NaNoWriMo

November is the month of Nanowrimo - National Novel Writing Month. It is 30 painful days where writers write like crazy to reach a fifty thousand word goal. That works out at just over 1600 words a day. Putting it this way sounds a lot more doable no?

So, dear reader, I have joined up - six thousand words in and I am loving it! There is a wonderful sense of community, with local forums with regular chats and meetups. It feels great knowing that thousands of other people over the world, too, are staring at a blank screen struggling to get started. The forums offer a great place to share ideas, discuss worries and just to have a general vent.

Writing a novel is a dream for many; Nanowrimo provides us with a target and reminds us that this dream is possible, you just have to get your head down for a few hours a day.

This concentration on quantity means you cannot get caught up on the quality of your writing - JUST WRITE. It may be crappy, but having thousands of crappy words is a better start than an empty page. This is exciting. Let's see if I feel the same way on November the 30th, rushing to reach that 50K mark.

Here are a few tips on writing a first draft (because that is what Nanowrimo is all about) from a creative writing cheat sheet:

Writing Your First Draft

Writing a first draft of your creative writing project – whether a novel, short story, poem or play – can be a bit daunting. Follow these handy hints to help you organise your thoughts and manage your time:

• Don’t worry about a great opening line yet. Simply start writing wherever you like.
• Keep the flow going in the early stages – keep writing without stopping, going back, re-reading or changing what you’ve written.
• Remember to show not tell – think about how to dramatise what you’re writing about and create visual images.
• Start somewhere else and get going again if you become stuck on a particular passage.