It's been almost four weeks since I started NaNo - National Novel Writing Month. With 3 days left, I've produced 45,578 of the 50K word target, just slightly ahead of pace for finishing on the 30th.
And I'm really liking my novel.
But beyond simply being happy with the result, I feel I've learned a lot about writing. I feel much more comfortable with the idea of setting deadlines for myself and being able to produce. The reluctance I've had around that in the past has had a lot to do with getting stuck upon encountering problems in the production of a particular piece that I didn't know how to solve.
Barbara, a fellow writer in my first writing group, used to always advise 'writing through' any such problems. And while I thought I understood what she meant, I get it on a much deeper level now. Because each of the problems I've encountered this month, with plot, character development, continuity, eliminating contradictions, what have you, have been solved by writing through them.
The difference has been that, 1) I've given myself permission to write badly, and 2) the commitment to producing the daily word count of approximately 1,700 words a day has forced me to keep on writing when I'm writing badly. That's amounted to a potent combination because, incredibly and with remarkable consistency, I've learned that I can only write badly for so long before I stumble across something that isn't quite so bad. And that not so bad opens the doorway to something better.
The result is that, these bad writing days have always generated something that led into a good writing day, which is another way of saying: to a solution to a writing problem that was blocking me.
Writing and writing and writing, however I might feel about it in the moment, has led to me finding solutions to a dozen or so really challenging problems in the development of this novel. And I'm going to finish up with a manuscript that, while short and incomplete, has substantial idea content, a few dynamic characters, and a decent plot.
There will be lots to do in December, but I'm going to insist to myself that I not let this project drag on for much longer than that. Perhaps I'll set myself other deadlines.
Many WriMo's come back to it year after year. That was surprising to me when I first heard it, because I thought of this as a kind of quirky, un-serious, bucket-list sort of thing. But I get it now, and can already see myself doing another round next November.
I'm extremely grateful for what this month has been. My writing Life is certainly reinvigorated. I have so many ideas for books I'd like to write, that at my previous pace were total dream-stuff. Now I see that it isn't inconceivable that I could produce 1st drafts of all of them in one year! I don't think I'll reach that far. I'm going to unchain the editor and let him at it, after all. But things are looking good in Novel Writing Land. Better than ever before!
And I'm really liking my novel.
But beyond simply being happy with the result, I feel I've learned a lot about writing. I feel much more comfortable with the idea of setting deadlines for myself and being able to produce. The reluctance I've had around that in the past has had a lot to do with getting stuck upon encountering problems in the production of a particular piece that I didn't know how to solve.
Barbara, a fellow writer in my first writing group, used to always advise 'writing through' any such problems. And while I thought I understood what she meant, I get it on a much deeper level now. Because each of the problems I've encountered this month, with plot, character development, continuity, eliminating contradictions, what have you, have been solved by writing through them.
The difference has been that, 1) I've given myself permission to write badly, and 2) the commitment to producing the daily word count of approximately 1,700 words a day has forced me to keep on writing when I'm writing badly. That's amounted to a potent combination because, incredibly and with remarkable consistency, I've learned that I can only write badly for so long before I stumble across something that isn't quite so bad. And that not so bad opens the doorway to something better.
The result is that, these bad writing days have always generated something that led into a good writing day, which is another way of saying: to a solution to a writing problem that was blocking me.
Writing and writing and writing, however I might feel about it in the moment, has led to me finding solutions to a dozen or so really challenging problems in the development of this novel. And I'm going to finish up with a manuscript that, while short and incomplete, has substantial idea content, a few dynamic characters, and a decent plot.
There will be lots to do in December, but I'm going to insist to myself that I not let this project drag on for much longer than that. Perhaps I'll set myself other deadlines.
Many WriMo's come back to it year after year. That was surprising to me when I first heard it, because I thought of this as a kind of quirky, un-serious, bucket-list sort of thing. But I get it now, and can already see myself doing another round next November.
I'm extremely grateful for what this month has been. My writing Life is certainly reinvigorated. I have so many ideas for books I'd like to write, that at my previous pace were total dream-stuff. Now I see that it isn't inconceivable that I could produce 1st drafts of all of them in one year! I don't think I'll reach that far. I'm going to unchain the editor and let him at it, after all. But things are looking good in Novel Writing Land. Better than ever before!
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