That does, however, have slight consequences for this blog. Between marking exams, having meetings with parents, and writing, I do not know how much time I will have for reading. Because I fall into the rare and small category of people out there who do Extreme-Nano. This is basically a nice way on saying that I word war with friends, and, as opposed to writing a decent, regular amount of words, we scoff at the 1667 word requirement and try and write something closer to 5k a day. I did tell you it was madness. This year we are not really planning on doing something as insane as we have in the past (my record for Nano is 154419 words), but to write somewhere between 75 to 100k. Much more reasonable. If only we could get past the competitiveness between each other.
Anyway, because I am trying to think of what is going to happen next in my novel, I thought I would do the NaNoWriMo Tag. You can find the original tag video here, created by Kristina Horner.
1. How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?
This will be my 7th year.
2. How did you first find out about NaNoWriMo?
Back over 10 years ago, I stumbled across people talking about nano on Livejournal. I was definitely interested, but I must admit that, by the time November rolled around, I had completely forgotten about it. The first year I did remember in time, I was facing post-grad exams and wasn't prepared to spend my time writing when I had learning to do.
3. What was the name of the first novel you attempted with NaNo?
Knight's World. It is a trilogy and I had been working on it for over a decade by that point in time - although I am embarrassed to say that I had never got past chapter 1. I am a compulsive editor.
4. Give us a 1 sentence summary of what you’re writing this year.
I don't have a clue; I only decided to do this on the 31st. I was going to give it a skip this year. My story is writing itself. Can I say what has happened in one sentence? Unlikely. It is fantasy. Can we just stick to that?
5. What’s the best writing advice you've ever been given?
It would be everything Neil Gaiman has ever said about writing, from: if you want to be a writer, then write; to, you need to finish things. All the more reason why Nano works well for me.
6. Did you ever take a year off from NaNo? Why?
Not yet. I was going to take this year off, because I don't want to be burnt out from writing over the coming summer holidays and actually edit my trilogy. But I caved. Peer pressure. What can I say?
7. What's your biggest inspiration when figuring out what to write?
If only there was a pool where ideas flowed and writers could access it. I have no idea where the ideas come from. In fact, I think if I had to think about it too hard and try to guess, I might ruin it. They come. Maybe my brain, maybe the ether. I am not complaining.
8. Read us the first sentence from one of your novels.
"If there had been an outside observer, it would have been considered the strangest of gatherings."
9. Why do you love writing?
I just always have. When I was five, I told everyone that I wanted to be a writer. That goal has never changed. I have always wanted to do this - even back when holding a pencil was a bit of a challenge. I love writing Nano because I need the challenge to actually get words down. Otherwise I sit and 'think about it' and never DO it. (I teach kids with barriers to learning. I come home from work half dead. By the time I have finished prepping for the next day - I am deader than dead. It is hard to be creative when one is mentally exhausted.) I also love the weird directions my stories can go when I am forced to think of something to happen next.
OK, that is me for a while. I am almost finished with Stephen King's The Stand, so a review of that will be up soon-ish. Until then, happy writing if you are doing NaNo. Happy reading if you are not!
PS: I am PanAlchemist at Nano, should you wish to join in some extreme-nanoing, or if you would like to throw peanuts to get my word count moving.
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