NaNoWriMo Retrospective: Flexing Wordcount Muscles

Wow, NaNo was such a positive experience for me!

Confession: I was in a little bit of a writing rut before November.  After having a baby in July, I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things.  It was starting to get to me, and that was why I decided to do NaNo.

Previously, the most I have ever written in a month was maybe 25K words, so I wasn't sure I could actually reach 50K.  But why not try?

I'm so glad I did! Since I ended up not writing at all for 9 days while traveling, I had to make up for it by writing 3500+ words on some days.

Increasing your word counts is like exercise: you have to build up to it.  The first day, I was exhausted after only writing 19K.  I had no idea how I would keep it up!  But once I started flexing those muscles, I got better at it.  I learned how to really let go and not over-think each scene.  Instead, it was very much free writing for me, a way to let my creativity flow.

Since I'm a discovery writer or pantser or whatever you want to call it, this was really a great exercise to discover my story.  By the end of the manuscript, I had dropped several things from the beginning that were red herrings.  I still haven't quite figured out how the ending should go, but I have some good ideas.

So what's next?

I think I'm going to let this manuscript breathe during December.  Then in January I will start a complete rewrite, with the NaNo ms serving as a sketch or zero draft.  Yay! (No, really I'm looking forward to it)

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NaNoWriMo Diaries, Day 26: Does It Work For You?

So, we all know that the concept of "winning" NaNo is a bit arbitrary.  50K is an arbitrary goal and the real prize is finishing a manuscript.  That said, it's a great motivator.

Except when it isn't.

We love seeing the little chart our word-count going up, up, up.

Except when life gets in the way.

I went out of town last week, and told myself I would at least write a little bit while I was there.  But I didn't end up getting in front of the keyboard at all.

I took 10 days off but on the writing days I've been writing well past the 1667 words.  So I think I can still make it.  Also, I can be a bit pig-headed about reaching certain goals.

My story is of course total nonsense.  And not chronological in any way.  For some people, that would be horrible.  But I don't mind the concept of a zero draft, which is totally what this is.

I've seen writers get frustrated when they get too far behind.  There are also the lovely contrarians who find the entire idea of word-count goals to be counter-productive.

NaNo isn't going to be good for every person or every project.

For me, this year, this project, it has worked out nicely.  At least I'm having fun.  To everyone else: if you're not having fun, if the word counts are too much for you, just remember the purpose is to get writing.  Don't stress! Do what you can, do what you love, do what inspires you.

And try not to ignore the fam on Thanksgiving! :)

Are you past the hump?

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NaNoWriMo Diaries, Day 10: Rapid-Fire Writing, Quality, and the 20K Slump

Hey Nanoers,

While writing like crazy, here are a few things I noticed:

1. Writing Quickly Can Lead to Spit-Fire Dialogue & Great Action Scenes.  I like writing in sprints.  On Friday, I challenged myself to write all 1667 words in one hour.  And I succeeded.  You might think that it was all crap, but I don't think it was.  Writing lightning-fast actually works really well for action scenes and rapid-fire dialogue.  I didn't have time to stop and describe things, or write a bunch of dialogue tags.  Result?  Some really fun, sharp dialogue that has a great rhythm to it.  Also, a fast-paced action scene that reads boom, boom, boom.  So who says writing quickly is all bad?

2. Skipping to the Good Part Means You Keep Things Moving: When things get boring, I think it's best to skip to the next scene you're excited about writing.  You can go back and fill in the build up later, and besides I found that I didn't need as much build up as I thought I did.  In fact, I ended up revealing something that I thought would be the midpoint in the novel at 15K.  But that's okay, that just means my story gets bigger earlier.  

3. If You Get Stuck, Do Something Unexpected: We're approaching the infamous 20K slump, when your initial burst of enthusiasm wears off.  My solution: write something that wasn't planned.  If you thought A was going to happen, instead have B happen.  Shake things up, and all of a sudden things will feel fresh again.

No Time to Monkey Around

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NaNoWriMo Diaries, Day 5: Finding the Character, Finding the Story

It's my first attempt at NaNoWriMo.  Previously, I've always been convinced that I wrote far too slowly to ever manage to 50K words in a month.  A month where I'm usually traveling, no less.

But this year I decided to go for it.  I just have a hunch that it might be the best way to attack my next novel.

Honestly, NaNo is great for pantsing since it forces you to write at a pretty break-neck speed. You can truly write and write until you discover your character and your story.  It isn't about getting the plot or pacing right.  It's about finding out who your character really is. What is making your character tick? Who is she and what is her heart's deepest desire?  And why does it conflict with the world around her?

And once you've figured all that out, you'll quickly find the heart of the novel.

