Tuesday, 23 October 2012

It’s that time of year again


To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo? What a difficult question!

I’ve enjoyed tackling NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in the past but I had serious doubts about signing up for it this year. Will it be a creative opportunity I can’t afford to miss, or a waste of valuable writing time? Instead of trying to frantically churn out 50,000 words (most of which will be rubbish) wouldn’t it make more sense to spend November methodically finishing some of my current writing projects?

Last Friday, I was 99.9% decided not to do it …

… but on Saturday I saw The Guardian was launching a new series: How To Write a Book in 30 Days. How could I resist? Unlike NaNoWriMo, the Guardian plan isn’t about simply writing whatever comes into your head as fast as you can. It should be re-titled: How To Write a Detailed Outline for a Novel in 30 Days, and as I flicked through it I found myself thinking it had some good ideas in it, which led me to another idea ...

So, what will happen if I spend November alternating between the crazy, no-rules writing of NaNoWriMo and the logical step-by-step approach recommended by the Guardian?

I’m going to find out!        
    
Is anyone else planning to do NaNoWriMo this year? Or are you following the Guardian series?

(If you missed Saturday’s print Guardian, the 30 day writing series – including downloadable worksheets – is available on their website.) 

2 comments:

Suzanne Furness said...

No not taking part, don't think I could produce a set amount in the time frame because sometimes I only get couple of clear opportunities to write each week. Good luck with your challenge.

Unknown said...

Best if luck Linda. It's not something I have time for either. Maybe one day.