Can you believe its the end of Week 2 of NaNoWriMo? We’re now half way through and I’ve just passed the 25k wordcount mark. Ta-dah!
So, how has it been? Erm, okay. I hoped to fill these updates with words of wisdom or tales from the trenches of speedy novel writing, but there’s not really much to say. The process has been relatively pain-free. Yes, really. And I think I’ve uncovered the secret:
Planning.
Yes, I know – wash my mouth out with soap.
Its weird, because Work Emma, Mum Emma and Wife Emma are very much planners. These versions of me live for to do lists and Excel spreadsheets and plans. So many plans. Writer Emma, by contrast flies by the seat of her pants. She doesn’t need a plan – oh no, siree! She’s a writer, an artiste; she writes from the heart; she is a free spirit. Plans and sensible things play no part in her life. Except … they kind of work.
I knew November would be a busy month for me, with work and real life events plus impending Christmas festivities getting in the way. The last couple of attempts at NaNo failed miserably and I was determined to succeed this year, so I approached NaNo like I would approach a work project. With a detailed plan.
I created a lovely table, colour coded to reflect different strands of the story. I made a spreadsheet to keep track of my word count and I made plans in my calendar. When November 1st rolled around, everything felt very much under control. Obviously, things have changed as I’ve written but I’ve just made a few notes in the corresponding table cell and off we go. I’m reluctant to admit that this seems to be working for me. Of course, there’s still two weeks to go and I’m away this weekend, but so far it’s looking good!
Emma Kerry's Notebook 