My NaNoWriMo WIP

All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath. F. Scott Fitzgerald

Each year I try to go outside my comfort zone with my NaNoWriMo projects. The first novel I completed, as in surpassed fifty thousand words and completed with a “The End” was three years ago. It was Historical fiction slash romance and very fitting with my major (Russian). Last year, I seriously delved out of my comfort zone and wrote a young adult thriller with Egyptian mythology complete with a tour of the Met’s Egyptian exhibit for research.

Hey, I go all out for my craft.

This year? Well I decided to take a stroll on the erotic side, and to channel my inner Sylvia Day. Come on. We have ALL read Fifty Shades. Even if it is just the first chapter. As a romantic at heart, I thought why not go out of my comfort zone (And probably that of my Grandmother’s sorry Grandma, it is another Kate who wrote it!) and try my hand at a genre that has become increasingly popular since the Fifty Shades phenomenon.

NaNoWriMo is the perfect place for that. Whether or not it will be Harlequin Romance good or whether or not I shop it out, I have no idea. But the good news is, my two best friends already said they would read it. Yay! Of course now the pressure is on.

And oh the pressure!

Miraculously, in the first week I made it half way through, reaching over thirty-thousand words in what actually ended up being broken down to four days.

Gasps! I have to write fifty thousand words in a month and I am not writing every day! The horror!

Actually I was writing every day just not my NaNoWrimo. Thankfully my writing group has been incredibly supportive and gets the whole, “Write a crazy amount and then don’t for a day and then write a crazy amount then don’t.” Somehow it seems to be working. I am over halfway done!

Of course, at this point my story truly has taken on a life of its own. With new subplots, new characters, and a supporting cast that is now knocking on my brain wanting their own novels.

Oy vey, my cast is very demanding.

Despite all the “Demands” I do feel incredibly connected to these characters and invested in a way I haven’t before with a book.

NaNoWriMo really is about delving into then taking apart your creative process. Perhaps on speed with the thirty day limit, but that is where you truly find yourself. That is the point of this month. To experiment. To push your own boundaries and challenge yourself as a writer. Go outside the comforts and limits you have set for yourself. To test yourself in ways you haven’t before.

It is the ultra marathon of writing.

This first week I have already learned so much, what is more I am enjoying it. While this is a bit grittier then my past work and the characters have a mind of their own, I have yet to go for the wine or rip my hair out.

I think that is a win-win. or at least my hair dresser will think so!

How did everyone’s first week go? What is everyone working on? I would love to hear from you.