A couple of months ago, I published a post about novel writing. I suggested that business writers could benefit from attempting a novel through having their writing abilities stretched, and perceiving large business documents as more manageable due to focus on a longer work. In addition, of course, writing fiction is fun, and I recently followed my own advice by taking on the challenge of National Novel Writing Month.
NaNoWHATMo?
About halfway into October, 2009, I had never heard of National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. But, the NaNoWriMo website was brought to my attention online, and I discovered that the annual objective for participants (called Wrimos) is to complete a 50,000 word first draft of a new novel during the month of November. I learned that around 160,000 Wrimos had the opportunity to receive support, encouragement, guidance, and a place to congregate through NaNoWriMo’s website at www.nanowrimo.org. Wrimos may also post word counts on the website, and officially “win” when they reach 50,000 words.
Why NOT Write a Novel?
Though I am a novelist wanna-be from way back, and have actually scraped together a couple of previous novel drafts, my first thought upon hearing about NaNo (as it is affectionately called) was, “Sounds like fun, but who has the time?” As the owner of a micro business, I have more than enough work on my hands to keep me busy during all of my waking and some of my sleeping hours. But, the notion of attempting the NaNo challenge kept nudging at me, and I began to notice mentions of it on the social networking sites in which I participate. I thought, “If my online pals are going to attempt it, why shouldn’t I?”
About a week before Halloween, my response had evolved to something like, “Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to start it. Who cares if I don’t finish?” and then to, “I’ll do it! I WILL write 50,000 words!” So I decided to participate, to create a lousy first draft, if ever there was a lousy first draft.
I signed up on the NaNo website, and ordered No Plot? No Problem! A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days, written by the founder of NaNo, Chris Baty. “Like most things in life,” I reasoned, “there is a formula for success, and this book will outline it for me.”
Writing Happens
But, when November 1 arrived, the book had not. Clearly, I would have to figure this out for myself, and I delved into my novel with trepidation mingled with enthusiasm. I had divided the number of words by the number of days, and set out to write 1,667 words each day, which went fine…for the first few days. And then, well, life happened. There was pesky work: meetings, marketing, projects, clients. Sleeping, eating, and showering were also priorities. Plus, I have a husband, a very demanding cat, and a yard full of birds waiting for their feeders to be refilled on a regular basis. Then there’s Facebook and TV and friends and laundry…so sometimes my production rate dropped to 1,000 words…or 500 words…or 0 words in a day. A couple of times, I got as many as three days behind schedule and wondered how I would ever catch up.
But, a funny thing happens when you have a goal and a deadline. You make it work. On the first day, squeezing out those 1,667 words felt like torture. But, by the end, I was cranking out several thousand words at one sitting. I won’t say it happened easily. But, it happened.
The story of my novel followed a similar trajectory. Before I started, I had created an outline. I had ACTUALLY assigned a scene for each of the 30 days I would be writing. As it turned out, I followed that outline for maybe three days. Then it became a free-for-all. The story did not follow its planned course. But, the cool thing was that it found a new one that was even better.
The NaNo Way
Were there times when I had no idea what to write next? Yes. Did I write anyway? Yes. And I think that was the key. I’ve never been a fan of “free writing,” in which you write whatever comes to mind to warm up. What’s the point of writing, “What’s the point of this, I have nothing to say,” several dozen times? How does that help anything? But, in this case it did. It was as though, when the question (e.g. “What should I write now?”) was asked, whatever creative muse inspires me answered.
I didn’t participate in the NaNo website. Nor did I participate in any of the local group writing events. But, I did appreciate the “pep talk” e-mails I received each week as a result of signing up on the NaNo site, and every few days I posted my progress on my Facebook page: “Up to 15,000 words on my novel.” “26,000 words—over halfway done!” “45,000 words. In the home stretch.” My friends were intrigued and supportive, and knowing I’d have to face(book) them if I failed helped keep me going.
“I Wrote a Novel. Now What?”
On Day 30, I finished. I didn’t technically win because I didn’t submit my manuscript to the NaNo website. But, I wrote 50,009 words. I did it! I later learned that only 19% of NaNo participants actually made it to 50,000 words in 2009, and I was pleased to be one of them. Is my novel any good? I don’t know. I think parts of it are. But, does it really matter? No. Simply doing it was enough to stretch my creative capacity and make the eight articles I had due the second week in December seem like nothin’.
Around December 10, No Plot, No Problem arrived on my doorstep. I immediately turned to the final chapter: “I Wrote a Novel. Now What?” In this chapter, Baty suggests waiting at least a couple of weeks after completion of that first draft before moving on to the revision stage. I read about some NaNo success stories, and learned there is something in March called National Novel Editing Month. And, I’m thinking, “Sounds like fun, but who has the time…?”
What is the biggest writing challenge you have ever taken on? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author: Karen Marcus, M.A. is a Northern Colorado copywriter who has been helping clients in a wide range of industries to put their best word forward for 13 years. Click here for contact info.
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