NaNoWriMo & Me: Janet Gallagher

Home: Johannesburg, South Africa.

When/where do you write: I do not have a specific time each day when I know I will write.  I admire those who rise really early and write before the day's events start.  My writing dream would be to have a writing room with a large window, facing the sea, watching the waves whilst brainstorming my next scene.

In the meanwhile, although I am an experienced typist, having been a PA in the corporate and legal world, I actually like to curl up in the sofa, pen and writing pad in hand, and conceptualize my story.  To me, my computer represents a tool in the business world and when I write I want to free my imagination.

Writing background: My actual writing background started very low key, when purely for fun, I entered a competition created by our local supermarket, to depict the characters in an imaginary episode of one of the then-showing international television soaps. The prize was to meet one of the stars who would be visiting South Africa. I actually was one of the winners!  Thus began my imaginings of being a successful writer, even screenwriter.

Why NaNoWriMo & why now? After undergoing a specific genre short online course through Stanford University a few months before, I decided to create a brand new NaNoWriMo story in November 2011, and became a winner after completing my 50,000 words.

NaNoWriMo offers an amazing opportunity where one is given the opportunity to shut out the real world, and enter into the world you are creating for your characters and a story which has been living in your head, either consciously or unconsciously for so long.  I have been planning a story and studying methodology and structure, to hone my skills, and it really is time for me to just do it!  Knowing so many others are taking the opportunity NaNoWriMo affords offers a tremendous incentive.

The novel I want to write (in one paragraph): It is largely set in an upmarket Department Store. When I arrived in South Africa many years ago, from Scotland (for an intended six months gap year I think it is referred to now) my job was a PA in such surrounds, and therefore my imaginings have some experience in this environment.

Meet my main characters: My main character is a young lady lawyer, whose initial career dream was thwarted by an unexpected event.  She has an executive role in the running of the store.  Many surprises and challenges, twists and turns are about to come her way.

Have you done any planning? By way of preparation for NaNoWriMo, I have prepared a brown folder for each scene I plan to write.  Each folder until 1 November will remain completely empty and my word count hopefully will fill each folder.  By way of inspiration, outside each one I have written a mission question to motivate me.

My characters each have a separate file and prior to 1 November, I shall be interviewing each one of my intended characters.  This will have a two-fold purpose; firstly, to get to know each one prior to writing about them; and secondly keeping their names, eye and hair colourings, for example, intact, provides a check list when editing one's manuscript after NaNoWriMo is finished.

I have found that experienced writers are wonderfully generous with advice in their blogs.  I have "armed" myself with salient advice given to this First Draft experience, to help me on my way.

Writing fears: I know I managed to complete in 2011, but then I also had the innocence and inherent confidence saying that I, perhaps, had a gift.  The words flow when you have that dream.  I feel after editing and becoming my own critic in the process, in order to publish my novel in 2012, that perhaps my word flow might be somewhat blighted.  This NaNoWriMo opportunity is where my love of writing will come to the fore, and my story and characters will unfold.

Writing hopes/dreams: Who would not want success, yet it is the journey I love most of all.  The constant learning in an endeavor to improve one's ability.  Entering into a very special world with your characters.

Each day after creating my word count by handwriting, I will then reach for my laptop and type out the day's work.  In 2011 I left all my typing to 2 days before and therefore had a crazy rush, so that I would finish on time.

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