Tag Archives: NaNoWriMo

2012/11/30 · 12:02

The Value of NaNoWriMo

Character Artwork: Version Two - for NaNoWriMo 2012, Karen Gadient

I didn’t win the Powerball. Pretty sure you didn’t either. Bummer, right?

However… last night, I “won” NaNoWriMo for the second time. This novel(la) was more of a struggle than the one I did last year—due to less laughs and more doom—but I reached 51,071 words and crafted a decent ending.

My main character (yep, that’s him in this post’s image) went through a lot of changes as he fought his way through the story. He began as a teenager and ended up a grown man, much faster than he’d expected. And, although he may live for another hundred years, he still still has a lot of galaxy to save. I’ll return to him for a rewrite/edit and maybe a sequel.

Still, I’m glad to finally put NaNoWriMo aside and begin editing the novel I finished just before NaNoWriMo began. Those characters never got out of my head throughout all of November, and it was like having two people in the room with you, talking while you were trying to work!

“You really writing that? It’s creepy. Come back to us. We’ve got flying cars!”

NaNoWriMo Banner

This year, I saw a lot more banter online regarding the value of NaNoWriMo. Plenty of hate along with the love. Valid points on both sides.

I agree that not everyone “has a story in them” or is meant to be “a writer”. I agree that too many people submit/self-publish their “masterpiece” without proper revision, editing, and general professionalism.

Doe NaNoWriMo encourage this?

No. There will always be people who are naive, disillusioned, misinformed, or think that rules don’t apply to them.

I’ve been one of those writers. It was only through years of reading and failing and getting smacked on the head by professionals that I realized I wasn’t pouring magic from my fingers. Same goes with my art and design work.

As Alanis Morissette once said: you live, you learn. I’ll never stop learning. Or failing, I’m sure! I’m human. But I’ll keep doing what I do because I love doing it.

Sure, the online bookstores are full of junk. But there are gems too. Some of those gems even began in NaNoWriMo. Only those writers re-wrote, edited, got beta readers, and enlisted the help of professionals for the final product.

My favorite example, of course, is my best friend Natania Barron and her fantastic book Pilgrim of the Sky, which began in NaNoWriMo (although it went through plenty of changes before publication). I’m proud to get the blame for planting a wine-soaked seed for another book in those worlds, featuring one of my favorite characters, Joss Raddick. Mmm-hm.

• Natania speaks of writing and NaNoWriMo, and shares some of her story.

Participate in NaNoWriMo. Have crazy fun with it. Get the short draft done. Then prepare to spend a lot of time fixing that draft before forcing it on others, if that’s your plan. Be proud you got the thing out of your head and onto the paper.

As my friend Katie cheered to me all this month: YAY YOU!

NaNoWriMo encourages people to give something a try—and to give themselves a chance to create something awesome. In a frenzy, without censorship. It’s so freeing. It’s a wonderful mess. It’s dreaming awake. For me, it’s embracing my inner child and remembering what it was like to hop in a sack race. It’s pure fun, even if no one ever reads it, and even if you don’t “win”.

That’s why I’ll keep doing it, year after year.

• My favorite pep talk from NaNoWriMo this year, by Nick Hornby.

Congrats to all of you who did NaNoWriMo this year. And congrats to all of you who dare to create, no matter what you bring to life or what month it is.

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2012/10/31 · 11:43

Finishing a novel and starting NaNoWriMo

Finishing a novel, starting a novel. NaNoWriMo 2012.

Journeys: my alphabetical post for ‘J’. I just took one and I’m about to take another. Whew, man… I really thought I’d have more time for this stuff. Between work, family, and unexpected migraines, it’s been a little crazy.

BUT!

I finished another novel. This one is a normal size. In fact, it’s a little small and will need work in the next draft. Screen capture is in the banner for this post: 72,197 words. I tend to run long and I really made efforts not to do that this time. My first novel was *goes to check* …146,338 words. Yeah, that one needs trimming. With explosives.

Today is one of my favorite holidays: Halloween! I shall go a-haunting. After that, things will haunt me instead: lack of sleep, too much caffeine, voices in my head, and words, words, words!

Rosencrantz: What are you playing at?
Guildenstern: Words. Words. They’re all we have to go on.

Yep, its’ NaNoWriMo time!

