Day 87: Who would join me?

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 87: Who would join me?

Would anyone join me at this cottage? I'll get to the why later.

We’re halfway through the NaNoWriMo challenge and for several people, it’s going really well. Every day I read about people who write 3,000 – 5,000 or even 7,000 words per day. I sit and wonder … where do these people find the time?

Don’t any of these writers have jobs? And if they are stay-at-home people, don’t they have work to do around the house? There’s always something to do: 

making/changing the beds, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, polishing, laundry, ironing, washing the bathroom, washing the kitchen, washing windows, washing floors, cleaning the deck, shopping, tending to the garden, cleaning gutters, cleaning the car, cooking, doing dishes, and more. Am I to assume that these writers neglect their homes for the sake of writing?

I also wonder what these people write about. I know from experience that the first couple of chapters flow easily. Chapters one to three or five practically write themselves, but then the trouble starts … how to continue. 

Inspiration doesn’t come on command, plenty of good writers sit at their computer, staring at the screen, their fingers motionless on the keyboard. Eventually, they write something, only to delete it. They write something else and that too gets rejected.

In between, there are a ton of distractions: the cat needs petting, the dog needs walking, cups of coffee or tea are made, emails need answering, friends drop by for a chat, Facebook games need playing, etc. etc. etc.

Few will be willing to admit it, but writers are notorious procrastinators. They will start writing tomorrow, or they will start writing after … well, any excuse will do.

A friend of mine took a writing course and while it made her a better writer, it also made her a slower writer. She once told me that, in order to create the perfect sentence, she often plays with the words for 10 or even 20 minutes. Safe to say, my friend won’t write 3,000 words per day. Which begs the question, what is the quality of some writers’ work?

As for NaNoWriMo, it’s a nice incentive for writers to get their bud in gear, but what happens at the end of November. From what I’ve been told … nothing. There are no prices to be won and nobody looks at the manuscripts.

If writers can produce the required 50,000 words in November, why can’t they do the same in any other month? Do writers really need an incentive? Ask most writers why they write and they will say … because I have to. A day without writing is a day wasted.

That’s how I feel. Every morning I wake up with plans to write, but as I mentioned earlier … any number of things get in the way. 

Ideally, I need to hole up in a cottage somewhere, with no WiFi. So, I wonder, when looking at the cottage above, how many writers would join me for a writing getaway. 

Day 85: NaNoWriMo Project

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 85: NaNoWriMo Project

Anyone doing the NaNoWriMo project? It’s my first time and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Not only do I find it difficult to write on command but writing 50,000 words in one month seems like a daunting task.

We’re eleven days into the project and after a little over 22,000 words, my inspiration is failing me. As I said, I don’t do well writing on command.

When I sit down to write, I stare at my laptop screen and wonder what to say. I type a sentence and delete it. I write another and that one too gets rejected. However, let me start house chores, take a walk, sit in a coffee shop or lie in bed and the ideas come storming into my head.

I remember the day when I started my first novel ‘Waiting for Silverbird’.

I was at work, typing a manual for a military tank when I suddenly got this idea for a story. I started writing and the words flowed effortlessly onto the electronic paper. By the end of the day, the first chapter was completed.

Another thing that I don’t particularly like about the NaNoWriMo project is that at the end of November, writers are supposed to put their work online. This makes me wonder … what if someone sees my work and thinks … that’s a good idea. I can make it my own and make it better.

From what I understand, publishers don’t necessarily have to like a manuscript (they have editors to make the story better), but they have to like the idea, something original and that will sell.

Coming up with something original isn’t easy, it’s almost impossible. Look around at the local library, thousands of books about love, war, aliens, monsters, vampires, murderers, etc.

I can’t be sure, but I think for my new novel I have come up with something original. I’ve never read anything like it before, but then, I haven’t read every book that’s out there. Still, I feel confident about the story and as such, I feel a little hesitant putting it on NaNoWriMo for all to see.

Of course, everyone thinks that their story is the best, that they have a fish on the line that will mean their breakthrough into the publishing world. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if nobody wants to publish the book?

Those who have been published by respected publishing houses will say to keep going, to never give up. Every single one of them will tell you how they contacted literary agents and publishers and received one rejection letter after the other. But eventually found success.

I’ve been through the process a few times myself and I can tell you, it’s hard keeping your spirits up when one rejection letter follows another. For starters, it takes time and effort to contact literary agents. Then, there’s a waiting period. Some take only a matter of days to get back to a writer, others take a few weeks. 

Whenever I saw a reply from an agent in my inbox, I got my hopes up. Was this it? Did I finally find someone who was willing to take a chance on me? It never was. Eventually, I gave up.

Now it’s the NaNoWriMo project. Me, along with a few thousand others, are thinking and typing as if our lives depended on it. From what I understand a few writers have been discovered through the NaNoWriMo project. This time, I’m not giving up.