In the long lull of no blog entries before my recent NaNo confession, I wasn’t twiddling my thumbs. Honest. Story One has been on submission with publishers and I’d been further-tuning that first draft of
Story Two, to send it to Lovely CP for feedback. Fingers have been on keys,
mind has been off the submission cycle.
But I’ve also had a real treat. I booked onto
BookCamp, a writing retreat in Somerset, run by writer Cesca Major. I had four
days away, being a grown up, in a beautiful barn conversion, where I was fed by
someone else (aahhmmaaggaahhdd bliss!), connecting with other writers, in this
case -coincidentally- all Romance writers. There were published authors there; a
couple who I already knew and others who it was a pleasure to get to know, and then
two of us who are unpublished but who everyone was really generous to with
their advice, as they’d all been in the same position at some point.
I went without anything specific to write,
where others were working towards a daily word count on their WIPs. What I got was some
thinking space to consider various ideas of what to write next. I also got
views on the genre and industry and other writers’ experiences of publishing.
It was a fab week and one I’d like to do again if possible (not least for the
wine-charged chatter in the hot-tub or dinnertime stories/intrigue) and
certainly one I’d recommend.
Further details on BookCamp can be found on Twitter
at @Book_Camp
(* The cake is Cesca's teatime Triple chocolate Malteser cake, which jacks you up and spawns words from your fingers like you wouldn't believe. I was tripping on the sugar for days... Photo credit and cakery thanks to Cesca Major.)
For the last many years, when November has
loomed, I have looked at NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) and considered it.
For all of 30 seconds. Tops.
Look at it; 50k words in one
month. It isn’t even a long month. And it is so close to Christmas and the
schools do so many things I have to pitch up to in this time. So I say to
myself, “Don’t be a nutter. Don’t even embark on this ridiculous task. It’s
doesn’t fit into your life at the moment. Maybe one day when the kids have
flown.” Instead, I wish the NaNo-nutter’s well, waving at them from a distance
as they embark on their journey of lunacy.
Only not this year. For some
reason, back in the summer, when November and it’s tasks seemed so far away, I thought
it might be a good idea to get another vomit draft under my belt, to rest in a
drawer and mull for a year or so. The words would be rushed and messy and ugly,
but there would be a germ of something there to grow a story from later, rather
than angsting around desperately seeking an idea when I need it.
I know I can write 50k words in
a month. I’ve done it before when I’m in a drafting phase, but the timing has
always seemed difficult – or maybe I just don’t like the pressure of having to
do the 1667 words a day. I have resisted whole-heartedly and quite happily, thank
you very much.
And I did resist this year too,
when the actual event came nearer. Even though I had discussed it with Lovely
CP and she’d signed up, and I’d
convinced DD2 to have a go at Junior NaNo, (Deflecting? Moi?) I still didn’t sign up until the last second. Most likely
this was because I hadn’t actually formulated any sort of plan, (and I do prefer
a plan,) or perhaps it could just be because I am just plain chicken.
But, I did sign up, and
therefore I have to out myself as a nutter. We’re five days in, and I’m vaguely
on schedule, but I’m having to find ideas from one day to the next already, and
the words are – as expected- rushed and messy and ugly. I might not make the
50k, as life has a way of getting in the way, or I might just manage to hit the target by the skin of my teeth, but I’ve decided that if I can at least
get to know these new characters say 30k better, then that has to be a win of sorts
and I’m going to have it.
Anyone else taking part in this
mad endeavour?
Onwards, nutters!
