National Novel Writing Month 2012

It's almost November, which means it's time for another National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

If you've ever considered writing a novel, I highly recommend trying this annual nonprofit event that encourages kids and adults to tackle the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in one month.

The writing challenge begins on November 1 and finishes on November 30. To participate—free and open to everyone—register at http://nanowrimo.org/

I'm planning to participate for the third time. In 2010, I wrote the first draft of what turned into From my Mother -- my first novel -- during NaNoWrimo.

Like last year, I asked the Squamish Public Library if they were willing and able to support NaNoWriMo by offering a space for local participants to work on their masterpiece and they again agreed enthusiastically to host two so-called Come Write In events next month.

So, if you're doing NaNoWriMo and find yourself in the neighbourhood on Saturday November 10 and/or Sunday November 18 any time between 10am and 2pm, join me at the Squamish Public Library  to complete our daily word count together.

Praise for From my Mother

NaNoWriMo rebel

Wow, November has been a crazy month. It included a 50-mile ultramarathon, a visitor from Australia, and a trip to the Netherlands, where I still am for another couple of weeks.

After starting on a couple of fiction ideas, both titled Sub-3 Marathon and totalling nearly 18,000-odd words, and getting stuck I decided to use the time to work on a nonfiction draft instead. In other words, I became a NaNoWriMo rebel.

The good news is that I did complete a first draft of 50,000-odd words so the main goal is accomplished. And I am glad I did. At the end of the day, the purpose of the challenge is to write. I write a lot, especially between books when I have plenty of ideas but not yet a clear focus for the next work.

It's in some ways a frustrating time as I will myself to produce but wonder how much progress I am making as I feel my way around the various topics and ideas. In the past month I wanted to do too much too well too soon. I wasn't able to let myself write without judgement.

Instead, I spent time researching the processes of novel writing such as in Elizabethe George's Write Away: One Novelist's Approach to Fiction Writing and James Smith's You Can Write a Novel, which has been helpful. Like in running, the process of writing is an ever-evolving one as the author finetunes what works best for her, helping her to get the best out of herself and adjusting as she goes along.

In 2010, the process of simply writing with a focus on quantity worked for me, resulting in my first novel From my Mother. I had a much better idea of what I wanted to write, even though I wasn't aware of it until it was there on the screen in front of me. This time, I was searching and still trying to distill what it was I wanted to say. I think I got a few steps closer because of NaNoWriMo, it just wasn't in the form of a novel this time.  

Now that NaNoWriMo is doing, I have the freedom and agony of choice; which manuscript to commit to next. It's time to focus. I think my 2011 NaNoWriMo rebel effort needs some time to hang out quietly on the hard drive, before I'll get back to it later.

Since I am in the Netherlands at the moment, the country where I was born and raised, I am once again drawn to the idea of writing a book in my mother tongue. I must admit though that these days I am much more comfortable in English, even as I am still fluent in Dutch.

It's like using a muscle you haven't used in a while. You still remember exactly how it's done but it feels a little awkward at first as the muscle needs to remember what it used to do. Likewise, my Dutch needs some warming up before it feels supple again. My thoughts are in English, and have been for at least eight years, and my main mode of communication in writing and speech have been in English for 15 years now.

At the same time, I think that is exactly what will make using the language again fresh and exciting. Aside from articles for a university magazine and some poetry (and of course some diaries) more than 20 years ago, I've not written in my mother tongue - certainly not professionally. But I think I am ready for the challenge.

I am thinking, naturally, a book on running in general and marathon running in particular, with a sprinkling of ultras. Of course I am checking out what has been written so far.

Like elsewhere, running is a popular topic for Dutch writers too. I'll try to get a hold of a few titles through the local library such as Jan Knippenberg's De Mens als Duurloper, Abdelkader Benali's De Marathonloper and De Zandloper, and Paul Rosenmuller's Ik loop dus ik besta.

The last time I was in the Netherlands, in April 2010, I began on a Dutch manuscript too. But once back in Canada, I found it too hard to continue. I think it will be different this time as I am also preparing to start my first translation project: creating a Dutch edition of Tim Moore's Sub Nine: History's Fastest Ironwomen.

A writer's state between books

I am in a state of minor despair, the state of restlessness and anxiety that seems to occur between book projects. It's not unlike the depression a runner feels after finishing a major goal race. It's hardly a disaster or hardship in the larger scheme of things but it's a period that can feel like a black hole nonetheless. 

"Even if you ran a good race, you may feel depressed for a few weeks. Just as in postpartum depression, your 'baby' has reached the finish line and your long sought-after goal, around which your life revolved for months, has been achieved, leaving you feeling empty," write Bob Glover and Shelly-lynn Florence Glover in The Competitive Runner's Handbook (second revised edition).

Completing a book is a major project that requires focus and, I admit, a healthy dose of obsession. As I wrote in On gravity, I take my running very seriously. Yet it pales in comparison to the level of importance I assign to my efforts as a writer. I am without a doubt a running writer, rather than a writing runner. 

Having just finished my first novel, From my Mother, the result of participating in the 2010 National Novel Writing Month a year ago, I believe this is the time I should be refuelling the creative well yet I have a hard time finding the patience to do so. As a writer, I should write. Always. I feel I don't have the luxury of time to take a break. 

Yet November 1 arrived and, as planned, I began on NaNoWriMo, which is at Day 18. That novel's first draft should be at 30,000 words. Mine is not. The NaNoWriMo clock is ticking and my word count certainly isn't. 

I have typed up well over 17,000 words in two abysmal starts to pathetic manuscripts on a topic I should know inside and out; the Sub-3 Marathon. It is about a runner who wants to run 42 kilometres and 195 metres in a second under three hours. The clock must stop at 2:59:59, or sooner. Why? Because. Just because she thinks she can. 

