Farewell November and NaNoWriMo 2016

Phew! I've finished! It's over! I actually managed to complete this writing exercise this year. It has been quite a challenge, finding time each day to sit down and write, amidst the busyness that is life. I've attempted it twice before and have given up mid way through the month on both previous occasions. This time round I knew that if I could keep going beyond the mid month point there was every chance I would be able to complete it. There is no doubt it takes hard work and determination. There have been days when I've stared at the screen willing the words to come out. There have been days when I've been so tired my eyes hurt. But there have also been days when I couldn't stop writing, when I was on a roll and the ideas and words kept flowing. What I find amazing about the whole process is that while I had a rough idea of the story when I started, I had no idea who all the characters would be, how the story would unfold or how it would end.
I didn't sign up to do this through the NaNoWriMo official site. Instead I chose to do it my way. My target was to write over 1000 words a day, aiming for 40,000 words in total. I'm pleased to say I've achieved both targets.
The main thing is I now have a very rough draft of a novel.
Now the fun part starts - re-writing and editing! :-)

Still writing.....Still on track.....

I'm delighted that I'm still participating in this year's NaNoWriMo, after three weeks. Today I reached the 30,000 word mark. Hopefully I can keep this writing discipline going for the next week and a bit and see it through to the end of the month. it's a very, very, rough draft, but I'm delighted it's beginning to take shape.

Writing workshop with Sheena Wilkinson

http://eastsidearts.net/event/taking-your-imagination-walk-writing-workshop-sheena-Wilkinson


I really enjoyed taking part in this writing workshop led by Sheena Wilkinson as part of the CS Lewis Festival in Belfast this morning. Sheena, you worked us hard, but it was good fun, inspiring and has given me a few ideas which I can integrate into my writing.

I also enjoyed the chat over lunch with fellow writers Yvonne and Mairi and Sheena afterwards.

Persistence pays off

I was delighted to hear today that I've won second prize in a writing competition - it was a national children's writing competition organised by the Society of Civil and Public Service Writers (though this competition was open to anyone). The story - 'Left Footed Lionel' - was penned in Coney Island during our writing retreat there this summer! I'm well chuffed!


http://scpsw.co.uk/index.php

Day 15 NaNoWriMo

So it's now Day 15 in NaNoWriMo - the half way point. I'm still aiming for 1000 words a day and so far I've stuck to this discipline and achieved this target every day. I've now reached just over 20,000 words and while the story is still taking shape, as it twists and turns more intrigue develops each day. This is the third time I've participated in this writing challenge and the most I've ever written as part of it. There's no doubt it is hard work, but at this point I'm still enjoying the process and so far have only had one writing episode where I experienced writer's block for a short time. Let's hope the next 15 days are as productive!

self publishing workshop

https://shirleyannemcmillan.com/

I thoroughly enjoyed Shirley's workshop on Self publishing today with Yvonne and Maddie at The Black Box - It was a very insightful, honest account of the pros and cons of self publishing. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.

NaNoWriMo progress

It's Day 9 of National Novel Writing Month - or NaNoWriMo as it's known. It's an initiative to try to help writers write the first draft of a novel in a month. This is the third time I've tried it and in other years have kept at it until mid way through the month, when life has taken over. So far this year I've managed to be disciplined and write a bit every day. I'm not aiming for 50,000 words by the end of the month, but I am trying to write at least 1000 a day and so far I've made it to 12,023.

BookweekNI

It's been a great BookWeekNI! I'm still on target with my writng every day as part of NaNoWriMo. I was at Anthony Quinn and William Ryan's book launch at No Alibis, Belfast on Friday night. Yesterday I was back at my writing group in Coney Island. And I've managed to fit in some reading too! It doesn't get much better than this - apart from it being my own book launch of course

Anthony Quinn's book launch at No Alibis

https://twitter.com/ShaunaReports/status/794610447391588352
More inspiration from another successful local author tonight.

I enjoyed being at Anthony Quinn's book launch at 'No Alibis' bookshop tonight. Being in the company of successful writers is always inspiring, and being in the company of would-be successful writers even more so. Great to see fellow writers from Coney Maddie, Yvonne and Rhonda there and enjoy a chat over coffee. It was also lovely to meet successful author Orla McAlinden in person - having chatted online and to see Anthony again.

New month, new writing

http://nanowrimo.org/en/regions/europe-northern-Ireland
So it's started for another year - Nanowrimo - National Novel Writing Month - and I'm having a go again this year. It's Day 2 and so far I've managed to reach my target word count on each day. Let's hope I can sustain it....