Napier writer attempts a novel in November

Penny Geddis is writing 50,000 words this November as part of international group NaNoWriMo

Ever thought you had a novel lurking inside you but didn’t know where to begin? No plot, no problem, says author Chris Baty and creator of international writing group NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

The concept began in America 23 years ago, when Chris decided he’d like to have a go at writing a novel.

Many pages have turned since these small beginnings, with NaNoWriMo writers worldwide now typing into the wee hours to try to get their 50,000 words written during each month of November.

Napier women Penny Geddis and Rachel Bell have joined the wannabe novelists, banging out thousands of words to “win” by the end of the month. Both women are getting very close to their target, described by Penny as a competition with yourself. This is the fifth novel she has written and her first in the YA (youth-adult) genre.

“It’s all about writing madly. We have writing sprints so you can get quite efficient. I was stunned last night - I wrote 1000 words in an hour.”

Penny says there are three types of writers doing NaNoWriMo - the pantser, the planner and the planser.

“A pantser is someone who just sits and writes down whatever comes into their head. The planner, that’s me, is someone who puts the structure in beforehand. And the planser has a slight plan and then pants the rest. That’s what I did last year, but became a little unstuck.”

Rachel first heard about NaNoWriMo in 2012 from another Hawke’s Bay writer and gave it a try then.

“I barely wrote 3000 words - I didn’t have much of a story in my head to write, and the motivation wasn’t there.”

She says she hadn’t written in a really long time, and never something of this magnitude. Although she wrote a lot of poetry in her early 20s, she hasn’t written a lot since.

“I’ve had a story in my head for a few months, a romance set in Hawke’s Bay, and every day, it was getting bigger. I only decided to do NaNoWriMo about 10 days before it started, and it took me another few days to actually tell my husband and others that I was going to do it.”

She says she didn’t want to tell many people in case she didn’t achieve her goal.

“With two young girls aged 5 and 7, I haven’t had the time, energy, or inclination to write, and it was just something that I really wanted to do.”

Rachel says belonging to NaNoWriMo brings writers together.

“Writing is very personal and can be very isolating, but it’s nice to know that others are doing the same thing you are, and feeling the same way you are.”

She says the night before NaNoWriMo started, a group of New Zealand-based writers met through a Zoom session.

“That’s how I met Penny. We haven’t met in person, but we are both wanting to get a Hawke’s Bay group together next November to do write-ins and support each other.”

With family commitments, Rachel says this intense month of writing can be tricky.

“I also work from home, so finding a balance is hard. I often do a “sprint” 20-minute timed writing session after I walk the kids to school, but before I start work. I sometimes do another one around lunchtime. And then the rest of the writing happens after 7pm, when the kids are in bed. My husband Layton is very supportive of me participating in this and has been taking the kids out and about on the weekend so that I can get more writing done at home.”

Penny says NaNoWriMo helps you let go of your inner editor.

“You have to be hungry for criticism and just write as if no one’s going to read that copy. My goal is just to finish the novel. For some belonging to this group, it helps to have that connection with others - for me, it’s the personal motivation.”

Penny would like to hold writing events for local writers and include guest speakers.

For more information about NaNoWriMo visit www.nanowrimo.org