The longer it takes, the more important it becomes; the importance lies in trying, in knowing that you are doing everything you can, rather than in achieving. It is what I live and breathe every day. You would think I have plenty to say, write, on the topic. That's what I figured too but it seems that I don't; call it writer's block if you will. 

I believe in writer's Block as much as I believe in the runner's Wall; if you hit it, or if it hits you, you have done something wrong. It only exists if you let it. Not only is it preventable, there is a cure as well. 

But at the moment I do feel blocked; nothing is coming out, no matter how hard I try. And I am trying hard—trust me. I feel that perhaps that is the core of the problem, that I am willing too hard, too much, too soon. My gut tells me I need to stop stressing and take a rest. Read, instead of willing myself to write which at the moment merely results in staring hopelessly at the screen, and impatiently rifling to an ever-increasing stack of books and notebooks on my desk.

(I am reading Elizabeth George's Write Away: One Novelist's Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life and Nick Heil's Dark Summit: the True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season, both excellent books.)

I have combed most of my unfinished pieces of writing on my hard drive repeatedly, willing them to give me a sense of direction or at least a few more words to add to my NaNoWriMo word count. I've written and published two books in the past 12 months. Perhaps I need to give in to the seemingly obvious need to refill the creative well.

But most of all, I need to keep writing, one piece at a time, as I have been doing every single day including most of this post, written in that state of frustration and despair three days ago. We can be hard on ourselves, choosing to focus on the lack of progress instead of the small steps we keep taking. I am reading and I am writing, just not the first draft of the novel I had in mind. And that's OK for now.

NaNoWriMo: Day 7, 8 & 9

Sometimes we will ourselves to keep pushing forward, impatient to take the time to let our progress follow its own schedule. We ignore the warning signs that, at first subtly then slowly but surely, swell to a crescendo, indicating that it is time to rest before we push on.

In running, rest is crucial to progress. Training works by stressing the body but you cannot keep stressing it without giving it a chance to recover. The body needs to absorb the training before it can improve its performance. If you keep pushing relentlessly, harder and harder, your body will break down, through injury or illness, forcing you to take the break you refused to give it.

This is the case in writing too, something I am still learning. A writer cannot keep squeezing the words from her soul without rest after a major build-up and race, i.e. the drafting, revising and publishing of a book. Each one takes a mental and physical effort that strengthens the writer but only if he takes the time to absorb what he has learned through a break.

In writing a break may be physical, i.e. no writing, though I find it hard not to write at all. I prefer to write short pieces, such as for this blog. While their creation takes mental effort, it is a small and manageable one compared to the gigantic process that is involved in writing a book.

After finishing A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km earlier this year, I needed a lot of courage, read mental energy, to take on and complete the revisions for my first novel, From my Mother.

My self-imposed deadline was October, which meant finishing the revisions, proofing and entire publication process of a paperback and e-book at about the same time I was getting ready to run my second A-race of 2011, the Bellingham Bay Marathon on Sept. 25 (followed by the Victoria Marathon two weeks later, and the Whistler 50-mile Ultra last Saturday).

I was running my highest volume ever, covering up to 140 kilometres in seven days. Consistent marathon training takes up a lot of energy, not just physically but also mentally. While running inspires my writing, and I apply many lessons from my running to drive my writing, it can be a fine line.

As Tim Noakes writes in Lore of Running, "While gentle running enhances a person's productivity and creativity, too much training has the opposite effect ...  Training burns up creative energy, leaving little space for other intellectual matters."

Runners, at any level, committed to pushing themselves to lift their performance need a sizeable amount of daily courage to sustain the consistency in their training. Regardless of how much you love to run, and I absolutely love running, you face an almost-daily challenge to head out the door, particularly in the final six weeks before a marathon.

Finishing and publishing my first work of fiction during that same time demanded plenty of courage too. It was a rollercoaster that sent me to peaks of confidence before roaring back down into the abyss of self-doubt on a daily basis.

Elizabeth George writes in Write Away; One Novelist's Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life, "Committing to writing is placing yourself in a highly exposed position. Once your novel is written and published, you are at the mercy of the critics, the readers, your fellow writers, your family, your friends, and your former colleagues. It's truly a case of if-you-can't-stand-the-heat, and frequently the creation and publication of a novel become rife with stress and tension."

Just to be clear, this is not a woe-is-me post. But I believe it helps explain Days 7, 8 & 9 of National Novel Writing Month. Day 5 coincided with my 50-mile race, as mentioned in an earlier post. It was an awesome but tiring event. I began Day 6 a day behind but finished it with a total of 8,372 words by completing 1,687 that day at the Come Write-In in the Squamish Public Library.

On Day 7, I managed another 1,487 for a total of 9,859 but they didn't come easy. That number didn't change on Day 8 as I lost the plot (pun intended). Completely. Yesterday I squeezed another 543 words out in utter despair but felt physically ill by the end of the day.

During a total of 10,402 words I had allowed two characters to die from cancer, the protagonist's dad and daughter, and had her husband shoot himself in their kitchen after she told him she wanted to aim for the marathon world record in the women's 60-64 division.

Those three deaths also killed off my ability to continue on this story, so I have decided to start from scratch on Day 10 and write 50,000 words about the same topic (Sub-3 Marathon), hopefully still by the end of the month, but through a narrative that's a little closer to home. The one I had set out to do simply turned out to require more mental energy than I have right now.

NaNoWriMo: Day 5 & 6

Day 5. Zero words typed. But 50 miles run at the superb Whistler 50 Relay and Ultra (highly recommend this race, whether solo or in a relay as a team).