Whether you like it or you hate it, it’s a great excuse to write.

I’m still in that place where I’m sad to finish a story and here I am about to start another one. As I said in my last post, it’s like drugs. No point in quitting or cutting back or I’ll have rebound issues just like any other stimulant.

For NaNoWriMo, I’ll be headed to another planet. Chaos. Lies. Creepy stuff. Plus my usual abundance of existential dilemmas. Not quite sure how it’ll end up. Doesn’t matter, because it’s all about the journey.

Guildenstern: Who decides?
The Player: Decides? It is written!

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2012/10/25 · 11:00

Have you ever been experienced?

Psychedelic Colors. Writing is my drug of choice.

Another alphabetical post: this time for the letter I. Given the last few weeks, I’m choosing intervention, because I probably need one. I’ve got this writing addiction, you see. Only—like many of us with a serious writing habit—I’ve got all these other things that I’m also supposed to be doing.

So, I guess I can throw insomnia there too, because I’m willing to lose sleep to maintain my writing addiction along with my real-life responsibilities. And I’m cool with that. No need for a therapy session; you can put away your touching letters. I can handle this myself. I’ll keep the phone close.

“Did you happen to bring any candy?”

I’m guessing there’s quite a few of us addicts out wandering the online realm right about now, because the big showdown of “who can do the most hits the fastest” is just around the corner: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), where the goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel in 30 days.

Hell yes, I’ll be participating again this year. You can find me here.

“How are you preparing? Outlines? Synopsis? Notebooks of character bios?”

Not this year, my friends. See, this year I’ve got a novel to finish by the end of October. Self-imposed obsession.

Hey, hey… I said I’ve got this. Dude, I can handle it. Well… barely, with all the other things on my list, but who needs sleep when you have caffeine?

“Here’s the first of the day, fellas! To ol’ D.H. Lawrence.”

Can you tell I’m finishing a book that’s a little heavy on drug culture? Anyway, I’ve got about 5,000 words left on this book and then I’ll hop the NaNoWriMo train.

I’m diving in on November 1st like it’s a rave. Crank that bass, yo.

Oh yeah. You’re a writer too? Yeah? Been doing this a while? First timer or not, man—I’m telling you, once you try it… you’ll be hooked. Writing is not just a party drug. As Jimi Hendrix might say: it’s an experience.

And all of us writers want to be experienced. Our stories, given to others to explore. Part of us, in the hands of the world. Or just into the heads of a few people who matter to us. It’s all good. But you only get to see if you mellow out and follow the pretty colors to the story you want to read. Just enjoy the trip.

I know, I know you probably scream and cry
that your little world won’t let you go…

30 days. Go on. You never know what you’ll discover inside your mind.

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2012/01/07 · 13:52

Discovery, not perfection, is the goal

Pen and note paper

I like to write in longhand often. Today, I’m cracking open a new Moleskine. As much as I love Moleskines, I think I might soon have to switch to cheap notebooks—not so much because of the cost, but because of the pressure I feel to write perfect stuff in a Moleskine.

I learned a lot from finishing NaNoWriMo, but the most important thing was to loosen up and write crap. I was surprised that a good deal of that frenzied garbage I thought I was writing turned out to be brilliant—or at least useable.

My 30-day novel (51,000 words of drug-tripping parallel-universe sci-fi) lit up my mind more than I’d expected. The sheer speed of a 30-day book (my last book, an epic at 148,000 words, took years) forced me to shut off my inner editor and just enjoy writing.

So, I’m looking at this fresh Moleskine today. I vow to scribble, blotch, and dogear this thing. OCD tendencies have no place in notes and early drafts. Rules are (sing along!): make it messy and make it fun—no editing until it’s done.

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2011/12/01 · 14:27

Reaching the finish line

He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
— Edgar A. Guest, It Couldn’t Be Done

NaNoWriMo Winner Stamp

I’m now a first-time NaNoWriMo winner. 50,232 words. My finished novel(la) is one of those bad first drafts that I wouldn’t dare show a soul, but I’m proud of it all the same. NaNoWriMo is really about giving yourself permission to just write and not stop and judge.

