NaNoWriMo Always Reminds Me Of...
When I was younger, in 8th grade, I wrote a 44-chapter DBZ fanfic AND a 100-page novel. Whenever I get to NaNoWriMo, I remember those days. Instead of playing with my brother or watching TV, I would sit down on my bedroom floor, pull out my notebook (because I didn't have full access to a computer then), and WRITE. I planned ahead but never all the way to the ending. Whenever I saw I was getting close to the end of my outline, I would scratch out the last couple things I'd planned - because the story ALWAYS went in a different direction - and add a new list of points. "Okay, so, since the characters did THIS instead of THAT we're going to have to expand to having THIS, THIS, and THIS happen."
I finished another novel within the next two years doing the same thing. Writing with abandon. Planning based on my own interests. The first version of Reda's story was kind of a mess, but the basic storyline was GREAT. The battle in the end was confusing but it had little things that I'd built up that ended up meaning something in the end - though I'd never planned it that way. Of course, there was also that one annoying character who did what he wanted and never died even though I kept TRYING to kill him. I felt like a DM in D&D trying to kill a friend's character and always being thwarted.
It wasn't until I started putting things up for criticism that I started to close in on myself. I would stop writing what I wanted from deep within and I started trying to write what I thought OTHER PEOPLE would like. I started to research writing techniques. I stalked author blogs and forums. I gathered all kinds of information about "what not to do" with your stories. It seems like there's a lot more advice out there dealing with what doesn't work instead of tips on what DOES. What DO people like to read? I wanted to know, so I could write for them.
I role-played with my characters of Dragonblade and kept throwing away the 100+ pages of story I had already written because it was "awful." Honestly, I look back, and it IS kind of bad, but it was a great stepping stone to realizing this story was bigger than I could handle. And there are GREAT ideas in it. It just wasn't the adult fantasy I wanted; I was trapped in a middle-grade writing style, which isn't a bad thing except for the fact that I WANTED to be BIGGER than that.
I went to the bookstores and started to read books not so much for any personal enjoyment, but for research. What titles caught MY eye? When I read the back of a book, what was it I was looking for? What about their summaries made me interested? When I continued on to the first page, what was it in those first few sentences that decided whether I would buy the book or not? Sure, I was finding books to read more and more based on what friends recommended or what other authors recommended, but there were still those few books I tossed or picked up based on title/summary/first page. I realized I judged fanfics the same way. What would cause me to read someone's fanfic? The title grabbed my attention. The summary grabbed my interest. The first few paragraphs decided whether I stayed for the ride or not.
With this in mind, I went to work carefully thinking about what was it in MY story that I enjoyed. I could not know what other people liked - there was no way to gather everyone in the world and expect them all to like the same thing after all. So, I started to pick out what I, personally, enjoyed in my novels. I would write for me again.
Last year, I finished another novel. By introducing my mom to NaNoWriMo, I had the friendly shove to keep me writing throughout the month. I finished another novel. And then shortly after that, I finished a fanfic. After YEARS of finishing nothing, I had once again finished a lengthy fanfic AND a novel within the same year. It was a miracle to me.
This year, I have been determined to work on Dragonblade. I WILL finish this, I promise myself. No matter how bad, how childish, how ridiculous the scenes, I WILL FINISH THIS. I had more ideas in the 8th grade then I do now, because I'm stuck on an unfinished story. Whether or not I deem it worth it in the end, once it is finished I may actually be allowed to MOVE ON. God knows I need it.
-Reda
I finished another novel within the next two years doing the same thing. Writing with abandon. Planning based on my own interests. The first version of Reda's story was kind of a mess, but the basic storyline was GREAT. The battle in the end was confusing but it had little things that I'd built up that ended up meaning something in the end - though I'd never planned it that way. Of course, there was also that one annoying character who did what he wanted and never died even though I kept TRYING to kill him. I felt like a DM in D&D trying to kill a friend's character and always being thwarted.
It wasn't until I started putting things up for criticism that I started to close in on myself. I would stop writing what I wanted from deep within and I started trying to write what I thought OTHER PEOPLE would like. I started to research writing techniques. I stalked author blogs and forums. I gathered all kinds of information about "what not to do" with your stories. It seems like there's a lot more advice out there dealing with what doesn't work instead of tips on what DOES. What DO people like to read? I wanted to know, so I could write for them.
I role-played with my characters of Dragonblade and kept throwing away the 100+ pages of story I had already written because it was "awful." Honestly, I look back, and it IS kind of bad, but it was a great stepping stone to realizing this story was bigger than I could handle. And there are GREAT ideas in it. It just wasn't the adult fantasy I wanted; I was trapped in a middle-grade writing style, which isn't a bad thing except for the fact that I WANTED to be BIGGER than that.
I went to the bookstores and started to read books not so much for any personal enjoyment, but for research. What titles caught MY eye? When I read the back of a book, what was it I was looking for? What about their summaries made me interested? When I continued on to the first page, what was it in those first few sentences that decided whether I would buy the book or not? Sure, I was finding books to read more and more based on what friends recommended or what other authors recommended, but there were still those few books I tossed or picked up based on title/summary/first page. I realized I judged fanfics the same way. What would cause me to read someone's fanfic? The title grabbed my attention. The summary grabbed my interest. The first few paragraphs decided whether I stayed for the ride or not.
With this in mind, I went to work carefully thinking about what was it in MY story that I enjoyed. I could not know what other people liked - there was no way to gather everyone in the world and expect them all to like the same thing after all. So, I started to pick out what I, personally, enjoyed in my novels. I would write for me again.
Last year, I finished another novel. By introducing my mom to NaNoWriMo, I had the friendly shove to keep me writing throughout the month. I finished another novel. And then shortly after that, I finished a fanfic. After YEARS of finishing nothing, I had once again finished a lengthy fanfic AND a novel within the same year. It was a miracle to me.
This year, I have been determined to work on Dragonblade. I WILL finish this, I promise myself. No matter how bad, how childish, how ridiculous the scenes, I WILL FINISH THIS. I had more ideas in the 8th grade then I do now, because I'm stuck on an unfinished story. Whether or not I deem it worth it in the end, once it is finished I may actually be allowed to MOVE ON. God knows I need it.
-Reda