Day 6. NaNoWriMo write-in at the Squamish library. Met two very interesting NaNoWriMos. Wrote 1,687 words. So I am now at a total of 8,367, or one day behind. I expect to make up the deficit in the next couple of days.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/therunningauthor/novels/sub-3-marathon/stats

NaNoWriMo: Day 4

Word count is what has kept me going in the past four days. It has been a struggle, as mentioned in yesterday's post, but I knew that I couldn't fall behind in the first days.

Tomorrow I am getting up at 3:15am to run a 50-miler in Whistler, as mentioned in my earlier post today, and I don't expect there will be time or energy in the day to write 1,667 words. Having said that, I do expect to have plenty of creative thinking time on my hands during the race so I hope to return to the Sub-3 Marathon storyline with fresh ideas.

Sheer determination and stubbornness to stay on track helped me reach 6,685 words today, slightly ahead of the daily average needed to make it to 50,000 by the end of the month. I am thinking in scenes and if I find myself complety stuck in one, I simply move on to the next. It has worked so far.

On Sunday morning I'll be at the first of the two Come Write Ins at the Squamish Public Library from 10am until 1pm. (Details here on the Facebook event page). If you're in the neighbourhood, please drop by to complete the daily word count!

NaNoWriMo: Day 2 & 3

In The Writer’s Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication, Ralph Keyes writes, …mastering the elements of style can’t produce the will to keep writing. The hardest part of being a writer is not getting your commas in the right place but getting your head in the right place... 

Once we have faced our fear and begun to write, we step up to the plateau of frustration. Fear followed by frustration is the essence of writerly despair.

My head doesn't seem to be in the right place at the moment. Struggle is the word that sums up the past two NaNoWriMo days for me. To stay on track for completing the 50,000-word goal this month, I need to write 1,667 words a day.

Yesterday I had a very tough time and ended Day 2 at a total of 3,307, so 27 words short. Today is even harder. I just cannot seem to get into the story. Now, at 4,585 words I still need another 400 to complete the goal for the day.

Tim reminded me that I had a hard time in the first week of NaNoWriMo last year. Perhaps, I don't recall. That month is a bit of a blur, what with a 100km race on top of the writing challenge. I just remember that I made it through both, and that those 50,000 words became a novel. Somehow it doesn't seem to make this one any easier.

In fact, it might even seem harder as I now have expectations that it will become another, and of course better, novel. Perhaps that vision explains my struggle, judgement before first draft kills productivity.

I don't want to finish the day short, as I am running another ultra on Saturday. With a 3:15am alarm, and returning only at night, I doubt I'll find the energy to create 1,667 words that day, which means I'll have to catch up the next.

I've been considering abandoning the current idea for Sub-3 Marathon and changing to a different one. But that means I'd have to write 5,000 words today to stay on track. I'm not sure if that's the way to go either. I've been combing unfinished pieces of writing hanging out on my hard drive to find inspiration to drive the idea I am struggling with forward.

Often all an endeavour needs is a change of mind, a Can-Do attitude. In Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander write that the notion of possibility is empowering and transformative if we choose to adopt it.

In the first chapter, titled It’s All Invented, they say:

The frames our minds create define – and confine – what we perceive to be possible. Every problem, every dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and problems vanish, while new opportunities appear.

5-star review for From my Mother

for From my Mother

Today I received the first official review for my novel From my Mother, a 5-star rating by Readers Favorite. According to Readers Favorite, 5 (out of 5) stars means that "this is an excellent, very well written book."

Reviewer Brenda Ballard rated From my Mother's appearance, plot, development, formatting and marketability to form an overall opinion. She assigned 5 out of 5 stars to each of these elements, and wrote:

Over the duration of a 100 km marathon, Nadia reflects on the life of her Oma (grandma), the hardships her loved one endured and the impact it made on the way she lived.

Miles pass under Nadia's feet, her goal is merely to reach the finish line, not necessarily to win . . . for accomplishing the goal is a victory in her book. It allows her time to dwell on her family's history, dig deep into the root and the result, pull tidbits of clues and join them together to create a full picture of those things that had been so vague.

Oma is cranky, to say the least, at her age. She lives in an apartment in a senior complex, having moved from a house she rented for many years. Paranoia (probably from the trials she faced in her younger years) has set in heavily. The local police are on speed dial as she frequently lodges complaints against her son-in-law, who she feels is surely trying to get her out of the way so he can have her inheritance. Of course, this is not the case and those around her try to be patient and understanding.

Nadia's journey of 100km is one in which her physical strength is pushed but also her heart and mind.

It was not difficult to get wrapped up in this story, feeling the ups and downs both in the race and in Nadia's life. It brings to mind that, as stated in the book, our feet may be busy but our minds are still free. I loved that! I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those who are into marathons and so on.    

I wrote the first draft for From my Mother during National Novel Writing Month 2010. Read excerpts of the novel here.

NaNoWriMo: Day 1

The start of NaNoWriMo feels like a mammoth task. It's a bit like starting a marathon or an ultra without course markers; you can take any road just as long as you go the incredibly long, yet doable, distance of 50,000 words this month.

The IDEA now has to be worked on, translated from thoughts and notes into words that form a plot and character we care about. (I didn't outline the story.)

Waking up just before 6am, I got up 10 minutes later. With a pot of fresh coffee, I headed to my desk, checked my emails, facebook and a couple of other sites until I no longer had a virtual excuse to postpone beginning on NaNoWriMo.

It felt like a tough start. Suddenly, I felt completely not ready and unprepared. So many choices, too much freedom. Do I stick to the plan, my idea, or do something else?

I began second-guessing the story, only to realize how little I really knew about my characters and plot. Or, to be more specific, I questioned whether I even had either one. Words weren't coming easy, and hitting the recount button didn't make them flow any faster.

The good thing about NaNoWriMo is that you need to stay on track for the daily average word count. So I reminded myself that was the main thing I needed to focus on: quantity. I don't stop until I hit my daily average. It's the secret to NaNoWriMo's success because the freedom that comes with worrying about  quantity alone works in that it leads to output.

