After I recorded the final word count for my 2019 NaNoWriMo attempt, I began wondering, ‘Am I a cheat? What is a NaNoWriMo win? How did I get here?’
If a win means writing 50k words of a new work in November, then I’m a cheat. How many times?
The rules have been flexible for many years, and over the years, I’ve adapted those rules to fit my situation.
I’m no longer a ‘purist’ after a few NaNo successes. Nowadays, my draft outlines written in October are always part of the attempt. I always copy my outline and write over it. Even notes and comments to myself now become part of my ‘splurge’ draft novel.
My declining ability to write/type long and fast enough to tackle a fresh 50k has put paid to new creations. Anyway, with a few drafts clamouring for completion, adding to the heap seems foolhardy. So, I reuse drafts already written.
2019 was my ninth year of doing NaNoWriMo, but I’ve only worked on seven different novels. This year was a revision of last year’s success so a perversion of the rules.
My first attempt was in 2011, when my outlines were rough notes—a scrappy road map with room for detours. However, I’d already resorted to planning after my debut novel, Spiral of Hooves, was taking 13 years to publish as my plotlines kept changing.
Here’s a run-down of my NaNoWriMo journey:
2011: The Last Leaf. I wrote 50k but didn’t know how to validate. Preparation—minimal research and a scrappy road map. A fantasy novella and part of my ‘Gossamer Flames’ saga.
2012: Wyrm Blood. 54,817 words—a validated win. Preparation: detailed research and outline. Sequel to a draft mystery, called ‘Wyrm Bait’.
2013: Tortuous Terrain. 56,169 words—a validated win. Preparation: detailed research and outline. Sequel to ‘Spiral of Hooves’ awaiting reader demand.
2014: Fates Maelstrom. FAIL with zero words after poor preparation. Intention was to relocate a Dartmoor draft novel to North Wales.
2015: Fates Maelstrom. 70,274 words—a validated win. Preparation: detailed research and outline. Dartmoor novel was heavily re-written to introduce my Welsh police detective Sparkle Anwyl. Originally, Book 1 of Snowdon Shadows series.
2016: Eagle Passage. 55,612 words—a validated win. Preparation: detailed research and outline using a Heroine’s Journey plotline. An alternative history set in a 21st century Viking Age with airships.
2017: Ruined Retreat. 60,264 words—a validated win. Preparation: detailed research and outline. Last true fresh draft-win. Originally, Book 3 of Snowdon Shadows series.
2018: Fevered Few. 54,599 words—a validated win. Preparation: this started life as a collection of short stories about Sparkle Anwyl prior to Fates Maelstrom. So, I devised an outline plot to bookcase the stories and provide the framework for new material. Cheating?
2019: Fevered Fuse. 68,535 words. A revised version of ‘Fevered Few’, with a revamped title, an amended plot and new scenes. I worked on a new outline/order in October—and even made notes. But was it a real win? Is it even Book 1 of the Snowdon Shadows series? ‘Azure Spark’–my A to Z story–is a prequel of sorts.
What is on the cards for NaNoWriMo 2020? Perhaps, it will be a chance to revise a draft from the archives. Another cheat?
‘Seeking A Knife’? Part of the Snowdon Shadows series—originally the sequel to ‘Fates Maelstrom’. Although, half-written–before Sparkle’s sexuality evolved–I need to rewrite earlier Books first.
‘Wyrm Bait’? An old mystery I regret filing away after detailed comments from a reputable British editor, who was positive while suggesting a logical approach to the rewrite.
I will have to plan further ahead if I intend to write anything. October will leave things too late. With MS an MS gets tougher every year—even an MS MS.
However, I’m amazed at one genuine win—my short story selection for the forthcoming IWSG Anthology. I never expected ‘Feather Fire’, my attempt at a MG story, to make it past discerning judges. I was wrong and stand alongside some great fellow writers. So, I congratulate those other writers and thank the judges.
Nearer the release date, I’ll share some nuggets from the research behind the adventure set in 1944.
For now, I’ll share the announcement of the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest!
