National Novel Writing Month participant EJ James shares her Week One experience:

My first week has been a bit of an eye opener for me. I’ve never really written so quickly without editing before and I can see the real benefits in it – finishing a piece of work for one – although it did take a couple of days before my inner editor stopped shouting at me. I finished the week just over 10k so I have a bit of catching up to do. I haven’t hit any walls yet, but I’m slightly concerned that my story might run out before my word count – I may have to do a little padding! I came up with the idea of an interplay between two characters at turning points in their lives. It’s the story of a man who comes of age through the discovery of his neighbour’s discarded poetry. It sounds a bit slushy, but that isn’t the inspiration at all. The theme is one of inner transformation and ‘life is what you make it’. The support I’ve received from other writers has been amazing and it makes such a difference at the end of the day when you’re tired and want to stop. That extra 500 words squeezed in following a few tweets of encouragement is very satisfying. No steamy sex scenes yet, but I have included a small explosion … — EJ James