NaNoWriMo 2011
November 19, 2011 4 Comments
We’re halfway through the month of Novemeber. For a lot of people, this means that we’re that much closer to Thanksgiving and turkey induced comas. However, for writers all around the world it means a mad dash of writing frenzy geared towards writing 50,000 words of a novel in a mere 30 days.
National Novel Writing Month has been sending writers into an over-caffeinated state of creative fever since 1999. Winners have the satisfaction of meeting the goal, getting posted on the winners’ page on the NaNoWriMo website, a certificate, and a snazzy web badge.
I’ve been meaning to participate in NaNo for several years and have only just managed to actually write something this year.
I’m currently sitting at 10,824 words. It’s considerably less than the halfway mark that I should have hit by now. On the other hand, it’s 10,824 words better than I’ve done in previous years.
One of the pieces of advice they give you on the NaNo website is not to worry about quality. Just write. Don’t worry about editing or getting everything just so, get the words on the paper (or screen). It sounds really easy in theory, but it’s been anything but!
I can admit that I am totally a ‘Type ‘A’ personality. I edit things as I write, agonizing over every sentence to make sure it reads just the way I want it to and conveys exactly the right thought. Needless to say it tends to take me a while to get things finished. But oh boy, are they pretty when they’re done!
This has been a huge hurdle that I’ve had to overcome this year. In order to get to 50,000 words, I’m having to forget about that and write a bunch of stuff that I would never want anyone to read as a finished product. It’s just flat out embarrassing sometimes. Or it was up until the point where I was sitting at around 5,000 words this weekend thinking that I was never going to finish.
That was just unacceptable. Definitely worse than writing some trash!
So I stopped trying to write the story in order, stopped trying to plan and plot it all out in advance, stopped trying to follow the notes I’d already jotted down in preparation, and just wrote. I made far more progress in just a few days than I had in the eleven days leading up to that point.
I also discovered that I was definitely what writers refer to as a ‘pantser’. If I try to plan out more than a loose outline and some general motivations for my characters, the story just doesn’t want to write itself. It’s made a big difference in my outlook on the contest and my novel. Not to mention the boost in confidence!
So, how do you write? Are you a planner or a pantser? If you’re participating in NaNo, how are you doing and what’s your writing groove? If you’re not participating in NaNo and have always wanted to write a novel, it isn’t too late. Even if you only get partly finished, it’s a huge step towards writing that book you’ve always wanted to write. And that is just one more step closer to being published!
Another fellow WriMo to share my frustrations with, yay! Right now I’m at 16,667, woefully behind. I’m actually being a total cheater this year. I’m adding to a novel that I’d been stalled at for months, pecking away here and there, ditching, restarting, etc. When I started the month, I had just under 19,000 words on the manuscript. The 16,667 is what I’ve added since this month’s adventures began. So, even though I’m far behind, I’ve added almost as much to my story in the past 2 1/2 weeks than I have since the summer.
I’m using this weekend to dump words onto my novel. Wherever I end up, I’m considering this breakthrough a “win”.
I have this saying, “I can see plot in front of me.” Usually that means I have a fair idea where I want to go through the next few pages. Most of the time, that’s as far as I dare imagine.
This is different from how I address the opening of a story. While envisioning the work, I often like to articulate how the story opens in a compelling way, followed by an ultimate goal that may or may not be obtained. That’s it. That’s more than enough and subject to change.
If I found myself taking a writing course and the professor said, “Write me a two page outline of your proposed novel,” I’d probably write something, but from experience I know I’d not stick to it, two chapters in.
My problem is I’m just not that creative in one wee setting. It takes a lot of time to think of every single plot twist that makes a novel interesting. Most of these plot points are driven by the character’s immediate motivation. Since I’m not in that moment, I wonder how it is possible to know the best thing to write until I have literally painted my character into that situation.
This is why I limit myself to seeing how the work opens and imagining some kind of goal that might well change.
I can illustrate this by mentioning the novel I’m currently writing. I’ve tentatively named it, Satan’s Daughter Walks to Portugal. My idea, as defined by the title, is a young woman walks to a place. Why? Well, because she wants to find her mother. Why does she think she can walk there? Because she’s not familiar with the world and thinks she can, and demons forbid anyone should tell her otherwise. Will she ever get there, and will she be able to walk there? I can care less, particularly as I start the novel. Either she does or something better happens.
With the overarching motivation and goal established, I need a compelling opening. While at work, fixing a radio in the lobby of police headquarters, I noticed how you had to actually grab the attention of the people manning the police desk otherwise they act like you’re not there. Alright, so imagine some little woman marching into the place and demanding attention because something bad has happened to her: Her boyfriend has left her. The police are supposed to help when people do bad things to you, aren’t they? She is so impetuous that it’s impossible to believe she’ll leave place in anything other than handcuffs.
I have a goal. I have a compelling opening. It is even socially relevant, given the cops trump up fifty charges in ten minutes. My unreliable main character has a problem (in fact several) and is beautifully flawed. What more can you ask for?
I can see one chapter of plot in front of me. Time to write. The character will drive the story forward and present the creative edge that I’m incapable of providing in one silly planning session. God forbid I should over think it and be inspired to shove that square peg into that round hole.
And, of course, not everyone writes this way, which is perfectly fine.
There’s no way I’m going to finish my current project by the end of this month, but I’m using NaNoWriMo as a way to prod myself forward. I’m working with a rough outline and several scenes I’ve already written for my novel in progress. While I know where I want to go and where I want my characters to be at key points, (based on advice from people in one of my writers’ groups) I’m trying to treat each chapter as a short story of its own (since I actually know how to WRITE a short story). Each chapter is from a different, single POV (think Martin’s Game of Thrones) but the chapters are interconnect and some times my characters are the POV chars, and in other chapters they are secondary chars.
I know several writers who work from very detailed outlines, deviating as little as possible from them, and while I suspect I’d write MUCH faster if I did that, I just can’t see myself working that way. I find it too constraining, and I think I’d miss some good stuff. I like to work scenes out, over and over, in my head, until all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and what I write seems “right.” I’d like to work as fast as those other writers, but I suspect I’ll gain speed as I write more novels (I’ve yet to actually FINISH one).
I’ve heard many writers say their fist novel was absolute crap. I’m shooting for a saleable product in my first attempt, even if it means I rewrite the darn thing twenty times.
I’m with Faith on the win part. Getting as far as I have (16,665 right now) is an accomplishment. I need to write about 5k words a day before the 30th to finish… I’m pretty sure I can make it happen
I’m glad you’ve all shared! I’m always fascinated by how other folks write and their creative process.
Thank you!