It's that time again.
It’s November 1st. And you know what that means.
You don’t know what that means?
Fine, I suppose I’ll have to tell you.
For those of you not in “the know,” November is National Novel Writing Month (or Nanowrimo for the truly hip and “with it”). The challenge is to write a whole novel in just one month.
Every year since my freshman year of college I have attempted to overcome this challenge. And every time I fail. Sometimes I don’t have enough time to work on a novel, other times I can’t come up with enough ideas to make something wroth reading. And I don’t see why this year should be any different. But nonetheless, I am attempting to write a whole novel this month.
I already have some problems. I have a few ideas that I like, but nothing that would make a particularly compelling novel. Short stories, sure, but nothing that could drag on for 200 or so pages. Not without making a reader want to pull his hair out by the roots, anyway. If I hate stories that drag on without purpose, I’m certainly not going to write one if I can help it.
Another problem I have is research. Some of the ideas I have require research into various topics. Where do I even begin with this? Do I just do a Google search and pray the information I get is valid?
And if I do, in fact, manage to overcome the problems I have, there’s still the problem of confidence. I’m blocking myself from my endeavor. What if I put all my time and effort into this and it comes out worthless? I’m afraid of working on this and coming out disappointed. What’s the point in writing something that even you don’t want to read? If you don’t want to read your own work, who the hell else will? And a writer should have pride in what she writes. It shouldn’t make her wince and shudder.
The biggest problem I seem to have is finishing what I’ve started. I get halfway through a novel, and then I hit a wall. I know how I want my story to end, but how do I get there? Once I hit the climax, how do I resolve all the action and tension in a way that leaves me satisfied? What if my climax isn’t exciting or interesting?
I suppose the point of the challenge isn’t to complete a novel that’s publishable by the end of the month, but to create a rough sketch that can be edited and made into something that might be worth... well, something. Something that can be fleshed out or cut down, detailed and molded into a book that people will actually want to read. Still, I can’t get past the though that my hard work is going to lead to something boring and pointless.
How the hell do professional authors do it?!
I’ll never know if I can do something until I try it. So I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with my fears and doubts.
Here’s goes nothing...
~Mai
“I am not okay on an epic scale.”
You don’t know what that means?
Fine, I suppose I’ll have to tell you.
For those of you not in “the know,” November is National Novel Writing Month (or Nanowrimo for the truly hip and “with it”). The challenge is to write a whole novel in just one month.
Every year since my freshman year of college I have attempted to overcome this challenge. And every time I fail. Sometimes I don’t have enough time to work on a novel, other times I can’t come up with enough ideas to make something wroth reading. And I don’t see why this year should be any different. But nonetheless, I am attempting to write a whole novel this month.
I already have some problems. I have a few ideas that I like, but nothing that would make a particularly compelling novel. Short stories, sure, but nothing that could drag on for 200 or so pages. Not without making a reader want to pull his hair out by the roots, anyway. If I hate stories that drag on without purpose, I’m certainly not going to write one if I can help it.
Another problem I have is research. Some of the ideas I have require research into various topics. Where do I even begin with this? Do I just do a Google search and pray the information I get is valid?
And if I do, in fact, manage to overcome the problems I have, there’s still the problem of confidence. I’m blocking myself from my endeavor. What if I put all my time and effort into this and it comes out worthless? I’m afraid of working on this and coming out disappointed. What’s the point in writing something that even you don’t want to read? If you don’t want to read your own work, who the hell else will? And a writer should have pride in what she writes. It shouldn’t make her wince and shudder.
The biggest problem I seem to have is finishing what I’ve started. I get halfway through a novel, and then I hit a wall. I know how I want my story to end, but how do I get there? Once I hit the climax, how do I resolve all the action and tension in a way that leaves me satisfied? What if my climax isn’t exciting or interesting?
I suppose the point of the challenge isn’t to complete a novel that’s publishable by the end of the month, but to create a rough sketch that can be edited and made into something that might be worth... well, something. Something that can be fleshed out or cut down, detailed and molded into a book that people will actually want to read. Still, I can’t get past the though that my hard work is going to lead to something boring and pointless.
How the hell do professional authors do it?!
I’ll never know if I can do something until I try it. So I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with my fears and doubts.
Here’s goes nothing...
~Mai
“I am not okay on an epic scale.”