NaNoWriMo

The hardest part is the start.

You decide your subject matter, you allocate some time, but then you can’t put your pen on the paper, your fingers on the keys. We all know how easy it is to put off a days writing because we are agonising about the start, or the middle, or the next word.

And this is where Nanowrimo can help. Something that Elizabeth Haynes knows only too well. All of her novels were written this way.

So what is it? Basically it’s National Novel Writing Month. More usefully, it’s a system of free writing designed to allow the writer – that’s you – to get the bones of a novel written and ready to go in just one month. Elizabeth calls it writing by the seat of your pants, and that s exactly what it is. A thrilling plunge into the unknown where writers keep their pens moving and trust their imaginations to do the hard work. And they do. Amazingly, miraculously, novels emerge. Completely plotted and sketched out stories arrive on the page needing only to be tweaked and tuned before being sent off.

What is even more amazing is the quality of work this process gives rise to. Elizabeth’s first novel, Into The Darkest Corner, won Amazon’s Best Book of the year 2011 and is now a New York Times bestseller.

So give it a go. Come join Elizabeth for a Nanowrimo writing session and follow her down the path to publication.