It's Nano time again

I wasn't going to take part in NaNoWrimo this year. Although I found the crazy challenge of writing a novel in 30 days exciting and even enjoyable last year, this time I felt that I didn't have another novel in me.

I am so glad that has changed and it was all due to me attending the Wrekin Writers workshop which was part of the Wellington literary festival.

Kate Long, bestselling author of 'The Bad Mother's Handbook', ran an excellent work shop on creating characters at speed which I found so useful but it was the warm up exercise that got me inspired and gave me the thirst to keep on writing without stopping. The exercise was simply to start with the line ' I remember' and when I started writing, my pen didn't leave the page. It was a great feeling as I scribbled down everything 'I could remember' and the words just seemed to flow out of me.

I chose a personal topic that has been a part of my life since I was a child and so I was able to write without even thinking about it, I loved the feeling of putting pen to paper and not even questioning what I was writing down - because it was real.

During the break I talked to Bryan Vaughan, a very successful Nano participant and very talented writer. His enthusiasm got to me while we were talking but again, I still didn't have the desire to enter.

But then a few days later something happened to change my mind when inspiration struck.  I love those days when something literally does pop into your head. I got that feeling the moment I woke up. An idea came to me and so I had the urge to enter NanoWrimo again and write another story.  The difference with this one is it will be a true story.  The story of 'Chad' my beatufiul horse that has been a friend to me since I was aged 14.  We have grown up together and shared a lifetime of experiences, most of them wonderful and some of them dreadful.  He has seen me go from a horse mad teenager with plaits to a horse mad middle aged woman with a bob and I have seen a true gentleman grow old while still having a passion for chocolate and polo mints.   

I have never until now thought about 'true life' stories so this is very different for me, I am not a famous person and Chad is only a part of my own familiy life, to me that doesn't matter. It may not be a best selling novel but I do know that I can certainly write 50,000 words over 30 days about it.

So here goes, roll on the 1st November, I can't wait to start.