Saturday, November 04, 2006

November: month of madness

It's late at night, and I'm thinking I should be put some where safe.

I've done just over 9,000 words today on Nano, and my thoughts are somewhat scattered. Why? Well not just because of the effort involved... okay, it is actually, and it's the schedule I've set for myself.

Last month, I wrote a 20k novelette for PBW's challenge, and outlines for the Nano challenge, and a short story for the takeaway. This month, I've set myself a challenge of writing two books and a short story for the takeaway.

And for those people who don't think that's a lot of work, well, it is.

Too much? I'll have to see, but the reward is the result: two books, two short stories, an e-book boosted by the fabulous Sheila Kelly, otherwise known as S.L. Viehl, Jessica Hall and Lynn Viehl, and the knowledge that I can meet deadlines and do challenges at the same time. All that adds up to demonstrating to prospective agents, editors and publishers that I can do the work when asked.

As for any tips I might have?

Tip No. 3: Don't take on more than you can manage. Nano isn't a sprint, it's a marathon and like any other marathon, you need to pace yourself. Set a particular amount every day. 1666 is fine for achieving 50,000, but if you want a book set your goal higher: 2,500 a day will give you a 75,000 word book and that's great. And remember: never give up on your dream to be a writer.

Did this post make sense? I hope so, otherwise, when I read it tomorrow, I'll be coloured embarrassment!

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