NaNoWriMo - how are you doing?

I've never done NaNoWriMo before, mainly because I hate being tied to producing a certain thing at a certain time. That of course changes if there is a call for submissions and I'm aiming for publication. In those circumstances I can write like a demon and have very often been successful because I am pushing at an open door. NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month is a collective activity where a number of people sign up and basically pledge that they will try and complete a novel in a month. It's a very good discipline and one that many successful authors in the distant past have achieved way before NaNoWriMo came into being. Dickens springs to mind as an author who wrote many of his novels as monthly serials. I cannot imagine what it must have been like in an age before word processors to have to come up with writing as sparkling as his on an ongoing basis when you couldn't even revise substantially. Perhaps that is why some of his writing is as fresh today as when it was first written. NaNoWriMo started on 1 November and I am pleased to say that I have already completed over 6000+ words. It's not a huge amount it's true but it's a not too bad start which I hope to improve upon. Most of all I feel that the 6000 words are ones I'm happy with so far and most of all ones I can build upon. I believe the secret to making NaNoWriMo work is to have pre-planned as much as possible. The work in progress I have is my Singapore novel, a crime novel which has been in gestation since this time last year. I blogged about Singapore which I found a fascinating place when I went on holiday there. I'm not a great planner on paper, but bit by bit I have mentally been storing information. Not only that but I have been waiting eagerly for the new D C Thomson Easy Reads which contain a new crime genre. I have managed to read the first one and now have a better idea of what they're after. As a result I now have a feisty kick-arse heroine - a Scotland Yard detective. She has been partnered with a smooth, cool Singapore detective who cut his teeth in the narcotics section. I'm so hoping that when finished, the Editor likes my book. But if not, at least it's been fun writing it. Good luck with your NaNoWriMo manuscripts, let us know how you're doing!