NaNoWriMo: The Last Blog Post

I think NaNoWriMo is a great way to blast out that first draft. Lots of encouragement, an excuse to focus solely on one project for 30 days, and the added incentive of the NaNoWriMo stats page – I found it all rather effective.

Did you enjoy the experience?

Yeah, it’s been great! I wrote a lot in a month and I got to revisit an old idea. It’s been a bit like hanging out with very old friends. Lovely stuff!

Now November is over, when do you think you’ll revisit your NaNo novel again?

Welp, I’ve got to finish it first. That might take a couple of months. After that I’m going to leave it for a good while then come back to it later to start editing. My other half has been reading through the draft as I write, so I’ll be using his feedback to help me with the first cut. Then I hope to get someone else to read it, listen to their feedback and edit it again.

How many words do you see the final version of your manuscript being?

The first draft is probably going to be over 100,000 words. It’s alright; I always overwrite on the first draft. As for the first polished manuscript, I’m not sure. I think it’s probably too early to tell.

Do you have any advice you could pass on to others who are considering entering NaNoWriMo 2014?

Advice? Oh goodness. Well, I can share what worked for me:

• Plan in advance – I kept a separate notebook for all my ideas about the book I wanted to write. I’ve created a whole culture with its own history and its own social values, so I wanted to make sure I knew as much about the world as possible before starting.
• Write up a beat-by-beat breakdown of the plot – I found that really helpful for keeping me on track. It also helps keep up the pace of writing when you don’t have to stop every couple of minutes and think “where is this going?”
• Anytime I get the wobbles i.e. I start thinking “I can’t do this” or “my idea is awful” or “I am the worst writer ever”, I just think about what comes next in the story and how I’m going to write it.
• Don’t worry about other people’s word counts – I think it’s important to remember that every writer has their own pace and their own way of going about this writing business. I find it much easier to write if I’m not worrying about how much everyone else has written or what kind of book they’re writing. My advice would be to accept yourself as the writer you are and work on figuring out your own process.

And finally… would you do it again?!

In a heartbeat! There’s so much camaraderie in the NaNoWriMo community. Everyone’s so self-deprecating (self-deprecating writers – who knew?) and encouraging. It’s like the Great British Bake Off of the writing world. I just hope I’ve got another idea in time for next year :)

For more on NaNoWriMo and to follow our other writers, please take a look here.