101 Reasons to Stop Writing

Like any good interview with a crime writer should, this one has a twist ending.
Daniel Hatadi is a Sydney-based crime writer, with two natural advantages over others in the field: a cool, tough-sounding, symmetrical name, and a ruggedly handsome face, both of which will look great in hardback and softcover. He’s the author of Danny Hawaii, perhaps the most famous series detective character who’s only appeared in one story.

He’s written nearly 27,000 words for this year’s NaNo, way under target. Will he make it?

What value do you place on completing NaNoWriMo?

A friend of mine has put up a bottle of 12 year old Springbank single malt scotch whisky if I win. I place a lot of value on this.

How much time will it take to write 50,000 words? How do you divide the workload across the 30 days?

I write madly until just before the point where my girlfriend can’t stand me anymore. Then I take a break. You could say my workload is mostly random.

Do you spend any time editing/redrafting the work-in-progress during the month?

In the first week I was guilty of going back and tweaking a few sentences for rhythm and correctness, but now I write like the wind. May the Lord have mercy on my chair.

Do you plan to (eventually) submit the result for publication? If so, how much additional work do you expect to do?

I imagine that after a few months of revision and workshopping I’ll have something ready to submit. Can’t see myself living off a bottle of whisky forever.

What do you get from participating in NaNoWriMo that you couldn’t get from setting your own writing targets?

Sure, I’m a likable enough bloke, but since I started writing, my list of friends has dwindled down to something far less than 70,000. That’s approximately how many people have entered NaNoWriMo this year. That’s a lot of motivation right there.

Would you recommend the experience to other writers, published and unpublished?

I’d recommend absolutely everyone to do it just the once. To do it the second time you’d have to be almost paralysed by alcohol. Now where’s that Springbank?

If you were in charge of NaNoWriMo, what rules/parameters would you set?

Since around half the entrants are writing in the fantasy genre, I’d allow them to continue a previously unfinished novel, as long they wrote 50,000 new words. Fantasy novels aren’t taken seriously until you need a wheelbarrow to get the book home.

Thanks for your time.

My fingers are so calloused I can’t feel my keyboard. A few extra words simply can’t hurt me anymore.

All well and good. Like all great crime writers before him, driven by whisky. Calloused fingers. Numb to the pain. Prepared to drive his girlfriend almost to the point of not standing him anymore. He’s like a young, breathing Mickey Spillane, with a soul patch.

Except earlier this week, he makes a shocking confession on his blog. He’s not going to make it. He’s way under, bogged down in plot details, and trying to spin it as a decision to focus on quality. He’s readjusted his ambition to a paltry 35,000 words.

Bah. Spillane could do that in a weekend, after drinking a gallon of rum, and still go seven rounds with Hemingway in the alley behind a Key West speakeasy.

You’ll notice, in the comments section of his post, there’s no mention of a certain bottle of Springbank.