NaNoWriMo
Adding method to the muse!
I am delighted to welcome Mark Carew to my blog today. Mark is the author of three literary novels, two published by Salt. He also hosts a podcast called The Joy of Writing, in which he discusses with fellow authors their books and the craft of writing. He works as a freelance medical writer, and lives in Surrey with his wife and two children. Do visit Mark’s author website at: www.markcarewauthor.com
I completed National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the first time in November last year. NaNoWriMo is a SMART challenge. It’s specific (write 50,000 words), measurable (enter the word count on the website), attainable (people do it year on year), realistic (sort of, it’s unlikely to be a finished novel from scratch, but it could be a first draft), and time-bound (30 days).
The challenge is to write, on average, 1667 words a day for 30 days. This should not be that hard for experienced writers. Many famous authors are cited as writing more than 2000 words a day (1). But it is still a tough challenge.
Here’s how I did it.
I wanted to write the first draft of a murder mystery. I dreamt up a very rough list of 30 scenes, one scene for each day. Each scene was broken down into 7 sections, each section of 250 words (to give 1750 words a day). The seven sections followed the Pixar storytelling technique, one of my favourite creative methods (2). For illustration’s sake: Once upon a time there was a highwayman; Every day he used to rob people; One day someone said “try the London road for greater riches”; Because of that, he stayed at an inn near the London road; Because of that, the innkeeper took an interest in him; Because of that, the innkeeper mentioned him to the magistrate; Until finally, the highwayman escaped the magistrate’s men just in time. Each of these sections had five mini-sections of 50 words: setting, description of people, actions to move from the last section, thoughts and dialogue of people, actions to move to next section.
In the end I wrote 50105 words over 25 days, with 5 no-writing days. The website tells me that I wrote the most between 11 and 12 pm! My reward was a nice new first draft ready for editing.
The point of this tale is not to show off, but to show aspiring writers that tough challenges like NaNoWriMo can be completed with a bit of method and the right attitude. Good luck!
1. https://www.writerswrite.co.za/the-daily-word-counts-of-39-famous-authors-1/