Story Arcs and NaNoWriMo

They are related.

This post, on the blog of Western Australian author, Annabel Smith, titled Story Arcs and the Art of Writing a Page-Turner, is about something every writer probably needs to be reminded of from time to time. While it is obvious a novel needs a coherent structure to capture the reader with times of tension to lift it from the banal and ordinary where these actually fit in the novel is just as critical. In her post Annabel Smith analyses this and explains where they belong and why. I was aware of the importance of story arcs but this makes it so much clearer. There's even a diagram. She links to Darcy Pattison's Fiction Notes blog where there is also a wealth of information for writers. I found myself exploring it when I should have been NaNoing.

Okay, I'm pretty sure NaNoing isn't a word but for the uninitiated  NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - takes place in November every year. This is when a multitude of writers from all over the world sit down and try to get the first draft of a novel written. Although I'm actually adding to my WIP and not starting something new I find the buzz around NaNoWriMo useful. The aim is 50,000 words - obviously they don't know much about fantasy novel lengths - but that is only an aim. The rules are few and the encouragement great so, for me, it's well worthwhile.

I don't think I'll ever be a step by step plotter but even for a pantser like me there are rules to make a novel flow and engage the reader and this is a good explanation of one particular aspect of them.

YAY! Nanowrimo is done (for me)!

I hit my 50K! Yay! Only another 40K to go on this novel.

So, what did I learn? I learnt that I like a little bit of pressure. As in, milling around doing 2K a day is cruisy and it felt very peicemeal to be following a plan. As soon as I opened Write or Die and set that time though, my writing was a lot better, a lot smoother, and a lot more coherent. Interesting stuff!

See you all next year!

Nanowrimo Midway Update

Laura E Goodin

So... why are you doing Nano again?
I have a major project -- a novel -- in the works, and decided NaNo would be a good way to get a huge body of work all piled up (albeit in a steaming pile) so that I could develop a clearer sense of one way the characters and premise might play out.  I may stick with what I've got and just edit it, or I may decide it was a dead end, or something in between.  But I'll know more about what I both want and don't want to do with the story.  And it will take some pressure off me as the deadline approaches, because I'll already have thousands and thousands of words, at least some of which should be salvageable.  (And, indeed, I'm not unhappy with the ones I've been producing so far.)

Now you are at the half way mark, how is it going?
Slowly.  I have a lot of projects on the boil, including the research component of the Ph.D. for which the novel is the creative component.  I'm having trouble being able to sequester large chunks of the day in which to write (my preferred mode; I'm not all that comfortable with stopping and starting).

How are your wordcounts?
Not the worst ever, but I'm way behind the strict NaNo schedule.

Do you think you will finish on time?
I probably will, but if I don't I still will have gone a long way toward accomplishing my goal for NaNo this year (i.e., learning more about what I do and don't want to do with the story).  I'd like to, but I've won a few times before, so I don't really have anything to prove to myself.  I already know I CAN write 50K words in a month, so I don't HAVE TO.

What do you think you're going to learn from Nanowrimo 2011?
Hopefully, the story that emerges will be of sufficient quality that I can work with it.  I'm hoping to learn (or re-learn, more appropriately, as I keep seeming rediscover and then forget this crucial point at crucial points) that I can trust my intuition to come up with quality goods.

Sarah Parker

So... why are you doing Nano again?
To kick start my writerly habit. Plus I had a novel length idea. And it's fun!

Now you are at the half way mark, how is it going?
Really well, actually. I just had a three thousand word day, which is just brilliant. I am playing around with the way I write this time. I have a pretty strong plan, but I am allowing myself to play. I find that some parts I am in love with, and some parts of it will need a lot of fixing!

How are your wordcounts?
I have been hovering just under (by about 200 words or so) the expected wordcount on most days. I started late, have skipped a few days, and I have been ahead a couple of days. As of the end of the day today, I am about a thousand words over where I needed to be.

Do you think you will finish on time?
Yes.

What do you think you're going to learn from Nanowrimo 2011?
This year I think I am learning to talk more about my writing! And to talk more to other people about writing in general!

Helen Venn

So... why are you doing Nano again?
I'd got a bit distracted by Real Life so my current WIP had slowed.  NaNo was just a way to jump start things again. It's worked but I'm not fussed if I don't get to 50,000 in new writing. I just want to keep things moving.

Now you are at the half way mark, how is it going?
Real Life has kicked me in the backside again which disrupted my routine a bit so I'm not up to the word count I'd hoped for but I'm happy enough with what I have. I've found and fixed some gaping holes too and that's meant less words on paper writing but it's just as important for the finished product so it's all good as far as I'm concerned.

How are your wordcounts?
Definitely not enormous but number of words is not the critical thing for me at this point.

