Nanowrimo-orama

I’ve entered this year’s Nanowrimo! (cue lame drum roll and two sweaty palms). I’m in the mood for a challenge, plus I won’t be working full-time until December so I definitely have the time to do it. This started as an idea for a section (i.e. time filler) on my radio show. I’ve challenged other literary-minded (or addle-minded) listeners to join me in the race to write a 50, 000 word novel in 30 days and I thought, I bet people would love to hear about this on my blog too… I actually don’t know if you bloggy-type people would love to hear about this palpitation-inducing (mis)adventure or not, but you’re obviously going to hear about it anyway…

I’ve talked about Nanowrimo before, but in case you have a short attention span, here it is again. Nanowrimo is shorthand for National Novel Writing Month, a yearly madness that started in 1999. Folks sign up at the website; and agree to sign away their Novembers in the pursuit of writing 50, 000 words of a novel before the end of the month. The emphasis is on quantity, not quality (you can edit in December!) Writers are encouraged to leave their inner critics at the door and plough ahead, grammatical mistakes, clunky sentences and all. This will be difficult for me as I often re-read and edit my work one paragraph, even one sentence, at a time. I don’t even know what I’ll be writing about. I have the vague idea for a novel I was preaching about back in July but the idea is still just that: vague. I decided while writing Jinn Nation that a plan was definitely the way to go. Dunraven Road was a bloody nightmare to edit because my storyline was all over the place. So, that’s the first thing: a plan for a novel and an idea for a main character in the 11 days I have left before the start of November. Simples!

Um… Help?

Or if ya just want to laugh at me, I’m signed up over at Nanowrimo as Cazzy_Smith.

Secret Squirrel

Sorry I’ve been such a slack Alice with the lack of posting – Must try harder! I do have some secret squirrel-type news though… I am now a radio presenter You’re impressed, right? I can hardly believe I’m doing it, actually. I barely recognise myself these days, I suppose a little self-confidence goes a long way. Anyway… I’m presenting on the same radio station I mentioned in my last post – Riviera FM. I must have done something right during my interview because I was asked if I’d like to present my own show, centred around local authors and book reviews. I didn’t need to think about that one for very long…

I called the show Write Around Devon and I’ve been broadcasting for three weeks, on a Thursday from 2-3pm (UK). Today is a special day because I’ll be interviewing my first guest – local author Tony Brown of Cadenza Press. I’m really looking forward to this. I’ll be asking him about his impressive back catalog of novels, where he finds inspiration and what motivated him to create his own press. You can listen in from anywhere in the world at the Riviera FM website – www.riviera.fm. Email the studio or click the Live Chat box to request a song or ask Tony a question. More guests are lined up for the future… Watch this space! (or blog… whatever ).