Hello and welcome to a Homecoming (#HOCO) Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 24th.
I’d like to kick off today’s blog post with a big THANK YOU
to all of the readers who tuned in last Saturday to read The 5th
Grader’s blogging debut. Parental pride is one thing, but an even better pride
is that which was felt by the kid writer herself. She took to heart the readers’
comments received on the blog and on social media. The ten bucks cash was a
nice little “gold star” too. She may even have said, “Pleasure doing business
with you.”
Today is the last Saturday of September making October 1st
land on next Saturday which means if you’re someone who likes to write – or
even if you’re someone who likes to think about writing and you find yourself “never”
writing, but people tell you that you write the best emails and Christmas cards –
it’s time to think about Nanowrimo.
What is Nanowrimo?
NaNoWriMo is shorthand for National Novel Writing Month.
(This helpful moniker reminds me of a joke: “How did Canada get its name? They
put all of the letters of the alphabet into a bag and decided that whatever
letters came out would spell the name. So they pulled them out one at a
time and what did they get? C, eh? N, eh?
D, eh?)
Anywho, Nanowrimo (note the disappearance of all those
capital letters, eh) is the brainchild of Chris Baty, who founded the program in 1999 with a group of 21 writers in the San Francisco Bay area. He thought it would be super
fun, not to mention super helpful, to get all of the super writers out in the
world over the super hump of actually putting "butt in chair" to write a novel during
the month of November.
How long is a novel?
Well, it varies depending on the genre, but the agreed-upon
word count goal is 50,000 words. You don't have to reach "The End" by 50k words, though. By all means, keep going if there's more to the story!
But November only has 30 days!
True. But, there is the American Thanksgiving which buys you extra time and Halloween (October) and New Year’s Eve (December) are holidays meant for merrymaking, not “butt in chair” activities.
I love Nanowrimo. I’m grateful
for Nanowrimo. This crazy month of committing to writing 50,000 words is what
got my butt in the chair to bang out the first 50k words of Elevator Girl. Once
over that super daunting hump, I’d come far enough to know how the book would
end. I pledged to my book club to finish it – and I did.
My second attempt at Nanowrimo was an epic, yet hugely
informative, fail in which I bailed at 25,000 words realizing that winging it
through this particular writing project was not the best course of action.
My third attempt at Nanowrimo was a win – I made it to
50,000 words! – but also a useful, albeit painful, lesson because it also showed
me that I’d just written 50,000 words of backstory and that the actual story I
wanted to tell hadn’t even started yet.
Now, this might be making you feel dubious, and perhaps I’ve
dug a hole for myself that I won’t be able to crawl out of, but hear me out:
Nanowrimo is hugely awesome for 4 reasons.
1. It actually gets you writing. – The singular goal of
committing oneself to writing a novel in one month is word count. This is a
numbers game, folks. We’re talking quantity;
not quality. Break 50,000 words down to a daily writing goal of 1,666 words a
day. This blog post is just over 1,000 words and I wrote it in about an hour.
Not all days are going to be this smooth, of course, but this gives you an idea
of how much you could write in an hour.
2. It doesn’t have to be good. – I can’t emphasize this enough.
You could write “blah, blah, blah” 555.3333 times and you would reach 1,666
words for the day, and it would count. Of course, that sort of nips at the
spirit of Nanowrimo, so I wouldn’t recommend making it a habit, but I have
written things like: “Oh, something here, I have no idea. What does Bill like
anyway?” until a thought tied back to the plot, theme, or character emerges - and I learn what Bill likes - and
I can resume the storytelling. I often tell people stuck in first drafts (and
second and third…): It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to exist.
3. It gets you over the hump. – The fear of
writing (despite it being something you might actually love) chokes creative bodies
far, far too often. There’s so much good creative energy flowing through the
universe. Nanowrimo helps people feel that flow and ride it over the fear of
perfection or whatever it is you're feeling afraid of. Once I’ve climbed that hill of terror, I’ve discovered
a glorious world beyond where I find clarity and creativity - and best of all, it's all downhill. My brain clicks into a
new gear. I get lots of scene ideas. I scribble them all
down, then mind map and play with how they might connect to each other. I find
characters with more depth and personality than I initially gave them credit
for. I see threads of theme emerge that I can start to intentionally braid into
a pretty French braid. Heck, even a chunky, unflattering twisty attempt is the groundwork for doing better next time! I feel the
exhilaration of creation. I actually have fun.
4. There’s a whole lotta Nano love. – You don’t have to go it alone. (Although you certainly can.) Since its inception, the Nanowrimo community has exploded into a global network of writerly peeps making a go of it. There’s a beautiful sense of camaraderie of all being in it together that you can immerse yourself in, or merely tap the waters with your toe. This sense of togetherness contributes to that cosmic flow I mentioned in Reason #3. There’s swag, chat groups, and inspirational messages penned by some of the world’s favorite authors. The point is this: You are not alone.
I’ve learned a lot about myself and writing from Nanowrimo.
I learned that writing both terrifies and thrills me. And that’s okay. I
learned that while my natural tendency is to be a “pantser” – someone who
writes by the seat of their pants – I also gained a few tricks from the
plotters – someone who plans before they write - that have made my writing better. By sticking with the writing
long enough, I’ve learned how to take flat, stereotypical characters and breathe
life into them, making them more dynamic, more lifelike, and definitely more
flawed. I’ve learned that fear is just a bogeyman, and when I actually peek
under the bed, there’s nothing there. I’ve learned to fail – and to carry that learning
forward. I’ve learned to keep writing.
So, why am I telling you all of this on the cusp of October
instead of November?
Because I know writers. Some are gung-ho types but most of you need a month to think about it.
If you had a whole month
to write a story, what would you write?
If you were to give yourself the gift of time to write for one month and just see what happens, how might you (re)structure
your days and weeks?
If it's fear that's got you spooked far more than any Halloween goblins, might I suggest you read Big Magic: Creating Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert? She says, yes, Fear may join you on your ride through creativity, but Fear has to sit in the backseat, and for goodness sake, DO NOT give it the map.
And by all means, sign up at Nanowrimo.org so you can find
your people and get the cool dashboard that tracks your progress so at the end
of the month when you reach your 50,000 words you get the virtual certificates
and badges to celebrate your big accomplishment!
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
Remembering You
Kim
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I wrote a 50,000 word manuscript in 2005 or so, I'm thinking. I sat here, plinking away with a couple fingers on my right hand and a couple on my left on my Mac over the course of about a week or so, (probably longer as I had a lot to say). I sent the original copy off to the Catholic Diocese in Crookston upon their request; and from whom I later received a rejection slip of all things given, the whole endeavor was deemed unnecessary upon acknowledgement of an important action, by another party, making it null and void. Who knew? Still, I think, it was an academic achievement on my part.
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