‘HAWK’ is my entry for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge 2011.
Swift, strong and efficient
I’ve chosen my drawing of the Kawasaki ZZR1100 to illustrate this post because I believe it represents qualities shared by my main character, the bird of prey and the motor cycle.
I propose to write an entire novel from scratch in one month. This is something I feel will be challenging and liberating at the same time. One of the aims is to avoid spending vast amounts of time editing. Any editing will therefore be ongoing throughout the writing, rather than going back to pages or chapters to alter them substantially. For the period of this month I am prepared to forego poetry or work on other projects. My intention is to upload each chapter to my blog as it’s completed. I realise I may find it necessary to do something else occasionally to give me breathing space away from the main task – HAWK, the novel.
HAWK – a synopsis:
Disillusioned by the government and military leaders, Phil McKenzie, a soldier serving in the Special Air Service leaves the army only to find increased frustration with the daily criminality taking place on the British streets and decides to redress the situation.
My featured graphic is an acrylic depicting a bistro. I completed the painting for a young couple I know. It was to celebrate their first anniversary and moving into their first home. I feel it fits my theme for this post of new beginnings.
The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is almost upon us. It takes place throughout November. It’s been running for a couple of years now and very successful it is too. So what’s so different this year? I’ve decided to take the plunge … and I’ve already registered. I enjoy a challenge and in particular one with a deadline, mainly because it gives more focus to the task in hand. After all, how hard can it be to write a complete novel in a month? Okay, I’m joking!
From what I’ve read about the whole ‘Nano‘ thing it’s accepted at the outset that the vast majority of entrants will have masses of issues with typos, dialogue, grammar etc., So what’s the point? The point as far as I can see is that accepting the challenge enables an individual to write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words in a month – that’s 1,667 words per day if you’re not quick on mental arithmetic. As mentioned previously, it will be ‘warts and all’, but the point is, it could be the foundation of a proper, stand alone book or first of a series.
I was reminded of the ‘Nano‘ as I read my friend Chloe’s blog recently. It’s one of those things, like perhaps a marathon (yeah, done that), a person feels it’s their turn to tackle it. Only minutes after deciding I would take it on I flicked through some of the poetry series’ I’ve written over the last couple of years. The winner, if I can call him that is my character ‘The Hawk’.
Phil McKenzie is an ex- SAS soldier who leaves the military because he’s become disillusioned by his military and political leaders’ decisions. Within days of becoming a ‘civvy’ once again he witnesses so much criminality on the British streets that he feels an overwhelming desire to redress the situation on behalf of the victims. ‘Hawk’ is the name adopted by Phil, a modern, self-styled and capable vigilante.
What makes me think I’m capable of this mammoth task? Self belief for one thing and a strong desire to succeed, which as long as I don’t run out of coffee I’m sure I will. ‘How about a plot line?’ I hear nobody in particular asking. Within my poetry I have a mini-series I wrote called, ‘The Hawk’. I intended it to be two or perhaps three episodes to experiment with the idea of series poetry. ‘The Hawk’ gained popularity on ‘Starlite Cafe’ where my poems are posted under the pen-name Tomfoollery. Hawk’s antics continued for 35 poems. My intention is to draw from the episodes written in verse.
I’m already bubbling with enthusiasm and making notes for twists and turns in the adventures of ‘HAWK’. It means that I will only have one short story ongoing, but that will have to be shelved until after this endeavor. I want to totally immerse myself in this new venture. If I find the time after today and throughout November I will make an effort to update my progress here.
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