Write a Novel in a Month

Cover by David Dalzell

I'd heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) years and years ago and always thought it sounded like a fun and challenging thing to do. But, I never thought I had the stones to do it. Now, with my second novel under my belt, I thought it was high time to give it a bash.

From writing two novels before I'd learned a lot about my own process and pitfalls. I'm very much a visual as well as textual person. Writing and drawing go hand in hand. However, the worst thing for me is editing and self-doubt. I write a chapter. I reread it, go back, read what I've written before, try to make sure the continuity all matches up, then go forward. This can take months and months of to-ing and fro-ing.

Nanowrimo was a chance to see if I could circumvent some of the fear and just get words and story on a page. Well, I'm pleased to say I did it! And with time to spare! The goal was to write at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I smashed the target by getting my 50k on day 23. And now, on day 30, the story is complete with 58,799!

lots of notes

The process was fun. I did a lot of plotting and reading and got to delve into one of my favourite subjects: mythology. But this time I was exploring Celtic and Brittonic mythology, something I didn't know much about.

I started out reading Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittaniae, one of the first compilations of the legendary history of King Arthur and his conquests. One of the most interesting things I found was that it was not nearly as grandiose as I'd expected. It was all set out like a sober documentation of history and kings begatting so-and-so and so-and-so assassinating the other one. Even magic is imply described as the 'mechanics' of Merlin.

The more fantastical works come in the Vita Merlini where we get more of Merlin's history post Arthur. (Did you know? Merlin was believed to have lived in Scotland in the original Welsh legends).  But still, it was mostly history. So, to really get my bearings in the wider world of myths I began reading more Celtic myths from across the UK. There are a wealth of Celtic myths and tales to draw from and the first Age of Albion book wouldn't be enough to fit in all of them. But, it provided me with a fun cast of creatures to run in and out of the main characters' (Ana and Ash's) world as they go on their journey.

Anyway, the process of writing has been great. And today being the last day I really only had two words to add to the story to make it complete: The End. It was a strange feeling. After starting out with just a blank page and a handful of notes I'd spent so much time concentrating on getting to the finish line that as it approached I began to slow down.

The main characters - Ash and Ana

A hairy trow

A hairy trow

Having something to focus on so intently for so long I knew that when it was done it was going to leave a hole. Yes, I have stuff to prepare for Christmas and even today I'm writing this blog post to get my fix (I wonder how many words this is). But, I'm still a bit sad to say goodbye to the rigour of writing a novel in a month. I was surprised how balanced and conscious it made me of the rest of the life. In order to not get discouraged or become a shut-in I had to schedule dinner with friends, times to go to the cinema and gym and see people. I had to become as disciplined with my social life so that I could in fact still have a life.

However, now I have the other half of my writing process to do: the drawing! I've been sketching and doodling all along the way but haven't spent nearly as much time as I normally would with pencil and paper. So now all of the people I've brought to life in words I can now have a play with visually which I'm really excited about.

The Lady of the Loch

A Scottish fairy or sìdh

It was so much fun exploring the Celtic and Brittonic myths and mixing them in a new way. My favourite part has been setting the story in Scotland. The country is rich with mythology and folklore so it only made sense that a new King Arthur story for the modern day would take place in a new land. It meant that I could make the characters in this King Arthur's tale my own. And, as I said above, Scotland was fabled to be Merlin's stomping ground anyway, so it's not too far a stretch.

I've learned a lot about my process and, more importantly, what I'm capable of when I put my mind to it. It also gives me no excuse for not having finished editing book two of the Emersus Project :-/. But, I also had a great experience collaborating with a friend who designed the cover for me. It was scary to see what he'd come up with. Taking my baby and handing it over to someone else to see what they make of it was terrifying. But, it worked out better than I expected. In fact it was what was in my head but I never would have been able to execute it as well because I was too close to the project. It gives me hope for eventually putting my work out there for my eventual publisher that they will help take it to another unexpectedly better level.

I've enjoyed my National Write a Novel Month. I'll definitely do it again. And, I think this is just the beginning of another story for me.

Hope you enjoy!
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