Weekly Roundup: Writing, Writing, Writing
For several years, off and on, I have been writing a novel, and I am very happy to say that I have finally completed it! I started it one year when I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which was an excellent writing source for me. They have an annual November challenge to write 50,000 words in a month, which is roughly the length of a novel. It’s kind of a crazy goal to write like mad for a month, but honestly, it gave me the jump start I needed to dive into the novel writing process, because they have forums, local events, and reward badges to help you every step of the way.
The story is set in a fictional town in the redwoods of northern California. I chose this setting because my parents took me on a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway of California when I was about eleven years old, and I thought it was the most wonderful place I had ever been, especially when we drove through the redwood forest.
In the past couple years I revisited the redwoods, and northern California in general, with my sisters on two different occasions. On one of these trips we visited vineyard country to view a pink house that we were considering buying. The house was roomy and had a vineyard in the backyard, and we daydreamed about getting it and running our very own vineyard. It was also designed by the owner and had a really unique structure, with rooms winding around the sides and up and down the three levels, but it was too expensive and maybe a little too odd for us in the end. One thing that struck me about this trip was the landscape along the roads leading to the house, which was burned by wildfires, and this inspired me to take the story in a new direction.
Since my first NaNoWriMo, I’ve changed up the story a few times and have done a lot of editing. Now I am finally at a point when I feel like I can say it’s done (at least the first draft). I’ve shared it with a few close family members for now, and am just enjoying the great relief of finishing it.