Coming May 5, 2020 –
Voyagers: The Third Ghost
Middle grade historical/adventure
Featuring these stories and authors:
The Third Ghost – Yvonne Ventresca
Winter Days – Katharina Kolata
Feathered Fire – Roland Clarke
The Ghosts of Pompeii – Sherry Ellis
Dare Double Dare – Louise MacBeath Barbour
The Blind Ship – Bish Denham
–A World of Trouble – Rebecca M. Douglass
The Orchard – Beth Anderson Schuck
Return to Cahokia – L.T. Ward
Simon Grey and the Yamamba – Charles Kowalski
We’d like to thank our amazing judges:
Elizabeth S. Craig, author and honorary judge
Dianne K. Salerni, author
Lynda Dietz, editor
S.A. Larsen, author
Rachna Chhabria, author
Lindsay Davis Auld, agent – Writers House
Tonja Drecker, author
David Powers King, author
Journey into the past…
Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke, Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski Louise MacBeath Barbour , Beth Anderson Schuck, and L.T. Ward.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting ride!
Writing Wings 
First off, I think the concept of ‘winning’ at Nano is as alien as the concept of ‘cheating’ in your terms. If you’d stolen some of my words to add to your total, that would be cheating!!
Surely it’s about writing a novel in a month? The ‘target’ of 50k words should be just that – and for many novels, 50k isn’t nearly enough words. It depends on your genre.
I suppose that’s one of the reasons why I do Camp Nano… altogether more flexible; set your target, whether it’s words or pages, or some other measurable count. The aim is to achieve what you set out to do, surely? I’ve both redrafted and written from scratch in Camp Nano. I don’t see editing as a cheat, as every word has to be puzzled over – more so than the first round of writing, in fact. And several of my books have bits I’ve written earlier inserted. Where does it say in the ‘rules’ that every word has to be spanking new? You’d have to not count every ‘he said’ if you were to do that!
No, you should rest on your laurels. You’ve achieved great things. And rewriting things you abandoned long ago is as valid as starting with a sheet of white paper, IMHO. Hmm. Paper? How quaint.
Just my 5p 🙂
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Every word in your comment, Jemima, makes me feel better. And they’re worth far more than 5p or 5c – more like £50k. I did Camp NaNo once, but my cabin felt empty – and the timing was wrong for me. I tend to use the ongoing or short goals you can set on the site.
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Yes, the cabins are very iffy. You usually get three-five people using it regularly out of about 15 signed in. But those three to five are usually genuine and helpful, and remind you of the diversity of our craft 🙂
The best cabin was one year when I invited people via a Goodreads forum. But we couldnt repeat it…
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I admit to being inactive in my cabin as I never figured out how to interact with anyone – if there was anyone.
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Let’s start a cabin together next April, if you have a project you want to work on then. I’ll be doing final draft of the last Princelings book. Or, in the unlikely event of having finished that, writing a third scifi book. 🙂
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I like the idea of a cabin in April, although April is booked – if I do the A to Z Challenge as I’ve done in recent years. Is there a July Camp NaNo? Or is my Camp-failure because of A to Z?
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Hey, first, Jemima nailed it as to what NaNo should be for. If you cling mindlessly to the rules, you limit yourself far too much. I’ve done an edit one year, and another I tried to assemble a bunch of flash fiction into a novel (and write all the stuff that would hold it together). I still need to get back to that mess.
Anyway, if you set up a Camp NaNo cabin in April, count me in–that’s one of the months we will mostly be home (maybe. Might be in the desert. I can write in the desert, right?).
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I don;t think the A-Z has been worth the effort for me in the last couple of years (or more) so I’m really not doing it this year. April and July are both Camp Nano months. We can do both or either 🙂
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My A-Z seemed dead-end until this year’s became my novella Azure Spark. Maybe it’s time to follow your example and post from the past – with an update if necessary. Then I can do Camp NaNo for my WIP revision.
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Writers are my heroes. I am endlessly grateful to them /to you for the very hard yards you put in.
Jemima is right. Plagiarism would be cheating. Honing and revising? An essential part of the journey.
I well know just how difficult the dread disease can make even the smallest, most mundane task, so admire the view from your plinth of achievement.
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And as a writer, I’m grateful to readers and followers like you, EC. Without a receptive audience, writers would cast words into an abyss. Kipling among the greats of course……………
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Congratulations on being included in the anthology. That’s wonderful and a testament to your writing. I like your rules for NaNo. If I’d followed them for my effort, I might have made it! But not sure.
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Rules are there to be interpreted, Jacqui – well, that’s my conclusion.
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Bravo, Roland, for winning a place in the new IWSG anthology! Truly a wonderful and well-deserved accomplishment.
I feel that any new creative writing during NaNoWriMo is NOT a cheat. You are writing, sir. You are creating new manuscripts, new drafts that may need more work in the future. There is nothing wrong with that. All best to you!
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Many thanks, Victoria Marie – and all the best to you. The Anthology win was an unexpected boost to my writing. Maybe the drafts will be shared someday, somehow.
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