“Writing isn’t just a job that stops at six-thirty…It’s a mad, sexy, sad, scary, obsessive, ruthless, joyful, and utterly, utterly personal thing. There’s not the writer and then me; there’s just me. All of my life connects to the writing. All of it.” — Russell T. Davies
So, at around 10:30 pm last night, I crossed the metaphoric finish line of NaNoWriMo. I hit 50,000 words. But did I stop writing? No. And I don’t plan to. Ever.
I learned a lot about myself while participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I’m tougher than I thought I was. It never occurred to me for a moment that I would actually win NaNo. I can’t tell you all the number of times that I wanted to give up. And almost did.
There were times where I wanted to tear the hair out of my head, cut myself, bang my head against the table, or kill myself. It was incredibly hard to keep going, even with all the encouragement. I did what a lot of writers during NaNo make the mistake of doing; I read over my work.
It was (and still is) rubbish. I felt horrible, I thought who in the world would want to read this?! It doesn’t even make any sense. But after calming myself down, going on the NaNo forums, I realized that everyone felt the same way. Firsts drafts are never meant to be good, it’s all about getting the idea written on the page during NaNo. Nothing more. Your idea doesn’t have to be perfect, your plot doesn’t have to make sense, your characters don’t even have to be fully developed yet. It’s all about the idea.
Right. So the ideas are written down, the dialogue written, the characters developed (somewhat)…now what do I do?
1) I’m going to go through each story and rip it to shreds. Metaphorically speaking of course. I’m going to strip away the rubbish, add to, cut and expand on scenes. And basically edit the hell out of it until it’s begging for mercy! But I shall be ruthless and cruel!
2) Give it to people to read. This is going to be tough for me because I always fret about what people think. Yes, I know I shouldn’t but it’s genetic. It’s built in. I suppose if I want to be a writer, then I should get use to negative comments. Guess I’ve got to develop a thick skin.
3) And probably, more editing after that…
4) Then maybe, possibly consider getting it published? There are lots of Doctor Who tie-in books, so this could be a possibility. As my mum says: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
While I’m editing my first novel (how wild is that?!) There are also some other writing projects that I have to take care of:
1) I promised a couple of my friends that I’d finish writing my Harry Potter Prequel and I keep putting it off. Sorry. I’ll start the next few chapters in a few days! I know i’ve kept you waiting for over a year, I’m a horrible friend, what can I say? :p
2) Doctor Who radio play/screenplay. This will be something new for me. I’ve never written a screenplay before and the format baffles me slightly, but I’m learning! The reason I want to attempt this is because of this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/user/timelordfromhell
A couple of months ago he posted this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph0WgBcDi6g
Asking for scripts for a 20-25 minute Doctor Who audio drama. Up until now, I’ve been sitting on this opportunity, because I just didn’t know what to do with it. But now I have loads of ideas. There is still the problem of learning how to write a script properly!
3) Script frenzy; brought to you by the people who run NaNoWriMo. It’s the same concept: starts April the 1st, ends April the 30th. Thirty days to write a 100 page screenplay. Why am I telling you this? Well, I just had so much fun during NaNo that I thought I’d attempt this to! Why not? Check out the website: http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
4) SFX magazine is always looking for freelancers, and I thought that I’d apply and see what happens. They said and I quote: ”Formal qualifications are not essential, as we’re really looking for talent, enthusiasm, expertise and an ability to write. Examples of published material or (at the very least) copy written in the magazine’s style or format are essential as part of your application. “
Chances are nothing will come of it, since I’m a newbie to this writing shin-dig. But if I don’t at least try, I’ll be kicking myself later!
Alright ladies and germs I’m off to finish the last short story in the series! Woo!
