National Novel Writing Month, otherwise referred to as “NaNoWriMo” or simply “NaNo”, has begun. The challenge? Begin a new novel and write at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of the month of November.
The NaNo website lists 46 novels that were begun as NaNo projects and went on to publication. (Well, they’re actually a bit buried, but you can find them here.) Mira author Tori Andrews began book 2 in her Mercy Holling series, Angels of Mercy, as a NaNo project.
This year, I’m participating.
Sort of.
I’ve done NaNo before. The first few years I heard about it, I was totally intimidated by the idea of writing an entire novel in a month. With good reason. I still think that’s a pretty daunting task.
Eventually, I decided to give it a try. Back in 2007, I signed up. I was all ready to knock the ball out of the park with a completed, ready-to-go novel by the end of November.
Didn’t happen. Didn’t even come close. Don’t remember how many words I wrote but it was something less than 30,000 and I felt…disappointed.
What I know now that I didn’t know then was that I’d made the ultimate NaNo mistake. I put too much pressure on myself. NaNo should be fun, exhilarating. Sure, I can write 50,000 words in a month, but will they be publishable?
Hardly.
NaNo is a great opportunity to draft, well, a first draft.
Which brings me to why this year, even though I’m officially signed up, I’m only “unofficially” participating.
I signed up in order to get the daily posts from founder Chris Baty and network with other NaNo writers, not to race toward a NaNo “winners” badge.
Because I’ve grown as a writer.
I’ve learned a lot more about writing a novel and about my writing process in the last two years.
I now know that I can’t sit down with a blank sheet of paper and write a novel.
I need an outline. Some writers don’t. I do, and I have one.
I know that I can only write so much before I have to edit. Some. Because things change as I write, and if I don’t acknowledge this at during the writing process, my story gets too far away from me, and I’ll never get it back.
Ultimately, I know that whatever I write, it won’t be a polished manuscript.
What it will be is x number of words more than I had at the end of October.
I also now know that I can’t let anyone—not even the wonderful organizers of the annual NaNoWriMo event—define my writing parameters. To borrow from a much-beloved song debuted on Broadway on my fifth birthday–that has to mean something, right?–and made famous by the late Sammy Davis, Jr., “I gotta be me”.
So does it really matter whether I start afresh, attempting 50,000 words on a brand new story?
Not to me. Thus, my “sort of” level of NaNo participation.
I’m not starting a new story.
I’m not tied to the target goal of 50,000 words. (Although 50,000 is a great target for a first draft of a category romance, most of which come in finished somewhere around 60-75,000 words.)
I’m not setting myself up with unrealistic expectations of what I can do, or what might happen as a result of my NaNo participation.
I am going to feed off the energy and excitement of the NaNo challenge to push myself.
I will write as many days as I can on my romance novel already in progress.
I will shoot for an average of 1500 words per day, which by the way comes in slightly under the daily word count required to meet NaNo’s 50k word target.
I will continue to work on my story after NaNo is over.
When I’m done—in November, December, or later, I’ll have a beautifully ugly first draft. In much need of editing and repair, but something solid, complete, and workable.
For me, that’s NaNo heaven.
No related posts.
I’ve never done NaNo because it’s 1) not my writing style, which seems much like yours, minus the outline (shudder). Also, it seems at that point in time, I’m busy with a current WIP and refuse to abandon it. Our RWA chapter had a 100 words for 100 days challenge, and I even dropped out of that because I was in edits at the time and my goal was to cut and tighten.
I can’t handle two projects at once. But I’m writing, and that’s what it’s all about.
Terry, I used to shudder at outlines too. Until I realized that’s how I’ve gotten all my non-fiction writing done successfully.
You have to do what works best for you, including tweaking the rules of NaNo, if necessary.
I actually touched upon what it is about outlines that doesn’t work for me on my own blog today (which I’d written before I came to this post–there’s something about blog vibes, I think)
Blog vibes indeed! I wrote a piece similar to this, which will be up on my blog over the weekend. I guess we’re all thinking about the same thing
I can crank out a first draft in a month, but probably because I finish it in my head first.
I’ve never done NaNo, because it’s never fit into my schedule.
However, I think it’s excellent practice in learning how to crank out that first draft and highly recommend it.
