NaNoWriMo My Way

Not only is tonight Halloween, it's also the eve of NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month.  AND we get an extra hour tonight with the ending of daylights savings. So since I'm home, and the cute trick or treaters have all gone to bed (the non-cute, non-costumed and way-to-old ones continue to ring my doorbell, and I continue to ignore them...), I thought I'd get a jump start on pre-writing for this month's Great American Novel!

The truth is, I have no intention of writing a novel.  But I do have an intention of writing a book.  At this point though, I feel like the expectant parent who doesn't want to tell others what I'm planning to name the baby. I don't want anyone's inputs or opinions.  I'm just doing it My Way.


I'm also not necessarily writing the whole book in a month!  But, I'm thinking of the month of November like an ass-kicking boot camp.  I'm devoting hard core time, every day, to writing my book.

NaNoWriMo, my way...

Writing In November

Did you know November is National Novel Writing Month?

November 1st-30st, "The world needs your novel"

I guess, depending on where you live, November might sound like a great time to take on the big endeavor of churning out your next novel- It's cold and dreary, and staying inside at the keyboard, dreaming up a story might just be the best way to pass the time.

But I live in Dallas.  The days have only just begun to cool off enough that I can walk my dogs even after 9am and not have to worry about any of us suffering from heat exhaustion for the remainder of the long day. 

The beginning of Fall is my favorite time of the year.  For sure.  Crisp cool days, cooler nights, falling leaves, the occasional downpour, sweaters and Uggs, and holidays in our near future.... Ah!  I LOVE IT.

However, I also love a good challenge. 

But writing a novel... in a month?  I don't think so.  I'm not really sure I've got a novel in me. 

But I'm pretty sure I've got a few decent short stories.  And maybe even a brief memoir.  And most definitely, more consistent blog posts!

My favorite time of the year might just be the perfect time to get myself back into a regular writing practice.  These days, writing has been on the back burner, while jewelry making has taken center stage.  But I love to write!  And I think it helps my jumbled mind to do it regularly.

So on these beautiful Fall days of November, I will be writing about an hour a day.  If it's a rainy day, or a little chilly, I'll put on a pot of tea and go nuts with the writing (probably while eating nuts)!  Or, if it's sunny and beautiful outside, I can take it to the streets-- or I can even write in my hammock if I feel it necessary! 

There's a nice little website here where you can get tips, support, track your progess, and connect with other writers online if you want.  I'll be one of them.

The world needs our novels, or short stories, or whatever...

The People Spoke!

At the beginning of the week, when I began my- ahem- novel,  I wrote in my blogpost that I was a feeling a little doubtful and unsure of myself.

Well, several sweet people left comments encouraging me to just write, write, and write some more.  To those sweet people:
I completely agree with you, and it's probably the same advice I would've given to you if you had been in a slump and were asking me for help!  Great mind think alike, and we've all got 'em here!  :)

I've written for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day, written at least my goal word count each day, and although it still seems like one, long, wordy mess, I just feels good that I've got my little routine down now.  And, I know I'm going to stick with it for the month.

Another tip several people gave me when I asked for advice was to go back and buy the teapot I mentioned I had passed up over the weekend.  Well, I want all of you to know, I listened to what you had to say regarding that as well!  I realized buying that teapot was a symbolic gesture to myself that I'm going to stick with this challenge and write this novel during NaNoWriMo.  

My electric teapot holds up to 1.7 liters of water.  I put it on my writing table in my studio where I'm doing most of my writing.  Now I have one less excuse to leave my room!  Which is great, because usually when I  "get up for a cup of tea", other little tasks like petting my sweet doggies, getting the mail, doing a load of laundry, picking lint of my blow dryer, etc. usually end up distracting me.  Now with this new teapot, I'm jacked up on tea, and more or less content to stay in my room and write.

Lately, I'm drinking Trader Joe's Ruby Red Chai or Republic of Tea's Apple Blossom Green Tea.  Just yesterday I bought a new one:

Bentley's Red Rooibos. Oh. Yum.  But it's caffeine free.  That was an accident.  If you're a tea drinker, what tea do you drink?

No Plot Might Actually Be a Problem!

I have really been excited for the National Novel Writing Month (which will be referred to from this point on as NaNoWriMo), which begins today-- November 1st.  I almost bought a new teapot yesterday to celebrate the kick off.  But I realized I can just warm up my water in the microwave like I have for years and save myself the $25. 

To make it to the 50,000 word goal by the end of the month, I should write about 1,666 words each day. I never use word count, so that number was completely arbitrary to me.

Until this morning.

I've been sitting at my computer since 9am.  Two hours.  I've already started, and restarted my novel twice.  Putting my thoughts into any kind of reasonable order when dealing with a story this long is hard.  I'm already having serious doubts about where my story is headed. 

And I think I'm going to finish it in much less than 50,000 words. I think I might be done with it by the end of the week.  And instead of it being a novel, it might just be a short story.  I may not be drinking loads of tea like I thought I would. One thing I'm feeling good about is the fact that I did not buy the teapot I had nearly convinced myself yesterday that I needed.

I have no idea what I'm doing.  And it's not one of those times where I'm on a big learning curve that feels challenging, but good.  No, this doesn't feel good at all.

This whole idea of "No Plot, No Problem"? Well, I'm re-thinking that now.  It may actually a pretty big problem after all.

Writers, any tips?  Suggestions?

No Plot? No Problem!

Well, as I've mentioned (as mentioned, and mentioned-- I know!) I recently completed the challenge of writing "50 Songs in 90 Days" for my 3rd year in a row.  I was really happy during those 3 months of concentrated creativity.  I was ready for it to be over after 90 days though.  But now, almost a month later, I think I'm up for a new creative challenge.  Something I've never done before. Something that scares the poo out of me!

So I've been kicking around the idea of participating in NaNoWriMo, a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month.  And the chosen month just happens to be November, which is less than 2 weeks from today! 

I'm an avid reader, and I've read a lot of novels, but I've never written one, or even thought of an idea for one. 

Which is why I checked out the book (written by the founder of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty) No Plot, No Problem. I've just started reading it, trying to get my mind wrapped around the idea of writing a 50,000 word novel next month.

I'm comfortable writing songs.  And short little blog posts.  But something as long as 50,000 words sounds impossible to me.  Which is probably why I should give this thing a shot.  At this point, I'm a "Someday Novelist".  As in, "Someday, I just might write a novel."  Well, I know from experience, there's nothing like a deadline to get yourself moving, or in this case, writing.

I like the fact that the expectations of writing anything good in such a short time are extremely low.  Ernest Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is shit."  Well, if that was Mr. Hemingway's experience, than I will be in good company!

If I don't make it to the 50,000 word count, I won't necessarily feel like a failure.  Even if I just get to a fraction of that number, it will be a longer story of fiction than I've written since I was in school. Which sometimes feels like a hundred years ago.

At this point, I have no ideas for characters, setting, plot-- anything.  But that's okay! Because as Chris Baty says, "No plot, no problem!"