Think you've got what it takes to write a 50,000-word novel? Well, how about doing it in one month? Broken down into digestible chunks, that's 11,627 words per week; or 1,677 words per day; or 70 words per hour; or 1.1574 words per minute. No matter how you chew it, it's a mouthful of writing.
November is National Novel Writing Month, and several prolific WEbookers have switched off their internal editors and sunk their teeth into this month's 50,000-word novel campaign. With just five days to go Pythia, Tkain, Dean_Draven, May_Birchcroft, Lugh, senoritaburrito, Copperdragon, HorrorPunk, and Leland_Janson all have crossed the 25K threshold and are pushing their "nanos" toward the finish line.
I interrupted several of them for a quick round table Q and A.
So, what's your "nano" about?
Leland_Janson: Fantasy -- a genre I would never normally touch. My story follows a band of warriors as they fight their way from tragic survivors to peace-restoring heroes.
senoritaburrito: I decided to rewrite a Welsh mythology. This action is as yet unexplained and slightly regretted at the moment.
HorrorPunk: My title is "Agoraphobia." A recovered agoraphobic tries to grow closer to his ex-therapist-cum-girlfriend by sharing her love of nature.
What's your writing routine?
Lugh: This year I have an ASUS Eee netbook: it's making writing on the go so much easier. I can write on my breaks at work, or at soccer games, or wherever.
HorrorPunk: I took a couple of days to scribble together an outline; luckily it's held up pretty nicely.
senoritaburrito: I already write about 3,000 words per day, so adding another 1,700 on top of that at the end is just icing on the cake. I tend to write every day except Monday and catch up on my Monday loss throughout the week.
What's kept you going this month?
senoritaburrito: Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
Leland_Janson: I rarely eat when writing, or if I do it's mostly sugary snacks. Perhaps I shouldn't be doing this because I might wind up suffering from malnutrition.
HorrorPunk: I've become addicted to pumpkin seeds and instant iced tea.
Lugh: Hah! I'm the king of procrastination, which might explain why I'm so far behind. And I'm still trying to regroup from my garage being blown up!
Listening to any inspirational music?
Lugh: Chistian pop -- and a lot of Pink Floyd.
Leland_Janson: Sometimes an angry tune from Linkin Park or Rage Against the Machine can inspire fast keyboard acrobatics. For more sensitive parts and detailed description the music has to go off.
HorrorPunk: If my son is with me, I'm usually listening to SpongeBob or the Smurfs in the background.
Did I miss any nano writers out there? If so, pop into WEbook's nano forum thread to update us on your progress, swap stories, or provide some words of encouragement.
Good luck during the stretch run!
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