Well, I am astonished at how much I could write (25,012 words) given the push of a truly mad deadline.
The rest of my life took over towards the end, but I've found great consolation in Chris Baty's letter 'for you to read upon reaching 50,000 words. Or at the end of the month, whichever comes first.'
He says, encouragingly :
'One of the things month-long noveling does is get your sense of scale all out of whack. This is done intentionally, because anyone with a realistic sense of perspective wouldn't try to write a novel in a month.
As the month ends though, I feel it is my ethical responsibility to bring some perspective back into your life. So listen closely: if you 'only' wrote 15,000 words over the past four weeks, you invented 50 (that's five-oh) pages of book fiction. Those of you who made it to the 25,000-word point wrote 83 pages. In a month. Hello?
This is something to write home about.
And in this letter home, you should include a few things. One of them being the fact that you chose to try.'
...and he writes more in the same positive vein. I love this guy! I must write him a fan letter.
One thing is certain. I couldn't have done it without this book. No Plot? No Problem! is brilliant for a beginner writer, both funny and genuinely helpful.
Tomorrow, Liz - the blurb!