Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013 — quote of the week: “The authorities won’t approve of that!”

The first week in February has got off to a positive start, with me managing to organise myself into a work routine not achievable during the first month of Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013. I’ve written from 11 a.m. to 3.30 p.m every day, only allowing myself to go on-line to check facts relevant to my work in progress.

I’m not going to disclose what my husband was referring to when he said “the authorities won’t approve of that”, other than to say it was one of those “how-to-do” things freely available on the internet. He seemed relieved when I assured him I wasn’t intending to write a step-by-step account of this particular procedure but just needed to get my head around the subject to prevent some smart arse reader accusing me of talking crap.

When I started my latest work, research was far from my mind. Since then, the story has grabbed hold of me and demands I put an end to playing it safe. This is a challenge I can’t afford not to take. A beta reader of my previous novel (and the novel before that) said to me “this is great, but when are you going to write a serious work?” By serious, she didn’t mean a novel devoid of humour, but one that raised the literary stakes and took more risks.

There are lots of “how-to-do” books out there about the writing process. Quite a few of them are written by people who’ve never had a work of fiction published themselves. I think the best way to learn about writing fiction is to read, read, and read an eclectic range of published fiction, and to write, write, and write, all the time raising the bar.

A psychologist friend of mine once remarked, “Skills acquired through trial and error learning were the best remembered, as long as you didn’t kill yourself in the process”.

What risks have you taken this week?

For The Love Of Haiku

Jungle mania.
Patients act out delusions
in hospital grounds.

To join in with this week’s fun haiku challenge, visit http://allaboutlemon.com/2013/02/02/for-the-love-of-haiku-21/ and, while you’re there, do wish adollyciousirony a happy birthday for 2nd February 🙂

For The Love Of Haiku

Left-click to see the making of the Art Game image for this week 🙂

World two-thirds transformed,
Tinka Bell’s out of magic.
Recharge her wand. Quick!

Come and join in with this week’s haiku fun at http://allaboutlemon.com/2013/01/26/for-the-love-of-haiku-20/  courtesy of the brilliant adollyciousirony.

Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013 — Week 4: breathe, relax…

writing overdose
square eyes and insomnia
fresh air required

Writer's Insanity#1

For the last week, I’ve experienced the worst insomnia in my life. It’s not that I’m actively mulling over my novel-in-progress when I should be sleeping, any more than I’m thinking about paying the bills, or what various members of my family are up to, or how pissed off I am with the Prime Minister. Rather, it’s a background buzz in my subconscious — the brain’s equivalent of white noise. If I could amplify this noise, it would probably contain much to discourage.

  • You’re too old for this.
  • You messed up at school, so what makes you think you can write the type of literary novel students study at University?
  • Why put yourself through this?
  • Take it easy — read someone else’s novel, watch tv, chinwag with your friends over coffee.

Four weeks into NWW, my word count has reached 5,000, which, at first glance, might not seem very much. In the past,  I would have slammed out about 90,000 words in 3 months, after which I’d have spent between 1-3 years pruning and revising until complete boredom set in, consuming all my original love for the story. Some of this fiddling with my writing was a necessary part of the learning experience, but the rest of it was to do with lack of confidence in my product.

With my current novel, I’ve taken a completely different approach, contemplating and crafting every sentence as I go, which means my novel will take about 10 months to write and 2 months to revise/edit. A novel in a year.

This morning, after returning from a bracing winter walk, I did a read through of my opening 24 pages and discovered not a single word I wanted to change. This is what I call progress. So it’s onward with Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013, and no more sleepless nights

Next on the agenda — to email one of my friends, who’s a genius scientist. In the name of research, I need to pick his brain about genetics, environmental pollution, and plagues.

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To find out more about Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013, visit https://sarahpotterwrites.wordpress.com/novel-writing-winter-nww-2013/