Why I Write

Because it’s an escape from reality into infinite possibility.

Because I don’t have to be self-conscious or awkward when I’m typing words on a page or writing in my notebook.

Because writing is the closest I’ll get to real magic, and I’m still waiting for my Hogwarts owl.

Because it is deeply personal and yet we share it and love it and talk about it.

Because I am a writer.

Because it’s like knitting; word after word, stitch after stitch, something new and beautiful (sometimes) comes together.

Because I’ve written over a million words in the last twelve years of doing NaNoWriMo just in the month of November.

Because the process is what matters.

Because I never lost that sense of awe I felt as a child when I realised a pen and paper was all you needed to create a new world.

Because someone thought something well over thousand years ago and I can still read it now.

Because I never figured out to stop, and I don’t want to.

What else have I been writing?

Guys, you should check out Nerd Underground if you are even slightly a geek. I’ve been writing there for a few months and now I’m part of the core admin team it’s even more fun. The other writers are fabulous and we’re really working hard on making something decent of the site.

Most of my articles lately have been reviews of TV shows or comics; the lack of anything more substantial is due to some stupid health problems that leave me with no energy or concentration lately. Still, I’m on a lot of meds and should be back to my fighting self again any day now, writing as much as ever in my compulsive ways.

You can find my most recent articles here.

Other than that I have an article about knitting and mental health being published in an actual real life magazine. I’ll update on that as it progresses.

If you can check out N.U., let me know what you think!

Terry Pratchett.

Today I bought Men at Arms which has always been one of my favourite Terry Pratchett novels. Previously I didn’t need to buy my own copies because I used the Library of Dad – it was one of the things we bonded over and how he began to realise I’m a complete nerd. Terry Pratchett’s books have brought me so much joy over the years.

I am so, so sad to hear he died today.

It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It’s called living. – Terry Pratchett

There is nothing out there remotely like the Discworld novels but that was not all Pratchett brought us. I remember the day Dad came in with two hardback copies of Nation – it was released on my birthday so he took it as a sign I needed my own copy. I remember watching Pratchett’s touching talk on euthanasia, something that was close to his heart thanks to early onset Alzheimers.

Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. – Terry Pratchett

My heart hurts for the loss of this man and I’m not usually the kind to get upset about ‘celebrity’ deaths. I’ve never met them, after all.

But Terry Pratchett was such a huge part of my formative years and I will always carry his (ridiculous and surreal but always poignant) words in my mind.

From Terry Pratchett’s own Twitter…

The End.

— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

Another NaNoWriMo Success!

Getting the last 1,500 words of the NaNoWriMo target out of me yesterday took the best part of three hours. Of course just before the final real milestone of 50,000 words I found myself at an intricate and difficult plot point that involved the introduction of many new characters, all of whom had a point.

All that meant I could not for the life of me hurry the hell up.

My usual typing speed can get me 1,000 words in 15 minutes without pushing myself so far, but sometimes the plot just takes over and it becomes impossible. During November that doesn’t happen very often – except this year I know what I’m writing and, at least in the vaguest sense, I know where it’s going.

Usually NaNoWriMo is one long word war for me. For those who don’t know, warring/sprinting is when you take a time and write as much as you can in those minutes. It’s drastically increased my typing speed over time and, more importantly, it’s a good way to get past the fear of Getting It Right and instead focus on Getting It Done. After all, you can’t edit a blank page.

I still have a way to go. I think this story might end up being around 80-90 thousand words in its roughest form.

How are you guys doing? I loved hearing about your progress before.

How is Your Nanowrimo Going?

We’re more than a week into NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) so for those of you who are involved, how are you doing with it?

As it stands my stats look like this:

So I’d say I’m doing pretty well.

My aim this time hasn’t been to reach 50,000. This is my eleventh year writing and I’ve only lost once: I know I can do the wordcount thing. My aim is to finish the story.

So often I get to 50,000 words and stop, abandoning it forever. Like knitting an intricate laceweight sweater and never bothering to finish the sleeves, this makes no sense at all. This year I want to change that.

For the first time, I think I might.

The story I’m writing is one I’ve written before. Twice, in fact. I wrote it in 2012 and continued to write it through most of 2013. In November 2013, I rewrote it. And then I forgot about it. It’s a story about dryads and humans completely failing to share a city and a forest. I love the two main characters. I really need to finish it.

Tell me what you do at the end of November! Do you close the file? Keep going? Set fire to your laptop and run away screaming?

Preparing for Nanowrimo

It’s been more than a decade since someone suggested I try out NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. Every year since then I have sat down with my laptop on my knees and poured out a fifty thousand word story from somewhere inside my soul.

The last few years have been different. I have been growing in confidence and though I always win (minus one year), now I really feel as thought I’m writing something with substance. Usually I shut the novel on December 1st without finishing the story and never look at it again, pleased to have written so many words in so little time. I don’t think about the content.

The last two years I have basically written the same story but from scratch each time. This year I’m going to do the same; it’s a story that is itching to get out of me and I am going to have to go to drastic measures to ensure I follow it to its conclusion this time.

Yes, that’s right. I’m going to outline it.

I’m not much of a planner. I pick up projects, knitting included, and don’t think about the consequences. It has given me oceans of false starts but also worked out well on occasion. This year I need to change the way I face it or I will end up writing the same fifty thousand words over and over with no resolution and no chance of it turning into a book rather than a large and ignored Word file.

Writing is a lot like knitting. It is satisfying to watch a project grow, whether written or knitted, stitch by stitch and word by word. Unfortunately I am not great at getting to the equivalent of the cast-off edge in my writing. Somehow I am going to change that this year.

Is anyone else writing a speed novel this November?