This year I came in to NaNo feeling unprepared and not quite as excited as I had been in previous years. Evidently that was a good way for me to approach the event. I had my guard down, which left me open to whatever might happen. Every year I've learned something valuable. This year I learned a lot about procrastination (which is not a malady to which I'm ordinarily prone) and about drafting without editing.
Early in the month, I encountered Kristen Lamb's post on the importance of not editing during the first draft . That technique also seemed to be a theme running through a lot of the NaNo Pep Talks. When my story took off on its own during the second week, I ordinarily would have started over, editing from the beginning to get it back on track. I'd have tried to steer it into the direction I had originally planned. Instead, I chose to hang on and let the story take me where it wanted to go. The story that I ended up with bears no resemblance to what I intended when I started out.
I'm almost 100% sure that, after extensive rewriting and editing, the story that I ultimately publish will bear little resemblance to the one I have now. That is good, because the story I have now has infinitely more potential than the one I originally envisioned.
In other words: another successful and educational November, which sets me up for the long, dark and creative weeks of winter.
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
NaNo Update
The last two weeks have been dicey to say the least. I got off to a great start: I had written 29,000 words by the end of the first weekend in November. Then the story veered off course from where my outline thought it should go. After that, procrastination set in. I didn't want to work on it because I didn't know where it was headed.
But, I took Kristen Lamb's advice and refused to edit it. I soldiered on outside the bounds of the framework I wanted to work in, and let the story run.
What I have now is a god-awful mess. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It's over 50,000, so technically it's a winner. I don't consider it a completed first draft quite yet, because a sub-plot developed in the writing process that I want to develop a little further. That's not editing, that's filling in holes.
This one is going to take a lot of real editing over the course of the next year or two. In fact, I'm thinking that at least one re-write from scratch may be in order. It has not been a waste of time, however. There's a lot more to this story than I intended. I set out to write a "sexy, trashy beach novel." I have ended up with an interesting story about people who allow themselves to be stuck in bad situations because they're afraid to rock the boat. It has infinitely more potential than the story I intended to write.
I am sold on the no-editing, get-it-down-quick-and-fix-it-later method of drafting. I love to edit, so I am not discouraged by the task that is before me. [My problem is that I love to edit so much, I tinker while I'm drafting, and too often confine the story too much. I intend to cure myself of that!]
In any case, for the third year in a row, by the end of next weekend, I will have finished drafting a novel in November. Good on me, and on all the other over-caffeinated writers around the world who are doing the same thing.
But, I took Kristen Lamb's advice and refused to edit it. I soldiered on outside the bounds of the framework I wanted to work in, and let the story run.
What I have now is a god-awful mess. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It's over 50,000, so technically it's a winner. I don't consider it a completed first draft quite yet, because a sub-plot developed in the writing process that I want to develop a little further. That's not editing, that's filling in holes.
This one is going to take a lot of real editing over the course of the next year or two. In fact, I'm thinking that at least one re-write from scratch may be in order. It has not been a waste of time, however. There's a lot more to this story than I intended. I set out to write a "sexy, trashy beach novel." I have ended up with an interesting story about people who allow themselves to be stuck in bad situations because they're afraid to rock the boat. It has infinitely more potential than the story I intended to write.
I am sold on the no-editing, get-it-down-quick-and-fix-it-later method of drafting. I love to edit, so I am not discouraged by the task that is before me. [My problem is that I love to edit so much, I tinker while I'm drafting, and too often confine the story too much. I intend to cure myself of that!]
In any case, for the third year in a row, by the end of next weekend, I will have finished drafting a novel in November. Good on me, and on all the other over-caffeinated writers around the world who are doing the same thing.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Time out for NaNoWriMo
November is almost here! I am putting away my Kindle and preparing for my favorite few weeks of the year. I may occasionally stick my head up and give a report on how I'm doing. I have a few posts prepared in advance so there will be something posted here at least once a week. Except for the one scheduled for this coming Wednesday, book reviews will be temporarily suspended because I won't be reading much in November.
