FIRST DRAFT....
Well I surprised myself. I actually finished NANOWRIMO.... And yes at the end of the month I had over 50, 000 words. Not brilliant words, not even particularly good words, but words that when put together do have at their crux...and idea.
It was an interesting experience. I'm not going to say it was fun. It wasn't.
I found it challenging, frustrating, at times damned annoying and lots of hard work. Which is why I attempted it in the first place. I wanted the challenge. I wanted to dare myself.
I had the 'idea' the night before I began. So when I did begin to write, I had no character sketches, no names, no plot details. It was writing into the darkness. Not really knowing what to say until I sat at the computer, and then going where the story was taking me. I didn't stop to edit, did't try to second guess myself.
First week went okay. I was getting excited about a new piece of work.
Second week...yuck.
But I kept on. Giving up is too damned easy, I've done enough of that in the past. Besides part of the challenge was that I wasn't willing to admit defeat unless I really really really felt I had to. I hadn't got that desperate yet.
Third week was like walking on soft sand. Such hard work and you feel like you're getting nowhere. That was the hardest part of the journey. It's when you get to about 30 000 words and wonder, what the hell am I doing? When you wonder if you're making sense, whether there is actually anything worth while in what you have spent the past three weeks doing. The editor takes over, telling me that it's a waste of space, that I have offered up nothing new or exciting.
Then it was the final push. And actually I finished early by making myself sit down and put down 3000 words a day. Then it was done.
And what have I done? I have a first draft. A very rough first draft that will need much work to make any sense of. But I've learnt a lot about myself and my writing.
I've learnt that no matter what is happening at work or in 'real life' I can write. There are no excuses.
I've learnt that I do like writing into the darkness. That it's exciting and dangerous, and takes me places I probably would never have gone.
I've learnt that I like a challenge.
I've learnt that I probably will do it again next year....let's see if I do.
It was an interesting experience. I'm not going to say it was fun. It wasn't.
I found it challenging, frustrating, at times damned annoying and lots of hard work. Which is why I attempted it in the first place. I wanted the challenge. I wanted to dare myself.
I had the 'idea' the night before I began. So when I did begin to write, I had no character sketches, no names, no plot details. It was writing into the darkness. Not really knowing what to say until I sat at the computer, and then going where the story was taking me. I didn't stop to edit, did't try to second guess myself.
First week went okay. I was getting excited about a new piece of work.
Second week...yuck.
But I kept on. Giving up is too damned easy, I've done enough of that in the past. Besides part of the challenge was that I wasn't willing to admit defeat unless I really really really felt I had to. I hadn't got that desperate yet.
Third week was like walking on soft sand. Such hard work and you feel like you're getting nowhere. That was the hardest part of the journey. It's when you get to about 30 000 words and wonder, what the hell am I doing? When you wonder if you're making sense, whether there is actually anything worth while in what you have spent the past three weeks doing. The editor takes over, telling me that it's a waste of space, that I have offered up nothing new or exciting.
Then it was the final push. And actually I finished early by making myself sit down and put down 3000 words a day. Then it was done.
And what have I done? I have a first draft. A very rough first draft that will need much work to make any sense of. But I've learnt a lot about myself and my writing.
I've learnt that no matter what is happening at work or in 'real life' I can write. There are no excuses.
I've learnt that I do like writing into the darkness. That it's exciting and dangerous, and takes me places I probably would never have gone.
I've learnt that I like a challenge.
I've learnt that I probably will do it again next year....let's see if I do.
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