Could you write a novel over lockdown? If not, we have the answer for you.

Cher_Alumni

Calling all writers, frustrated novelists and anyone who fancies trying something a bit different.

This month is National Novel Writing Month, an event organised by the non-profit organisation NaNoWriMo to help people put words to page and unleash their creative juices.

Yet it doesn't stop there.  With the support of NaNoWriMo people are invited to take on the challenge of writing 50,000 words of a novel in November   Explaining more, their website tells us:

Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel. You may know this mass creative explosion by the name National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo—but that's not all that NaNoWriMo is! 

NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit organization that supports writing fluency and education. But it's also a social network for writers like LinkedIn is for job professionals, or DeviantArt is for artists, or Facebook is for moms whose kids accept their friend requests only to provide them with "limited profile" access. It tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps for the ambulatory. It's a real-world event, during which 900+ volunteers in places like Mexico City, Seoul, and Milwaukee coordinate communal writing sessions in thousands of partnering libraries, coffee shops, and community centers like… well, like nothing else. 

If this sounds too strenuous a feat for you this November, never fear. Scope's online community team have put together a list of their favourite books written by disabled authors.  

So buckle down and have a gander for some lockdown light-reading options:

• Disability visibility by Alice Wong - A collection of essays by disabled people covering the nuances of life with an impairment.
• Kika and me: how one extraordinary guide dog changed my world by Dr Amit Patel - The story of how a guide dog helped a trauma doctor rebuild his life after losing his sight.
• Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig - A graphically honest account of how Matt dealt with the onset of mental illness and learnt to live with anxiety and panic disorder.
• Look me in the eye: my life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison -  John's story of growing up with Asperger's during a time it's diagnosis didn't exist.
• Into the frame by our very own Jonathan Collins @jonathancollins_222- A book promoting wheelchair fencing, telling Jonathan's own story of taking up the sport.

Before buying why not check with your local library if they have these in stock, and if they don't consider asking for them to be ordered in to increase disability awareness

Thinking about all things bookish:

• If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
• Who is your favourite author?
• What one book stands out from your reading history and why?
• Have we missed a book written by a disabled author that you love?  If so, what is it?

Give us your thoughts in the comments.

66Mustang

I used to read a lot as a child but haven't read that many books recently because I find it difficult to concentrate.

Like I suspect a lot of people I have been wanting to write a novel for several years and now is the perfect time to do so as I have plenty of time on my hands. I have an idea of what to write about, which is a quite shocking event in history that not many people know much about that was more or less ignored/covered up by governments at the time. There are hardly any books based on this subject so the book would be quite unique and it would be good to raise the awareness of the event.

These days with the Amazon Kindle and other similar platforms it is very easy and cost-free to publish a book. On Kindle at least I don't think you have to pay anything to do so and if anyone buys a copy I believe Amazon takes 30% and you get 70% of the sale price. There are no worries about having to pay a publisher to print your book. That comes later if your book is successful! 

That said I'm not sure my English skills and storytelling skills are good enough and am not sure if anyone would want to read my book!!

leeCal

That said I'm not sure my English skills and storytelling skills are good enough and am not sure if anyone would want to read my book!!

@66mustang in my experience it’s better to write it the way you feel comfortable Without worrying about your English skills or storytelling skills. As long as the story progresses in a logical fashion and the subject matter is engaging you’ve nothing to worry about. When you’ve finished ask family members to read it and give you an honest opinion. I have found it best to re read yourself after a few days or weeks if you have the time and then re write as necessary, the important thing is to get something down on paper first, then edit it yourself later on. If the story is good enough you might consider whether hiring a ghost writer might improve things, but that comes later if at all.

66Mustang

Thanks for the advice @leeCal What you say about getting something down first then editing it makes perfect sense, that is what I do with my essays.

AndyGT

Like many people I believe I have a story in me and the older I get the more I believe this.  I have lots of notes written down all over the place in different notebooks and odd bits of paper.  It may be story lines, or just a name, or a road.  Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't.   I just need the impetus to bring at least some of it together.  Unfortunately I still manage to work full time during the current state of play, so I don't seem to have enough time to do anything else.  I love writing and I love books (which are my biggest weakness).  I understand the usefulness of a kindle, but I can't bring myself to have one.  Proper books win every time.

Tori_Scope

Perhaps you could just dedicate a short amount of time per week to start to put together all of the little notes you have @AndyGT, or work out a story outline?