Without a sense of where my story was headed the first time I tried it, the pace and pressure to “win” resulted in a draft that needed more revision than I could handle. I’ll still have to revise, but at least the bones of my story will be there.
But I absolutely agree. It gives a great sense of what it’s like to write against a deadline.
I’m doing it your way – thinking of NaNo as a way to jump-start a novel and get (most of) a messy first draft finished (I always do at least three complete drafts and usually five). I set my goal at between 1500 and 2000 words a day, because I know there will be days when I won’t be able to write at all, and this gives me a little wiggle-room. I have an outline, on file cards. I took time yesterday to make some detail notes, so I’d be consistent, but otherwise, I’m hoping to forge ahead as much as possible without backtracking.
Now I’d better get to it!
Way to go, Margaret! I’d love to know how you make out at the end.
I, too, am cheating. I started my project 9 or 10 days before NaNoWriMo began. I started NaNoWriMo with 6412 words and have nearly doubled that. I’ve strayed from my synopsis, but I’m thrilled with what I’ve done. And yes, I’m doing some edits. Sometimes those notes I pepper my manuscripts with (i.e., [company name], [don't forget to show that CHARACTER was in the car] get on my nerves.
My goal also isn’t to get a Winner’s Badge. As you said, I’ll be grateful for whatever words I end up with at the end of the month, because chances are that on December 1st I’ll have to put this project aside and start another. My goal has always been to craft a story with more speed, and I’m getting there, a word at a time.
That’s it, Bettye! I see NaNo as a perfect incubator for trying out new methods to see how we might get better. Another story December 1st? Whew…
I didn’t sign up this year, but I’m sort of participating in my own way. I decided to finish a book I’d been working on. My goal is about 1600 words daily.
It has been good to meet my characters again and this morning I woke up with a few ideas. That hasn’t happen in months, so I think I’m back on track.
LaShaunda, you’re definitely a member of what I’m calling the “Not Quite NaNo” club.
I’m doing Nano this year for the first time. I am using it as a tool to complete my current WIP. I had 20,000 words when I started and my goal is 65,000 minimum.
So far, participating has been very motivating for me. It’s fun to see my little bar graph go up and up every day. I do cheat in that I do some minimal revisions. When I sit down to write after being away from my ms, I always like to read over the chapter I’m working on to get in the groove of things. I correct or change little things here and there as I do that.
Blessings, Teri
Hey Teri, that means you have 45,000 words to do in November. No small feat. NaNo is a great boost to get there. So what if it’s not a brand new story?!
I’m approaching NaNo much the way you are – as a way to inspire myself by being part of a much larger group and using the sense that “we’re in this together” to motivate me. I’m changing the parameters to meet my personal goals, though.
I’m working on something I’d already started because my biggest downfall as a writer is never being able to finish something. I’m always tempted by the next story idea. But for NaNo, my goal is to use those 50k words to finish my rough draft. I couldn’t write a complete story in 50k words if you offered me a gazillion dollars, but by adding my 50K NaNo words to what I already have, I’ll be close to finished.
What NaNo is going to provide me is the permission to keep going even when I feel like what I’m doing sucks. Since the goal is quantity not quality, I’m going to try not to worry about how good what I put down is but more the fact that I put it down in the first place. I may end up with an entire book of horse doo, but it’ll be an entire book!
Lynn, I know exactly what you mean. It’s a struggle sometimes to finish. I deal with that too. So many great ideas percolating!
But glad you’re going to see it through to the end.
And writing used to be a solitary endeavor but not so much anymore. Doesn’t have to be.
That’s another post…
I’m doing it my way, too, Patricia. I need to finish a project by the end of November, if at all possible, but I don’t deal well with public pressure. So I lowered the word count & am going to *try* but promise nothing. I even blogged about it last week & am calling my “lazy girl” version ITryWriMo
:
http://www.heidibetts.com/wipsandchains/2009/10/26/itrywrimo/
Sounds good, Heidi. I’m all for each writer defining what works best for her. But don’t be afraid to set challenging goals for yourself, higher than you think you can achieve. You’ll surprise yourself!
