A Novel In A Month

Thursday is writing group day!  Hurrah!  Since I joined my group ten years ago, it’s been invaluable to me.   Writing is a lonely occupation and I really look forward to our meetings.   The group is a place to talk, swap work and offer support and constructive criticism.

Today we look at someone’s work (it’s first draft, so there’s lots to say) and discuss  NaNoWriMo.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

This is an annual (November) writing challenge that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world.  The aim is to write a minimum of 50,000 words and complete a novel in a month.   Two women in my group did it in November 2010 and this is the first group meeting since then.  Taking on the task of writing a novel by itself can be intimidating, but in a month?  That's what's so great about NaNoWriMo they tell me: it helps you shed the fear, the internal editor, the doubts, and join with others in controlled craziness!

One woman used it to play with ideas and research character, but the other first drafted a whole novel.  She’s on draft two now and she’s excited by it.  I wish NaNo was on again in February 2011.   I want to do it!  What better way to get material together than to have a disciplined word count and a supportive communal environment to write in?  The writer on her second draft suggests I do it anyway.  She’ll do it with me, she says -  just the two of us.  We will send each other daily word counts and meet regularly to discuss how it’s going.

I agree.  I’m excited.  I will start planning tomorrow.