Anne Tyler Lord

The Writer’s Life: NaNoWriMo 2010

It’s that time again!

National Novel Writing Month!

It’s November and the clickity-clack of writer’s keyboards can be heard around the world! And, the crashes at the official website are already legendary.

Last year, I had loads of time to write while I recovered from gallbladder surgery and my kids were in school for the first time. This year, I have returned to work after a 9 year absence and increased my schedule from 2 days to 4 days, have my health and pain problems to manage, and my two 9.5 year old twins are joining me so I have their motivation to maintain too!

So on with the NaNoWriMo crazies!

Challenges

Do you thrive on a writing challenge? It seems to help me get moving. I don’t know if I will make it, but I love a challenge and am committed to make it work best I can. I have been relying on NaNo to boost my writing time regularly again. Since I started working in August, I haven’t been able to get my groove back completely. I’m either working, recovering from work, or doing things with the kids.

Well, it is time for me to take back my writing time and my online time with all of my writing friends!!

I am thrilled that my children are joining me and I love to see their enthusiasm. There are great resources on the NaNaWriMo site for Young Writers Program. The workbooks are excellent and guide them through the process of writing a book. ywp.nanowrimo.org/workbooks (I will link to the site when it also returns from crashing.)

Tyler Corner

Everyone in Union County knew the location of Tyler Corner, located near Afton and not far from the county seat of Creston, Iowa. It was the corner where the dirt county roads met and connected the four Tyler family farms. Local farmers considered Tyler Corner to be the center of Union County.  Most locals would also agree that the Tylers were the center of attention in Union County. And, Tyler Corner was where cousins Gladys and Ramona Tyler met every morning, that is, until that fateful morning…

Beulah & Iris – the real life cousins who inspired Tyler Corner

This is the story loosely based on my mother (Beulah) and her cousin (Iris, who is still alive and is 91 years old), who grew up on Iowa farms at Tyler Corner. And, I have connected my own family history with a murder based on the real life unsolved ax murders in Villisca, Iowa.

If you click on the picture of the house below, you can read about all the grizzly details and many suspects.

Nearly lost among the rolling hills and fields of southwestern Iowa is the tiny town of Villisca; a quiet, peaceful place of only a few hundred people — and one tragic and enduring mystery. It was here, in June 1912, that a horrific mass murder took place, wiping out an entire family. The murder was never solved, casting a pall over Villisca that still lingers today.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? What is your novel about? What is your best advice for enduring NaNo?

Be my writing buddy on the NaNo site, I’m at Anne Tyler Lord!

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26 responses to “The Writer’s Life: NaNoWriMo 2010”

  1. Anna

    Hey Anne! I stalk your blog occasionally and follow you on twitter and saw something that reminded me that you’d done NaNo before, so I added you as a writing buddy on the site, even though we’re over half way through the month 😛 I’m playing catch-up at this point, so we’ll see how far I get…

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      I looked for you, what is your NaNo name? I sometimes have trouble figuring out how to buddy people. Good luck to you on writing, I won’t make it, but I really want to work on this novel, so it gave me a good start.

  2. Bluestocking

    Hope your Nano project is still going strong now that we’re more than halfway through! I love Nano b/c it gives me the opportunity to set up and plan a novel-length project. I do a lot of writing, but haven’t “won” yet bc I have other WIPs I’m juggling at the same time. But November is a great time to focus on something new.

  3. Deanna Schrayer

    Hey Anne! Tyler Corner sounds so intriguing, thanks so much for sharing this little bit with us.

    Good for you for reclaiming your writing time! I’m taking a break from blogging right now in the hopes of finishing this novel of ever-growing plot twists, (at least according to these people in my head who keep changing their minds about which way to go and driving me nuts!). However, I’m not doing NaNo. I could offer up tons of excuses but if I were to face the truth it’s most likely my fear of failure that keeps me from signing up. BUT, I have at least claimed to do NaNo “unofficially”; now if I could only stop looking at all the research and actually WRITE I might be getting somewhere. 🙂

    I know I speak for all your readers when I say we’ve miseed you Anne. It’s so great to have you back!

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi ya, Deanna,

      I’ve been thinking about you and wondering if you were going to be doing NaNa, at least “unofficially” is fine in my book.

      I find it very hard to stop looking at the research and get writing. It is amazing how one piece of information explodes the entire story line into new directions. This is the first time I have attempted anything historical, so it is a challenge unless I get a decent amount of info in my head.

      Good luck on that novel! Can’t wait to hear more about it!

      I have missed everyone too!!

      1. Phyl

        Oh dear, do you need someone to rap you on the knuckles and yell, “Don’t do research!!”? Hee! That will kill you, when it comes for time.

        My very first year, I wanted to do a back-in-time story, to when Layard first discovered the lost city of Nineveh. I didn’t last five days because I realized I couldn’t keep up with the research I’d need. That was when I adopted my “No research unless it’s already done” rule.

  4. Ann Marie

    What a great premise. I must admit, I like pulling together the visual aids–I have to make sure it doesn’t outpace writing time. My NaNo story this year has a modern duchess, so I’ve been gazing at pictures of castles.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Ann Marie,

      Ah yes, I love visuals too. How fun to be looking at lots of castles. Your project sounds fun.

