NaNo? or NaNot?
Kathleen Bolton on Oct 12 2009 | Filed under: Inspirations
Soooo . . . I’m thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year. Am I crazy?
For those who don’t know, NaNoWri Mo is a highly-popular online challenge to aspiring novelists. Write 50,000 during the month of November. Don’t worry about tinkering, just move forward. (FYI, Therese interviewed NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty in 2007. NaNo has grown huge since then).
I’ve always had mixed emotions about racing through a draft in a month without stopping to revise. Mostly because the one year I did it, I had to scrap the whole draft. I was focused too heavily on wordcount, and less about actual useable content. So ironically, rather than saving time on the draft, it ended up being a time waster.
What is different this year is that I have a detailed plan for my next WIP (yes, this avowed pantser is changing her spots) and I want to blaze through it. What better time to participate in NaNo?
Anyone else out there interested in NaNoWriMo this year? Past participants, what were some helpful strategies you used to help get you through the challenge? Should I be talked out of this?
Image from the hilarious 101reasonstostopwriting.com.
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Kathleen -
I am participating for the first time this year – *gulp*.
I have been slowly practicing the past month by making sure I write about 2-3k words a day whether it’s for a novel, short stories, edits, etc. I am not sure how it’s going to be to have to focus on one thing for a entire month with a word count deadline that everyone can see.
Best of luck if you decide to do it again!
Jim
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Hi, Kathleen -
Too funny — my last two posts at my blog have been about the same thing (and I see similar entries popping up everywhere in the blogosphere – ’tis the season).
If I do NaNoWriMo this year, it will be my first. I’m laying some plans. You can check out some of the tools I’ve found (for a purely pragmatic approach) on my blog.
Thanks, and good luck, whatever you choose!
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Oops — wrong URL to my first comment. Here you go: http://www.wordflix.org.
.-= HD Silversmith´s last blog ..To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo? =-.
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I’ve been toying with using NaNo to get my next novel off the ground. The unfortunate consequence would be that I’ll just have started revisions on my first and I don’t know if I want to subvert that whole process. Maybe I’ll do my own NaNo in January!
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I did NaNo in 2007 and 2008. For 2007, I signed up on Oct 31 and just got started on some sortyline that had been on my mind. I finished (barely) and that story is buried deep on my hard drive, hopefully never to see the light of day ever again. In 2008, I actually had a plan and an outline and while I didn’t finish the story, I did complete the challenge with over 60K words. I may go back to it someday and edit it into an actual story. I’m still not sure.
Having a plan definitely worked for me, but I know of others who just fly by the seat of their pants and do great. If having a plan works for you, then by all means, plan. Or don’t. Just have fun and remember to chain up your inner editor in the sub-basement of your home and write, write, write. No one sees what you write except for you.
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That’s great that you’re thinking about NaNo. This self-proclaimed panster is also going to change his spots for the occasion. I have already been thinking along the lines of outlining, envisioning a starting point and an end point, and characterization. Feel free to add me as a buddy on NaNo if you need (or want) support. You can find me there as estallsworth. Good luck to you either way.
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I have a couple friends who are really excited for the upcoming NaNo and want me to do it too. On the other hand, I’m like, Isn’t EVERY DAY supposed to be like NaNo for me? So I’m torn…
I think if you have a plan in place, it could be a great motivating tool.
For me, I’m already started and invested on a manuscript, and I don’t want to put it aside to work on a new one just for NaNo. If I magically finish before Nov 1st, maybe I’ll change my mind. But like I said, right now I have sort of a NaNoEveryDay mentality…
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I’ve been doing NaNo since 2006 (hopefully this year I’ll be successful, too!). I’m still working on what I wrote in 2007… not sure if you would consider it scrapped, but my second draft drastically changed my first, so… maybe?
Since you sound like you have an outline, I think you should give it a try. It’d be sad if you let one experience stop you from ever doing NaNo, don’t you think?
Your goal should be about 1700 words a day. If you meet that (and it shouldn’t be that hard; I tend to bash out that many in 40~45 minutes) every day (emphasis on the word every!) you’ll be just fine. If you get behind by a day, don’t worry too much about it, just try to make it up bit by bit over the next few days.
What really helped me was constantly looking at my wordcount graph (which will be on your profile). I liked to watch it grow like a staircase; if I missed a day, one of the ‘steps’ would look funky.
I hope you’ll decide to give it a try! If you look at it logically, it’s not all that different from regular writing, is it? After all, you still have goals/deadlines to write.
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One of the members of our inworld writing community has written several very decent novels for NaNoWriMo and I’ve been very encouraged by this. The only problem for me is finding the time… and I just KNOW that I will want to tweak it whilst I am writing it. Someone will have to tie my hands behind my tweaking back.
.-= Andrea Pring´s last blog ..Flawnt’s Virtual Views: Voices =-.
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I did NaNo last year and just finished the first draft last week (I had another novel I was editing). I loved that it taught me what kind of output I can expect from myself if I have a plan and a decent outline. I’m not doing it this year, but if I did, I’d definitely need a loose outline to keep me on track.
Good luck!
