myths; just real life, and what goes on around us in the lives of several made-up characters in small-town New Zealand.

It was hard; I needed to draw a lot more on my own and others’ experiences, and my plot needed to be more solid since I didn’t want any murders or romances in my novel; just a story about real life and the struggles people go through. To my astonishment, I achieved it this year, and it came together well at the end.

I think, every year, you need to set yourself a new goal. Last year I didn’t feel as great at the end; I hadn’t really completed any new goals. This year, I achieved three new accomplishments, and I’m so proud and happy with myself. I can’t believe I did it so quickly; and I can’t believe I completed my novel. And you know what? At our final official NaNoWriMo meet-up, on 1 December, so many of us were sitting there tossing around new ideas for our next novel; and all of us, I think, will be back next year, ready to try again.

I’m so happy. And I can’t wait for next November.

NZ Book Month: Blog 2

I don't think I ever realised how important the weekly meet-ups are. The first time I did NaNoWriMo, I didn't attend any meet-ups because there were none in my area; but the excitement of writing my first novel kept me going that year. I started late, pounded out thousands of words in a burst of enthusiasm, lost all hope about Week 3, missed a few days, skipped a boring chapter or two to get to the end and finished triumphant on November 25, astonishing every single one of my friends and family.

Your second NaNoWriMo is meant to be the hardest, because you've lost that initial enthusiasm and can-I-really-do-this spirit. I did find it harder, but still finished, no problems. My third and fourth years flew by with varying problems but consistent success; and I started looking forward to this year, my fifth.

Honestly, I really can't be bothered any more. I ask myself what the point is, why I'm doing this? I already know I can do it, what am I proving now? Wouldn't my time be better spent working on the unfinished manuscripts I already have? Is it really sensible to do this in a month where I already have so much other stuff going on?

Because of exams, I've actually barely started yet. Exams have to take priority; so I wrote my opening sentence – nine words – on the first of the month, and thereafter focused on exams until they were over. Now, finally, they're all done, but I just can't get stuck into my novel.

Then it occurred to me I haven't been to any meet-ups this month. I went to the pre-November meet-up, but couldn't make the next two due to exams and family responsibilities. (Thankfully, Angela – my unofficial co-coordinator – stood in for me on both occasions!) But it's usually the meet-ups that really energise me and motivate me. It's talking to other people going through the same thing that reminds me I can do this, that at some stage we all hate our novels, that the point is to challenge yourself and your creativity to see if you can get out yet another novel, even on top of the stresses of exams, work and daily life in general. It's a support group, I guess – and I need some of that support.

It's generally agreed that 1667 words a day is a huge number to expect anyone to write. My added challenge this year is that I haven't even properly started yet. At time of writing, my "novel" is 363 words long. This blog entry is longer than that! It also means that, to finish on time, I'll need to write over 3000 words a day to finish my NaNoWriMo. To be fair, I did the same last year – but last year my last exam was on 6 November, so I only started a week late. This year, half the month's already over.

Does that mean I'm giving up? Nahhh. It just makes it more of a challenge. And it means that – in my present uninspired state of mind – I'm really going to be needing that meet-up on Saturday.

Now I need to get back to my novel, and setting myself incredibly high goals... let's see if I can have 5000 words by the end of the day. Why not?

NZ Book Month: Blog 1

It's 8.30pm and already I'm exhausted. That might have something to do with my exam earlier today, but it might also have something to do with NaNoWriMo. In fact, when I realised at the start of September that NaNoWriMo was coming up yet again, I felt exhausted at the mere thought of another month of stress and sleep-deprivation.

That didn't stop me from signing up for my fifth year of NaNoWriMo, of course. Or from volunteering to be Palmerston North's regional coordinator for the third year in a row. I think the appropriate term here would be "sucker for punishment". At least I was organised this year, though. I decided on a setting, drafted a plot, created some characters.

Then a few days ago, I decided my idea was boring, so I've scrapped everything except the setting (New Zealand… and even then, I might still decide to scrap it), and now it's back to the drawing-board. I don't view this as a particular drawback – I've often started November with no idea of what to write, but the need to meet those 1667 words a day always pushes me to write SOMETHING, and along the way I gradually plan out the plot. Often huge plot-holes develop because of this, but all that means is that I need to go back and add extra scenes to explain them away – which just means more words.

We had our first kick-off event on Saturday, the last weekend before we're plunged into a month of mayhem – the kick-off event was great, and I got home really psyched up for November, far more so than I had been before the meet-up. It's always great to talk with other participants, discuss each other's plots, laugh at silly stories, get help with ideas – and of course, just meeting other people with similar interests is always a good thing. Because we're all into writing, most of us enjoy reading, so there's always something to talk about with our favourite authors, new books to recommend each other, and so on.

I'm really worried about November, but my upcoming exams are worrying me more than NaNoWriMo. It'll be a crazy adventure – it always is. I'll miss out on sleep and skip entire days of writing and then have days where I write 5,000 words in one go (between cups of coffee), and I'll meet new people and make up crazy plots and laugh at myself and stretch my ingenuity and creativity to their absolute limits. That's always what it's like, more or less, and exams this year only make it more of a challenge. No matter how often I've done it, there are always new challenges to overcome; other time commitments to work around; the question of whether I can do it again this year.

But that's why we have instant meals these days, and that's why our minds stretch the more we push them. Yes, it's 8.30pm and I'm tired already; and as November crashes in on me, I'll probably get more tired still. But it's so much fun, the people are so great, and having that finished manuscript is SUCH an excellent feeling – I can't wait for November to get here.