Nanowrimo spotlight: Esme Symes-Smith

Hey! I’m happy to say that I’ve already got my first Nanowrimo spotlight interview of the year lined up. I’m happy to introduce Esme. You can visit Esme’s blog at http://esymessmith.blogspot.com/ or take a look at her Nanowrimo profile here. Here’s Esme talking about her Nano history:

I’d heard about NaNo before, but only vaguely and never by anyone really enthusiastic about it. It had always existed vaguely in the background, as in ‘Oh, that thing where some people write a novel in a month.’ It seemed like a very isolating and impossible-pipe-dream challenge, and not really worthy of my time.

Then, I graduated university with a degree in Literature and Creative Writing and found myself at a loose end, terrified out of my wits that I was never going to write anything again and my creativity would stagnate and die. After all, once uni was over, I had no purpose, no community and no inspiration.

Thank God for NaNoWriMo.

In October 2013, my wife suggested that we do it together. We met through fanfiction and both enjoyed writing, and the challenge was something she’d thought about doing before but never actually attempted. I agreed, pulled in by the promise of two free paper-backs, and I decided that this would be my test: If I couldn’t do this, I wasn’t worth my salt as a writer.

And I did it.

It wasn’t easy – I completely pantsed, going with a glimmer of an idea I’d had years back, rather than my plan was expanding my uni dissertation – and after three years of having to really care about quality and content, it was hard to silence my inner-critic, but once I got going and once I stopped caring, it was the most exhilarating and rewarding experience of my life. I finished on the 25^th, in time for my first thanksgiving, and I remember watching the wordcount hit 50,000. I couldn’t believe it. The year before, I had struggled with 6,000 words in nine months and here I was, with a complete story (I never finish anything, ever) and I had proven that I could do it.

NaNoWriMo has given me the confidence to believe in myself. Because of NaNo, I am now a freelance ghostwriter and an editor, who can churn out good prose in a short space of time; I have met my first cast of my own, original characters that I feel like I can connect to; I have written almost every day for the last twelve months, and I can honestly, truly call myself a writer.

This year will be NaNo number two, and I’m going to make the most of every moment!

What are you writing about this year?