Sounds like a doable plan, Patricia. Good luck. I’ve never participated in NaNo because I know I cannot commit the time necessary to get that word count in. I do have a story idea and some semblence of a workable outline, but I’m with you … I gotta do it MY way.
Liz, you bring up a good point. If a writer really can’t commit to the time, then it’s best not to start. The pressure, and sometimes guilt, of not participating after sign-up just isn’t worth it.
Every writer has to assess where she is and what she needs to move forward.
This is my first year doing Nano, and so far, so good. My biggest issue is micro-editing–as a writing teacher, it’s hard to make my left brain let go and let my right brain have its head. (That’s almost scary, but it WAS Halloween last week!)
I’m doing the official version: I began with a synopsis and brief character sketches, and nothing more. I’m having a blast!
Way to go, MtnGirl4ever. I think if you can begin with a blank page, that’s great. But reality says the vast majority of writers probably aren’t at that point when November 1st rolls around. Why should we miss out on all the fun?
Come back and let me know how you do when it’s all over.
Better yet, anyone who wants to buddy me, my NaNo name is “PatriciaW”
I’ve been trying out Nano since 2004 or so, but I never seem to get into the grove of writing to reach the 50k word goal. I don’t think I ever really got caught up in the excitement of it. I’m not putting down Nanowrimo, because it seems to work for so many people. I guess not just for me.
I’m officially signed up too, but I’m not working on my novel actively. I want to, but I don’t feel like doing so, if you know what I mean.
Kat, what I’ve learned over the years is that writing is all about finding a process that works for you. NaNoWriMo works for me because it gives me a much needed boost of energy to write. I hate making and breaking commitments, so once I commit guilt, if nothing else, keeps me going.
But really, I enjoy the energy of this time and I get more writing done. Not a pace I could sustain long term but it helps me build up my writing discipline.
If NaNo doesn’t motivate you, find something that will. A new pair of shoes, maybe?
I’m a first-time NaNo participant this year, and so far I’m loving it. The support and encouragement among NaNo buddies I’ve encountered along the way is awesome, and we all drop each other notes daily which helps keep my fingers moving.
My biggest challenge in writing is that I have a tendency to stifle my own creativity. I do this by thinking about my stories too much, picking at them constantly, and second guessing the reality of everything I write. The beauty of writing fiction should be to let our imaginations run free. Anything is possible in fiction. NaNo forces me to use my imagination and not question it – because it doesn’t give me time to question it.
Things my left brain would have never let my characters do during a normal writing day, my right brain is allowing them to happen on a NaNo writing day and I’m loving it!
NaNo is teaching me the true art of literary abandon.
I’m a “story picker” too, Karen. I think I’ve got a great idea. I outline, then begin to write. And my idea slowly starts to seem mediocre, if not deficient. So I start tweaking, which yanks me out of writing forward. That’s the beauty of NaNo. Keep moving forward!
Glad that you’re letting the inspiration flow and that the process of working through NaNoWriMo is helping you learn more about yourself was a writer. That’s what’s really important, not just making the word count. (I’m up to 8,268, including the super herorine collaboration that I started with Patricia’s niece, but that needs more work before I can write what will become a great series of comics/graphic novels.) So I learned that writing fiction based on someone else’s character(s) is a lot more challenging than I thought. More of the NaNo learning process. A very good thing!
Hey Ria! (That’s my big sister, y’all. Another aspiring romance writer.)
I’ve learned a lot about craft and about my process over the last few years. I feel as though I’m right where I can put all the pieces together, so we’ll see what comes out of my NaNo. I’ve got just under 8k words.
Great post! Nice to know I’m not the only one feeling this way. I was going to use nanowrimo as a boost for my current WIP, just to light that fire… in the end I actually started a new MS, only because (here I try to rationalize that I am not procrastinating my current WIP for nanowrimo) this new MS is a coordinating story in the saga of my current WIP. I figured if I could get my rough first draft done on other story line it might serve as a study to helping strengthen coordinating characters in my current WIP.
In the end I may end up waylaid by the craziness of November, Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, getting cards out and keeping up with my little ones… but every writing session puts me that much closer to my end goal.
Happy story telling!
Melia
For sure, Melia! I didn’t have the best first week of NaNo but I still managed to crank out nearly 8k words. Every word is one word more than you had before.