NaNoWriMo, it’s my second time, making me feel more at home. Last year was a great success, so much so that my debut novel will be officially released in a week’s time! I never thought that would be the outcome, but how amazing is it, to suddenly find yourself to be a published author!
NaNoWriMo means bashing away every day in order to get to 50,000 words, a great start to a good sized novel. This year the start in itself felt harder. I finished a large project only days before November arrived, leaving my head spinning. I had absolutely loved my project, called Walled City (Yes, I will tell you more about it soon!), and the idea of starting something new was hard.
I dug up an old project, making it the third attempt. I wasn’t too keen, to be honest, but NaNo is NaNo, so I started on the first of November, starting the project all over again. It didn’t work. The thing is, the idea I had wasn’t going to be that large a book, I don’t think. So I felt I had to embellish the story, drawing it out…making it way too boring! I struggled to get to 1,600 per chapter, and writing became a chore.
I started putting it off. After all, writing 3,000 words wasn’t impossible, so I’d easily catch up, tomorrow…or the day after… I really, really wanted to write the sequel to Walled City, but that had to wait till December, right, as this was NaNoWriMo, and I had committed to Venetian Glass as my project. Little scenes of the sequel kept popping up in my head though, and my fingers itched to write them down.
Then, travelling back late one evening with my neighbour and my kids, I turned to her and said, “But I really want to write the sequel!” My neighbour had read Walled City, and loved it, so she totally agreed (Mainly because she wants to know what happened to the main characters after the book ended…). So…I changed projects mid-November! After all, I’m an adult, and I can change my mind, even if it’s the middle of November. NaNoRebels Unite!
That left me with just two weeks to write 50,000 words! I started the story, and I love it! It means I have to do 3,000 every day, which isn’t hard to do actually. The story just runs itself, I simply have to keep up! I love my main character, and I love the way this story is going to go, and where she will end up. I dreamed up the last scene, and I’m so excited to get to it, but some of the other bits are amazing too. In all, I’m in love with the story, and its blessing!
Soooo….NaNoWriMo is more exhausting this year than it was last year, but I love it! The story won’t be finished when I get to 50,000 words, but at least it’s a start. I love writing, and doing it with a community around me is incredible, which is why I love NaNoWriMo. It’s a blessing; it’s blessing me as I see my main character being drawn to Scripture, and I dread the consequences for her and her family. But the words are powerful, drawing her, shaping her, changing her, saving her… To be able to write about the power of God, about His salvation, His love and protection…that’s just amazing and mind blowing. I love fiction with a message, do you?