#4 - A Novel in a Year

Weeks 13-16: more idea-generation, inanimate objects, allies and enemies

Hello and welcome to TBOI!

This is my fourth post in a year long project where I am attempting to complete the exercises shared in Louise Doughty’s ‘A Novel in a Year’.

But first, a little housekeeping…

I am switching things up a little bit with my newsletter.

Going forward, my monthly updates for ANIAY will be published on a Monday, which means that I can continue to explore some other topics on my regular Wednesday publication day.

For those of you who are new to TOBI, the ANIAY project is a way to stretch my writing muscles, and these posts are intended to make myself accountable, as well as log my experiences.

Here is a link to last month’s post:

#3 - A Novel in a Year

However, it has dawned on me recently that these posts are fairly niche, and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I am really grateful that you subscribe to this newsletter, but I won’t be offended if you want to stop reading now.

But if you would like to read on we had better get started!

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Week 13

Week 13 begins with a recap of the foreign-character exercise from week 11. I had some fun with that task and found myself wanting to investigate the life of my Georgian servant from the Middle Ages further, but alas, it was not meant to be as the requirements were just to write one paragraph.

There was a specific task to accompany week 13 also, and when I first read it, I must admit I felt like a bit of a knucklehead. The task involved another character creation but written from the POV of someone living in the past… hmm, sounded familiar. Perhaps I hadn’t read week 11’s task properly?

Anyway, I am not sure where the inspiration for this came from but here goes:

The tavern was crowded and the air thick with pipe smoke. Three men played a lively game of cards nearby while a ragtag group bet on the outcome. James found me at the bar, and then indicated to a lone man sat nestled in the corner his large frame hunched over a tankard of beer.

‘It’s him.’ James said. ‘You ready?’

I nodded.

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Week 14

Week 14 begins with these words from Doughty:

We are getting to the crunch now – perhaps I should have warned you it was coming. So far, it’s been relatively easy, after all.

Doughty is right with that one, things do feel somewhat crunchy with this ANIAY project. Although I am not sure that I have found all of the tasks easy… but I am still here.

The past few weeks have focused on idea-generation, and I want to add the obvious here it’s about harnessing your imagination (same, same?) and letting things brew. Doughty points out that the ideas stage could last a long time, years even, and she recommends keeping notebooks to capture as much as you can as a ‘writer can’t have too many ideas.’ But sooner or later, you just have to make a start on the novel for real.

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Week 15

This is the final task in the ideas-generating phase and this one had me stumped for a little while. Doughty asks:

I want you to write a paragraph from the point of view of an inanimate object. Anything.

A mug? My post-it note pad? My watch!

I was sat at the desk when I read this task, so that’s probably why when I scanned the immediate area, my eyes fell on those objects.

In the end, I was drawn to my phone. With the capabilities that the average phone possesses, I started to wonder that if my phone (any phone) could talk, what would it say or be thinking?

In this case, I imagined the phone as a frustrated piece of technology, reduced to being used for basic functions when it had so much potential, resulting in a passive-aggressive tone towards its user.

Refreshing updates. Usage is up 35% from the previous week, and you picked me up nearly 100 times (and that’s just today). Show all app and website activity. Average Instagram use with 56 minutes per day, and WhatsApp comes a close second at 54 minutes. (I am not sure why you are giving me that look, you chose to put those reminders on).

Photos, photos. (One of… yes, your face again). Loading camera. Click. Click. Filters selected. (Some more? Of course). Next? (Let me guess, an image of your coffee?).

Can I help you with anything else? (Replying to your mum’s email from two weeks ago, paying your water bill, solving world peace…) Wordle. Okay, let’s do another Wordle.

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Week 16

Doughty says that writing never gets easier but it does become more rewarding. This was somewhat soothing to read as I found last week’s exercise challenging. I started to worry that I had zero imagination when I couldn’t place myself in the ‘mind’ of a mobile phone. Reviewing the piece, I am embarrassed by how basic it reads, but like with all of the exercises to date, it’s more about getting some ideas down on the page. They still might be crap, but it’s better than nothing! And there is something to be said about being vulnerable with creative work.

Doughty reminds the reader that “with experience comes a certain facility and a degree of self-knowledge that compensates for the sheer graft involved.” Amen to that.

This week, Doughty asks you to list your ‘Allies’ and ‘Enemies’ with writing. A good friend/supportive partner could be an ally, as well as a pen or your laptop - someone or something that helps you to write. Enemies refer to things/people who impede your progress. She encourages you to consider how to maximise the support from your allies and pin a list above your desk or write them out in a notepad. Make them stand out.

See you on Wednesday!

Sarah