The pain of neglect and the pain of another Nano

I am astonished this blog hasn't sort of dried up and blown away: I was convinced the things go mouldy and wither. Anyway, it hasn't and so feeling very bad about Not Doing Anything With It I have posted this about... er, the latest Nano contest, which would be the 2011 version.

I am still by the way debating what to do with last year's 'Iron Virgin' but among the debates I made a small but determined effort to 'win' Nano this year.

However I resolved to get the project out of the way as soon as possible. The rules say to write a novel of 50,000 words in thirty days (a fairly slim novel, one would say) but I sat down without a firm idea –– not unusual, most would agree –– and despite thinking I would write one called 'The Storyteller' I ended up with a story called 'Ersatz' which is set in an alternative England of 1971 and has Germans in it. Without boring you or for that matter me with detail, the root of the idea was what if there was a Berlin-type wall across London?

After that it was easy to make up an alternative history of these islands, or at least the southern bit, throw in a chase, drama and sufficient doubts and uncertainties for the reader.

'Ersatz' was completed in 16 days, with the whole story racing through in 52,000 words. I then sat back and thought: "What a load of old tosh." It may be the best thing I have ever written or it may be the worst, but the last chapter slush made me feel ill as I hammered away at the poor keyboard, so all I can say it needs revisiting, and rewriting.

One day. Just as soon as I have revisited 'Iron Virgin.' And the one before that.