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..The End: Part Three =-.
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I did NaNo for the first time about 4 years ago. I had set writing aside for several years before that, and this was what got me fired up to write again. I liked the notion of writing so fast that the internal editor couldn’t keep up, and discovered it actually worked! I also found out how manageable it is for me to write that many words a day, which is what I still do.
The book I completed was a really fun experience. It even generated a fair amount of interest from agents, although no offers yet!
My current WIP is a book I started on another NaNo, and I’m seriously thinking of doing NaNo again this year. I really recommend it. It’s wild and crazy and exhilirating. You’ll amaze yourself at what you create and what you produce.
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2008 was my first go with NaNo. I finished the first draft of a story that had been kicking around in my head for a while. For me it was an amazing experience. I wrote the story completely from the seat of my pants, having only the barest idea of the direction it would take. But a year later, and several revisions later, I’m still excited about the story and just about ready to start sending it out. This year I have another story planned, and I’ll admit I’ve spent a bit more time outlining it, but not too detailed, I still like writing as a pantser, but I hope the outline will help keep me from stalling in the middle of the month like I did last year.
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I am doing NaNo for the first time this year, and really excited about it too. It’s the whole community feel thing. After all, when exactly do you get to write with thousands of people around the world? I am working on an outline so hoping to have a decent plan ready before NaNo begins, because I hope to have a first draft that makes sense and not jut bunch of words that would never see the light again.
.-= Lost Wanderer´s last blog ..NaNo – 10000 words in an Instant =-.
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Wow, lots of peeps are considering it. Maybe Therese and I should look into setting up a WU thread over on the forums, for extra cheerleading!
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I signed up for NaNo again this year–my third time, and hopefully my third win. I think the key to a successful NaNo is expectation: knowing what you want to get out of it. NaNo is a great way for me to jump from murky ideas to an ugly-but-workable draft. It was my first big step toward my current YA work-in-progress. I’m using it this year to launch a middle grade manuscript.
What NaNo has helped with most of all? It’s shown me which sections of my story get me the most excited–which days I fly through my outline, and which days I bog down and check wordcount every five minutes. And finding my excitement points me to the heart of my tale.
Good luck!
.-= jenn´s last blog ..days with rain in them =-.
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Kathleen,
I say, go for it! Particularly if you already have a plot in mind.
I don’t consider any time, when you’re writing 1500 words a day, a waste. Even if it’s not usable for a novel as it stands, you still expand your mind and develop your craft.
I have a 5-page synopsis off which I will be basing my NaNoWriMo piece this year, and I hope that will serve as a nice anchor.
Good luck in your decision-making!
Best,
Ricki Schultz
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I’m doing it this year (I’m listed under “Inkygirl”). Hope to see you on the site, too! That way I know I’m not the only crazy one. :-)
.-= Debbie Ridpath Ohi´s last blog ..Libraries and Zombies =-.
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This is my first year. I’m halfway through a new historical novel, and I want NANOWRIMO to get me to the end of the draft. I work well with a deadline, so I hope it will pay off.
Good luck!
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I’m doing Nano for the first time this year too!
(I’m listed under ‘tangledally’ over at the site)
Best of luck with your decision-making!
.-= Emma´s last blog ..L’amour & Music =-.
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I did NaNo last year, “finished” my 50,000 word chick lit novel, and then set about the process of revising it… and ultimately realized that it didn’t actually have the bones to be publishable.
However, I don’t think of it as time wasted. I LOVED the challenge (and the motivation of having my students check my word count each day!) and simply writing that many words and bringing my plot to a conclusion (even though it isn’t really long enough) gave me the confidence to believe that I can finish another novel. Plus, as unpublishable as my novel was, it made my sister cry (in a good way), and when I look back at it I get the tingly sensation that I’m reading a real book. :)
This year I have a work already started, so I’m hoping to write the last 50,000 words during November. I’m having trouble getting in 1,000 words a day right now, though, so this should be interesting…
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I am considering doing the Nano this year also. I am not sure that I am going to have the time. If I can come up with a good story idea and outline it before November, I just may give it a shot.
Jenn
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This will be my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. I am a very bad (or very good) procrastinator, so decided to make an outline of my novel to help me along the way. This just the kick in the pants I need to write that mystery/suspense novel I’ve always wanted to.
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I’m doing NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. I’ve been writing for several years now but I’ve never really pushed myself hard to get something written. I do it for fun when I feel like it and when I have the time. So, I’m doing this to figure out just how much I can write and for the fun of the challenge. I know I can write more than I do right now…the question I want to know…how much more?
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I’m so tempted to do NaNoWriMo this year, but I don’t have an outline ready. I’ve tried writing without planning before. It’s a mess. Next year I’ll have to get ready earlier. Good luck to everyone.
.-= Kate Jonez´s last blog ..Greetings for Halloween =-.
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I did nano last year but that was before I had rss feeds. I’m sure they will adversely affect my productivity this year. I liked the spreadsheets.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3280839
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[...] started with good intentions. Really. Before Nov. 1, I wrote a detailed outline that I vetted for storytelling soundness while [...]
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