November has arrived. For students, this means Thanksgiving, holiday debates, growing guts, falling leaves, and exams. For many, November also signifies writing--or, more specifically, writing 50k in a month.
Don't freak out. It's just National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. This "is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved." NaNoWriMo opens its literary doors to anyone with an internet connection, ideas, and a pulse. It's free, though donations are welcomed, and it houses a great community of people all over the world who just want to write.
I won NaNoWriMo in '08 at the expense of both a plot and a point. I made it past the 50k line, verbs and adjectives and flowery prose in my wake. What scares most people is the number. 50,000 seems huge--er, is huge. How can you write that in a month? First, shut up your inner-critic and let loose all the words you can. Don't edit, don't revise, don't toss that chapter out because it's irrelevant and made of suck. When it comes to your NaNo writing, it's about quantity, not quality. NaNoWriMo isn't about churning out great works in thirty days, it's about letting yourself take risks in writing, to construct raw worlds of literature without an inner-critic nitpicking every three seconds. Wait until December for that.
So, anyway, I'm just curious to see if anyone else is trying NaNo this year. You might only make it to 15,000, more fiction than most ever write, or you might win and spend the following six months editing, editing, editing. If you like your novel, you can get a free copy in book form of your choosing. Do your writing a favor and check NaNoWriMo out.
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You just keep getting awesomer. We need to talk. About what did you write your 50K?
ReplyDeleteIt's also No Shave November. I bet I can make it through the whole 30 days. :)
I'm happy to know that I was already awesome. I'd like to talk more about NaNoWriMo with you when exams aren't around. It's really fun, Isis, you should try it.
ReplyDeleteLast year I somehow turned out a story called "How We Balance". It dealt with an underground and ghetto resistance against an oppresive, war-lovin' government... which is ironic since I'm a dumb cooze. For '09 I'm writing a story about a trans-dimensional, alchemic knickknack shop. And plumage. Lots of plumage.
Shave November? Ha! What an amazing idea. I've already lost, but I wish you luck. Perhaps I should find a faux-beard for kicks.
Good luck with your story Stefanie :) Just keep going. I think that I have to try this next year. It sounds like a good idea, after all, I could use the practice. I will probably just go for a cheesy kids story though. Nothing as awsome as yours. That reminds me, if you are at all proud of your first story, I would like to see it!
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