Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

And into novel writing

October seemed never-ending.  In some ways that was a good thing, because I really got a lot done especially from a writing perspective, but in others, it felt like November was never going to arrive.  

In hindsight, that anticipatory feeling was because I had planned way back in the Summer to spend November doing the actual writing of the novel.  I’ve plotted, I’ve outlined, but writing a full draft was always going to be November’s project.

With hindsight, I wish I’d started earlier than waiting for an arbitrary month.  Yes, this month is National Novel Writing Month.  NaNoWriMo is something I’ve done or attempted many, many times before, and if not, NaNoWriMo then I’ve taken part in the Rough Trade challenges which are aligned timewise. 

There’s been some controversy in the recent past on NaNoWriMo which I don’t know the full story about, but I haven’t signed up officially on their site this year just to see what is going to happen with all of that.  Because I haven’t officially signed up, I’m not sure why I was waiting.

Sure, there is a sense of spiritual camaraderie with knowing that a lot of other writers are also taking November to write a draft of their novels too; that I’m not the only one tackling the challenge.  But I still wish I hadn’t locked myself into a box of my own making by waiting.

Still, November is here, and I am in the midst of writing the novel. 

So far, so good.  I’ve met my minimum word count challenge for each day and I’m a little ahead.  Not a huge amount ahead, but enough that if I have a bad day with my health or a busy day out in the world attending an event or seeing old colleagues, I can afford to write a little less that day.  It gives me a little contingency.

I’m also finding this experience so far to be easier because I know these characters, having written them in two short stories so far this year.  Their voices are in my head, their characters have clarity.  It’s definitely a good lesson learned for me that spending time with the characters ahead of a novel is a good thing – and I definitely spent time doing that in October.

Writing-wise, October was a good month, especially for original material, both non-fiction and fiction. 

Fanfiction really took a back seat, although I had planned to do more, in the end I only posted The Promise, a new Sirius-raises-Harry story in the Harry Potter fandom.

On the non-fiction side, I completed the reviews of Agatha All Along which was the show I had tagged to review this end of the year.  Clearly watching something which was popular drew more readers than normal for the reviews, even if it was only a handful more.  I’ve continued with the Writer’s Log, and I’ve written an article off the cuff after watching a YouTube video which got me thinking about the fanfic pairings I write.

I’m debating whether to write an article on why I haven’t reviewed The Penguin, and I am considering what series I want to review coming out towards the end of this year.  What If season three will air over Christmas again, there will be the Doctor Who Christmas Special, and there is the Star Wars show Skeleton Crew out at the beginning of December.

Reviews and articles on my writing journey, opinion and thoughts rarely get a lot of traffic, although I thank those who do visit and especially those who’ve provided likes as they are appreciated.  But I enjoy doing reviews and articles so I may continue regardless, although I suspect it depends on where I am with the novel in December, given I also signed up for another Big Moxie Challenge.   

Back to October, I also ended up writing a non-fiction essay which was the first time I had attempted something like that.  I’ve submitted it to a competition and will share it if it doesn’t get placed anywhere in that.

I’ve written two other short original stories in anticipation of submitting one to a competition.  I’m still brooding over which to submit, if either.  Neither story is related to my Iolaire Bay Cases series and I am thrilled that I got to post the second in that series this past week.

I am thrilled some people seem to be reading and liking it.  I had quite a few revisits or new visits to the first story too which is encouraging.  It’s given me a lot of encouragement for writing the novel. 

With so much writing on these topics, there are other things which haven’t quite progressed on the business front and I really do need to focus some of my non-Novel time on these. I have paying clients, I’m mentoring others, and I’ve been getting out and about at events to meet people and get some socialisation and learning. I will need to spend some time in November writing professional articles and trying out some videos – scary! 

But, right now, I should get back to writing that novel – it isn’t going to magically write itself, after all.

Wish me luck! 

End Note: Please like, comment or share if you enjoyed this writer’s log!