Saturday, November 29, 2014

Nanowrimo Winner


It's all over. I have finally managed to reach the target of 50,000 words. I am writing about this not to bask in the glory of this achievement (well perhaps a little) but to highlight what a good idea having a target is for a writer. Feeling a part of an online community is something that does help to motivate. It's also amazing how many words can accumulate when you work steadily on an idea.

It wasn't easy. There were many days when I sat in front of my computer and started falling asleep but had to wake myself up in order to complete the daily target which was around 1,600 words. For most of this month I played catch up as there were two days when I wrote nothing. Last night I felt a little possessed by some sort of writing demon and wrote ferociously until I finished it.

Now, I feel like more hours have been added to my day. A big weight has been taken off me and I no longer have to write to keep guilty thoughts at bay. The editing is next and the ironic thing is that this will involve reducing what I have written. Redundant sections will be chopped, language will be strictly scrutinised and deleted if deemed unnecessary.

The hardest part is then knowing what to do with this finished work. Do I send it to publishers, self-publish, post it here or do nothing? Writers have it harder than musicians in many ways as they have to find a way to share their work and of course it takes more effort and willingness on behalf of potential readers than listeners. If anyone has any ideas on this matter, please comment or write to me. I am thinking of taking a DIY approach but am not sure yet just how that will look.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Well done! Proud of you! :)

Philip soanes said...

Thanks Munchkin.