Facts...
Five months into 2008. This is the time of year when you start to realise time is passing you by… sometimes almost too quickly to notice.
Well, not this year.
On the 31st December 2007, I made a decision. I wasn’t going to think about writing a novel any more, fretting myself silly because I couldn’t think of a decent plot or come up with a convincing character. I was just going to do it.
So, armed with a copy of ‘No Plot… No Problem’ by Chris Baty, a New Year’s resolution and absolutely nothing else, the 1st January 2008 dawned, and I sat down and began.
You may know Chris Baty as the founder of www.nanowrimo.org, or National Novel Writing Month. The premise boils down to this… force yourself to write 1,667 words every day for a month, and hey presto, you have a 50,000 word novel. It might not be a very good one, but it will exist, and it will be yours.
I’ve read a clutch of how-to books on novel writing. This is the only one that worked. I passed the 50,000 mark two days before the end of the month. And, no, it wasn’t very good. But my resolution of the last few years is finally crossed off the list, and all before the end of January.
So May has come around… and I’m into my second novel. I’m writing it Nano style again, but for a longer period, aiming for 80,000 words. I’m over halfway there.
So really… if you’re only thinking about it, go for it. I may not have written a good novel yet, but hell, at least I know I can get to the finish line.
I’ve certainly learned that a good measure of grit and a crazy deadline are far more effective motivators than that elusive bolt of inspiration.
2008 - a good year for writing. And still seven months to go…
Alison J. Littlewood, May 20th, 2008.