Nano Not So Much

Well, I didn't do so well with NaNoWriMo this year. I only wrote 11,328 words of the 50,000 word goal. The good thing is that I wrote more than I have in the past 10 years probably. Another good thing is that I plan to try it again next year.

Problems that I came across were that I wrote 11,328 words about two characters doing things but there was really no plot so it was pretty flat. I had ideas about what I ultimately wanted the end result to be but no real plan of how to get from point A to point B, so my characters kept getting up and going about doing the mundane tasks of their daily lives with nothing really happening.

The solution was that, for Christmas, I asked for and received a book called Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. I Have started to read it and so far I think it will be extremely helpful.

One thing that I really like about the book is that it has exercises in it. This is the sort of thing I need. I have to re-educate myself in the art of creative writing. Correction: I may have to actually educate myself in the art of creative writing. Even though I studied this in college, I really think that maybe I didn't really get it. I had ideas but they never really made it past the drawing board. I think the problem was that I didn't really map out about the plot very well. Instead I focused on a lot of description and emotions which really just resulted in a lot of literary snapshots of a scene but no real scene. Hopefully, all of that is going to change!

Brainstorm

Now that I have joined NaNoWriMo I have been brainstorming about what I should write. So far I find that I am faced with the same familiar problems as usual. Do I really feel passionate enough about any subject to stick with writing a story let alone a novel? Many of the themes that intrigued me when I was actually writing way back in the day seem very trivial now.

Will I really be able to write 50,000 words? Isn't worrying about it now really just setting myself up to fail?

Some of the stories I find intriguing these days are really other people's stories. Is it really fair of me to steal their stories like some thief in the night? Is that what real writers do? I really need to shed any obstacles that can hold me back and just jump with abandon into the project.

I have, including today, 9 days to decide what direction I will take. Wish me luck!

Becoming a Writer

A few Years ago a coworker of mine told me about NaNoWriMo and I thought, "Hey, I want to do that!"

National Novel Writing Month takes place in November every year. Participants from around the world set a goal to write a 175 page, 50,000 word novel in 30 days. As they say on their website, it doesn't have to be a good novel the goal is quantity not quality. You don't worry about mistakes you just get the words out there. Throughout the month you log into your account on the NaNoWriMo website and update your word count. You can post excerpts of your writing for other people to read. Participants in different regions meet up throughout the month to encourage each other. This is exactly the kind of writing jump start I need!

When I first learned about it we were already two weeks into November so I didn't join. However, I made plans to do it the following year. The only thing was that I chickened out the following year citing a number of hockey games and other things I was doing that would take too much time away from writing. So, yesterday I set up an account on the NaNoWriMo website. This is the year I write a novel darn it!