Category: NaNoWriMo 2014

Creative Writing, Motivation, NaNoWriMo 2014, Tasting The Peach

Writing A Book In A Month: The Final Countdown…

christinahollis
Worth Every Minute…

The alarm’s just gone off for NaNoWriMo 2014. That’s it: the deadline was midnight on 30th November, no excuses.  If you’ve read Writing A Book In A Month, Parts One, Two, Three And Four, this is the big reveal. 

I put off reading through the whole of my NaNoWriMo project, Tasting The Peach until the last possible moment, in case I had a crisis of confidence and didn’t submit it. I was relieved to see the story all hung together (although there are some big gaps I’ll have to fill in during second, and subsequent, drafts). My characters mostly turned out the way I hoped they would, although as they came to life for me they developed and grew in ways I hadn’t expected. 

I sent Tasting The Peach for validation on 29th of November, and my total word count was logged at 55,295 by NaNoWriMo central. I’ve printed out my personalised Winner’s Certificate, and now I feel wrung out and quite honestly, a bit emotional. What am I going to do, now all the pressure to finish is off? Read on, to find out…

Coming Soon…

NaNoWriMo is an invaluable hub and resource for writers. You’ll find mentors, tips and pep talks, shoulders to cry on and writing buddies to help you celebrate. It doesn’t matter whether you’re starting out, or an old hand who’s trying something new. Everybody learns from the experience, and has a good time in the process. For an investment of around £6, I got a month’s writing retreat right here in my office, but away from all other artistic distractions. It gave me the chance to dedicate an exclusive block of time to a project I’ve always had to sideline through pressure of other work. Sometimes you have to say “No” to requests. That’s always hard, but being able to say “Sorry, I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year!” made it a bit easier. 

The NaNoWriMo writing marathon each November is an international event that keeps on growing, but maintaining the site and networks takes money. They rely on donations, so read the testimonials here, then make a resolution to join NaNoWriMo 2015.

So, what’s next? Tomorrow I start a new WIP, but that’s quite literally another story. Or rather, two! I’ll be writing about this next project in a series of blogs called The Birth Of A Book. If you want to follow the roller-coaster ride all the way from basic idea to publication, click the “Subscribe To My Blog” button, at the top right hand side of this page.

To keep up with the progress of my next big release, His Majesty’s Secret Passion, please visit my Facebook Author page here, and click on the “like” button. 

Creative Writing, NaNoWriMo 2014, Tasting The Peach

Writing A Book In A Month, Part Four…

christinahollis

NaNoWriMo 2014 attracts corporate supporters as well as donations from writers. One of these, Webucator, approached writers for their insights into the creative writing process. I’m delighted to get people interested in trying something I’ve enjoyed all my life, so here’s an extended version of the interview I gave to them:


I’ve written for pleasure all my life, and became a full-time writer in my late twenties. Before that, I worked in finance, then marketing, and finished up in the technical library of a gas-turbine (aero engine) manufacturer. Nobody who read my jet-fighter manuals was interested in happy endings, and the atmosphere wasn’t good. Reading was my way of escaping, and I wanted to share that pleasure with others by putting my own stories into words. My wonderful OH offered to support me for one year to see if I could earn my living from writing and luckily, I found I could.

My goals haven’t really changed since I began my writing career. I always want to write the best books I can, which help readers to get away from it all for a while. I write about complex men and independent women thrown together in difficult situations, who develop an understanding as they grow toward a satisfying conclusion. Their happy-ever-after is as good for me, as it is for my characters.    

Coming Soon, From Wild Rose Press
I’m very lucky to enjoy writing romance, which is a popular genre. You can find a list of my available titles here, my next book, His Majesty’s Secret Passion, is being published soon by Wild Rose Press, and I’ve also got more titles scheduled for publication in 2015. Of course there’s also my NaNoWriMo project, Tasting The Peach. This is a thriller, which is a completely new departure for me so it’s a work-in-progress in every sense of the word. Joining up for NaNoWriMo 2014 allowed me to concentrate for one full month on producing the first draft. I’m only formulating the first draft, so there’s still some way to go, but I already know Tasting The Peach won’t have a conventional happy ending. I’ll be posting updates here on my blog about its progress. You can keep in touch by subscribing, using the button above.

I’m lucky in that writing makes me a decent living, but in any case I can’t stop. Sad, but true! As well as romance, I’ve written a lot of non-fiction articles for national magazines. Nature writing has always been  my first love, and I’m still trying to capture the passing seasons with the skill of a Roger Deakin, T.H White or H.E Bates.

My advice to any young person who wants a career as a writer is to find a conventional job that’ll pay your bills and give you a grounding in life, but which still allows you time to write after-hours. You’ll never produce your best work if you’re worrying about making money from it, and you need some life experience before you join a profession whose members spend 90% of their time shut away from reality—you only have to look at politicians in Westminster (with the notable exception of Lord Moynihan, here) to see where that sort of insularity leads! 

Read as widely as you can, and in genres other than your own speciality. Don’t just enjoy the story: analyse it, see how the author and editor have made it work. Then apply that insight to your own, original work. Most importantly of all, always write from your heart—readers soon spot insincerity, and they hate it. 

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog (by clicking on the box, top right above) to get my tip sheet of  hints for the career writer.