Do you think you will finish on time?
Well, I'll have finished what I've set out to do which is to add a lot of useful words to those I started with but I won't have finished my novel . Fantasy novels are rarely only 50,000 words long and this is no exception.

What do you think you're going to learn from Nanowrimo 2011?
Tricky question. I'd say I've just had reinforced what I already knew which is to be disciplined, set goals and put in the time. Without those things no-one would ever get a novel written. The other thing is that the more you write the more your writing flows so having made a commitment to spend time writing every day makes it easier to continue and I find, although it mightn't apply to everyone, that the quality of my writing generally improves.

Sarah P

The Night of Writing Dangerously

Saturday night two of the Egoboo crowd made it to the Rockingham version of the Night of Writing Dangerously, generously organized and provided by the Rockingham Council and run by Lee Battersby.

Satima and I ended up at far ends of the room, probably a good thing as my laugh carries! Over twenty sponsors donated time, memberships, books, magazines, and flyers to help make the Write-In awesome.

When we walked through the door, we were greeted by a table full of packed bags and a sign-in sheet, and to the right tables of tea, coffee, and huge stacks of prizes. Over fifty odd writers joined us for the wild ride of talking to professional authors (Anna Jacobs and Bevan McGuiness) and settling in for some serious wordcounts.

I made 3250 during the night. Not words I am in love with, but they are words to work with none the less. Various partners in crime wrote between 200 words through to 4000, and given the number of people there, possibly even more!

Anna Jacobs was a delight to listen to. Not only does she have fifty five books published, but she is a Pantser. She does very little planning, but lots of research, and has no idea what is going to happen until it does. She stressed the important of learning how to write in ways that suit YOU and only YOU, and that there are no solid rules other than your writing must be gripping, interesting, and drag the reader along for the ride.

Bevan McGuiness was enthusiastic and energetic, bouncing around the desk to talk about how he balances writing and full time work. He talked about finding sources of inspiration to help us maintain the creative flow, and developing his works around trying to capture the feel of the inspiration source.

Once the authors had had a bit of a chat with us all, we settled in for the first round of writing. I think on our table, the bulk of our words were written now. Fire and energy ran through our veins; though I will point out it was rather disconcerting to sit next to Heidi Wessman Kneale, who hammered her keyboard so fast I thought I saw smoke.

Is this what people think when they sit next to me? I have had numerous comments about typing like a machine gun, for example. Just because I learnt on the old fashioned type writer, I may be a little hard on the old board, and having been an IRC junkie for a while, my keystrokes might be on the high side...

I managed about 1700 words in the first hour (I think) and then after that I was pulling teeth. I got a cup of tea; I gossipped with Lyn Battersby, I chatted with people.. and then we had dinner, courtesy of Subway. It was really wonderful to be in a space with so many other creatives hammering away, and food was a simple "walk up and get it" rather than a "plan, remove children, start cooking, remove children, eat and clean up, remove children..." type of affair.

All in all I found the experience amazing,  validating, and inspiring. I'm hoping I can make a few more writing nights happen through sheer force of will before the end of November, unfortunately much smaller ones, and ones with planning and children and cleaning involved.

Regardless, I would say my big lesson with this year's Nano is learning how to talk to other writers.
:)

Once again, I'd like to say thanks to Lee Batterby for running the event, and also to Ace Cinemas; Adventure world; Asgard Games; ASIM; Australian writers Marketplace; Coeur De Lion Publishing; Cosmic Comics; Fablecroft Publishing; Fremantle Press; Fun Station; Harper Collins Australia; Island Magazine; Meanjin Magazine; Peter Cowan Writers Centre; Rockingham Shopping Centre; Serendipity MediSpa Baldivis; Sterling's Office National; Twelfth Planet Publishing; Walker Books and White Dwarf Books.

The prizes were very much coveted! I will definitely be keeping an ear out to see if this will run again next year.

Sarah P

Laura and Sarah go Head to Head - Wanna Join Up Too?

Dear Author, 

Nanowrimo is fast approaching, and this year Laura and I will be going head to head in 30 days of literary brawling.

What is Nanowrimo, you ask? It's a month of writing dangerously, throwing all your preconceived notions about 'writing' out the window, and allowing you to do something you always wanted to do - prioritise your manuscript! The challenge is to write 50K over 30 days... merely 1667 words a day. It's a lot of a challenge, but it's exhilarating and fun and you get to do it with friends.

Two of the Egoboo group will be accepting the challenge this year, Laura E Goodin and my humble self. I can write like a demon when I need to - but the only person I need to beat this year is the 50K mark. I intend to write updates on Egoboo as often as I can face the keyboard, so expect to see some stats and mumbles as I stumble along.

Come and join up with us to join in the fun - there will be widgets! Yay widgets! I have a bit of a handicap this year, stepping off the plane on the 1st of November, either losing a day of writing or gaining a day strapped into a plane seat with nothing better to do (except maybe sleep.) Battling with jetlag, will I be able to produce anything at all?