I typed, and typed some more, until I hit 1,668 words. 

For now, I discovered that the protagonist Robin has a daughter named Isa, who is recovering from breast cancer and convinced her to train for the Vancouver Marathon together. 

Robin's husband doesn't like change, which includes his wife suddenly becoming a distance runner.

Robin has two brothers, both All American baseball players, to the disappointment of their dad who had a chance of making the Olympic marathon team before a bout of polio ended that dream. He later recovered enough to run a 2:37 marathon at the age of 52.

Her dad never encouraged Robin to run as a teenager, not surprising, as the 1960s wasn't an era when women did. 

And with that, Day 1 is done. I wonder what Day 2 will bring. www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/therunningauthor 

Planning the NaNoWriMo novel

The start of National Novel Writing Month is only two days away. I am participating for the second time, with the goal to draft a manuscript for my second novel. Having just finished my first book of fiction, From my Mother, I have also spent plenty of time thinking about the next. 

Some aspects of the story are clear in my mind, while others are not. I probably have made more decisions than I consciously realize, and will only discover them once I start on the manuscript on Tuesday. 

In Writing the Novel, Lawrence Block says: “Writing the novel is an organic process, and we carry the book with us wherever we go.” I've been happily carrying this book for months already.

Decisions I have made include the title, Sub-3 Marathon. I have designed a cover as I love to have a visual. As the title suggest, it will definitely be a book about running in general, and running marathons in particular. In other words, it will be sports fiction, and will fit the contemporary fiction category, too.

The protagonist is a female runner who wants nothing more than to cover the 42km distance before the clock above the finish line reaches 3:00:00. Self-doubt is one of her main adversaries. There are other obstacles to her fulfilling her dream including her spouse, though it might take a while for her to realize that this is the case.

There will be a mentor, probably someone who will remain anonymous even to the main character for most of the book.

The story will be told from the protagonist's point of view.

There are many other important decisions to make. A crucial one is the age of the protagonist. In my initial synopsis, she is 39. Her name is Emily. Emily is a marathon runner who has been trying to break the 3-hour mark for years. About to turn 40, she fears time has run out. Until a secret mentor changes her mind, and her training. Will it be enough to reset the clock? Emily's fiancé certainly doesn't think so and her competitive sibling isn't too convinced, or supportive, either.

But one early morning this week I was thinking about all the amazing senior marathoners such as the world record-setting Ed Whitlock and Fauja Singh. Others are not running record times but are amazing nonetheless such as in the races I did this year including in the Victoria marathon.

At the post-race awards ceremony, the two female Victoria marathon finishers in the 70-74 division looked strong and fit, and far younger than their years. A male runner in his 80s notched another finish and is close to completing 400 marathons.

Suddenly I thought: What if my main character was 20 years older? How about a 59-year-old woman trying to break the 3-hour mark? That would certainly be more noteworthy. And it felt like an exciting tale to tell.

However, was it realistic, believable?

I checked the world records and discovered that for women 55-59, it's 2:51 and for 60-64, it's 3:14. My excitement grew.

What's more, more research showed that the 55-59 record was set by a woman who did her first marathon at the age of 49. She had always been active with various sports but had never been a runner. The marathon came along because her daughter was training for it and they thought it would be a fun thing to do together; Mom finished the race in 3:18, an hour ahead of her daughter.

Seemed like a great basis for a novel.

I also did an age-graded check with thiscalculator, which confirmed that a sub-3 marathon for a woman in her 60s is within the realm of possibility.

It's a very different story, though, than the original one I was planning to write. Suddenly we are talking world-class performance, rather than striving for a personal goal that is still noteworthy but hardly headline material.

It also means that there will be a certain amount of "sudden success" and "natural talent", purporting the false idea that fast runners are simply born fast rather than the result of years of training. (While elite runners have superior genes to those of the average age grouper, it takes them years of training, too, to make the most of that potential.)

But I like the possibilities that the story of a senior female runner striving for a world record offers.

So, I decided to change my synopsis for Sub-3 Marathon.

Suddenly, the name Emily no longer seemed appropriate. I checked the most popular names for girls born in the 1950s and have changed the name of the main character to Robin. She'll probably have adult children. I have to think about a spouse but I would like there to be conflict of some sort.

Importantly, I must also think about the main reason for the story, the yearning of the protagonist: What does Robin want most of all, and why? Of course she wants a Sub-3 Marathon, and in turn a world record, but what does that really mean to her? What does she truly want, what does the quest represent?

There will be a mentor, secret or otherwise. Will he or she be a driving force or present an obstacle for the main character?   

I cannot wait to start writing on Tuesday and find out! 

www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/therunningauthor/

Reasons to do NaNoWriMo

As I am looking forward to starting my second National Novel Writing Month on November 1, I was looking back through the blog posts I've written about my plunge into fiction. As a journalist and author of four nonfiction books, writing a novel seemed a mystery beyond my realm of possibility not so long ago.

Yet, earlier this month, my first novel From my Mother was released. I wrote the first draft for this 53,000-word novel during NaNoWriMo 2010. I considered it an exercise in writing and was curious to try the challenge of creating so many words in one month. (It's a similar process I used in writing a first draft for what would turn in my third nonfiction book A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing).

While I hoped, I didn't expect that NaNoWriMo would result in a novel that I'd feel comfortable publishing. Yet that's what happened and that's why I am up for the challenge again this year.

Here is a post I wrote on November 30 last year, the day I finished my first NaNoWrimo. My initial thoughts on it were:

1. It's possible to write 50,000 words in a month;
2. Word count is a powerful motivator (as I already knew from writing my nonfiction books but the superb NaNoWriMo screen with the statistics to follow your progress is just fantastic and I updated it every few paragraphs);
3. Having one or more NaNoWriMo writing buddies is superbly motivating, too;
4. The emailed peptalks we received from the various NaNoWriMo people I've filed away for future reference and inspiration;
5. I highly recommend anyone who has ever considered writing a book of fiction to join NaNoWriMo next November. It's worth the effort.