      I have a lovely journal written by my 91 year old second cousin (Iris above) who wrote down many memories from this time period, and her memory for details is amazing. She is my inspiration for this novel.

  5. Josie

    Hi Anne, missed you being around. You do indeed have a lot on – big admiration 🙂 I love that your twins are joining you with NaNoWriMo. I’m loving your description of Tyler Corner and the connections you’ve made.

    I won’t be writing a novel, but I am cheering on all of you NaNo writers – have fun! I’d like to do more creative writing, but would rather start differently than write a novel in a month… unless I change my mind, in which case I’d better get a move on 😉

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Josie,

      So glad to hear from you! Thanks for the well-wishes. It is quite a trip to do this project. I got so much out of last year’s challenge. I attribute it to getting me writing fiction for the first time.

      Think about joining, it is an interesting experience, even if you don’t finish. Which I may not this year unless I get a move on!

  6. Angie C.

    Good luck to you and the kids, very cool that you are doing nanowrimo together!

    I’m doing #nanorevismo this year 😉 I have a goal set, steps to get there, and with any luck i’ll have a novel revised and readable by the end of it.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Angie,

      Thanks for stopping by. I just signed up with NaNo and noticed you were my buddy from last year. I was wondering if you were going to write this year.

      That is an excellent idea, doing the revising. We are going to do it informally, so my kids can get theirs done and self-published for a contest at school next spring.

      When is the official #nanorevismo? is it in Feb?

  7. Sam Adamson

    Yay! You’re back. I’m not doing nano this year, what with one thing and another I’m not really up to it so I’ll wish you all the best for your and the kids’ projects.

    May you never be short of ideas or the time to write them down, and may your pens dance across your pages for the entire month. 😀

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Thanks so much for the well-wishes, Sam, that is cute! My kids liked that – they are very visual so the pens dancing was fun for them!

  8. Laura Eno

    You’ve been missed! Good luck with NaNo, both you and the kids, and your story is very intriguing! I’m not participating this year as I’m in the middle of writing the sequel to “Don’t Fall Asleep” in my Dream Assassin series.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Laura, great to see you,

      I’m trying to work myself back into a more consistent online presence – I miss you guys too!!

      Oooo, more Dream Assassin, yeah!

  9. Estrella Azul

    Love that your kids are also participating, that’s so cool! 🙂
    Break a leg you guys (well, finger in this case) 😛

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Thanks so much, Estrella!

      I have been meaning to ask you if that is your real eye!

  10. Claire Goverts

    I’m doing Nano again this year, hoping that it will get me back into writing regularly. My novel is a mix of work drama and relationship drama, that’s about as far as I’ve planned.

    Aside from lists and other handy word priming tips the best advice I can give to others for Nano is not to get overwhelmed if one gets behind the count needed for that day. Every year I’ve been behind at one point or another but I concentrate on the writing and try not to think about where I should be.

    Good luck with your nano.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Claire,

      Your novel sounds interesting. I guess my novel last year ended up being a bit of a relationship drama.

      I already need your advice – I’m behind after just a few days! I will try to calm down and just write!!

      Look me up and be my buddy – at Anne Tyler Lord.

      1. Claire Goverts

        Thanks.

        I’m also behind this year, though hopefully getting into the rhythm of nano will help. Sometimes I’ve divided the number of words I’m behind by the number of days left then try to aim for that much extra per day. Depending on the time of the month that might only be 50 or so words extra. Or I try not to think about how much more I need and just write.

        I added you on the nano site, I’m hoshikaze over there.

        1. Anne Tyler Lord

          Thanks Claire, I’ve buddied you.

          Yeah, I know about the no research part and have already done quite a bit. I am only doing a little during NaNo when I talk to Iris. My hubby is taking over some of the research to help with my time.

          good luck to you!!

  11. Linda

    You go girls!!!!!

    Nope, not doing it this year. I’ve got to finish the two novels I’ve already drafted. But I feel sad about not nanoing — it’s fun and freeing to just write, write, write. I get a lot out of the process, usually a lot of backstory that sort of clears my throat for the real thing.

    I’ll cheer from the sidelines. Just remember most of all — have fun! Peace…

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      So glad to see you, Linda!

      The freeing feeling of NaNo is definitely healing and blows out all the blocks for me. But I know the editing on the novels I wrote last year and this year will be catching up to me!

      Good luck on your editing!!

  12. Phyl

    I’m doing it again this year, woo! I’ve “won” four times (not last year), and I’m quite excited. I, too, am extremely busy again, but I really want to cram this into those small free time periods between everything else. (What a bad sentence.)

    I’m 11 words ahead of myself today, hurray! I’m doing another fanfic story from my favourite anime, though I debated returning to my own anime-style world that I’ve done two previous NaNos in. I just thought I could use the boost of enthusiasm I get from writing about these particular characters.

    Anyway, good luck and have fun! Above all, that.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      That sounds exciting! Wow, you are a pro at NaNo!

      Look me up and be my buddy!! I need all the help I can get this year.

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