It's always been a goal of mine to write a novel. I have enjoyed writing ever since junior high school and like the thought of being able to make a living by writing whatever I please (just as I declared in my "about me" description in the righthand column when I first established this blog).
I realize that those of you who try to read this blog -- and are met with the frequent disappointment of me not providing anything to read -- might question whether I actually enjoy writing. Well, I do. Convinced? Good.
I think the reason I so infrequently write on this blog is because I have significant doubts about whether my day-to-day activities or random thoughts are interesting enough to be worth reading, even for a small group of friends. I have often considered selecting a theme for the blog that would guide me, so that I wouldn't just end up writing sporadic commentary on the news or telling you about my son's loose bowel movements.
Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that I have signed up to participate this year in the National Novel Writing Month, and I want you all to know about it because there's nothing quite as motivating as the fear of public humiliation. Or so they say. I'm not sure if that really works for me, but we'll see. At any rate, maybe each of you could provide a mindless word of encouragement, like: "I know you can do it!" or "Sounds like fun. Best of luck!" or "That's awesome. I can't wait to read it, if you decide to let people read it. But if not, that's cool too!" That would be swell.
The idea of the project is that people all over the world spend the month of November writing a short novel of at least 50,000 words. It can be about any subject, and there's no requirement that you ever let anyone read it. The NaNoWriMo website features a computer automated word count program that verifies you wrote 50,000 words and then deletes your text without anyone ever seeing it.
On the one hand, it's a rather daunting idea, to write 50,000 words in a month. I've tried (half-heartedly, at best) for the last seven or eight years to write a novel, and to show for it I've got two or three unfinished, plotless drafts of prose worth 20,000 to 30,000 words each. This is not to mention the fact that I can't even manage to come up with a single 500-word blog post per month.
But, the key here is this: The nature of the project requires the writing to be so fast-paced and spontaneous that you have to excuse yourself entirely from quality. I can reassure myself that it's OK to write total garbage, and no one else ever has to read it if I so choose. All the pressure to produce quality prose is gone, and I suspect that is a major factor that has kept me from writing regularly all these years. (Of course, I'm secretly hoping it will be good, and then I will let people read it. Shh. Don't tell me.)
The other positive factor is the deadline pressure. I've been in the journalism business for a while, and so I am accustomed to the idea of deadlines. I thrive under deadlines. This is probably the toughest one to which I've ever been subjected. And for some reason, it's very exciting.
Speaking of the deadline, this brings me to a final important note, since you all will be my official scorekeepers in this game. The last week or two of November is very hectic for me, with Thanksgiving-related family gatherings, a first birthday party for Logan and also hopefully some form of birthday outing for Meaghan. So... I'm modifying the calendar for myself. Rather than writing my short novel in the 30 days of November, I'm going to write it in the 30 days running from Oct. 16 to Nov. 14.
That's right: I start tomorrow and must finish by midnight, Saturday Nov. 14.
I hope to provide updates along the way, perhaps with an occasional excerpt to keep you entertained or confused or both. Wish me luck.
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12 comments:
That's a pretty cool concept. Good luck!
We've already discussed this on the comments section of my blog, but I wish I was in the situation to join you. Unfortunately, I'm spending three or four days a week working on masters classes for four hours after school. Those don't end until December. I'm not adding 1,666 and 2/3 words a day on top of that, although given my typical post, I may have written 50,000 words last November on my blog just by posting every day.
I wish you luck with this. Here's some advice. I've not written a novel, but I did post to my blog at least once a day for 365 days last year, so I know a little about making yourself sit your fat (or in your case, skinny) ass down and write even when you don't feel about it.
1. Just start writing. You've got a slight advantage here because you're not starting from scratch every day. Like you said, it may not be good, but you'll find yourself getting on a roll once you force yourself to start.
2. Don't take a day off. Seriously, this is a big deal. If you are like me, you'll find it gets to be easier to write the more frequently you do it. I was having decent topics coming twice a day at times last year after the first month or so. If I ever took a day off because I used the Leap Year Day loophole in the project rules or the like, I found myself really struggling to get back into the rhythm of things. There will be days when you feel uninspired, but don't let lack of inspiration stop you. Inspiration must be beaten into submission or it will become even more fickle than it already is. Your muse will quickly get tired of you writing crap without her and she'll come back to you. Make sure you give her a black eye for the trouble.*
3. Agree to make regular posts of excerpts or at least updates here. This isn't just for my entertainment. It's easier to force yourself to the deadline and project when you're making yourself publicly accountable. I never could have done Blog 365 if it'd been Personal Journal 365. I'd say you have to post an excerpt a week or updates thrice weekly.
Also, I'd love to read it when you're done unless it REALLY sucks.
My prediction: You write a novel that is okay to start with, but the inspiration leads you to revise the original manuscript into a comedic novel that surpasses Confederacy of Dunces in quality and you will end up dead before it is published. You'll go down in literary history, but never realize your own success.
And the word verifications for this comment is pustrals. I like to think of is as a typo for pus trails.
Jacob: Call me boring and unambitious, but I'd rather live to raise my son and grow old with my wife than to die young and have my novel become a bestseller in my absence. I will provide updates/ excerpts.
'you have to excuse yourself entirely from quality'
That actually really inspires me. Good luck! Keep us posted...more than once a semester, please.
That's exciting!
I know you can do it.
Pretty cool idea. I bet your novel will be great and I can't wait to read it (although it will be fine if you decide not to publish it).
For the record, I would keep any mention of your son's loose stools to a minimum. Incidental use of potty humor is OK, but you don't want to become the poop novelist on your first outing.
Thanks everyone.
Julie: I've done the planning on the basic story idea and characters, and thus far bowel movements (loose or otherwise) are not expected to play any role whatsoever.
Who said anything about dying young? I just said that the book wouldn't get published and famous until after you died.
I'm assuming you have a nagging sense of self-doubt that prevents you from even trying to get it published and it leads you to feel bitter and unfulfilled in your old age. Logan, convinced of his father's genius, goes behind your back and submits the manuscript for publication and on your death bed, your body shrunken and shriveled from age, he shows you the letter from the publisher accepting it for publication. Only, you can't see because of your cataracts and otherwise deteriorated vision, so he has to read it to you. Then you die before the first book comes off the presses, but at least your soul is satisfied so you don't wander the earth annoying Meaghan with ghastly whispers of "I could have been a New York Times Best Seller!"
Oh, well, that does sound nice.
Wow, there's almost nothing else to say here. Except, of course, that I have to point out the success of "Family Guy" and the fact that they make a reference to bowl movements at least once per episode. Don't knock the poop...
Sorry, BOWEL! Stinkin' typos!
Meaghan does make a good point: poop sells.
Holy crap, I come back from vacation and there's a whole mess of new stuff here! Cool project; I look forward to reading your self-proclaimed crappy quality novel. (Though I'm sure it will be anything but crappy.)
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