Six months later, in May 2011, I wrote this post after I made the effort to clean up that first draft, created a cover and took advantage of the free paperback copy CreateSpace offered to NaNoWriMo 2010 winners. I did so, according to the May 2011 post, because:

This will a. give me a record of my first attempt at writing a fiction book and b. perhaps motivate me to make the (many) revisions needed to improve this very rough first draft but mostly c. inspire me to try again, applying the lessons I learned by simply trying.

With any challenge we always need to start somewhere, and work at getting better at it, if that's our goal. I'm not sure if From My Mother ever will see the light of day, other than in my personal proof copy. But, just like my quest for the sub-3-hour marathon, I have absolutely no doubt that one day I will write and publish a decent novel. You just have to work at it, and enjoy the process.

I can't wait to hold the paperback of my first attempt at a novel and plan to keep it on my desk as a reminder to take the plunge into fiction. 

By then a few courageous readers ploughed their way through that rough draft and encouraged me to spend some time and effort revising it, which I did. Still, it was hard and the unrelenting self-doubt every writer experiences was never far away. I wasn't sure I was able to make the revisions needed, and I was preparing my next nonfiction project instead.

Since finishing NaNoWrimo 2010 in November and ordering that proof copy in May 2011, I finished my fourth nonfiction book. While I had plenty of ideas, even drafts, for my fifth nonfiction title, I  had trouble getting started. It took a few months to figure out why.

In July, I wrote this post about finishing what you start which I felt was the reason I was crushed under the mental weight of committing to a new manuscript:

The last few weeks I've been trying to start on my next book. It's been a hard process, and I cannot seem to decide which one to write. The longer my indecision the more I beat myself up over my seeming lack of productivity.

I believe that one of the problems is that there are several first drafts hanging out on my hard drive. And I wonder if my struggle has something to do with leaving too many projects unfinished, so I have begun working on two of them, while also trying to start a new one. But I'm still in doubt.

Trying to relax, I find myself getting more stressed and second-guessing myself. Or wondering if it is a sign that I need to focus on another one. The most complete, though no less Shitty, First Draft (as Anne Lamott calls them in Bird by Bird), is my first attempt at a novel with the working title From My Mother.

I committed to completing another few rounds of revisions to From my Mother, working hard to finish it by October, which I did. Last week I spent hours contacting reviewers asking if they'd be willing to read and review the result, both scary and exhilarating.

While I had attempted to write a novel before, it was doing NaNoWriMo that allowed me to complete the 50,000 words that left me too mentally invested in the first draft to ignore it. It motivated me to read more about the process of crafting fiction and, more importantly, reading novels with fresh eyes, hoping to understand how and why they work.

While From my Mother might not yet earn me a Giller Prize nomination, I know that committing to participating in NaNoWriMo a year ago has brought me far closer to the possibility; I have completed my first novel after all. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and that is exactly what From my Mother was. Check out 4 excerpts here.  

So, what are you waiting for? Register for National Novel Writing Month now. It starts in 3 days! Find me at www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/therunningauthor. Good luck!

Sub-3 marathon, a novel

With National Novel Writing Month around the corner, I have been thinking about the novel I am planning to write next month. Or a first draft, that is.

The sub-3 marathon is a topic often on my mind (really?!) and it seems one worth exploring in fiction.

It's a year ago that I first decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, with my first novel From my Mother as a result (you can read some excerpts here). There is nothing like trying to write a novel to learn about how it's done.

That is why I highly recommend trying NaNoWriMo. Even if you don't finish the 50,000 words, you've made an attempt, possibly your first, at a novel.

I didn't expect to finish mine; I mean I was determined to complete the 50,000 words in one month, and did, but didn't expect to revise, polish and publish this manuscript. Yet I did.

And I'm looking forward to next month. For now, my plan is to write a novel about Emily.

Emily is a marathon runner who has been trying to break the 3-hour mark for years. Emily wants nothing more than a 2-hour finish but, about to turn 40, she fears time has run out. Until a secret mentor changes her mind, and her training. But will it be enough to reset the clock? Emily's fiance certainly doesn't think so and her competitive sibling isn't too convinced, or supportive, either.

That's all I know so far. I might change my mind. But I love having a visual so that's why I spent some time today on designing a potential book cover for my second novel.

If you're thinking about doing NaNoWriMo, please do. The only question is, Why not? Don't forget to become my writing buddy (find me here).

November: time for NaNoWriMo and an ultra

Last November I ran the 100-kilometre Haney to Harrison Ultra and participated in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, for the first time. A month of ultrarunning and ultrawriting.

Well, that combo is on the calendar again in 2011, though the ultra will be 20K shorter, so perhaps the novel will be 20K longer:-).

One of the great things about NaNoWriMo is that local community liaisons -- also participants -- organize get-togethers, called write-ins, at libraries, independent bookstores, cafes and coffeeshops so writers can share the franctic experience of completing their daily word count (an average 1,667 words a day for 30 days in a row). 

The closest NaNoWriMo region to me, living in Squamish, is Vancouver. But as a time-strapped writer trying to squeeze out 50,000 words in a measly month, I didn't have the time or energy to make the trek to attend any of these last year.

So, this year I asked the Squamish Public Library if they'd be willing to open their doors for local NaNoWriMos next month. Nancy Warwick, the library's adult program coordinator, enthusiastically agreed.

"We love to support literacy-driven activities and local writers as much as we can! This event ties in nicely with our mission statement; to encourage a lifelong enjoyment of reading and learning by providing equal access for all to local and global resources in a welcoming environment,” Warwick said.

