Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

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Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – NaNoWriMo First Paragraph Share

November 3, 2022
mandyevebarnett


Many of us are in the heady first few days of this crazy writing challenge. Time away from our projects is ‘wasted’ time and the pull to immerse ourselves into our new stories is strong. It is our new shiny thing, and we want to spend time with it. We begin to know our characters and their plight, and the tale becomes more real in our minds.

So, my question is, are you brave enough to share your first paragraph? We all know that in the editing process it may not be structured the same, or even part of the novel at all. Let’s see what everyone is writing.

If you regularly read this blog, you know I am creating the last book in a crime trilogy. Killers Match will conclude The Delphic Murders series.

So, I will take a deep breath and expose my unedited, rough first paragraph.

Edmonton was in the grip of winters freezing temperatures, icy roads and sidewalks and snowplowed windrows on every street. Multiple traffic accidents kept the local police patrols busy and ice related falls crowded the hospital waiting rooms. It is in such an emergency room, amid the overpowering aroma of chemicals, vomit, blood and sweat that we find Avril Finn, gritting her teeth as she tries to convince a heavy bodied nurse she is indeed a police detective.

Come on, be brave. Let’s cheer each other on!

Good luck to you all with new projects, whether NaNo related or not.

Signs of Panic – NaNoWriMo 2013…

November 26, 2013
mandyevebarnett


Clamant – definition: 1. clamorous; noisy; 2. compelling, or pressing; urgent

NaNo2013

With only five days left to achieve the magical fifty thousand words of the National Novel Writing Month challenge, many participants are now feeling the pressure.

If you are fearing the 30th November link up here for some pep talks:

http://nanowrimo.org/pep-talks

My own experience this time around in NaNo, I found I ‘lost’ motivation when I tried to keep to my plot model. Having the story mapped out before me, hindered my creativity and I lagged behind dreadfully. Trying a new genre – cowboy romance – has added to the struggle but I am determined to make that goal. I may not sleep for the rest of this week but it will be worth it.

My word count today is 45,844, leaving a tantalizing 4,156 words left to create. I have to squeeze them in between a conference planning meeting tonight, an orthodontist appointment for my daughter on Thursday and organizing and packing books on Friday evening for an all day event on Saturday. Will I make it? I hope so. To be so close and not succeed would seriously suck!

How are you coping with these last few days?

Have you already achieved the target 50,000? Or surpassed it?

Do you have any words of wisdom to achieve the total?

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