NaNoWriMo

Last Friday, I went to our monthly writers' group meeting and one of the writers mentioned NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month as a way of finishing a novel. If you haven't heard of it, or, like me, don't know exactly how it works, have a look here.

Anyway, the reason we were talking about it was my current struggle with actually finishing a novel. I write quite a lot, and I finish short stories that I write, but novels are tricky for me. You have to maintain the momentum, and it helps if you plan it. I have always been an intuitive writer so I don't tend to plan that much. The problem is, my mood can change so much from one session to the next that if I don't have a plan to stick to, I sometimes end up writing almost the opposite of what I wrote the day before. Which makes it difficult if you are writing a novel.

The thing I like about NaNoWriMo (apart from its name) is that you don't have time to do any editing. You are in your first draft mode, and the goal is to finish it, not to perfect the first thousand words. I'm doing my challenge in July because I am too impatient to wait until November and if you want to join me, register your profile at campnano