To join, register at www.NaNoWriMo.org. Come write at the Squamish Public Library on either Nov. 6 and/or 13 from 10am to 1pm so we can complete our daily word count together. I might be a little stiff and tired on November 6 as my race, the Whistler 50 Ultra, is on November 5.

The working title for my next novel is The Sub-3 Marathon.

See also the Squamish Writers Group site.

The importance of staying in motion

For me writing and running are very much connected, always have been. And I am certainly in great company.

Joyce Carol Oates writes in her superb The Faith of a Writer, "Running seems to allow me, ideally, an expanded consciousness in which I can envision what I'm writing as a film or a dream; I rarely invent at the typewriter, but recall what I've experienced; I don't use a word processor, but write in longhand, at considerable length... Running is a meditation; more practicably, it allows me to scroll through, my mind's eye, the pages I've just written, proofreading for errors and improvements."

While I do not (yet) experience the strong visualisation that Oates describes, I always carry my writing on runs. And walks, too.

This week, recovering from a second sub-3:10 marathon in as many weeks, I am taking a break from running and walk twice a day with our dog Luka and my sister's Jack Russell, Punky, who is staying with us for three weeks.

Those walks, at the moment in a beautiful sunny Indian summer, are invariably time to mull over my writing.

While writing is my profession, and running a hobby, they are passions without which I would not be the person I am. One influences the other, and vice versa.

I am proud of the six books I have written so far, but I know I have so much more to learn.

Like in running, it's important to keep pushing myself out of the comfort zone in writing.

It's the reason I took part in National Novel Writing Month a year ago, resulting in my latest book and a first novel, From my Mother. This week I have been contacting reviewers, both exhilarating and scary.

NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit writing challenge that encourages kids and adults to produce the first draft of a 50,000-word novel in one month. I'll be participating again this year and asked the Squamish Public Library to host a couple of so-called write-ins where local NaNoWriMos can sweat over their daily word count together. The library agreed enthusiastically and is offering a superb space on November 6 and November 13 from 10am until 1pm.

The key to NaNoWriMo is quantity. It's all about word count and the NaNoWriMo website offers great tools to keep track of the number of words written.

For runners as for writers, a focus on quantity is neither the ultimate goal nor a guarantee for success.

However, striving for a measurable and tangible daily amount does provide extra motivation to practice, the key to improving skills in any field.

Practice is what results in progress, eventually. You need to run consistently. You must write consistently. Practice does not guarantee results; in running, racing is another learning curve just as publishing and marketing are for an author, especially an independent one.

Achieving success takes time, patience and determination.

When a friend emailed his congratulations after the Victoria Marathon, he mentioned a buddy had just broken 3 hours for the first time in a marathon: it has taken him 24 marathons.

I am at marathon No. 15, so I guess there are a few more to go.

There are physiological laws and limits, and I am very aware of them. As a relative latecomer to running (and endurance sports), I believe I have yet to train at the level I am capable of. Perhaps I am right, perhaps I am wrong. The key lies in making the effort to find out.

Running has plenty of natural limiters: among them the need to build your body over a period of years (not a few months) so that it can cope with the level of training required to get the best out of yourself. You cannot rush it.

The fact that I was able to push my weekly training volume about 25 per cent above anything I'd ever done before without getting injured in the past four months is not something that happened overnight. It's because of the consistent training I've done.

While my ultimate goal is that 2:xx marathon, it's not a failure if I don't achieve it after giving it my all in trying.

As a friend remarked on my Victoria Marathon race report this week, "You're one fierce competitor who won't die wondering."

That's exactly my goal, avoiding the What ifs and If onlys, as I inch closer to the elusive goal. I firmly believe I haven't reached my potential yet.

On Sunday I improved my personal best, by 1 minute and 4 seconds, for the first time in three years. That was incredibly satisfying, a confirmation of that inner belief I can go faster.

To others it might seem a painstakingly slow process, perhaps even a lost cause.

Another runner emailed me after the race, saying: "I am glad you are happy with the season. If you take a couple of seasons to shave off a minute it will take some time to get to sub-3 ;-)."  

That's not how I look at it: I am stoked to run a personal record only two weeks after another high performance (to put it into perspective, the 3:09:40 I ran two weeks before Victoria is among the top 50 times for women in Canada in the first 9 months of 2011, according to Marathon Canada rankings). 

A strong headwind in the Bellingham Bay Marathon slowed me down, perhaps even prevented me from going as hard as I could have, though I don't dwell on the conditions as doing so won't change the outcome. I can only assure you I have felt very different this week after Victoria than after Bellingham two weeks earlier.

This week's deep overall tiredness, both mentally and physically, is the key reason I am holding off my registration for the Whistler 50 ultra (50 miles or 80km) on November 5. While very keen to run it, I don't want to push my luck and want to make sure my recovery is on track first. I will run the ultra if I feel I can recover in time to begin preparations for the 2012 Vancouver Marathon at the end of December.

I have already mapped out my training; I will boost it another level, to about 130km per week in daily runs. And I finally plan to work on core strength, as I believe that will help my marathon performance too.

In running I know I am approaching the top level I can achieve after 15 years of consistent training. In writing, however, I believe I have much more growth ahead of me.

I have honed my skills as a writer for 15 years, too, spending far more hours than on running. With six books—4 non-fiction, 1 fiction and 1 volume of poetry—I have only scratched the surface as an author.

The physiological clock for a writer follows a different schedule than that for a runner—if I am given a long life, I hope to use all of it for working on the craft of writing.

Still, in writing too, I feel the pressure of time: one never knows what's ahead. The author, like the runner, needs to live each day as if it's her last in terms of effort, yet be patient with expectations of results and progress.

There is no time for fear of failure—a worry both the writer and the runner face every day.

