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!

Win a free copy

Goodreads Book Giveaway

A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km

by Margreet Dietz

Giveaway ends November 15, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Marathon recovery - first run

Yesterday I did my first run since the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon two weeks earlier. I had considered going for a short jog in the previous two days but decided to wait. As mentioned in previous posts, I have found active recovery without running in th first week, and sometimes two, very beneficial. While cycling and swimming would be fantastic options too, I like to walk.

Mentally, I very much enjoyed the break. It seems a funny contradiction; I love to run but after a big race I crave the not-running. It's freedom from the mental discipline of training.

During recovery from a marathon, I am not in a rush to get back to running but just wait for the moment that a thought like these crosses my mind, "It's a nice day for a run", or "A run might be nice". Yesterday morning, I knew it was time to head out for an easy jog, a lap around the neighbourhood without watch, and was dressed in running gear in no time.

It felt great, certainly for the first 10 minutes that were mostly downhill:-). I probably ran for about half an hour, at an easy pace and enjoyed it. It helped me get excited about racing a 50-miler on November 5 in Whistler. With another 11 days until the race, I think my body will be ready for the effort. I'll keep training to a minimum.

Aside from the daily walks with Luka, I'll do short runs (probably 30 minutes or so) but mostly focus on restoring mental and physical energy. The training has been done for the year. It's all about resting up as much as possible from the two marathons in September and October.

Importantly, I need to spend time on a race plan in terms of nutrition, hydration and - of course - pace. Last year I ran my first 50-miler and my first 100km; the primary goal was to finish. With this 50-miler, I am focused on time.

The only other 50-miler I have run took me 10:15. It was a trail race. The Whistler 50 course is more like a road race, so I expect to be at least two hours faster. Based on the 10:29 it took me to run the Haney to Harrison 100km a year ago, Merv's running calculator suggests 8:18 for 50 miles (80.5km).

I plan to aim for a sub-8 finish, and will start more aggressive than that. I am willing to take more risk since last year taught me that I can cover the distance. Starting faster comes with the danger of potentially finishing slower, especially if you overestimate your ability. I believe that the training I've done this year, and my race results, should put me on track for a 7:xx.

There are no guarantees, however, which of course is part of the challenge and key to the excitement.

The course has 4 laps of 20km, which will help pacing and breaking up the race mentally. It will also give the solo runners a lot more company than in a point-to-point race as the Haney to Harrison 100km.

As of this morning, 50 runners are registered for the ultra (and it's not too late to sign up!) There are 19 relay teams (eight runners to a team, covering either 8km or 12km).

Organizers would very much welcome more volunteers too.