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Short stories for Nanowrimo update – one week in!

Written by Della Galton on . Posted in NaNoWriMo, News, Writing. 3 Comments

This year, as I mentioned in my last blog, I’m attempting to write 50,000 words of short stories during the month of November for Nanowrimo. We are 7 days in. I thought you might like to know how I’m getting on.

Statistics

  • I’ve written 14,000 words so far in 7 days.
  • I’ve started ten stories.
  • I’ve finished eight of them in first draft.
  • So far I’ve edited two and sent two out.

Yay, so it feels like I am achieving something.

Inspiration

My week started with a bang. Last weekend I was on a roll.  The words flowed. I wrote one longish story (2700 words), quite emotional, good structure that I liked a lot. Then another two pager (2000 words) which was lighthearted and fun. Quite liked this one too.

The next story I started, which was supposed to be a very short one pager decided it might quite like to be a serial. That’s one of the ones I haven’t finished, it’s about 2000 words currently.

Then came the one pagers, two of which are finished, edited and sent. The rest all need editing and I’m not sure I’m happy with the endings. I rarely am happy with my endings straight off.

It’s harder some days than others. It’s pretty full on writing like this. And I find it quite tiring.

Enjoyment Factor

Mostly, however, I am having a wonderful time. I think I mentioned that before. It’s incredibly freeing.  I’m not obsessing over any of the stories or worrying about them. I can’t even remember exactly what I’ve written.

Grass roots

It takes me back to when I began writing short stories.  I used to write at speed then. When I started to write full time, I wrote three stories a week. Every week. One on Monday morning, one on Monday afternoon, one on Tuesday morning. The remainder of the week was spent editing these three, teaching my five writing classes and editing any rewrites/rejections that came back in.  I don’t do that any more. There seems to be far more PR and publicity work to do. Oh and I don’t think there was much social media then either.

The Down Side

Is there one? Yes, possibly.

  • A part of me really really wants to edit as I go. It’s hard to resist that. It’s difficult to discipline myself not to look at yesterday’s story.
  • It also means I had to cancel virtually everything else I do in November. Apart from prebooked essentials, for example, tomorrow I’m teaching at Woman’s Weekly all day. I will leave my house at 5.45 a.m. and get back about 10.00 pm. I won’t be writing any Nano tomorrow. Mind you, if I was going on the train I would have done!
  • I’ve had to virtually give up social media. (is that a down side!) Oh, and answering emails.
  • My friends think I’m dead!
  • Oh, and I’m also moving house, which is slightly stressing me out. Haven’t packed much!

Week Two

This may be harder as I have 3 other commitments this week. I will report back. How is everyone else getting on?  Don’t forget, if you need any help with short stories, The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed is quite good.  Even if I do say so myself! 🙂

The New Year’s Resolution every writer will keep

Written by Della Galton on . Posted in ideas, Inspiration, Wednesday Writing Spot, Writing. 6 Comments

It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? We set a New Year’s resolution – this year we are going to write the novel, write every day, submit ten short stories a month to magazines. Will we keep them? Well, some of us will. But not many. Why not?

Perhaps because we are already over committed? Perhaps we don’t have time – however much we’d like to have it – to write that much. If you set yourself a ‘big’ resolution and you start to fail. Chances are you’ll give up, and feel guilty too.

Here is a resolution you will keep. No, it’s not eat more cake – although that is one of mine actually!

It is to begin a piece of writing. That is all. Just begin.

If you have time to read this blog, you have time to do this. Right now. Or maybe that should be write now!  There are three simple steps. They require seven minutes of your time.

Step one: Look at the prompts below.

Step two: Set the timer on your watch/phone/ or clock for six minutes.

Step three: Write an opening paragraph for ONE of the prompts.

Prompt one

Incorporate the following three words into a first paragraph. Rain, cupcake, crash.

Prompt two

Use this picture to inspire your first paragraph. Stop reading and do it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone done that? Congratulations. You have kept a New Year Resolution. It was that simple.

You have begun. You are a writer. What you do next is up to you. Do you continue to write or go and do the housework/play on Social Media/watch a television program? Maybe you could write a bit more instead of doing one of these things. Housework is overrated anyway. It doesn’t matter what you do next. You have completed a New Year resolution. You have begun.

Maybe you’ll finish the piece you started. Of course you’ll finish. You are a writer, aren’t you?

NB My weekly classes are held on Thursday Evenings, 7-9 and Friday Mornings, 10-12 at Kinson Community Centre, Millhams Road, Kinson. Email me if you’d like more details, or leave a message on this post.

If you would like to know more about writing, two of my writing books, The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed and The Novel Writer’s Toolshed are currently 99p on Amazon if you have a kindle or a kindle app.

Happy New Year. And Happy Writing.

 

NaNoWriMo So Far

Written by Della Galton on . Posted in NaNoWriMo, News, Writing. 2 Comments

If you’ve read this blog lately, you’ll know I’ve been doing the NaNoWriMo challenge, i.e. I signed up to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Well, actually, I’m a nano rebel. I decided it would be more fun to write 50,000 words of short stories instead of writing a novel.  So that’s what I’ve actually been doing. Here’s how it’s going so far.

I’m behind.  It’s day 22, so I should have written 36,666 words. I have actually written 30,625 words.  But hey, the good news is that I’ve written a whole pile of short stories.  I’ve just had a bit of a tally. So far I’ve completed:

8 stories of approx 1000 words

2 of 3000 words

2 of 2500 words

(The rest of the words are beginnings and ideas that aren’t fully developed – might be interesting to come back to later)

Of the completed 8 short stories, 3 are edited, polished and submitted to mags. 1 is sold. It’s called the Lebkuchen Heart and Take a Break bought it for their New Year issue of Fiction Feast. Yippee. The other short ones are complete (ish) but need editing and polishing.

Both the 3000 word stories are also complete, but need editing and polishing.

1 of the 2500 word stories is polished, edited and submitted. The other I just finished writing today, so still needs an edit and polish.

But that still means I have 12 stories done so far up to at least draft stage.

Plus a pile of beginnings that I may go back to and develop.

Plus a pile of words that may have the nugget of a character or idea in them but that aren’t very structured.

So being behind on my word count isn’t a problem. I am thrilled. I never really expected to do this much. Especially as I’m in the throes of moving house so lots of packing and sorting out is going on.

It’s really inspiring and magical writing short stories every day without having to worry too much if they are a) any good and b) finished.  Some of them I haven’t bothered finishing because they’re not working.  Usually I’d struggle with that and waste loads of time flogging a dead horse – excuse the cliché.  I’ve used all my original phrases in Nano stories 🙂

My top tip for doing Nano – or at least the thing that’s worked best for me, is to do it first thing. I don’t do anything else, not even check emails or go on Facebook or Twitter when I get to my computer. I just open up my Nanowrimo document, type the date, and start on today’s story.  (I don’t – even if I really want to – edit yesterdays. Although I have let myself finish it if I didn’t manage to finish it the day before.)

It’s fantastic.  Wonderfully Liberating.

Better get back to work.  But I’d love to hear about other people’s Nanowrimo experiences. How are you getting on?

Tell your friends!

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