Right. I'm a week into my third NaNoWriMo outing. I've been able to keep up with about a 2000-words-a-day writing goal. I do this solely because I know I will come to a dragging point somewhere in this month where I either won't feel like writing or can't get the words out or get bored or get stuck, so may as well get ahead now in anticipation of The Slump.
I'm a bit more tool-oriented with this attempt. I've been using Dr. Wicked's Write or Die software to do 500-word sprints, which makes getting to 2000 words a day that much easier. It gives real-time word counts as I type. It keeps me focused on getting words down and doesn't allow for distractions. Thank you, Dr. Wicked.
I did a lot of prep work - character bios, plot storyboards, and research - which helped me come up with more detailed characters and storylines. I wish I were a pantster like Joe-the-office-roomie is (oh, how I envy him!). But I'm not. I gotta plan. In fact, I nearly filled up an entire notebook with notes for this novel.
I'm posting my word counts on Twitter every day, too. Nothing like accountability to get one's fingers on the keyboard.
I also came across this great post about how to get the writing done. It's helpful, funny, and a bit, um, salty, in the language. I got my sprints idea from this article.
I've already noticed a few things about this attempt. In some ways, it's easier. I've done this twice before. I know how long it takes me to get out 2000 words a day. I know my procrastination tendencies. I know where I tend to get stuck in plots and ways I can get unstuck.
In other ways, it's harder. Coming up with yet another story. Grappling with an ever-more-vigilant internal editor (there are downsides to MFA training). Trying to make sure I don't neglect cello practice.
And speaking of cello practice, it plays a large part in my story. As does Oxford. Two things that have made recent and strong impressions on me, although I'm still working out why that is. It's not quite "write what you know." It's more "write what you learn about and recently discover that holds your attention and enthusiasm." Karen-the-acupuncturist thinks that since I have British ancestors through my mom's family, something may have got jangled/resonated/woken up in my DNA while I was in the UK. It could happen. It could also be that I've been listening to too many Jacqueline du Pre recordings. She was an extraordinary cellist and was born in Oxford.
And in a lot of ways, it's different. Now that I'm on the completed side of an MFA degree, I scrutinize stories more than ever for pacing, plot, and how well description is balanced with action and dialogue. This is helpful as far as making sure all these things are covered, and hopefully will make revision easier. It does take a drop of fun out of it, though.
I'm pushing myself to write longer and more complex scenes. Really digging in for a complete picture of what's going on. I think having done all the detailed story planning has helped with this.
I can also tell as I work on this piece that I am a description junkie. I need a strong sense of character background and setting to feel anchored and oriented in the story (and I've always liked the adage, "write what you want to read"). This is probably why A.S. Byatt's Possession is one of my favorite books. Every character has a detailed back story that you get to read in the novel. Not to mention all the detail about research in academia. Some people find this tedious reading. I think it's fascinating. Probably too much so. But even now, I still find it hard to believe that Ash and Christabel don't actually exist. That's how well-written these two fictional Victorian poets are in the story. I think all the detail and description works in Possession because it's relevant to the story. I've adopted that as a writing strategy - I'm allowed to write all the backstory and description I want, provided it's relevant to the story. (I'll probably take half of it out during revision anyway.)
And finally, this year's attempt is contemporary fiction. And serious and slightly depressing contemporary fiction at that. No fantasy, no ghosts, no science fiction, no magical realism. That's a new one for me. And yet, I still want to write this story, so there must be something to it, right?
Oh, and there's something else.
Perhaps it's because I've been on hiatus for two years, but I'm noticing a lot of backlash to NaNoWriMo. "It's not 'real' writing." "A gazillion wannabe writers writing bad fiction which makes 'real' writers look bad." "Do these people have nothing better to do this month?" And those are the tame ones.
Hmm, I never realized that writing, or in a larger sense, creativity, was an elitist thing that only certain people should be allowed to do. I must have missed that.
I think NaNoWriMo is so appealing to people because it's accessible and fun. There are 152,897-and-counting people making an effort to write a story this month. Think of how much collective creative energy that is! And the organizers get big-name writers to write pep talks to e-mail to participants - people like Tom Robbins, Sue Grafton, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Katherine Patterson, Meg Cabot, Jasper Fforde. And quite a few people have revised and published their NaNoWriMo projects. (And no, not self-published; we're talking published by Harper Collins, Ballantine, Berkeley, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster, among others.)
People have all kinds of reasons for doing something like this. Some might have always thought they "had a book in them." Some might just want to check it off their bucket list, and could care less about revising it and getting it published. Some might be curious to see how hard it is to do. Some may have internal editors that are that mean and nasty and have made them stop writing novels countless times, and they hope this is the way to finally get as much of it written as possible, especially with the kind of support you get from the organizers and fellow writers. Some may be trying to quit cigarettes or alcohol or drugs and need a distraction. Some may be unemployed and need to feel like they're taking an action instead of letting themselves get worried or depressed. Some may have just found out they have cancer or some chronic or degenerative disease or that a relative has died and they need to take their minds off it or they need to write about it so they don't go crazy. Some might be trying once and for all to squash the voice of their 7th-grade teacher or their parent who said they were a bad writer and want to show them a thing or 50,000. Some may just want to write a story for their children or their family or for the kids they teach. Some may do it because their kids are doing it through the Young Writers Program and they've devised some sort of treat they'll enjoy together if they both finish. They're all valid reasons.
I first tried it in 2005 because I had just broken up with a boyfriend. I needed to take my mind off it. I didn't want to be lying in my darkened bedroom for weeks on end. I didn't want to turn into a binge eater. I didn't want to mope and drive my family and friends crazy. So I wrote a ghost story instead. I felt like that much less of a failure after 50,000 words came out in a month. In fact, I cried once I'd passed the 50k mark. And I became addicted to writing. I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2006, and then I took a two-year break to work on my MFA. My advisor was all for me taking my 2005 draft and turning it into my thesis. I added 40,000 words to it, and revised and rearranged and fiddled with it. I now have a hefty university-printed version, and the manuscript is making its way electronically in the world. No takers yet, but I'm hopeful.
I didn't do it the first time because I wanted to write a novel that I could eventually publish. I did it because I needed help to get through my pathetic and unimportant-to-everyone-in-the-world-but-me little heartbreak. And it worked. Someone's actually going to tell me I had no business doing this because my reason wasn't good enough? Seriously?
What can anyone possibly have against a bunch of people who want to have a creative fling for a month? I say let 'em have fun with literary abandon!
How is everyone else's story coming along during NaNoWriMo 2009?
