NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. Thirty days and nights of literary abandon.
If you haven't encountered this phenomenon before, it is the challenge of writing 50,000 words in the month of November. Every year hundreds of thousands of writers commit to this challenge; in 2012, over 341,000 people from 586 regions on 6 continents, participated. NaNoWriMo has resulted in the publication of many well-known novels in the past, including Flowers of Baghdad
by Bruce Lyman, The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern, and Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen.
And tomorrow, the 2013 NaNoWriMo will begin.
I was first turned on to NaNoWriMo in 2009 by a writing pal, Aaron. I attempted it the following year (and also in 2011) but have never been successful. This year I am determined, I am committed, and I'm taking it seriously.
I have spent much of October working towards my NaNovel: outlining, researching, and world-building. (That, and generally stalking other participants on the NaNoWriMo forums.) I'm working on a story that I've been dying to tell for years. It's soft science fiction, set (mostly) in the Andromeda Galaxy. All being well, this will be the first in a trilogy and part one (currently titled Into the Light
) will involve mystery, intrigue and a couple of generous tablespoons of action.
In addition to the planning element, part of my NaNoPrep has involved getting my tools together and working out where to write. Having had such a positive experience with hand writing in my diary, I decided (foolishly, perhaps?) to hand write my NaNovel. I have realised that the computer kills creativity. I have had more success writing creatively by hand in the past ten months, than writing on the computer in the last ten years so I've treated myself to a couple of new fountain pens, I've stocked up on Stabilo 88s (a long-standing favourite ink pen) and I have prepared the notebooks and notepads I'll write in. I've also put together a folder, which I'll discuss in a later post, for notes, research and inspiration.
A couple of weeks ago, I also managed to create a little space at home where I can write in peace. This is something I have never had before and something I didn't expect to have this year either, but I had a brain-wave and a few hours later, with upstairs completely reorganised, there it was. It's still a work in progress in this photo (a little bit different now), but you get the gist.
So how do you fancy coming with me? This is an adventure that is as easily accessible to the novice as the professional, that doesn't require you to be in amazing physical shape and, doesn't require any special equipment (not even climbing gear). All you need is paper & pen (or equivalent). NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow but it isn't too late to join. Sign up at NaNoWriMo.org and get your thinking cap on. Not got any idea what to write? It doesn't really matter because you can write anything that your brain can imagine. Go for it! And if you don't want to join, I'll be blogging periodically with my successes and failures (hopefully more of the former) so you can track my progress.
This is my year. Maybe it's your year too.
Good luck to all the NaNoWriMos.
I mentioned in my last post that there's been lots happening over the past weeks. I haven't posted much, but I have been writing and also reading. There's been plotting and planning too, but more on that later. If you've read my post about Goodreads (here), you will know I set a reading target this year. My goal is now in sight. I'm in the process of reading my twentieth book, and there's still plenty of reading time left in the year. It helps when I happen across a 400 page book I can read a in three days.
From a Buick 8
by Stephen King is a slightly strange book. On Goodreads the rating graph is a mixed bag. There are few that hate the book, but also few than love it. At the time of writing this, almost 40% of reviewers rated it only three stars. However, I found it completely compelling and couldn't put the damned thing down. Why?
One of the most notable elements of the book is that it lacks the traditional corner stone of storytelling: character development. What little plot exists is delivered in flashback, always returning to the same point in time. I believe that many readers can't see past this, expecting something to change between the beginning and the end. However, as much as this is a story about a dangerous and mysterious thing that appears to be a Buick 8, it's also about obsession, the passing of time and the passing of responsibility from one generation (or individual) to the next. In this sense, perhaps the point of the story is that nothing really changes between the beginning and the end.
At times, Buick 8
is grotesque and macabre, satisfying King's horror fans and this was certainly part of what enthralled me (I won't deny that I was intrigued to find out what the car would do next) , but I was equally, if not more, interested in the characters. Each section of flashback is told by one of the characters; whichever can speak with the most authority on each part of the story. And speak they do. Each character has a distinctive voice (a turn of phrase, an accent, speech pattern or tone). Each flashback is written in the first person, as if the character is addressing the reader directly. As a result, I felt that each character spoke to me as surely as if they were sitting beside me and I couldn't wait to hear what each character had to say.
It might not suit every reader, but I personally found From a Buick 8
thoroughly engaging. I will certainly read it again in the future, and it's probably my favourite read of 2013.
So, once again, not a lot of posting going on, but plenty of other stuff, most significant of which being my graduation.
I have written here (and elsewhere) about the Open University and my 'adventures' studying Literature. Finally, after more than ten years, I am officially a graduate and, as proud as I am with my achievement, as I look back I'm also saddened. Because it's over.
Studying with the O.U. has been a roller-coaster of highs and lows. There have been assignments and exams where I have done far better than I expected, and also those where I have struggled to reach a grade I'm happy with. I've had more than my fair share of late nights (or indeed, all-nighters) trying to get assignments finished. I've had trouble paying for my studies, worried and panicked about finishing the degree following the change to university funding that came into affect last year. I've even had tutors that I didn't much like, and done a course that was a horrible mistake! But the truth is, despite the deadlines that always arrived too soon, the torture of studying poetry, the pile of books that loomed over me like the north-face of the Eiger, studying has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and not just for the fancy piece of paper at the end.
The Open University has exposed me to material I never would have read or studied before. It has surprised me and I have surprised myself. I honestly didn't expect to enjoy Middlemarch as much as I did, and of the parts of the course to excel in, why was it a section studying Napoleon and the French Revolution?
And so, to the Open University, I tip my mortarboard and say, "Thank you."
I am looking forward to never again having to reference the stuff I write.