I've been out of practice lately what with my summer writing break extending well into fall. I had a 60,000 word October, finishing the first draft of a story I started last year.
I've achieved 50,000 words during November the last two years. I hope I'm up to it again this year!
I've been out of practice lately what with my summer writing break extending well into fall. I had a 60,000 word October, finishing the first draft of a story I started last year.
I've achieved 50,000 words during November the last two years. I hope I'm up to it again this year!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Postmortem on NaNoWriMo
For fiction-writing junkies NaNoWriMo is kind of like New Years Eve to an alcoholic. You know it's dangerous, but it's so much fun, how can you resist? How can you write a good novel in a month? You can't. But you can put down a very detailed outline/rough draft with blazing speed if you're inspired enough or motivated enough. NaNo is a good reminder of that. I get crazy over the need to get the plot line outlined. In some ways I think my best stories are the ones I drafted in only a few weeks of blinding inspiration (both for NaNoWriMo and at other times of the year).
That seems to be how I work best: create some characters and a situation; sketch out the barest arc of an outline; and, then let 'er rip. Let the characters take over. Let the ending surprise me. Drafting is a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" for a few weeks.
After that, the story has to lie fallow for a while before I can edit it. I tend to alternate between obsessive drafting (I wrote approximately 20,000 from November 12-14) and very slow editing. In December, I'll turn my attention to editing, not my NaNo novel, but the novel I drafted over the course of a few weeks in the spring.
NaNoWriMo is kind of silly, but it's fun and it keeps me moving forward drafting new stories to work over more carefully later. I'm very happy with this years fledgeling novel, but I'm glad November is over. It's too stressful!
That seems to be how I work best: create some characters and a situation; sketch out the barest arc of an outline; and, then let 'er rip. Let the characters take over. Let the ending surprise me. Drafting is a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" for a few weeks.
After that, the story has to lie fallow for a while before I can edit it. I tend to alternate between obsessive drafting (I wrote approximately 20,000 from November 12-14) and very slow editing. In December, I'll turn my attention to editing, not my NaNo novel, but the novel I drafted over the course of a few weeks in the spring.
NaNoWriMo is kind of silly, but it's fun and it keeps me moving forward drafting new stories to work over more carefully later. I'm very happy with this years fledgeling novel, but I'm glad November is over. It's too stressful!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Time out for NaNoWriMo
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, aka "writers going bonkers." I have written an entire novel in a month in both 2008 and 2009. (The 2008 novel, I wrote under my real name not this pseudonym.) It was fun. I don't know if I can pull it off this year because I am going on vacation for five days at Thanksgiving. That eliminates some of the best writing time I have in November. Nevertheless, NaNoWriMo is too much fun to skip altogether just because I might not finish. For me the fun of NaNoWriMo is all about working alongside of hundreds of thousands of others to be creative simultaneously. It's a cool feeling. The first year I wrote a romance, Marianne's Vacation. Last year, I wrote a fantasy, Merlin's Daughters.
Once I decided to put Libby Pohlman's story on the shelf for a while and participate in NaNoWriMo, I started thinking about what to write. In the past, I've stepped out and tried something "different" for me. First romance then a fantasy. What to do this year? There aren't any other genres I really want to try.
I have recently received emails from people who read Baiting & Fishing and After the Fire, They suggested that I write a series of books featuring the main character of each of those novels. I always intended for Ray Bailey to feature in at least one more story, and from half way through the writing of After the Fire I planned to write more Bev Deller stories as well. I love both of those characters and I want to get to know them better. I'm especially inspired by the fact that there are at least two other people who agree with me.
