November news: A podcast and a prize!

Liz / / No Comments

So, it’s November and it’s the Christmas/end of year countdown and I don’t understand how we got here so fast?! Aside from wondering where all the time went, a couple of exciting things have happened lately in the land of all things books and writing …

One is a new podcast. Specifically, a kids’ book podcast co-hosted by my writer/book-freak friends, Kate Simpson and Nat Amoore, and me! It’s called One More Page, it’s starting in February, and you can find out more at our shiny new website here. And here’s a trailer put together by our resident cinematographer, Nat:

As you can probably tell from our cat/frog/chicken personas, we’re aiming for all-ages appeal. There’ll be interviews with authors and other book industry types, along with chats/games/interviews with kids to discover what they’re reading and recommending. It should be fun. And maybe even a little bit funny.

Also, I won a writing competition! Greenleaf Press, a business supporting writers headed up by kids’ author Aleesah Darlison, held their first picture book manuscript competition recently, and I was beyond excited to discover I’d shortlisted from the hundreds of entries received. Then won! And then I found out another entry of mine was longlisted too, which was a lovely unexpected bonus. The main prize was a detailed manuscript critique from Aleesah, which was very much needed and appreciated.

Aside from that, I’m doing NaNoWriMo to work on a new junior fiction book. I have a love/hate relationship with NaNo as I’m sure so many others do. It’s a way to force some words out in a short period of time and get a draft down, which is a good thing as even if it’s terrible, there’s something to work on and improve. But it’s also an annoying burden, inducing feelings of not-doing-Nano guilt every time you dare to turn your attention to something else (*cough* Stranger Things … and Younger). Anyway, I managed to do the 50K once before (in 2013), so perhaps I can do it again? To be honest I’m really aiming for more like 30k with this book, so if I even make that I’ll be happy!

Diary of a NaNoWriMo newbie – Part 3 (the aftermath)

Liz / / 2 Comments

The dust has settled on the month-long novel writing-fest that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) – and… I finished!! The first couple of weeks weren’t too bad, but by week three I was stalling a little. If there’s one thing I learnt from participating in NaNo, it’s that consistency is key, and a little bit each and every day soon adds up to a lot. And if you stick to the doable word count each day without skipping a few, you won’t have any 7000 word days to get through (can I sleep now?!).

As for what my book is about – it’s a fictional foray into expatland in Southeast Asia, with the 20-something protagonist torn between life in Newtown with her ever-serious boyfriend, surrounded by friends who are starting to ‘settle down’, or heeding the call of a life of adventure, travel, exciting job prospects and potential new love against the backdrops of Thailand and Cambodia. I’m thinking it’s the literary lovechild of Emily Barr’s Backpack and Emily Maguire’s Fishing for Tigers(!) And that it also needs much, much work if it’s ever going to be seen by anybody at all…

Overall I loved the NaNoWriMo experience, as torturous as it felt at times. If you’re thinking of doing it next year, I would say go for it. It ultimately helps you develop a writing habit, and prove to yourself that you’re capable of churning out lengthy work, even if it’s not of the greatest quality – and a 1500 word essay or story will never seem daunting ever again.

Did you attempt NaNo? Here’s a few tips now it’s over:

– 7 things to do when NaNoWriMo is over

– 5 tips for NaNoWriMo: The post NaNo re-entry process

– 6 step program for life after NaNo

And finally, all is not lost on the ‘all things produced during NaNo are destined for the scrapheap’ idea. Here are 8 bestsellers started during National Novel Writing Month.

Diary of a NaNoWriMo newbie – Part 1

Liz / / 2 Comments

It’s NaNoWriMo eve, and I feel a strange sense of calm before the storm. I’ve decided to give NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, a red hot go. That is, to pump out 50,000 words in 30 days. A novel in a month. Almost 2,000 words every day in November. Here’s a little window into the process, if you’re thinking of joining:

Signing up

The first step in committing to NaNo is signing up (which you can do here – it’s (almost) not too late!). Then it’s time to navigate the forums. The event is a social one, in a virtual kind of way, yet all the ‘buddy’ making and ‘newbie’ meeting (so much terminology!) spills over IRL, with meet-ups and write-ins to attend, should you feel inclined. I sign up, full of trepidation on whether I can really do this. I discover another NaNo term is ‘winning’, which actually just means completing. Apparently if you reach the 50,000 word goal, you have ‘won’! Although the only pressure to do so is your own.

Finding your tribe

A peruse of the forums offers a fascinating insight into the world of writerly types. There are a lot of self-confessed introverts (no surprises there), participants racked with self-doubt, many gamers and many more with  ‘fur-babies’. I zero in on the Mainstream board where my story belongs, and so do I it seems, catless and all. In a world of dystopian this and paranormal that, I’m feeling slightly off-trend and commercial with my ‘real life’ fiction idea, but nevertheless find some like-minded souls. The forums serve to help you find your tribe, so you can send each other words of encouragement, tips, advice and also keep each other spurred on. I discover a diverse scattering of people whose story synopses resonate, and enter the encouraging world of NaNo buddies.

How to prepare

After signing up, buddying up and perhaps engaging in a bit of supportive emailing with other WriMos (I’ve found this interaction immensely helpful already!), preparation can be as little or as much as you think you need to feel ready for NaNo. I write out descriptions of settings, characters and plot, a brief overview of the story and a longer, more detailed one. I then try to break down the story idea into chapters, with a rundown of what will happen in each. My idea is something I’ve played around with for a while – a fictional account of, you guessed it, a girl in expat-land in southeast Asia. While I’m using some settings and scenarios based on my real life experiences, it’s going to be fictional rather than a memoir.

Resources

Another part of preparation is seeking tips from writers who have successfully tackled NaNo before. I’ve been trying to soak up as much advice as possible, and there’s a wealth of NaNo related reading out there. If you are doing NaNo or contemplating it, here are a few helpful posts in getting started:

10 NaNoWriMo tips

10 tips to help you make it through NaNoWriMo

5 resources to help you plan your NaNoWriMo novel

How to write a novel

It’s ok to wing it

A NaNo term flying around the forum boards and social media is ‘pantsers’. Pantsers are those who don’t feel inclined to come up with characters, settings and plots beforehand, and prefer to fly by the seat of their pants, letting their story organically unfold. I like this concept, but I’m going with a happy medium – a rough outline and chapter breakdown, but much leeway to let my story veer in various ways as NaNo gets underway. Which is tomorrow! Ok, maybe not feeling so calm now…

Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? Best of luck if you are,and if you’re contemplating joining, why not take the plunge?!