Wednesday, November 30, 2005
National Novel Writing Month: My Results
The object of National Novel Writing Month is to write a novel of 50,000 words in November. I took on the challenge because I started a new book many month ago, and I hadn't worked on it for months. I had already written 13000 plus words. So my aim was to try and finish the book. I am happy to report that I finished the first draft of the book tonight, writing more than 22,000 words this month.
It has been a busy month and I am pleased I was able to get the first draft written. I learned also more about how I write. Since I write historical novels, I research as I go along. Sometimes I came to an impasse in the story when I was unsure of the historical facts. That meant, I had to stop writing until I figured out the context or found the necessary date, event, or detail. I must have been doing this all along, but only when I was under the pressure of a deadline did I realize that my writing is a dance between the historical research and the writing.
It has been a busy month and I am pleased I was able to get the first draft written. I learned also more about how I write. Since I write historical novels, I research as I go along. Sometimes I came to an impasse in the story when I was unsure of the historical facts. That meant, I had to stop writing until I figured out the context or found the necessary date, event, or detail. I must have been doing this all along, but only when I was under the pressure of a deadline did I realize that my writing is a dance between the historical research and the writing.