It was a difficult month to take such a task on, given that I was out of town enough that it was more like 20 days than 30. Still, I quickly learned that I can write a lot more in a day than I’d ever thought. Some days were over 4,000 words. I’m going to try and keep up a similar writing schedule now that November is over. Maybe I’ll even try an artwork-a-week idea for the times I need a break from words and want to go visual.

Things I discovered while NaNoWriMo-ing that are useful with any kind of goal:

  • Surround yourself with like-minded folks. When you’re all driving toward a goal together, the trip is a lot more fun.
  • Realize you don’t need hours to get things done. Ten or fifteen minutes here and there, if you focus, can accomplish a lot.
  • Find inspiration. Yep, that might mean carving out a little time to read or go for a walk or listen to music. Odds are you’ll return fresh and with new ideas, thus making the time well spent.
  • Tell yourself you can do this and imagine it done. Don’t doubt you’ll reach your goal. Only focus on the positive.

Congratulations to those of you who won this year and also to those who made the attempt, whether you finished or not. Here’s to the year ahead—may it be filled with good news and great things!

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2011/11/16 · 14:55

Thoughts on NaNoWriMo

Coffee and Laptop

This month I’ve been busy with NaNoWriMo, writing 50,000 words in 30 days. First time I’ve participated. So far, so good. It’s mid-point and I’ve hit 30,000 words. What’s more, I have actually grown to love the story I’m creating. I admit, I didn’t expect love on such a deadline, especially since I usually outline and plot far in advance and I didn’t do that this time because I signed up at the last minute. But I think it’s essential that you fall in love with your story when doing NaNoWriMo, otherwise it’s going to be struggle to keep going.

I’m discovering that the best thing about writing a book from beginning to end in a month is that you’re forced to ignore your inner editor and just focus on writing without doubting yourself. Editing is for another month!

Although it’s long, 50,000 words is more novella than novel. Still, I think it’s important to get to the end on 50,000 words (or just slightly over). There’s a satisfaction in that, plus you’re going to fill it out and cut it up once the month is over. That’s when it will really grow and change into a true novel.

So, how do I keep up the pace? Two things have helped me greatly:

  • Setting a timer and writing in sprints. I personally use the Pomodoro technique and write in 25 minute sprints. In that time, I generally write between 600 and 800 words. Takes a big bite out of that word count!
  • Thinking in scenes instead of chapters, and writing lots of scenes. Scenes can be divided into chapters later.

I’ve made many awesome new friends while doing NaNoWriMo. We’re all plugging along at our novels together and that’s really the best part. So many of us tend to write in isolation and this shared experience brings us together as a community. It reminds us of our connection. We don’t have to go it alone! And when November is over and the words are all written, we can still encourage one another and grow our friendships along with our novels.

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2011/11/02 · 16:31

Painting fiction into life

Painting of a character from my NaNoWriMo novel for 2011

I’m currently working on my NaNoWriMo novel (or novella, if I actually stop at 50,000 words). I’m writing a near-future/alternate-universe sci-fi tale. I’ve noticed some of you create your book cover as inspiration as you write. Instead of a cover, I decided to paint one of my lead characters as I imagine her so far.

Good luck to those of you doing NaNoWriMo this year!

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2011/10/22 · 14:40

Where do you start to write when you’re inside the writer’s block?

Inside the writer's block. A doorway out.

As we’re coming upon yet another NaNoWriMo, countless people are preparing to spend November madly writing 50,000 words and hoping those words resemble a novel at the end. It’s hard to know what to write about, especially with that kind of deadline.

This is an exercise I do to relax–a meditation of sorts–which can be used as a starting point into a story idea. At the very least, if you try it, you might have a little fun with your imagination.

You’re in a room without any windows or doors. It’s a colorless and soundless cube, and you’re all alone. You can’t see yourself, but you know you exist. You know this room is yours, and that it’s really a gateway to many places. And so, you create an exit.

A door, a window, a hatch, a hole… whatever portal you’d like. You can see it clearly form where you willed it. You go to it and through it.

Now outside of the block, your senses kick in. You’re in another place. It could be just outside your house, or in another country, or even during another time or on an entirely different world. Looking down, your body reflects wherever you are, as you’re dressed for the occasion, although you could be any gender or race, or not even human at all.

Others are approaching. Something is about to happen.

This is where your adventure begins. Write.
You’ve got your character’s feet. See where they take you.

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