Over the past seven days there was only one day I did not write and that was Monday. I just was not in the mood and could not get myself motivated to move my novel along. Wednesday and Friday I got my butt in the chair, BIC as the Absolute Writers call it, and wrote as if my life depended on it. Those days I pounded out 3211 and 4352 words respectively. I was really impressed with myself.
It blows my mind every time I think of how I am writing a novel. When I finish this challenge and claim my victory on November 30th this will be one of the greatest accomplishments I have ever done in my life. And one that I have dreamed of doing since I was a teenager writing in my room upstairs.
One of my friends asked me "How do you know what to write when you sit down in front of your computer?" My first reaction to the question is to chuckle because I really don't know. Everyday I take my laptop put it on my lap, open my novel and just start writing where I left off. More often than not I do not have a preconceived notion of where I am going next. I just write and the ideas come to me.
Some of my friends have asked me if I am going to try and get this NaNo novel published and the short answer is, Yes. As I said in my last update I will not be working on my second draft until next year, but I do plan on it. I think for some people doing NaNo does not mean that the novel they write will be publishing material or even that they will want to publish it. There are so many reasons people do NaNo.
I am doing NaNo to force myself to do something I had neglected for far too long: writing.
Why do you NaNo? And for those who are not NaNo'ing, would you ever?
7 comments:
Sincerely, I wish you all the best in your Nano competition!
I always admire people who could write novels, or long stories. I'm not that good in writing, perhaps after YEARS of harsh training, if I'm capable, I would love to try NaNo, one day. Maybe starting by learning more vocab first..and grammar..
Yeah, for me, writing a novel was always something that was on my, er, bucket list. Not that I expect to kick the bucket soon, but you know, I've got things I want to do before I die - finish a novel, run a marathon, etc. The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that it has showed me that writing a novel isn't some obscure, unattainable thing. It is very easily achieved if I just get my darn butt in the chair! Isn't that a wonderful feeling, to know that you are capable of creating a whole world with people and lives and a grand story? Blows my mind.
I'm glad that everything is going so well for you! 3000 and 4000 words a day! Very impressive. :)
NathanKP
Absolute Writers? I didn't know you were on AW! I haven't been there for a bit, but love 'em.
And no, I don't think I'd do NaNoWriMo. I'm obviously doing the blogging version, but that's completely different.
I used to write a lot. And not the kind of "not really writing" writing you see on my blog, lol. It was never in novel form even then, though, and that's really what WriMo is all about. I love watching everyone else really go for it, though. It's inspiring!
I did NaNo for the first time this year because I'm obviously a masochist. Or maybe it's sadist - I always get those two mixed up. **sigh**
I usually know my characters names and a teensy little bit of plot and that's about it before I sit down and write. I've tried plotting and outlining, and I just can't seem to get it. When I just sit and write, the story tells itself. But I do envy the writers who know exactly where the story is going and all that...
Great job on your wordcounts. Keep it up.
Why I NaNo:
My biggest reason is to write to an attainable goal on deadline. I've written for years, but I rarely hit the personal goals I set by a certain deadline. I had the excuse that something came up so I'd miss the goal I set. I didn't write regularly probably several times during a year.
My first NaNo in 2005 was, I think, the second or third time I hit a goal at deadline.
A secondary reason is that writing helps me de-stress from everything that's going on in my life. I feel a little more relaxed when I write. I work retail so this helps tremendously at this time of the year.
Each time I do NaNo, I push myself in my writing. This year I'm finding it extremely difficult to write whatever comes to mind. It used to be easy, but not now.
Now, I'm planning in my head, sketching out location maps on paper for each of the characters, listening intently to my characters and my muse all the while writing as much as I can with the limited time I have.
It's gone from an exercise just to get words down to writing a story that can be published with lots of editing and cleaning up. All of my 4 NaNos form a romantic suspense series and I've written so much more during November than the entire year.
That's fantastic! Go for it. I was a NaNoVirgin too this year - useful kick start to book 3. All the best - see you at the finish line!
Post a Comment