NaNoWriMo!

So now I've taken on another challenge. What is it about me and challenges? NaNoWriMo; write a novel in a month. Yeah right. A. I don't have the time, and B. I probably don't have the skill. Well I don't know about the latter, I'll never know if I don't have a go. The feedback I've had from the Arvon courses I've been on are that I do have writing ability and that I learn quickly. What I probably lack is application. And that's largely because I get distracted by all the other things I've got on. But I say quite often to staff and students "You find time to do the things that are important to you". So if my writing is important to me I need to find time to do. NaNoWriMo feels manageable. Writing 50,000 words is imaginable. I wrote 80,000 for my thesis, many more if you include the pre-edited versions. So 50,000 is not impossible. And the brilliant thing about NaNoWriMo is that you go for quantity not quality. Yes that's right, quantity not quality. It's all about writing with self-edit turned off. It doesn't matter what you are writing, what matter is that you are writing. It's day 5 and I'm a bit behind with my daily allocation - the 50,000 words works out to 1667 words a day, every day, for the whole of November. I've still got 537 words to do today to get back on target but that feels doable. Especially as it's only 6.30 in the morning and it's a Saturday. I'm sure I can bang out another few hundred words today, even get ahead of myself again and bank a few more hundred against days when I am struggling. After all I am writing this aren't I? I clearly haven't run out of words yet. NaNoWriMo is getting me out of bed early in the morning. I feel the urge to get up and get cracking. I need to get at least a chunk of my word count under my belt by the time I set off for work and then with this notebook I can carry on typing on the train which is brilliant. And it is so liberating just typing without going back to check anything. Just type, and type and type. So here's to NaNoWriMo and the long days ahead. Roll on end of November and those 50,000 words.

New Projects!

I am trying to make sure I finish at least one thing before starting on something new but it's hard! Picked up the half-done crochet baby jacket last night and have started the second side - really enjoying it but still have the urge to cast on something new. Have my eye on some cute little knitted brooches - kitsch and cool. Knitting is so therapeutic and so creative. My job lacks creativity at the moment and knitting is one way of getting some back in my life. To anyone who is feeling low or stressed I would really recommend knitting as a way of getting things in proportion. It can be a real motivator and a destressor as long as you pick something that is within your capabilities and that you can finish fairly quickly. People love being given something hand knitted so it benefits everyone. If you can't knit ask someone to teach you. There are also lots of lovely tutorials on-line, http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/learn-to-knit or join a knitting group, you would be very welcome. Writing is my other big project and one which I just love once I get started. I've finished a couple of short stories, some flash fiction and have mapped out the ideas I have for a novel. I had a very creative day when I decided that as I was going on a novel writing course in the autumn I better have some idea of what my potential novel was going to be about. I had some vague ideas in my head and spent about half an hour getting them down on paper. I was amazed at how far my thoughts had progressed and how much of a framework I actually had. It was really useful - a bit like picking up lots of bits of knitting and sewing them all together. I'm not sure what the finished garment will look like exactly but I know the general shape now and the colour of the yarn. I'm getting on well with Scepticism Inc and hope to finish it on the way home tonight on the train so I can put some knitting in my bag for tomorrow's commute. I am so glad I don't drive in to work - I would lose so much recreational and creative time. Sorry to all the people who ever get inconvenienced by my knitting but I try to keep my needles out of your way. Here's to reading, writing and knitting.