Dean Clayton Edwards
  • Books
  • About Dean
  • BLOG
  • Dream Journal
  • Dream Fiction
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Dean

No More NaNoWriMo or Another View of Novel Writing Success

11/27/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
​This paranormal suspense writer is withdrawing from National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Literary victory was in sight, but at too great a cost.

In a previous year, I rushed my Nanowrimo novel and ended up with something that was 50,000 words long, but was so bad that I buried the book in a salt mine, the way I might have buried one of my characters, grumbling:

"You can scream all you like, I'm not editing you."

The reason: If I try to reach 50,000 words by December, I can be sure that I won't be producing the best writing I've ever produced ... unlike the 30,000 words that I HAVE successfully written this month.

I glance at what I've written to make important edits and to find my place and I see that some of my favourite elements are in this story in terms of content and tone. It has been hard work, with many 5am starts, but I've also had a lot of fun with it and it's alive now: the characters have stepped up and I have an idea of what will happen next, but I don't know how or if these things will really pan out. Whatever turns the story takes, soon it will be independent of me and I'll send it into the world to have new adventures with new people, hopefully you.

If you're interested in reading the novel (for free), subscribe here to receive updates and to receive a digital copy on completion.

I have 30,000 words of personal project written this month, which is 28,500 words more than I wrote (not including ghostwriting or non-fiction) in the first 10 months of the 2015.

In answer to the question 'how has ghostwriting affected my work', I've gradually and unintentionally doubled my writing speed. I'm now up to about 1000 words per hour. Vroom. Quality seems to be better than ever too, but I'll save judgement for my readers. 

NaNoWriMo has afforded me some essential revision in writing everyday and in building and maintaining momentum, small, regular steps being more productive than massive leaps, which only FEEL more productive. The NaNoWriMo word count graph does not lie. 

Congratulations to everyone who has made it to 50k or will do so in the next few days. I'm in awe and I look forward to reading some of your stories if you let us. 

Congratulations too though to those who didn't reach 50k. I hope you had as much fun as I did and/or learnt as many lessons. I was disappointed at first, but there's really no need to be discouraged; the end of National Novel Writing Month needn't be the end of anybody's writing.

Receive a FREE copy of this novel as soon as it's edited and months before publication. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Dean's Dream Journal

    I'm often inspired by dreams. 

    RSS Feed

    How to Remember Your Dreams
    "How to Remember Your Dreams" will help you with:
    • dream analysis,
    • dream interpretation,
    • creativity, and
    • emotional balance.

    Exchange your front row seat for a starring role.

    Available on Amazon.

    Categories

    All
    A Game Of Thrones
    Aliens
    Battlestar Galactica
    Dream Incubation
    Dream Journal
    Dream Stories
    False Awakening
    Flash Fiction
    Horror
    Lucid Dream
    Lucidity
    Returning To A Dream
    Scientists And Experiments
    Sunflower
    Train
    WBTB
    Zombies


    Archives

    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015


    Tweets by deancedwards
    Tweet to @deancedwards
    Follow @deancedwards
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Photos used under Creative Commons from yourbestdigs, Ben Gesoff, jurvetson
  • Books
  • About Dean
  • BLOG
  • Dream Journal
  • Dream Fiction
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Dean