Paul Schiernecker

Tag: National Novel Writing Month

  • NaNoWriMo 19

    It’s 18th November, 2019. I have finished the first draft of my National Novel Writing Month project. It’s been an interesting two and a half weeks where I’ve had to carry my laptop with me at all times, desperately squirreling away when I get some time to myself to work. This was the first time that I had worked using Dan Harmon’s Story Circles and I found it such a useful tool to get to grips with what my protagonist wanted.

     This in conjunction with my ability to put the blinkers on and focus on the sole task of making word count for the day. The fact that I’ve managed to write 55,000 words (exactly) in eighteen days means that I was going above the daily wordcount of 1,667 substantially. The rebooted website (which is not without its bugs) says that I’ve averaged 3,055 words a day.

    Knowing that I can’t look at the words I have written for at least a month, and not having anything better to do with my time, I think it’s important to tell you all that I have immediately started on another project. In October I posted a poll to social media with three different ideas for stories. The detective story I have just finished was the winner by a nose, so I think it’s only fair I write up the second idea – a coming of age story told through a series of letters to a cultural icon. I’ve always been interested in the nature of teenagerhood, and the awkwardness that comes across children as they bloom into the people that they are due to become. As ever, it’s an opportunity for me to process a lot of things that I went through at that time and to try and understand how it made me who I am.

     

    I can’t promise that I’ll get another 50k done, but my god I’m willing to try.

  • The First 20k.

    They say the first cut is the deepest. By they, I mean animal-print-clad pork swordsman Rod Stewart. I can’t account for that. I suppose it’s possible the first cut could be like a tester and then they could really take the plunge. Initially see how malleable the flesh is, then go up to the hilt.
    Where was I? Oh yes, National Novel Writing Month.
    This year is my fifth go at NaNoWriMo, a personal challenge of the highest order where participants seek to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days.
    How could someone possibly do that? you cry.
    Well, it breaks down to 1,667 words a day. Piece of piss.
    No, literally, how could someone do that?
    Also a good question. It turns out that you have to give up an awful lot in order to keep the writing wolf from the door, or invite him in and eat him, I’m lost in metaphors this week. Yesterday I didn’t leave my flat. I stayed in and clocked up over six thousand words, taking breaks to watch Parks & Recs, my latest addiction in between. I probably could have written more but one of my hands went numb, my eyes were streaming and I had a friend over for chilli and cuddles.

    Yesterday I managed to hit 20,000 words. I’m immensely proud of having already made it to this point. I would be prouder if I hadn’t learned that someone in the group finished NaNoWriMo in three days. But it’s not a competition and we are all winners just for taking part.

    So keep on trucking. You’re doing great. Weekends are good for catching up if you’re fortunate enough to not have to work. If you do have to work then write notes for yourself through the course of the day or dictate the next chapter to yourself. It can help to access that conversational part of your brain that equates so well to storytelling.

    So that’s it, I’m 20k in, but I’m not over the hump yet. Even with the halfway point in sight and possible today I’m already assuming I’ll write around 75k.

    Peace.

  • NaNoWriMo Cometh.

    It’s that time of year again when I’m panicking and making spreadsheets and clearing my diary and wondering how close to the brink I will get as I throw myself into another novel-writing month.
    For those who are new to the project, here are my tips from earlier this year when I took part in Camp NaNoWriMo:

  • Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 24

    Day 24 of Camp NaNoWriMo 2016. 38,000 words in.
    The countdown is saying I’m going to finish on the 1st August which is technically outside of July. Once you’re into August it’s time up. That means I need to write more words than I currently am. I’ve never taken part in Camp NaNoWriMo and not won so I think my pride will get the better of me and I’ll really push this thing along before next Sunday.

    There have been some days this week when I didn’t write at all. It’s not so much that the story is stuck, simply that I’ve had other stuff on, which is fine. Then the weekend comes along and I’ve got more time to myself. I can sit and write and get on with things. I’ve written 2,400 already and I’m going to try and smash out a couple more.

    I hit a point this morning where suddenly everything that happens from here on in makes a lot of sense. I wrote a plot-point in today and it all feeds in. I get where the characters are going. It’s definitely not going to be finished at 50,000 words. If I hit 50k before the end of the month then I’ll be really pleased with myself. If I can spend evenings this week going beyond that point and getting the story finished as well then that’s fantastic. It’s probably going to be closer to 70k. That’s a lot. When you consider I’ve only written 8,000 this week I know I’m going to be hard pushed. I am a sucker for punishment though.

    I hope all of your projects are going well and that you’re looking forward to finishing and indulging yourselves a little bit.

    Peace.

  • Camp NaNoWriMo 2016 – week 1

    As ever I’ve driven myself to distraction with my writing. It’s day ten today and I’ve already hit 20,000 words. What makes this year and this Camp different is that I have not lived the experiences I am writing about.

