NaNoWriMo

I’ve been talking about National Novel Writing Month for months now, and it’s almost on my doorstep now, with only 4 weeks before it launches. I officially registered my book onto the site today. No backing out now! haha Likely story!

If you look at my previous years, I have not faired very well, despite my best intentions. Today I’m taking a moment to analyse why I have yet to finish a NaNoWriMo even though I really wanted to do it. That way I can work actively to not have the same issues as before.

Year 1 (2012) – I had only just learned about NaNo a week prior to starting, so when I signed up, I had no idea the amount of effort it would require. Out of all of the years, this was honestly my second best attempt. I felt pretty good with where I was going, even though a bit of the book had already been written before. I have spent years on The Castle of Manoli. The Aenora Chronicles are my do-this-book-once-you-finish-Shannon&Amanda, but I haven’t finished Shannon & Amanda, and it will probably be years yet before I do. I keep promising myself that I will spend one NaNo trying this one again, but I haven’t yet. Nevertheless, I worked in retail during this year, and November is an impossible month with increased foot traffic and working hours. I think I ended up putting the story away when I realised that I didn’t have the energy after work. Sadly Keirhyn, Ferdinand and company will have to wait for their first entry for another year.

Year 2 (2013) – Retribution has been my best effort yet. It was the second book in my Shannon & Amanda series, and I was certain I could finish it. I spent about two weeks preparing a basic outline for each of the chapters, and new characters. I wrote so much that first week or two. Then I got to chapter 5 of the book, and all of the planning went out the window, when I realised that I couldn’t feasibly put the characters through what I had planned. They were my children (I’ve been writing them since I was 10, after all!), and to put them through even more pain wrecked me. I stopped for a week, and by that point, the damage was done. I called it a month and vowed a better year in 2014.

Year 3 (2014) – Easily my worst year. I spent weeks preparing my Forest Elves story. It is easily a short story, but a book it was not. I had my themes, the characters, and background all set up. Divorce was going to play a predominant role in the story, and I spent hours researching the effects of it on young children. I got to the first day and started writing. I realised within a day that I had no desire to write this story now, and I didn’t have the heart to do it yet. So I gave up… I hated this year.

So now we’re into the 4th year. I’m going back to Shannon & Amanda for a second time, but this time it is my first installment. The book was released and was a non-success, so I pulled it down. I’ve renamed it now to the Young Mystics, and though the main characters have not changed, I have changed their circumstances. I have planned for months and written new character sheets, and I feel that the years before have been a precursor to this year’s success. And for the first time ever, I’m actually taking a week off from work just to write. That’s gotta be exciting! Wish me luck! 😉