As 77-year-old Gloria Steinem recently told Interview magazine's Maria Shriver: "The wasting of time is the thing I worry about the most. Because time is all there is."

Finishing my first National Novel Writing Month

Today I finished my first National Novel Writing Month, in which you begin a novel from scratch and have one month to complete a first draft of 50,000 words.

I finished today, one day before the November 30 deadline, with 50,124 words. Titled From My Mother, my novel is about a female ultrarunner pondering the many questions she has about her beloved but mysterious grandmother as she starts her longest race yet during which she finds answers in unexpected places.

It's been a great experience, well outside my comfort zone since most of what I have written so far is non-fiction, and some poetry. I don't know if these 50,124 words will ever go beyond the first draft but even if they don't, it's been well worth it.

Another challenge I took on this month as running a 100km road race and that is the topic of a book I've been working on. As of tomorow I will focus on completing this non-fiction book, my fourth, titled Hundred Reasons to Run 100km.

I began writing these reasons before the race because I expected that the question, Why Am I Doing This? might pop into my mind at least once during the 100km Haney to Harrison. I wanted to make sure I had a few good answers that would help me stay motivated in this ultra challenge.

In the lead-up to the race I filled more than 80 pages, one reason on each, to run 100km. And perhaps as a result of that I did not wonder once during the race why I was challenging my mind and body to cover such a large distance on foot.

I have begun revising and rewriting this first draft. My partner Tim, a longtime professional journalist and editor who has been the most important sounding board in my four published books so far, has  also read that first draft and provided feedback.

Having just finished NaNoWriMo earlier today, after a week of monster writing days to make up for falling behind in the third week, it's too soon for me to fully appreciate all the benefits and lessons from writing my first draft for a novel (I've written very little to no fiction besides my start on the Ironwoman novel).

What attracted me to the NaNoWriMo concept is that nothing makes you write more than an (self-)imposed daily word count. It's the same concept I recommend, through 33 exercises, in my third book A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing, for which I wrote the first draft in eight straight days. (I spent another four months rewriting and revising it almost a year later before publishing it in May this year).

My schedule this month was as usual, though waking a little earlier, as early as 5am, and writing fiction. I always head straight for the kettle to prepare my favourite coffee: four large spoons of President's Choice Hazelnut Cream made in the Bodum coffee press.   

In the mean time I am starting up my netbook, which I use as my main computer, that is hooked up to an 18-inch ViewSonic screen and then quickly check my emails and online book sales.

With the coffee ready, a mug and some milk, I sit at my desk, as always chaotically covered with all kinds of stuff, and begin writing. My routine will be the same tomorrow but I'll get back to working on non-fiction. 

Some initial thoughs about NaNoWriMo:

1. It's possible to write 50,000 words in a month;
2. Word count is a powerful motivator (as I already knew from writing my non-fiction books but the superb NaNoWriMo screen with the statistics to follow your progress is just fantastic and I updated it every few paragraphs);
3. Having one or more NaNoWriMo writing buddies is superbly motivating, too;
4. The emailed pep-talks we received from the various NaNoWriMo people I've filed away for future reference and inspiration;
5. I highly recommend anyone who has ever considered writing a book of fiction to join NaNoWriMo next November. It's worth the effort.

Halfway at NaNoWriMo

With my sister from the Netherlands here for a 10-day visit, I have naturally focused on spending time with her as we don't get to see each other often enough. I have persisted with my efforts to write a draft for my first novel as part of National Novel Writing Month, after debating whether I should focus on working on the revising, rewriting and polishing of the drafts for two other (non-fiction) books.

But encouraged by Tim, who is also doing his first NaNoWriMo, and a friend and fellow writer also participating in her first NaNoWriMo I have decided to stick with the novel, as crazy and far-fetched as my plot seems.

As a longtime journalist and author of three non-fiction books I can feel myself slowly embracing the fun of fiction - if I want to suddenly have my protagonist female ultrarunner trip over a person, perhaps alive or maybe dead, who's lying in the middle of the road she is running on, I can make it happen.

And it's been a lot of fun to run twists and turns in the plot by my sister while she is here.

For now, this is the synopsis of my novel From my Mother:
"A female ultrarunner ponders the many questions she has about her beloved but mysterious grandmother as she starts her longest race yet where she finds answers in unexpected places."

And this is how the story begins:
"She retied her shoelaces. She always did as she waited for the start. She wanted to make sure. Tightened them, just a little, not too much. Retie the double knot. She never forgot about the double knot. Never had understood those who had to stop mid-race to waste time on laces that had rebelled and come undone. There was no time to come undone."

From ultrarunning to ultrawriting

With the 100km race on Saturday and other work to catch up on yesterday, plus some rest, I'd missed 2 1/2 days of working on my NaNoWriMo novel. So it was time to bite the bullet today and do some serious writing, making sure that the inner editor was nowhere in sight. (Please watch this great short video by Lindsey Grant about silencing it.)

Since my novel is about a female ultrarunner doing her longest race yet, I naturally had some additional inspiration after this weekend and managed to write 3,234 words today - ultrawriting you may call it. That brought me back on track to finishing my 50,000 words on time by writing 1,744 words a day for the rest of the month.

However, there are still plenty of days remaining so I am certainly not there yet. I have a feeling that the third week is going to be the most challenging as that is what tends to happen with all big challenges we take on in life - including the 100km I ran on Saturday.

A natural fatigue often sets in once we complete about two thirds of a certain task and we tend to lose sight of how close we are to finishing. But like Saturday, when I struggled after 65km of running with the knowledge I had another 35km to go, we must simply keep moving forward.

By focusing on what's possible right now - whether it's taking one step or writing one word, then  another one and another - we are moving forward and we must keep moving. Before long we'll be surprised how that one step or that one word has led us to accomplishing that monumental goal that seemed so far away not that long ago.