Last Saturday I went for my usual long Saturday morning walk on the beach. By the time I got home, I had three books in my head: a second Ray Bailey story featuring a missing person investigation; a third Bev Deller story (I already have the second one drafted and it is lying fallow until I am ready to edit it) featuring a high-profile arson and a possible job change for Bev; and, a "final" book in which Bev and Ray team up to solve a mystery. I can't wait to see what happens when the two of them get together!
This week I've been puttering with the Ray Bailey missing-person story mainly to get back in the rhythm of the mystery genre. I'm going to write the next Bev Deller mystery as my NaNo novel this year. The working title is Hell in Texas. The mystery involves an arson that destroyed a mansion belonging to a country western star. While investigating the fire, Bev's personal life undergoes huge changes.
I may not "win" NaNoWriMo this year, but I'm going to participate. Blog posts, along with sleep and my all-but-non-existent social life will all be hit or miss for the next month. Pardon me, I have lost my mind!
Once I decided to put Libby Pohlman's story on the shelf for a while and participate in NaNoWriMo, I started thinking about what to write. In the past, I've stepped out and tried something "different" for me. First romance then a fantasy. What to do this year? There aren't any other genres I really want to try.
I have recently received emails from people who read Baiting & Fishing and After the Fire, They suggested that I write a series of books featuring the main character of each of those novels. I always intended for Ray Bailey to feature in at least one more story, and from half way through the writing of After the Fire I planned to write more Bev Deller stories as well. I love both of those characters and I want to get to know them better. I'm especially inspired by the fact that there are at least two other people who agree with me.
Last Saturday I went for my usual long Saturday morning walk on the beach. By the time I got home, I had three books in my head: a second Ray Bailey story featuring a missing person investigation; a third Bev Deller story (I already have the second one drafted and it is lying fallow until I am ready to edit it) featuring a high-profile arson and a possible job change for Bev; and, a "final" book in which Bev and Ray team up to solve a mystery. I can't wait to see what happens when the two of them get together!
This week I've been puttering with the Ray Bailey missing-person story mainly to get back in the rhythm of the mystery genre. I'm going to write the next Bev Deller mystery as my NaNo novel this year. The working title is Hell in Texas. The mystery involves an arson that destroyed a mansion belonging to a country western star. While investigating the fire, Bev's personal life undergoes huge changes.
I may not "win" NaNoWriMo this year, but I'm going to participate. Blog posts, along with sleep and my all-but-non-existent social life will all be hit or miss for the next month. Pardon me, I have lost my mind!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
NaNoWriMo - The Home Stretch
NaNoWriMo is almost over for this year. Actually, it has been "over" for me for a couple of weeks. I got to 50,000 words, and had a beginning, middle and end by November 15. We will (for the moment) leave aside the fact that the beginning was weak, the middle needs to be beefed up, and the ending totally sucked.
This was the first time I tried writing a fantasy novel. I got half way through and decided that the world just didn't need another variation on the Arthurian legend. There have been many variations of the story written over the last five hundred odd years. Some have given me goose-bumps even though I knew the outcome. Others have been just dumb. What makes me think I can add anything worthwhile to the chorus?
I wrote the draft of the novel and decided it was crap, so I put it away for a few days. Then I decided I should at least round out the firs draft, so I did some editing, which revived my interest in the story. Maybe it wasn't such crap after all -- except for that awful ending.
This week I spent many hours revising the last third of the book in order to improve the ending. The outcome is exactly where I wanted to go all along. The problem I had with the original version was that the events that led up to it were just -- well, lame. It's nowhere near a polished manuscript, but at least now it has a beginning that's not too bad and the ending I had in mind. In order to be worth putting out for people to read, the middle will need work.
I am still not convinced this story merits my attention after November 30. I'm going to put it away for a while now and let it rest for a few months. Then I'll decide if I think it's worth the effort to edit and polish.
Meredith
This was the first time I tried writing a fantasy novel. I got half way through and decided that the world just didn't need another variation on the Arthurian legend. There have been many variations of the story written over the last five hundred odd years. Some have given me goose-bumps even though I knew the outcome. Others have been just dumb. What makes me think I can add anything worthwhile to the chorus?
