Yes, well…
If you recall, I’m attempting NaNoWriMo, to settle an argument with the Hub as to whether I have a novel in me or not.
To be considered a ‘winner’ it is necessary to write 1667 words a day to reach the target of 50,000 words.
Day One: Full of enthusiasm even though I think I don’t have a novel in me. Easily reach the target. Don’t mind the Hub winning this one.
Day Two: Still enthusiastic, the book is writing itself. Come on, publishers, start courting me!
Day Three: Busy day, don’t start writing until six p.m., by which time I’m ready for bed. Drig out a thossand words of my comedey navel.
Day Four: Another busy day. Start at five. Comedy is killed by a mystery element. Hmm, write a murder mystery of sorts, but keep the housewife and the traffic warden? Nine hundred words.
Day Five:
Day Six: Wrote nothing yesterday because of everything I had to do in real life. However, only 1700 words behind. I’ll soon catch up. A thousand words. Only 2400 words behind. I’ll catch up.
Day Seven: Managing to make the traffic warden sexy. Don’t know how, because I’ve never met one, and he’s modelled on the Hub. Oops! Discover the power of words: but he’s modelled on the Hub. Only 3583 words behind. Will I catch up?
Day Eight: Make a model of the computer and stick pins in it.
If I do have a novel in me, it’s trite, dull and meaningless.
They say you should write what you know.
*
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For my non-Brit readers, a definition:
Traffic Warden: Evil creature sent to torment innocent drivers who only parked illegally for five minutes but it was urgent and yes, they know the rules of the road apply to them as well but, please, officer, please, please, please, my partner will kill me if I get another ticket…
The Laughing Housewife 
Ignore the word counting, just try every day of the 30…. you may surprise yourself still if you push yourself past the hump….
my months total when I tried was only about 19000, but that was far more than I had ever done on one project.
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Ceci says this
The Writing is at 28,431 which is good because I feel the struggle coming now. First I could not get enough of the location and the characters but now I feel the hard work coming on. It is the same when producing a play. There comes a time when you have to get out and Push it along until it gathers enough momentum to become the monster that will gaily tow you along to the finish line. About the only thing I know is that the self propulsion, I call it the monster because he is unstoppable when he kicks in, always comes. As long as you keep pushing, eventually all the parts click together and it works.
http://thekitchensgarden.com/2012/11/08/it-was-not-the-6th/
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Don’t you just hate them! But Pseu’s right, don’t let evil distract you from proving The Hub’s wrong, or is it you who’ll be wrong? Take care Tilly, and e n j o y 🙂
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It’s bloody hard. I think the possible rewards are too distant for me to go for it. a writer blogger I know put it in a nutshell, a writer has to write no matter what, the words won’t stay in, won’t be denied ( I am adding bits but you get the idea) to her writing was key the publishing yada yada was all by the by, icing but not the cake.
I am starting to think Childrens books might be my thing. why it took me so long i have no idea. its so obvious, children have been my life. 🙂
Maybe a book idea will come to you. maybe its just not for you. the older I get the more i shrug and think oh well.. 🙂
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November is a bad month for this challenge. Who can be bothered when its cold and dark? Besides, it’s time to start planning for Christmas. Stick with it but if you give up try again in 6 months. You could call it LaMaWriMo.
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TiBuWriMo?
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Some say “write what you know”, others say “write what you don’t”. I say, “just write”. It really doesn’t matter how much you do write, the important thing is to keep chipping away. Stop putting yourself down, as you’ll find you’ll only end up feeling worse about putting your butt back in that chair…
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Thanks for the support!
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Just keep on writing. Something. Anything. Never worry about the word count. If it’s a novel, yay! if not, it’s a lot of words and inspiration and thinking done for something else.
(No, I’m not doing it. This is very much ‘do what I say, not what I do’…)
🙂
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Don’t give up! 🙂
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I could never. Ever.
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Don’t worry, I’m on a catch up day today. Got 3000 words to write… in one day Hmmmm! I should get of the net and start typing… like now!
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I’m way behind but I’ve stopped stressing about it.
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Forget the word count. I did 17K the only time I did it, and I can’t gee Annie’s Fortune any further into a novel. So why not make it a novella?