So you just start writing.  Stuff happens.  It might be boring, it might be filled with info-dumps and dreadful dialogue.  But it's going somewhere.  It's your subconscious digging its way out of your dirt-filled brain and into the sunlight.  It might be harsh to look at, but what first draft isn't?

At some point, you find your voice.  Yee-haw! Keep writing to find the story.  And while you're doing it, throw in every cool idea you've got.  Some might fall flat, but that's okay too.

I've found that I get on a roll and am able to complete the word count, and then some.  But I also have moments (daily) where I wonder: wtf am I writing?  This is terrible! This is a boring, overdone, insipid idea! No one will want to read this!

When this happens, I read a few of the gazillion NaNoWriMo peptalks.  I love all the support from other writers.  Generally it boils down to the same thing: this isn't the time to be critical.  This isn't the time to judge. Your draft doesn't have to be elegant or even sensical.  (Well, maybe those outlining folks write something sensical.  I dunno.).

All you gotta do is have fun and write what inspires you.  That's the magic of NaNoWriMo.

The elephant in the room: how many words did you write today?

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Bring Back That Lovin' Feeling

Remember when you wrote because you loved books and had stories of your own that you wanted to tell? Bookmark that feeling of excitement in your mind, grasp it in your heart, and go back to it whenever you get stuck -- whether it's because of rejections or your own inner critic.  Remember the magic and you will be able to write something you love and are proud of.  Go forth and conquer!

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Three Craft Books that Turned My Writing Around

I've read a lot of books on writing.  Sometimes I just read them to procrastinate doing actual writing! :) But there are three books that have really influenced how I write and my process.  So here are a few of my favorite writing books:

Story by Robert McKee is by far the most intense and most rigorous book I've read on how to understand the art of storytelling.  It is not for the faint of heart! The first time I tried to get through it, I gave up.  Seriously, I read the part about writing a scene in beats, felt my creativity shrivel up, and put the book down.

The next time I read Story, I had a completed manuscript in hand.  It was good, I thought, but it could stand to pack more punch.  Story helped me take flat scenes and an almost-there ending and really make it something I could be proud of.  Thanks Robert McKee!

But one thing I don't agree with Mr. McKee on: outlining.  Outlining can be a great way to make sure your WIP is going somewhere.  But sometimes, it can also just take the joy and creativity out of it.  At least, that's what we pantsers/discovery writers think.  Still, a lot of other writers will give you flak for following this path.  That's why I'm so glad I read On Writing by Stephen King.  Uncle Steve says its okay to be a pantser.  It's okay to meander your way through a manuscript, and sometimes it's even okay to throw out thousands of words because they didn't quite work out.  Thanks Stephen King!

As someone without a formal degree in writing, I didn't initially get what all the fuss was about with dialogue tags and adverbs.  After all, they're descriptive.  My grade school teachers didn't have a problem with them, and I've certainly seen them used in plenty of published novels. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers illustrates so beautifully why they're crutches in writing, and why getting rid of them can take your writing from amateur to the major leagues.  Essential stuff for getting your work taken seriously, I think.  Thanks Renni Browne and Dave King!

I'm always on the hunt for more books on writing, though.  Which craft books have deeply influenced your writing?

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In Search of the Great Premise

How did you come up with the premise for your WIP? If you're anything like me, coming up with an idea is not a problem -- you probably come up with them all the time.  But how do you choose the one that will stick? It takes a lot of time and commitment to complete a novel, so you have to pick the project that will drive you to finish, the one that's you're so passionate about that you can't NOT finish.

And then there's that whole thing about whether anyone else will want to read it.  Not that you should care about that.  Supposedly.  Until you have to care.

Premise envy can sneak up on you.  That's when you hear about a new novel coming out and think, why didn't I come up with that? Usually it's a simple idea, but powerful and full of possibilities.

It can be paralyzing trying to grasp for that great next premise, even if you've completed a novel or ten.  Because the further we get into this writing gig, the more we want to succeed.

To start with, I usually find something I'm excited about: a character, a setting, maybe even an open-ended social or political issue.  Or maybe there's a conflict that's driving me -- two things that oppose each other so forcefully I have to see how it will all play out.

The key thing is being able to imagine writing enough words to complete a whole novel.  Then I start researching/outlining and generally preparing to start a manuscript.  If I'm still interested a week later, that's a good sign.  I write chapter one, and I wonder if a reader would be able to stop reading that book.  What if it had been written by someone else and I had randomly come across it?  Would I be compelled to continue reading?

I've started enough manuscripts to know that not all ideas are good enough to stick it through.  But when you find the right one, it's pure magic.

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