Wednesday 2 November 2011

NaNoWriMo

In a moment of madness, after several restless days weeks thinking about it, I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I had hoped it might spur me on to greater things writing something longer than six hundred words and prove that my attention span can sometimes exceed that of a fruit fly.

I have written reams in the past, mostly comprising a cast of hundreds with no plot – I like creating characters! Now I find myself in a situation sadly familiar to me wherein washing the bathroom floor holds more attraction than attempting to write approximately 1700 words a day for thirty days. Word count so far? Don’t be ridiculous!

So if my blog posts increase dramatically in number and my comments on your blogs are lengthier and perhaps even insightful (I live in hope rather than expectation!) you will understand why.

I was asked in what genre my novel should be placed. Genre? Sounds far too grand for me, so, not knowing where something akin to Aga Saga might fit, I put ‘other’ – covers a multitude of sins.

You may have noticed a plethora of clichés in this post. There is a reason for this – I am trying to satisfy my need to use the handiest phrase before I settle in at the coalface. The other thing I must avoid, apart from too many uses of ‘that’, is adverbs ending in ‘ly’ or at least that’s what I understand from reading the advice of authors, publishers, editors. So my characters will simply ‘do’ or ‘be’ neither quickly, nor slowly, lovingly nor helplessly – it promises to be an arid experienceJ

Perhaps I should quit while I’m ahead – or even before I begin.
(Have you been counting platitudes? I make it ten . . . )

Oh, and don’t worry – I shall not be posting anything from my magnus opus *cough, cough* on my blog. You’ll just have to wait to read it in print. (That makes eleven – or even twelve!)

TTFN

23 comments:

  1. Congratulations on deciding to tackle NaNoWriMo. And good luck to you, Janice. I always thought you had books in you when I read some of your book blurbs in the past! As for me, I am trying to do Poem A Day at Robert Brewer's site, but will try not to beat myself up if I don't succeed. I like your comment about living in hope rather than expectation...and will, for this month, claim the concept for myself as well.

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  2. I took the plunge at 11:50pm Monday night. I'll regret this, I'm sure, but it is what it is. I did, however, post the very beginning this morning. Only a few hundred words, but it introduces the narrator and main character a bit.

    If you want to "buddy up" over on the NaNo site, as they say, I'm under Vive_le_Nerd.

    Good luck!

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  3. best of luck with it - I reckon we'll either be seeing more of you or very little ...

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  4. Good luck! I found a lot of excuses to avoid writing yesterday. This morning my computer locked up and gave me a better excuse. So far I've written about half as many words as I should have in 1 day. I actually have 2 novels that are finished, but I hate editing so much, there they are, hanging out on a shelf, unedited and unappreciated. So, if I make it through this one, it will probably hang out on the same shelf. Have fun and add as many LYs and thats as you want, you can always edit them out later. Remember, avoid avoidance. lol

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  5. Cudos to you for joining such an amazing group! Whatever comes of it you will have put your best foot forward...LOL! So do your comments from you readers get included in the count? Really though I'm impressed and have been trying to work up the courage to do something like that myself! You Rock!

    Hugs~

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  6. Your post made me laugh aloud. I'm far too timid for NaNoWriMo but have just dipped my toe in the pool of 750words.com who's waters I'm finding gentle and warm. Maybe NaNoWriMo for me next year by which time I hope to have grown up a bit! I love this post - s'funny how we can distract ourselves with the most mundane matters rather than get on and write. Must dash, my fridge needs a clean! penny

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  7. Oh dear, my son is learning to include more adverbs... and now they don't want ones with 'ly.' I don't think I will mention that detail to him. Good luck with the writing!

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  8. Go for it. Looking forward to updates in future posts.

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  9. Hi Janice .. Good Luck .. not for me for now! Cheers and enjoy getting it together .. and we'll see that novel .. Hilary

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  10. I'm really glad you are doing this because I think you are an exceptional writer. You always draw me into your short stories. I even felt sorry for an ink blot!

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  11. Oh, Janice, how very brave of you to sign up for it. I thought about it, for about 30 seconds, then decided to think about it again next year.
    Good luck! If I see you blogging too much, I'll know what you're avoiding!

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  12. Congrats on taking the big step of commitment for NaNoWriMo. I see bloggers doing this and I think how organized and dedicated they must be. I, being a master of procrastination, would wait until the last moment before putting words to a page.

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  13. Good Luck! I'm sure your novel will be wonderful, filled with great characters and not a -ly in sight.

    Will you be giving away signed copies?

    Reading your post and the other comments made me feel slightly (you can use 'slightly', can't you?) jealous that I can't write in English. Or actually, can't write at all. Shoot! Otherwise I'd be joining in one of those interesting challenges ;-)

    And you know what to do if you suffer from a writer's block: use the letters on your keyboard QWERTY...BNM to write a 26-word story that makes sense.
    The things one learns in blogworld *sigh* ;-)

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  14. It was always my favourite genre, "Other". I shall watch for longer (and greater) with bated breath!

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  15. Congratulations, that is some challenge you are diving in! I wish you the best of luck... and don't wonder off to clean the bathroom floor!

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  16. Congratulations to you for taking up the challenge. Way to go girl!

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  17. Gosh, another brave soul.

    Am i glad I decided to write a memoir at the sedate pace such texts usually demand.

    50.000 words in a month? Do they have to make sense?

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  18. I did think about having a go myself but then reality set in! Good luck with it!

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  19. Well,I rather think you made the right decision, Janice. I too am certain u have some very interesting books inside you.

    Glad to find all is well at your end. It has been just too long...
    Loads going on at my end here.
    Take car. will try n come by soon...

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  20. So excited to see BERTIE.What an absolute delight he must be!

    Hugs to him n Jenna, Gus n Frodo too :)

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  21. Hope the Nano-monster hasn't eaten you alive ...

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  22. He he he! I liked reading you and I didn't notice any platitudes!
    But my English is somewhat faulTY! He he he! Can't avoid using words ending in "ly", so I'll leave it to you!
    Thanks for sharing your writing experiences;o)

    ***
    Have a nice and happy week****

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