Writing a novel is hard, it really is. Even if you have excellent ideas, the words often struggle to form in your head - or on the page. Getting from concept to finished product is a huge task.
I am trying, I have the ideas, I have plot lines, characters and relevant historical facts written on note cards and notebook pages all around my office, but then when I sit down to get the writing done - I get stuck. I read what I have just written and it sounds so stilted, so stiff and unnatural and most of all it sounds BORING. I know my ideas are not boring - so I have to keep pushing myself to bring my ideas to life in a fresh and exciting way.
When I get too frustrated, I do some reading - looking at other historical work really helps me. I can see what I like and what I don’t like about the other authors’ work. I have been on a bit of a reading kick lately - to help get me motivated to write. I think it is helping me to refine my style and the message I want to convey in my writing.
So now I have the ideas, and I have prepared by doing research and reading other historical work - what I really need right now is the motivation and discipline to get it done. That’s where NaNoWriMo comes in. November is National Novel Writing Month! To celebrate I am planning to challenge myself to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. I have signed up online and publicly announced my intention ( to help with accountability - if I posted that I am doing this I have to be true to my word, because people will ask me about it). I know this is going to be incredibly hard. I know this is going to take a tremendous amount of discipline. I also know that this is the right thing to do. Pushing myself to reach for such a big goal is the only way that I will get moving on this novel and get it finished so I can share it with the world.
50,000 words!!!!!! Yikes - wish me luck everyone.
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