Tag Archives: nanowrimo

Sitting This One Out

Long-time readers of this blog might remember that last November I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month). The object was to complete a 50,000-word (approximately 170-page) novel in 30 days, and somehow I did it! It’s a very rough draft, of course, and I intend for the finished book to be double the pages, so I still have more work to do on that one. This year, I was very excited about trying my hand at another one. I had a plot outline and character sketches that I’d been toying with for a while. I was looking forward to being Kyra‘s “writing buddy” as I was Vicki‘s last year. I was anticipating another November of frantic but thoroughly enjoyable writing sessions. I couldn’t wait.

And then, a week or so ago, reality hit. I took a good, long, objective look at my life at the moment. Last year, I was working part-time while I homeschooled Neil; this year I’m working full-time and also took on the volunteer position of the Southern Oregon Chapter Rep for the Autism Society of Oregon. And with all the regular insanity of raising two children by myself, there’s just no time for NaNo this year. And I’m deeply disappointed.

So, I’ve decided to do NaNoWriMo SP*, the single parent version. The object is still to write a novel of at least 50,000 words, but there is no time limit. Because, by God, if you can write a novel while working full-time and raising children by yourself, well, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. The fact that you’re doing it at all is mind-blowing. And this way you’ll still get to experience frantic-but-thoroughly-enjoyable writing sessions. All year long!

*yes, I made it up. But I really think the NaNo people should consider offering this as an option for the more time-challenged writers who want to participate. Think of the possibilities!

NaNoWriMo Recap

NaNoWriMo Winner

I now have a feather to put in my cap and a web badge to put on my site. NaNoWriMo is over (well, it’s officially over Sunday night, but I pushed myself to be finished by Thanksgiving), and I have a novel under my belt! Of course, I’d like to double its length (it’s only about 175 pages at this point), but I can take my time with that.

Writing under the gun like that is not entirely new to me; it’s just been a while. I worked three jobs while in college, and, as an English major, I wrote my fair share of papers at 4 AM. What was new about doing NaNoWriMo was that I didn’t go back and edit a single thing. I didn’t read over anything I had written. I just churned out words and forged ahead. I felt like it wasn’t fair – I labored over all of these words (often up to 2700 a night), and I just forced myself to click save and continue. I didn’t get to enjoy them, savor them, rearrange them until they were perfect. I’m not used to writing fiction that way – so unattached. It was difficult at first, but I realized that it was the only way to get all the words down in the time that I had.

Now that it’s over, I’m looking forward to the following:

  • Catching up with Nigel and Aidan, who are glad to have their mom back
  • Cleaning my house (the end result more than the actual cleaning, of course)
  • Reading whatever it is that I wrote! I wrote so fast that I can’t remember!

It’s That Time of Year

I have decided that being a single parent of two and homeschooling the one who has autism and working two other jobs just wasn’t keeping me on my toes. I just didn’t know what to do with all that extra time on my hands. So I entered a contest to write a novel in one month. Yes, that’s right! I’m doing NaNoWriMo!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it happens every year in November. This is my first go at it, and I’m both excited and exhausted. The object is to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. Just for a little perspective, the typical word count in a whole month of my blog posts is approximately 8,500.

As of yesterday, I passed the half-way point and am right on track with my word count! As I focus on the second half of the novel and the home stretch of completing it, I’ll be scaling back on my usual posting schedule here at Teen Autism (just for the next two weeks). But for those who would like to take a peek at my other writing, click on the link below and that will take you to my NaNoWriMo page. Then click on the “Novel Info” tab, and you can read a synopsis of my book and an excerpt – the full first chapter! Keep in mind, this is a really rough first draft. But I kinda like how it’s shaping up! You can also keep track of my word count, which is updated daily, and see if I’m going to make it!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/433097

Wish me luck . . .