This week, I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month for the second time. Last November, I wrote about 22,000 words that eventually became The Olympics Beat, my mini travel memoir. It was only ever meant to be a short piece, but after finishing I didn't write another 28,000 words to win the challenge. This time around, I'm starting a new novel from scratch, and I'm in it to win. My creative non-fiction comfort zone has been left behind and I'm experimenting with a totally new genre. So far, I've written nearly 14,000 words and met up with six other Hong Kong writers for a write-in. We are having another one tonight, Tuesday, at Holly Brown in Central, so please come along if you're in town!
In the bookspotting department, I saw two women perusing the Hiker's Guide to Hong Kong, whose author, Pete Spurrier, I happen to have met. Another woman had a Lonely Planet Hong Kong guidebook on Queen's Road. I spotted one Kindle near my house and three Chinese books on the train. I was just feeling disappointed with my bookspotting tally yesterday (especially considering how many hours I spent in coffee shops this weekend) when I spotted a woman on the MTR reading The Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty. What are people reading in your town this week?
Love the photo of the tea tray! This new tea shop looks wonderful. Congratulations on reaching 14,000 words in NaNo! That's quite an accomplishment. I decided to join at the last minute and cracked 10,000 words today, but worry about the end of the week. The Hong Kong Film Fest in Chicago starts on Friday and I'm going to the opening night. So excited! Lovely assortment of your book spotting titles this week. Yesterday I saw a teenager with An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. My son Jake is reading The Book Thief, so I spotted that in the car yesterday when he brought it along for a 30 minute ride. Enjoy the rest of the week and all the best for the remainder of NaNo!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan! I hope your project is going well too! Are you writing fiction this time around?
DeleteI'm about 2000-4000 words behind you. Yes, I'm trying fiction this time, but based on a family story, so it's a little tricky to stick to certain facts while trying to fill in spaces with my imagination. I look forward to hearing more about your story!
DeleteKeep up the good work, Shannon and Susan!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura!
DeleteWishing you well with this months Nanowrimo.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I'm having fun with it so far.
DeleteGood luck with NaNo this month, Shannon. I did it in 2009 and am spending this month querying that novel (after it's had some major rewrites) to literary agents in New York. I've had some bites, but no contract yet. Anyway, NaNo was a good place to get myself kicked off. As far as bookspotting in my area (Hoboken, New Jersey), there's lots of buzz about Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It's fun for me to see what they're reading in Asia. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Melissa! I'm glad to hear your Nano project turned into something good after the revisions. It's inspiring when I feel like my plot is losing steam. I hope everything is getting back to normal in New Jersey.
DeleteAlmost to the halfway mark.
ReplyDeleteGreat! I just passed the halfway mark yesterday afternoon.
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