I wrote the draft of the novel and decided it was crap, so I put it away for a few days. Then I decided I should at least round out the firs draft, so I did some editing, which revived my interest in the story. Maybe it wasn't such crap after all -- except for that awful ending.
This week I spent many hours revising the last third of the book in order to improve the ending. The outcome is exactly where I wanted to go all along. The problem I had with the original version was that the events that led up to it were just -- well, lame. It's nowhere near a polished manuscript, but at least now it has a beginning that's not too bad and the ending I had in mind. In order to be worth putting out for people to read, the middle will need work.
I am still not convinced this story merits my attention after November 30. I'm going to put it away for a while now and let it rest for a few months. Then I'll decide if I think it's worth the effort to edit and polish.
Meredith
Sunday, November 15, 2009
NaNoWriMo - Half Way There
Story update: I have reached 50,000 words and have a beginning, a middle and an end. Technically, I'm a winner already, but I am not happy with my ending, so I will spend the next couple of weeks tinkering with it, and praying that I don't end up cutting it to under 50,000 words!
I knew I picked an ambitious topic, but I was unprepared for the audacity of what I tried to accomplish. I loved the idea of writing a "riff" on the Arthurian Legend when I dreamed it up weeks and weeks ago. Over the course of the last two weeks, I've ranged from loving it to hating it and back to feeling somewhat lukewarm about it. The story certainly has possibilities; I'm not sure at this point whether or not it's worth the effort of editing and polishing it.
The thing I love most about writing fiction is meeting new characters; this story involves mostly characters that have been around for centuries and whose stories have been told by writers who are better storytellers than I'll ever hope to be. I have found writing the story a little boring because the characters are so familiar. I will finish the draft, but I have to confess I'm not having as much fun as I did last year.
I have to say, while the characters may be familiar, the plot took some unique twists. (At least I think so. I have read most of the Arthurian legends and some of the recent fantasies on the subject, but I have by no means read all of them.)
In any case, I'm going to be a NaNo Winner. Yay for me!
Personal challenge: I write best early in the day, and I'm amazingly and super-humanly productive early in the day on Saturday and Sunday, when I get up at 5:00 a.m. (or earlier) and write for several hours at a stretch before my family gets up.
My efforts to write at night during the week are for the most part ineffectual. I'm too tired and burnt out from my workdays to achieve much less maintain any kind of writing "flow". In the second week of November, I set a challenge for myself: 1000 words before breakfast. I can write approximately 1000 word an hour when I'm in the flow. This past week, I started getting up at 5:00 a.m. to write for exactly one hour before I had to get ready for work. I finished more than1000 words during that hour each day Monday through Thursday. I took Friday off completely, to rest up for a big push this weekend.
While I prefer to write for long stints on the weekends, it's encouraging to know that I can also do the yeoman work of setting a daily goal and powering through to accomplish it.
Something tells me that may be my biggest achievement from NaNo this year.
Meredith
I knew I picked an ambitious topic, but I was unprepared for the audacity of what I tried to accomplish. I loved the idea of writing a "riff" on the Arthurian Legend when I dreamed it up weeks and weeks ago. Over the course of the last two weeks, I've ranged from loving it to hating it and back to feeling somewhat lukewarm about it. The story certainly has possibilities; I'm not sure at this point whether or not it's worth the effort of editing and polishing it.
The thing I love most about writing fiction is meeting new characters; this story involves mostly characters that have been around for centuries and whose stories have been told by writers who are better storytellers than I'll ever hope to be. I have found writing the story a little boring because the characters are so familiar. I will finish the draft, but I have to confess I'm not having as much fun as I did last year.
I have to say, while the characters may be familiar, the plot took some unique twists. (At least I think so. I have read most of the Arthurian legends and some of the recent fantasies on the subject, but I have by no means read all of them.)
