Tag: NaNoWriMo

The End, a screenshot
Writing About Writing

That’s a Whole Damn Novel!

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Photo by Pamela Weis – “The End” to my first completed novel (first draft), January 2020

I just finished writing an entire freaking novel! I’m a little stunned, I mean, sure, it’s a first draft, so it’s incredibly rough, and it’s my first one so…it probably stinks. But who cares! I did it!

It was my NaNoWriMo project. I finished with a little over 50,000 words at the end of November, but the story was not yet over. And now, a month and a half later, it’s done. My first complete historical fiction (or any kind of fiction) book. It might be a YA novel. It might not be. I’m not sure. I still don’t have a handle on this whole YA thing. But it doesn’t matter right now because wheeeee!!!

Sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed. I feel like there should be champagne. I’m in a hotel. I could order room service, I suppose. But…nah, I’m going out with colleagues tomorrow. I’ll quietly toast my accomplishment then. Because of course, no one I work with knows about this writing stuff. Hardly anyone I know…knows. I’ve been through grad school. I know the pain and discomfort of someone asking, “so how’s your thesis coming along? What are studying again?” and feeling completely helpless to answer in any way that would be even remotely interesting to them, non-esoteric, and/or brief. That’s what this is like. It’s my unique, imperfect little baby and it’s impossible to explain it at this point. It’s been an incredible learning experience and I want to keep doing it! But I don’t want to talk about it. I mean, okay, I’ll blog about it, but I’m not giving plot details or anything.

So yeah, I haven’t been too open about this fiction thing. I will spill the beans gradually over time. For now, I just want to bask in this huge feeling of accomplishment. I wrote a whole damn novel! Yeah!

Stairwell in 1850 House Museum, New Orleans
Writing About Writing

NaNoWriMo 2019 Project

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Photo by Pamela Weis – Stairwell in 1850 House Museum, New Orleans 2018

I am dabbling in historical fantasy. I don’t want to pigeon hole my stories, but that’s pretty much what this is. Late 19th century Brooklyn with ghosts, witches, and a talking cat – yeah, that fits the bill.

The quality of the story may be best suited for a young adult audience, but I’m not sure yet. What differentiates a YA fantasy from an adult fantasy? Complex plot lines? Sophisticated prose? Adult versus juvenile characters? I have not read much YA, so I’m not the person to answer this.

Regardless, I am loving the research process, finding fascinating tidbits on late 19th century New York and Brooklyn to weave into the story. And since this is not pure history, I can pick and choose, which is quite liberating. What sorts of toilets were most common among middle class families in the 1890s? What were the popular songs played on pianos in wealthy homes? Did women wear trousers? What was public transit like, if it existed at all? What were the most offensive and pleasing aromas one experienced when walking down a street on a hot summer day? There are so many little details to discover! Plus, I have included some tiny elements from my own family history, largely in the way of names, plus a few other odds and ends. It is deeply satisfying to create an entire world and imagine how the people in that world live each day.

This is my NaNoWriMo project for 2019 and I am almost done. Just over 46,000 words written and I will finish a day early because I won’t be around to write on the final day! It has been a fun challenge. I did not go to any write-ins, mostly because I write at odd hours, but also because I don’t think I would like writing in the same space with other people. It sounds distracting. But maybe I will try one next year, out of curiosity. If nothing else, it’s probably a good way to become part of a solid writing community.

The most important part of this writing journey so far, even without the NaNoWriMo challenge to help me along, is that I feel more confident with each day about the quality of my writing, and that I enjoy the process. I have written at least 800 words every day for the past six weeks or so. This is my new habit. My new routine. My new daily “must do.” With any luck, it will eventually become some kind of livelihood. But that was never the goal. The goal was always to just do it. And I have.

Morning on the east coast of South Africa
Writing About Writing

Writing Every Day

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Photo by Pamela Weis – Morning in South Africa 2008

I did it! For two weeks in a row, I managed to get up a little early every day and write at least 800 words. On the weekend I managed about 2000 words per day. And there was one weekday on which I hit 1000 words! This is a huge milestone for me. Waking up in the morning is painfully difficult, but for whatever reason, the motivation was there. And what a difference it makes…it is so much easier to hold onto the thread of a story when you write a little bit of it every day.

But this is a one day at a time process. I do have a little bit of a social life, and getting up early is not always possible when I have been up late the night before. Late for me is about 11:30. So I wrote in the afternoon on Sunday, and that worked because, well, it was Sunday. I don’t have that luxury during the week, but I managed to get back into the rhythm of it.

This settles my indecision about NaNoWriMo. If I can write every day, I can do NaNoWriMo. I may not hit 50,000 words, but damnit, I’ll try my hardest to make it happen. As for what I will write? Ah well, I think I’ll make that decision when I start writing on November 1st (gulp, today!). I have an idea for a new story – a new circumstance for a new character – but I will see how it goes. Either I will stick with a new project for that month and return to my primary project in December, or I’ll switch gears midway through and return to my primary project. It doesn’t matter. It’s all so exciting! It also feels really good. I have finally found, or rather, finally accepted, that writing is one of my favorite things to do.