Done! Fini!! Finito!!! It has been a month of drive, uncertainty and pressure but above all it was good. The novel “The Forbidden” has been drafted. Indeed I agree with Chris Baty that a deadline can generate a product even if it is in its rough form. Yes, the novel is in its rough form and certainly not for anyone’s eyes. There definitely will be re-writing and re-writing but I believe the challenging part has been...

This is the third week of National Novel Writing Month and I am making progress. So far I have written 35000 words. It is thrilling to know I could get to 35000 words because when I wrote 20000 words, I lost interest in the storyline. I found myself plotting a new storyline. The new storyline was completely different and in a different genre. It would in no way fit into the present story. So I ‘sat myself down’ and we had a...

It is novel writing month! Did you register with NanoWriMo for the writing challenge? How are you faring? I did register for the writing challenge and I am pushing to ensure I cross the finish line of 50,000 words. I don’t think I am doing badly currently. I have written 15,000 words. If I continue at this pace, I certainly should win! I am pushing to write as much as I can the first two weeks because the last two weeks will be quite...

Novel writing is the desire of many but only a few get round to ever writing the first draft. Of course this is due to both internal and external reasons. Internal reasons Internal reasons may vary amongst individuals but the major reason is fear. A number of us allow the fear of failure to cripple us before we even attempt to achieve a goal. Here are a few quotes to help conquer your fears and challenge you to step out. “Failure...