NANOWRIMO

I'll say it again.

NANOWRIMO!

National Novel Writing Month. Although it's a whole lot less national and a whole lot more global these days, NANOWRIMO is an exciting movement encouraging people to, as the name suggests, write a novel in as little as a month. Launched in 1999, the guidelines of the project ask that you aim for 50,000 words. More information can be found here, if your interest is piqued.

People seem fairly polarised in their views. Some think it's a great opportunity for like minded lovers of words and books to focus their energies in producing a novel. Others think it's a terrible waste of time, with unrealistic expectations and ending in unpublishable rubbish.

I think it's wonderful. Of course, I haven't attempted NANOWRIMO yet. But this year I will. And November is the month the magic happens. Hopefully.

As someone who has been "occasionally" writing a novel for years, this might be just the push I am looking for. No, I don't expect to have a fully polished manuscript sitting smugly on my desk on the 30th of November. I do expect, however, to have a substantial volume of work which I can edit and build upon. Indeed, for me NANOWRIMO is not one month of work. The remainder of October will serve for me to consider and develop a couple of story ideas, so that I have a plan (ish) that I can use to guide me come the 1st day of November. I then fully expect to be still editing and writing come 2013. And beyond.

1666 words per day will help me reach the 50,000 target. My approach, I think, will be to aim for approximately 2000 a day during the working week, more on weekends. Doing this, even if I have a bad day or two, I should still be on track. In reaching this goal I have decided to "give up" television for the whole month. I am wavering on the decision to relinquish Facebook, Twitter and, well, the whole bloody Internet. I will see how I go. My life, even just for a month, without the Internet, is a shudder inducing thought. A big step. Uhhu.

And what will I be writing, exactly? With 50 Shades Of Grey being such a hit this year, mummy porn seems to be the in thing. My instinct, and very nature, seem to be steering me away from erotica. Science fiction and the supernatural are areas where I have found much joy over the years. Horror isn't out of the question either. I expect, come 1st November, some force will take me over, and as many published authors have described, my novel will "write itself". Well, I am lazy...

Water For Elephants, written by Sara Gruen, is said to have been created as part of the NANOWRIMO challenge. Books such as The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne, and The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie,  by Muriel Spark, were also said to be written in as little as a month. In fact, Boyne's first draft of his novel was reported to have taken him just over two days to write. So real, truly spectacular success, is possible with one month of dedicated, determined effort.

Have you tried NANOWRIMO, have you written a novel, are you published, do you have any views, do you have a belly button?

Please share your insights and experiences with me. I'm nosy and I do want to know.