Sunday, November 08, 2009

Literary abandon or abandoned literature?

A few weeks ago I brought up the idea of participating in this years NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). A few of the other writers thought it would be fun and three of us decided to take the plunge. So, we have 30 days to write a 50,000 word, 175 page fiction novel. One of the writers averaged it out to 1,700 words a day. Do you want to know how many I've typed up so far?

ZERO.

I totally bit off more than I can chew.

I have a story line for a horror fiction novel. Funny, because I don't read fiction and I certainly don't read horror. I don't even watch horror films because I get nightmares easily. But, for some reason, I think I can write horror. Actually, I've wanted to write a memoir of my childhood, but I can't remember a whole lot (the brain does funny things, I suppose). I had a journal of everything and when Bill and I were engaged, we burned the journal in a barbecue pit at a park. It was a way to close that chapter on my life and not have anything to remind me of the horrors.

I think I can take the details that I do remember and then add some more craziness with a serial killer living in a family house and turn it into a work of fiction. I suppose all I have to do now is find the time to write it all up. Bill was going to be on a business trip all week this week and I was going to use that alone time at night to write and catch up. The trip got canceled, so now I think I'm just going to have to neglect my family this week to get it done.

How are all of these writers with jobs (or I should say, multiple jobs) doing it all? How can I fit preschool, playgroups, food writing assignments, meetings and everything in between? I'm not one to admit that I have too much on my plate - but seriously, I'm full. However, I'm not giving up. I'll get there, even if I have to lock myself in the office for a while.

4 comments:

Kelly said...

well, you definitely have writing skills. so, once you are able to carve a few minutes from your day to write, i think it will flow pretty easily.

besides, you don't HAVE to make that 175 novel appear out of thin air as quickly as you had planned. even if you get a third of it written, that is a huge accomplishment!

things like this are used to challenge and inspire, dont let it paralyze you!

good luck!

london said...

Mostly i love to read... and i just read and read.. but my friends they are writing a novel and they has been done 10,102 words...

erica said...

I'm curious as to why you feel you need to take on more than what you already have going on?

Kristin said...

It's not that I feel like I need to, it's that I want to because it's an opportunity that sounds fun.

Might as well live life to the fullest because you never know when it's going to end, right?