Monday, November 01, 2010

NaNoWriMo!





















NaNoWriMo starts today, 1 November! One entire month of uninterrupted writing, just to make it to the finish line: 50,000 words by the end of the month. The thing about NaNo is that it always clashes with my exams; National Novel Writing Month is always in November, and with me mired in revisions and finals, I've never been able to take part in it. This time's no exception either, but I've decided to give it a shot.

Actually, I've already had my own NaNo in June, when I completed Lambs for Dinner in a few days shy of a month. 67,000 words and in the editing process now. So I believe it is possible to complete a 50,000-word novel in a month. What I did the last time was to force myself to bang out 1,500 words after breakfast. And then I'd take a half-hour break, and press on, banging out another 1,500 words. And then I'm done for the day. 3,000 words in a day, and 50,000 words in no time at all. It's actually pretty darn exhilarating - not to mention gratifying. And when I wasn't writing my novel, I was living, breathing, swimming through, and dreaming of it every moment. I love that focus, that 'something to do', that goal (just lofty enough to strive for, but not enough to pose as an insurmountable challenge), that writing Lambs gave me.

This coming winter break, I'll be working on The Dreamcatchers. I left it at page 126 the last time, and I'll work towards finishing it up this December - yes, I can! Go, NaNo-ers!