Author of contemporary fiction with a touch of magic
So, how has the first week of NaNoWriMo (or, in my case, KazNo) gone for you?
Personally, I had a shaky start… I failed quite spectacularly for the first few days of the challenge and wrote absolutely nothing.
I’ve started now, though, and thanks to a reasonably quiet weekend and an understanding husband who took the kids to the fireworks, I now have 4,800 words.
I’m feeling pretty wiped out today, but I’m hoping to get to 5000 before bedtime. Then I’ll only be 2000 words behind. Ho hum.
Ha. I bet you thought I was going to say NaNoWriMo, didn’t you? Well, this year I’m taking a new approach. Rather than failing at NaNoWriMo at the 30,000 word mark, I’m going to WIN at YA author Karen Mahoney’s Writing Challenge instead. Oh yes!
Unlike NaNoWriMo, Kaz doesn’t mind if you work on a project you have already started or even on multiple projects. As long as you add 30,000 new words during November, you’re golden. Sign up at Karen’s blog and report back weekly in the comments. There may even be prizes at the end.
I’m aiming to add 30,000 words to my current book – a YA supernatural thing. Would anybody like to join me?
Oh my, it’s that time of year again… Already! How did this happen? (This is a serious question. Answers on a postcard, please.)
So, the gears are turning at NaNoWriMo HQ, preparing for another month of frenzied keyboard activity as thousands of people around the world attempt the improbable: 50,000 words of fiction in one month.
I’ve tried NaNoWriMo in the past and failed. I’ll probably take part again, though, because I invariably end up writing a good chunk of rough draft material and that ain’t to be sneezed at. As one wise person said to me on day 29 of last year’s challenge: ‘Words. Good.’
Indeed.
How about you guys? Anyone else joining in this year? If so, the following links are just for you…
1. How to do NaNoWriMo when you don’t have the time. Handy hints from writer Alison Wells.
2. Easily distracted and need a full-screen text editor? Or perhaps you want to be able to work on your NaNo book online. Check out this list of 10 free minimalist word processors.
3. Invest in a Go Away I’m Writing mug from the Literary Gift Company and send a subtle message to your nearest and dearest.
4. Stuck? Read Chris Baty’s (founder of NaNoWriMo) book No Plot? No Problem. Although it isn’t on my shelves, it’s been recommended to me enough times that it probably should be.
5. And if that doesn’t do the trick, access the Pep Talk archives at NaNoWriMo HQ for inspiring advice and encouragement from writers including Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman and Maureen Johnson. If they don’t get you fired up and raring to go, then I don’t know what will.*
*I do know: caffeine.