Trust me, that's how I reached the finish line this Saturday and I will certainly remind myself of that every single day when I am working on my first novel manuscript in NaNoWriMo during the remainder of this month. We succeed when we simply refuse to give up.

Day 2 of the National Novel Writing Month

The start felt challenging this morning but I reminded myself to relax and just write. In the end it took me about 90 minutes to write a little over 1800 words today. It's great. Hopefully I can keep this up.

In fact I will need to produce more than the daily average in the coming days to compensate for the fact that I won't be able to write on Saturday when I will spend my day running 100km, from Haney to Harrison.

Having said that, I do plan on using the creative energy that is released in my run on plotting more of this book, with the working title From My Mother.

Here is the opening paragraph:

She retied her shoelaces. She always did as she waited for the start. She wanted to make sure. Tightened them, just a little, not too much. Retie the double knot. She never forgot about the double knot. Never had understood those who had to stop mid-race to waste time on laces that had rebelled and come undone. There was no time to come undone.

Meanwhile I am also working on my 100 reasons to run 100km. This is now at 63 pages, holding 59 reasons in 13,500 words. A few more pages, 41, to go but I have no doubt I will find enoug reasons, if not before, than for sure during the race.

Day 1 of the National Novel Writing Month

This year I decided to join the National Novel Writing Month. And I suggested Tim do so too, which he did. We both started this morning and our joint word count is on track for the daily required average of 1667 per person.

I am actually not quite sure how it works other than the fact that I need to write 50,000 words of fiction this month. But I don't know what to upload where and when. It seems there are statistics that you should keep in your profile. As I tried to do so this morning, it's clear that NaNoWriMo is popular, on the first day, as the site is sluggish, very very sluggish.

So for now I might return to my other big project, write 100 reasons to run 100km (which I am doing this Saturday, for the first time), and try the NaNoWriMo website again a little later.

As a writer, I have drawn and continue to draw a lot of strength from my experience competing in marathons (13), ultras (3) and Ironmans (5) and the numerous other endurances races I have done. The approach to completing an event like a marathon and writing a book has much in common:

Both are feats of endurance that require a combination of mental determination and self-belief. You must commit to finishing what you start. You must also commit to believing that you can. I can guarantee you, from experience, that both in endurance races as well as in producing books there will be more than one moment when you will doubt that you're able to do it.

In those moments you need to remind yourself of the commitment you made and simply believe that you can. You can and you will. There's no tangible evidence. But you can create it by persisting. Make it happen. Write those 50,000 words. Do not stop until you've reached the finishline.

That's how running works. Of course you must prepare yourself physically with adequate training. You can't just wake up one day and decide to run 100km, just like that. Well maybe just maybe you can, if your life depended on it, but it wouldn't be pretty or enjoyable.

Likewise I think you need already have made regular writing a part of your life if you want to succeed in the challenging goal of NaNoWriMo, which I suspect is the case for most who have signed up.

When I did a reading of my third book A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing for the Squamish Writers Group two weeks ago, one of the writers there was an American guy in his 20s. Having just finished his PhD in biomedical engineering and being an avid rock climber, he had decided to a 2 1/2 month break and spend it in Squamish, an absolute mecca for rock climbers.

He also commited to writing a novel in those 2 1/2 months. When I met him at the reading he was one week away from going back home and returning to his profession. As for his manuscript? He'd written 70,000 words of his SciFi novel in his time here and was determined to finish it. I have no doubt he will and I hope he'll send me an email, as I asked him to do, when it's in print.

Very inspiring.

Challenging ourselves - in writing & running

Tomorrow marks the first day of National Novel Writing Month (you can still join). Referred to as NaNoWriMo, it described as "a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30."

I am participating for the first time. It's not because I have trouble writing - I am working on two non-fiction manuscripts, making great progress. (If you suffer from writer's block or no longer enjoy your writing, check out my book A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing.)

My participation is motivated by the lure of the novel. As a longtime journalist and author of three non-fiction books, I am intrigued but also somewhat mystified by fiction. In 2005 I began on a novel  about a super-female triathlete who beats everyone, including the guys, but stopped after 13,000 words.

Recently I have begun publishing instalments of this novel, working title Ironwoman, on this blog (click here to read them). I decided that NaNoWriMo would be a great motivator and reason to try my hand at another one but this time commit to finishing a full draft.

It will be fun, if challenging to produce an average of 1700 words a day each for 30 days.

As it happens, I also have five days left until I start my first 100-kilometre road race. I am an experienced marathon runner, so I have covered the 42.2km distance many times, but the furthest I have run so far is 50 miles (80km).

One reason I am looking forward to running for most of the day this Saturday is that it will give me a lot of time to think about the novel I am writing for NaNoWriMo. Another is that it will be a great break from the mental challenge of producing so many words of fiction, something I am not familiar with.

I started running in the same year that I began working as a professional journalist. Since then I have found that there is a great balance if I push myself physically as well as mentally. In fact, one of the books I am working on is about the similarities between the approach to writing and running (I'll write a post on that soon).

For me writing and running are part of my lifestyle and of who I am. Hence my NaNoWriMo screen name and for this website, The Running Author. I use my regular runs (and daily walks) as brainstorming sessions for my writing. It just happens. Thoughts flow different when you walk or run.

In a way I am holding a meeting with myself as I run or walk, and I consider it part of my writing time because I always, always come up with a new idea, a fresh take on an issue, an answer to my question. And sometimes an epiphany.

Many writers have talked about the benefit of walks and exercise for their creativity, among them Henry David Thoreau. Whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo too, or whether you simply need a boost of creativity, try a walk or a run.

Even a short 15-30-minute walk makes all the difference. It's amazing to see what you come home with, and you'll be refreshed and energized.