In any case, I'm going to be a NaNo Winner. Yay for me!
Personal challenge: I write best early in the day, and I'm amazingly and super-humanly productive early in the day on Saturday and Sunday, when I get up at 5:00 a.m. (or earlier) and write for several hours at a stretch before my family gets up.
My efforts to write at night during the week are for the most part ineffectual. I'm too tired and burnt out from my workdays to achieve much less maintain any kind of writing "flow". In the second week of November, I set a challenge for myself: 1000 words before breakfast. I can write approximately 1000 word an hour when I'm in the flow. This past week, I started getting up at 5:00 a.m. to write for exactly one hour before I had to get ready for work. I finished more than1000 words during that hour each day Monday through Thursday. I took Friday off completely, to rest up for a big push this weekend.
While I prefer to write for long stints on the weekends, it's encouraging to know that I can also do the yeoman work of setting a daily goal and powering through to accomplish it.
Something tells me that may be my biggest achievement from NaNo this year.
Meredith
Sunday, November 1, 2009
It's NaNoWriMo!
It is finally here! I don't know why NaNoWriMo is such a big deal for me, other than that it's just so much fun. Last year I wrote a Romance and had a total blast. I'm trying to get that story published now.
I don't participate in the group writing projects in my area; for me writing is a solitary task. As far as I am concerned, NaNoWriMo is not a social event; it is a chance for me to break out and try something new. It gives me the excuse to put my numerous current projects aside and work on one (crazy) thing for a month. The Romance last year was such a blast, I started another one in December. That one needs a lot of work yet, but I think it has potential once I get around to editing and polishing it. Romance is not my favorite genre to read, but it's a total blast to write.
I'm very excited about the prospect of writing a Fantasy novel this year. I'm putting in everything but the bathtub (and maybe that): Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table; Fairies and Trolls; a titanic battle between Good and Evil Queens. And all that comes from a cursory plot outline. Who knows what else the characters will come up with once I start writing? I love to read Fantasy. I'm hoping it will be fun to write. That does not necessarily follow, of course. I may hate it, because it strikes me Fantasy will involve a whole lot more work than writing contemporary fiction or romance. I won't, know until I try, however.
NaNoWriMo only lasts a month, so if I write something totally awful, it won't be as though I spent years wasting my time. I can move on with my writing life knowing that this particular genre is not my thing. On the other hand, I might discover that my range is broader than I imagined it to be.
In any case. It's November 1 and the adventure has begun! You should know that I wrote this post weeks ago and scheduled it for publication today. I am WAY to busy right now today to blog live!
Meredith
I don't participate in the group writing projects in my area; for me writing is a solitary task. As far as I am concerned, NaNoWriMo is not a social event; it is a chance for me to break out and try something new. It gives me the excuse to put my numerous current projects aside and work on one (crazy) thing for a month. The Romance last year was such a blast, I started another one in December. That one needs a lot of work yet, but I think it has potential once I get around to editing and polishing it. Romance is not my favorite genre to read, but it's a total blast to write.
I'm very excited about the prospect of writing a Fantasy novel this year. I'm putting in everything but the bathtub (and maybe that): Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table; Fairies and Trolls; a titanic battle between Good and Evil Queens. And all that comes from a cursory plot outline. Who knows what else the characters will come up with once I start writing? I love to read Fantasy. I'm hoping it will be fun to write. That does not necessarily follow, of course. I may hate it, because it strikes me Fantasy will involve a whole lot more work than writing contemporary fiction or romance. I won't, know until I try, however.
NaNoWriMo only lasts a month, so if I write something totally awful, it won't be as though I spent years wasting my time. I can move on with my writing life knowing that this particular genre is not my thing. On the other hand, I might discover that my range is broader than I imagined it to be.
In any case. It's November 1 and the adventure has begun! You should know that I wrote this post weeks ago and scheduled it for publication today. I am WAY to busy right now today to blog live!
Meredith
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