So come on in and join us! It's bliss! (or a frantic scramble for your manuscript. One of the two!)

Plus only a few months after that Twelfth Planet Press is opening the doors to new manuscripts. This could be your year! Join up today!

--
Sarah Lee Parker
P.S. I wrote my post first dammit! :) 

Oh, yes, November will be intense.

I know, I know. I've heard all the objections and whining about NaNoWriMo. If you are one of the NaNo wowsers (a great word that I only learned after coming to Australia), I suppose you are performing a useful service for those who traffic in outrage. Me, I love NaNo. I love the camaraderie and the productivity and the buzz and the spirit of fun. Because, at its heart, it's a game. A fun, encouraging, energizing game.

This year, in fact, I'm deliberately breaking the rules of NaNoWriMo, in that I will be adding words to an existing work, rather than starting a new project. And for you NaNo rule heavies, well, I stick my tongue out at you, too. (To show just how much, or how little, the rules matter in this good-natured game, there's an "official" term for people like me: NaNo rebels.)

I look forward to the encouragement of my Egoboo buddies, and I look forward to getting a very large percentage of my novel-in-progress drafted, or at least raking together a big pile of word-leaves to jump in and scatter. (Ah, what you Australians miss, growing up amid a tragic paucity of deciduous trees.) And I especially look forward to the chance to cheer my buddies on, on, on! On to glory! On to victory! On to transcendent states of mind where the words flow like the Zambezi over the Victoria Falls!

Like Sarah & Laura, I've just decided I will do the Nanowrimo thing again this year.  Not sure I should be doing it, but last year, got a novel completed in 2 weeks (well, 3 quarters of it) so shall do it again.  Don't know if it will be in the same universe or something else entirely.  I shall just have to wait & see.
I will both curse and enjoy the challenge, as much as I do with all my writing projects.  It's a time to both be structured and free-flowing.  It involves and condenses all the joys and frustrations of what takes normally takes a lot longer.  It's writing in a time-box: all constrictions visible, no opening for escape, and yet, within that box, there are also no limits (TARDIS analogy, anyone?). 
So Sarah - Laura - I will be joining you.

Best of luck to all 3 of us!

(this is the 1st post from new member, Keira - hopefully it won't be the last)

A Challenge for Everyone!

Good morning everyone,

The City of  Rockingham's National Novel Writing Month programme gets bigger each year, and the City is proud to announce award winning authors Bevan McGuiness and Anna Jacobs as guest authors for "The Night of Writing Dangerously", to take place at the Gary Holland Community Centre on Saturday 12 November from 5-10pm.

“The Night of Writing Dangerously” is a five hour writing marathon, with access to advice and consultation from professional guest authors who act as ‘bounties’ in a series of encouragement exercises with spot prizes throughout the night. All attendees will receive a 'show bag' of promotional materiel and there will also be a door prize comprising a basket of writing & reading related goodies, thanks to event sponsors Adventure World; Andromeda Spaceways In-flight Magazine; Asgard Games; Cosmic Comics; Coeur De Lion Publishing; Fablecroft Publishing; Fremantle Press; Fun Station; Harper Collins Publishers Australia; Island Magazine; Meanjin Magazine; Overland Magazine; Peter Cowan Writers Centre; Rockingham Shopping Centre; Serendipity MediSpa Baldivis; Sterling's Office National; Twelfth Planet Publishing and White Dwarf Books

Anna Jacobs writes historical and modern novels. She’s had 55 novels traditionally published so far, with others are contracted and in the pipeline. Her latest historical novel is ‘The Trader’s Wife’ set in Western Australia and Singapore in the mid 1860s. Her latest modern novel is ‘Moving On’, set in the UK and Western Australia, and she’s also had a book of short romantic stories published ‘Short and Sweet’. Anna is currently the 11th Most Borrowed Author of Adult Fiction in the UK and is doing equally well in Australian libraries, too.

Bevan McGuiness is the author of two fantasy trilogies as well as short stories, book reviews, a novel based on his experiences as a teacher, and pieces for texts on science education. He lives near Perth with his wife and daughter. Although he has worked as a factory hand, geophysicist and laboratory assistant, he is now a teacher of chemistry at a boys’ school in Perth, and is currently working on another fantasy trilogy and two children’s fantasy series.

Registration is free, but places are limited. To register, contact Lee Battersby, Community Development Officer (Arts & Culture), on (08) 9528 0386 or lee.battersby@rockingham.wa.gov.au



Lee Battersby - Community Development Officer

PO Box 2142 Rockingham DC WA 6967
Civic Boulevard, Rockingham Western Australia
telephone +61 8 9528 0386 facsimile +61 8 9592 1705
email lee.battersby@rockingham.wa.gov.au