Call me crazy, but I've decided to attempt NaNoWriMo this year. Yes, me -- despite the fact that, as documented here previously, I am a notoriously slow writer. Well, that's not entirely true. Once I get started, I can go pretty fast. It's that painful process of figuring out where to go. And yes, I do outline -- loosely. I'm not a complete pantser. But still I get stumped. Or I did with my current manuscript, the one I call my novel-in-endless-progress.
For those who may not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It happens every year in November when thousands of aspiring novelists attempt to write a draft of a novel -- the goal is 50,000 words -- over the course of that one month. Writing by nature is lonely, solitary work. The competitive aspect of NaNo (even though you're really only competing with yourself to get the words down), and the feeling that you're part of something bigger, part of a movement, seems to serve as inspiration and motivation to sit and get it done.
But 50,000 words in one month? Who am I kidding? It took me nearly two years to get there with this other book I've been working on.
I keep telling myself that the new novel idea I have for NaNoWriMo will be different. It's faster paced, more mainstream, with plenty of built in conflict to explore. I feel that with this one I will be able to free myself to write in many different directions, to follow different threads to build the word count. I argue that if I get stuck I can skip around and move on to another part of the story that excites or interests me. I've even been training myself to get up extra early and write before the day begins. Still, I have my doubts.
And of course, there's another part of me -- the little devil (or is it the angel) on my shoulder -- that keeps insisting that the only reason I'm attempting NaNo in the first place is to avoid the hard work of finishing up the current rewrite of the novel-in-endless-progress. And you know what? The little fucker could be right.
Still, I can't help it. I want to put a toe in. I want to give it a try. I want to hold my nose and jump, belly flop, cannonball my way into this thing. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my head above water. And then come back to the novel-in-endless-progress with fresher eyes.
We'll see. Wish me luck...
For those who may not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It happens every year in November when thousands of aspiring novelists attempt to write a draft of a novel -- the goal is 50,000 words -- over the course of that one month. Writing by nature is lonely, solitary work. The competitive aspect of NaNo (even though you're really only competing with yourself to get the words down), and the feeling that you're part of something bigger, part of a movement, seems to serve as inspiration and motivation to sit and get it done.
But 50,000 words in one month? Who am I kidding? It took me nearly two years to get there with this other book I've been working on.
I keep telling myself that the new novel idea I have for NaNoWriMo will be different. It's faster paced, more mainstream, with plenty of built in conflict to explore. I feel that with this one I will be able to free myself to write in many different directions, to follow different threads to build the word count. I argue that if I get stuck I can skip around and move on to another part of the story that excites or interests me. I've even been training myself to get up extra early and write before the day begins. Still, I have my doubts.
And of course, there's another part of me -- the little devil (or is it the angel) on my shoulder -- that keeps insisting that the only reason I'm attempting NaNo in the first place is to avoid the hard work of finishing up the current rewrite of the novel-in-endless-progress. And you know what? The little fucker could be right.
Still, I can't help it. I want to put a toe in. I want to give it a try. I want to hold my nose and jump, belly flop, cannonball my way into this thing. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my head above water. And then come back to the novel-in-endless-progress with fresher eyes.
We'll see. Wish me luck...
No comments:
Post a Comment