    For the last three years I have used November to write my travel journals from the annual charity treks I do. That’s where Yallah came from and in time the Peru book and Grand Canyon book should follow. I’ve taken a different tact and decided to write a sci-fi having undertaken very little research and with little planning – it’s very much a flying by the seat of my pants job. The cool thing is that it seems to be working. My friend Lottie called me out for always writing subservient female characters so I’ve not only written two powerful female leads but also have not boasted about the size of their tits once. Now that’s progress ladies.

    I’m enjoying this project and, as ever, it is interesting to see where my mind sends me off to. There are so many different ways it can go and I don’t yet have an ending but I have an interesting arc, good characters, and shit is about to go down.

    Love you.

  • 5 Tips for Camp NaNoWriMo

    Screen Shot 2016-06-30 at 13.44.13Camp NaNoWriMo is run every July and is basically the same as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which goes on in November. Writers from all over the world aim to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I’ve taken part in it for four or five years and won every year.

    It involves having to give up a lot of your life to get it done. The aim is to write 1,667 words a day which over the course of the month means you have written a whole book. Here are my five tips for a successful Camp NaNoWriMo.

    1. If you fail to plan then you will plan to fail
    I know it sounds like nonsense business speak because it is used as nonsense business speak. There is a lot of truth in it though. The way I work is to take the 50,000 words and break it up so it doesn’t seem so daunting. If you can divide it into ten then you can think of these as ten chapters of five thousand words. If you can give those chapters a title and a basis then it makes the task an awful lot easier. If you can break it to 20 chapters of 2,500 words then you can deal with approximately a chapter a day to make the word limit. This is the best way of ensuring you do not become overwhelmed by the task at hand.

    2. Don’t stop
    As a writer, whether you are new to it or not there is a tendency to go back, whether that is at the end of a paragraph, the end of a page or the end of a chapter. Just don’t. Don’t stop. Don’t edit. Don’t give yourself room to question what it is that you are writing. Hemingway famously said to write drunk and edit sober. Get pissed on NaNoWriMo.

    3. Use resources
    There is a wealth of information out there. My Google history during these projects looks like the workings of a serial killer. You would be amazed at the things you have to research for a book. I’m currently trying to understand Quantum Physics. In addition, Camp NaNoWriMo itself is really good. You are put into a cabin with others who are taking part. The one I am in already has a really nice community feel to it.
    Use friends and cabin mates. Query things. If you get stuck then ask them to throw you a curveball or assist with the process of one of your characters. You don’t always have to take their advice but the option is there to work with.

    4. Treat yo’self
    There is a lot of work involved in doing NaNoWriMo. You need to take breaks. You need incentives. Mine is often caffeine. The idea of finishing for the day and having a beer or something nice to eat, going out with friends or however else you choose to unwind can often help as a driver to get that wordcount down. Make sure that you treat yo’self.

    5. Back that shit up
    I have never lost a project but I have lost other work through not backing up in some way shape or form. A lot of the time I choose to email a copy of whatever I’m working on through to myself so I know I can access it wherever I am and in case anything should happen to Hyacinth (my MacBook). I know people who have got 20,000 words in and lost their work. You’ll never be able to replicate it again. Your head was in a very particular space and it’s very hard to grab that again. Take the time at the end of your day to back that shit up.

    Thank you very much for reading and if you have any other tips or want to discuss your project then please drop me a message.

  • National Novel Writing Month – week 1 and week 2

    In the first two weeks of NaNoWriMo 2015 I managed to start and finish an entire book. It got pretty dark at times but I still thoroughly recommend it.

    Onto the next one…

  • Let’s give this NaNoWriMo a go then.

    National Novel Writing Month.
    It’s coming for us and I am very much looking forward to it.
    First off it will give me a good chance to purge my current writing from my system. I’ve been writing about the same characters and setting for over a year now and I’m almost ready to put the lot to bed, just another fifteen thousand words (approx) to go. I’m hoping that will all be out of the way by November and then the fun can really start.

    I’ve setup my account with NaNoWriMo here, feel free to ‘buddy’ me. I’d like to have a wide selection of people through life, Tumblr, Twitter and my blog taking part and setting up a forum where we can all share our aches and pains. If you’re interested then now is the perfect time to start planning, you’ve got twenty-eight days of planning, plotting and character development to carry out before the meaty task of actually writing begins.

    This is my first year of attempting NaNoWriMo and I’m still juggling the logistics of writing two thousand words a day and holding down a full time job. I’m thinking about writing during my commute and evenings and weekends, and seeing how I’m going after a week.
    I’m also quite pleased with the story outline I’ve got, it’s an idea I’ve been kicking about since October last year when I was so wrapped up in Situation One that I couldn’t have contemplated pausing for something else, but as I said that’s aside now and I’m moving on. This November it’ll be a love story about chaos theory and terrorism, because I can never do anything straight down the line.

    Come join me though, it’ll be an adventure.