Seventeen thousand words in eighteen days. I’m pretty happy with the result of my October writing challenge. I didn’t manage to get to the end of the first draft but at least the end is now in sight.
In case you missed the previous post about this, I had half a children’s novel on my hands that I couldn’t seem to finish. Inspired by the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) buzz on Twitter, I decided to tackle the problem with an intensive burst of writing, ahead of the November pack.
There was a small lull in the middle when I went to Germany for the weekend and discovered that my two-prong Swiss plug would not fit into the three-prong German socket. That was the end of writing on the laptop so I tried writing longhand and produced a rather scribbled chapter.
Lots of writers swear by this method, especially for first drafts, but I couldn’t wait to get back to the keyboard where the words stand out crisp and even on the screen and you have the magic of deleting.
All being well I’ll finish the first draft this week and move on to other things.
I never do any correcting or revising while in the process of writing. Let’s say I write a thing out any old way, and then, after it’s cooled off—I let it rest for a while, a month or two maybe—I see it with a fresh eye. Then I have a wonderful time of it. I just go to work on it with the ax. But not always. Sometimes it comes out almost like I wanted it.
That’s a quote from Henry Miller taken from a 1961 interview in The Paris Review, which I came across during the week. While I had to raise an eyebrow at Miller referring to “the writer” by definition as a man, I did find his thoughts on our lack of moral code interesting. At a time when Europe is turning a blind eye, or worse, to distressed refugees at its borders, his words seem to sum things up perfectly.
You see, civilized peoples don’t live according to moral codes or principles of any kind. We speak about them, we pay lip service to them, but nobody believes in them. Nobody practices these rules, they have no place in our lives.
On the subject of refugees, this is the best piece of journalism I’ve read about the crisis so far, by AA Gill. Simply devastating.
Above is a picture of a rose taken yesterday. It cheered me to see something beautiful surviving in a hostile environment – a bit like the kindness being shown by some individuals in Europe.
Congratulations on progressing your novel, Clare. Will you keep going through November?
Just a few more days until I have the ending written. In the meantime other commitments have to take priority.
Very well done on hitting around 1,000 words a day, Claire. I did Camp NaNoWriMo 2 years ago – never again! Okay for short bursts of activity though, but generally, I can’t manage to write for myself every day. always liked A A Gill, off to check that article out. So distressing the refugee situation.
Like you say, it’s impossible to keep up that kind of pace. But definitely a good exercise. I wouldn’t rule out doing it again.
I congratulate you on writing so much each day and in being only a few days away from finishing the first draft. You say this is a children’s book. What is your targeted age group?
Thank you Nicki, although I suddenly find myself running out of steam! The age range is 9-12 so that’s counted as middle grade but I think the themes and characters would be interesting to older children as well.
I loved your blog post on Butchart gardens by the way. What an amazing place with an amazing story behind it.