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PS I went from here to the Kitchen’s Garden: Celie’s up to 28,431. She says: “which is good because I feel the struggle coming now. First I could not get enough of the location and the characters but now I feel the hard work coming on. It is the same when producing a play. There comes a time when you have to get out and Push it along until it gathers enough momentum to become the monster that will gaily tow you along to the finish line. About the only thing I know is that the self propulsion, I call it the monster because he is unstoppable when he kicks in, always comes. As long as you keep pushing, eventually all the parts click together and it works.”
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Come ON Tilly!
(I’m in sympathy tho. Life has taken a turn for the infeasibly hectic)
Be encouraged- you’re ahead of me 🙂
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Oh you are so funny – I loved this post and it is worth much more than a novel!
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Tilly try to ignore the word counting, I know that it is hard because it becomes a stumbling block onto itself and can make the writing almost a chore. I’m behind in the word count as well. The idea is to spew out words and the editing and revising gets done after all the spewing. No rhyme or reason just quantity of words. I cannot do that which is why I feel that my words are dragged out of my mouth because my heroine is me, emotionally me in my mid twenties. Who I might have been if I hadn’t met the hubby. So keep typing and by November 31st you will have something else to edit.
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I’m 2500 words behind, unless you count today, then I’m 4200 behind. Life happened. Stuff got in the way. Knitting to be done.
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I’m learning that!
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NaNoWriMo – challenge seams to be too much for most to handle … at least you tried and that is good in my book. I’m sure you will be able to write a funny novel – I would love to read something that don’t contain cancer, rapes, fights, and where all feel lousy.
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A co-author and I worked on a book for a year. We finally got it published and it was well received in academia but never a best seller.
Novel, no, I am not a fiction writer. Got that beat out of me writing non-fiction. No easy task to write either. Dianne
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Well done, though! Non-fiction is also difficult to write.
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Loved this post! Imagining making the very same progress (on the novel) that you have described here, I am avoiding the exercise entirely. And in Canada, we have equally evil parking cops…I think they’re called Green Hornets…something about the outfits they wear, the cars they drive, or the fact that they take you unawares and STING you!
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You can do it, Tilly! Yes, you can! ‘Drig out a thossand words of my comedey navel’ – belly laughs.
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I’m betting that you have at least two or three novels in you…keep the faith.
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I’ll only read it if, in the ending, the traffic warden gets life in prison without parole.
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When I first read the term “NaNoWriMo,” I thought everyone had a speech impediment.
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heh, I’ve never tried it with NaNOWrMo but yes, finishing is the first hard part. And editing the next. Still, are you have fun with it?
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Some 😉
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Well, I give you credit for trying. I, myself, could never write novel.
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I wonder who ever came up with the idea of NaNoWriMo? I think it must have been someone totally bored and with no life, family or friends, just a bunch of servants to do all the chores.
Tilly you have talent with words, don’t get hung up on a word count. Certainly keep going but do it for you OR as a Christmas Gift for Hubs and call it TiBuWriSeason?
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It was someone who wanted others to have a focus, a target, to make it happen for them.
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I’m assuming that definition for a traffic warden was straight out of the Oxford Dictionary? It was perfect. 🙂
Good luck with the book though. Just keep trying. Who knows what will come! 🙂
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Thanks, I will 🙂
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Murder the traffic warden. Then bring him back as a very attractive ghost who continues to torment drivers who ignore him because he is, in fact, a ghost. Then one day an insightful housewife with a touch of the sixth sense can see him. She swears at him for assigning her a supernatural parking ticket and the two fall madly in love making life/afterlife a touch more complicated.
Every first draft is trite, dull, and meaningless.Give yourself a break. The real writing begins in December when you have to try to make it actually worth reading.
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It will be January for me. December is manic.
I’m sorry, there’s no link to your blog so I can’t return your visit. 😦
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Love this post. The making the model of the computer turned me into a laughing housewife. Awesome! I signed up for NaNoWriMo and haven’t written a single word. Not one. When I fail, I fail big.
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Not at all – you are simply taking a gap year 🙂
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We call them “meter maids” or at least that was what we called them when I was growing up. I don’t know if that was really confined to females. But I think traffic wardens work. Now, may I begin to submit other words to you that require translation. I’ll start keeping a list! LOL! Keep up the writing…I believe you DO have it in you! 🙂
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Send me a list and I’ll try to do a post on them.
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Don’t get discouraged! Just write and have fun 🙂
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Don’t give up Tilly… Stuff happens and then a flood of creativity. 😉
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