So, week one. Well, let us start on the positive points. At the time of writing, I’ve written more words of my novel than I did for my undergraduate dissertation in the space of about 6 days. While I usually tap out more than the 10,057 words I’m currently at every single week for work and my blog, it is not so much the number that I’m proud of, but that I’ve managed to stick with it, and in spite of a bad first couple of days, I’m actually writing down bits of creative writing that I’m quite proud of. I can’t remember being happy with even a paragraph of anything fictional I’ve written since I was in my mid teens. (Though I must note that I’m currently reading Gone Girl, the writing in which I adore. Reading such a well composed novel is something I would not recommend at the same time as attempting your own fiction effort if you’re feeling a bit down on confidence!)
Day one started as well as could be expected; I got a fair bit of writing done with my laptop perched on the kitchen counter waiting for things to be ready. Usually when I’ve dedicated my day to recipe development, in between times I just go on Pinterest or sit down with a cup of tea and a podcast. However, I only managed to get a couple of hundred words in, and I knew all that I had written at that point was utter rubbish. (Though, I have done NaNoWriMo before so I do know that a percentage of output is always a little ropey). Not managing to make the 1,667 words I need to complete each day to stay on track that first day really took the enthusiasm out of me. I think I only managed 200 words the next day.
I continued to feel terrible about both myself and my so far failed NaNo effort for most of the third day, writing nothing. A note in an email from my literary agent (who had read my introductory piece for you all) saying that I could always show her any of my fiction work, regardless of how polished it was, I think made me feel a little bit better. I went through my usual evening after a day of writing my columns and dealing with emails; dinner with my family, a bit of television and then a nice hot shower. Cliche as it is, I think I must have had a bit of a breakthrough washing my hair. The moment I jumped out from under the water I had grabbed my laptop and had a good 1,000 words written before I’d even had a chance to brush it. And it was a good 1,000 words at that. I caught up completely that evening, and I’ve now moved into getting the whole 1,667 written last thing before I go to bed. It is a new way of doing things for me, but it seems to be working.
So where am I at now? I’ve still got my word count to complete for today (Friday), but I’m happy with how things are taking shape. I noted in my introductory piece that I did not have much of a plot planned, just the characters. Not much has changed and everything I’ve written has been very character driven. However, out of that other story lines are starting to emerge, so maybe what my novel is about might be about to completely change. I’ve learnt the lesson of planning ahead before I start writing to have a good strong plot, though. But I feel for this year's attempt, it may be too little, too late!
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