This month is the annual National Novel Writing Month (https://nanowrimo.org/). The original goal of NaNoWriMo was to write the entire draft of a novel, or 50,000 words. It has evolved since its beginnings and participants can set their own word count goals.
I first tried NaNoWri Mo two or three years ago. I had an idea for a novel about a time-traveling musician. I read advice about plotting, and had my plot in mind. What I learned that first year was I didn't have enough plot. I realized later I was missing some other important aspects, like character development. I skipped the next couple of years. But I decided this year to try again.
Some people do NaNo as a step toward publishing their novel: I do not. I just want to write. Maybe there's a bit of sibling rivalry as well: my sister wrote a novel, unpublished, and my brother has written several nonfiction books, all published. (He writes mostly about religion and film, which is his area of expertise. If you are interested you can google him: John C. Lyden.)
Anyway, I am writing again this year. My word-count goal is so modest that once I started writing I realized I would need to revise it. I had thought a lot about why I had problems before, including not only lack of plot but insufficient character development. Thinking about those issues I decided to take a page (lol) from one of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon. She writes scenes as they occur to her, not linearly. Though obviously she has a story arch in mind.
I have been writing scenes of characters interacting. They may or may not be part of the story, but they really do help me know the characters better. That sounds strange, since the characters are only in my head so of course I should know them, but I don't yet. When I was writing in the first NaNo challenge I was startled to find the characters having conversations in my head when I wasn't even thinking about them. I checked with some other NaNo writers and they all agreed that this happens. And if possible, I should write down the conversations in case I want to include any of them in the novel.
It makes the writing more fun as well as productive. And fun is what I'm going for here.
This is something I have never tried and doubt that I ever will. I don't feel that I have a novel in me. Sounds like you have learned so much from the last time you participated. I wish you luck.
ReplyDeleteLooks like my name didn't come up with the above comment. This is arjeha.
DeleteThank you! I'm just enjoying the ride. Certainly not trying for 50,000 words!
DeleteBravo to you on this month of writing! I love the way you expressed this: "Some people do NaNo as a step toward publishing their novel: I do not. I just want to write." Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI also applaud you! I have been interested in NANOWRIMO but never tried it. I appreciate your honest accounting of what you didnt know the first time around. And I think the way you are writing scenes and conversations build your characters, even if you dont use it all in the final project. Your post is an inspiration to do the hard work!
ReplyDeleteBecky, good for you! I love what you shared about character development and plot. I can relate, but when I tried to write a novel, I definitely went with the "No Plot, No Problem" by Chris Baty philosophy. I have not given NaNoWriMo much thought since I wrote 50,000 words a few years when I taught junior highers. Later with 5th grade ELL students, we wrote "novels" too, but it made more sense to do it in the spring.
ReplyDeleteThis was super interesting to read! I have writer/novelist envy and find myself so curious about the experience of NaNoWriMo! It was really interesting to get an inside perspective plus your own personal take and goals. Thank you so much for sharing - it was actually very motivating to me!
ReplyDelete(I am having trouble signing in to comment, but this is Laura M. of Mazerlymusings.Wordpress.com!)