A novel approach to novels
I have been considering attempting to partake in this NaNoWriMo business this year, although knowing how quickly a month passes with all the stuff I'm usually trying to cram into my time I have an uncanny feeling that it won't manifest much more than starting to work on something. The problem is that unless I take the time to plan and ponder the
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As a 2nd time participant (and yes, I put 50K words on the page in 30 days in my previous attempt) let me say that your approach is not where Nanowrimo shines. Nanowrimo is about getting off your butt, getting words on a page, and NOT worrying about quality.
You do Nano to get the words flowing. To do this, you have to shut down your inner editor - the voice that is telling you "that's crap... toss it. Better yet, sod off the whole thing."
Yes, it seems stupid, but it's truly amazing how when being "forced" to write for quantity how quality actually slips in there. I wrote my first novel with no real plot in mind - well, I had a "situation" that I developed into a "scenario" but it never really got to "plot" during the month. But I got a lot of words on the "page" and it got me going.
I'm in the process now of doing actual research for the book (since it takes place in a real time-and-place with real people around, I want to get those parts right). And huge chunks of the book are crap that are going in the dustbin. However... there are nuggets of gold in there that ONLY popped up during "Word Wars" or other forced writing sessions. And those nuggets would not be there to germinate into nice big juicy story bits unless I'd set my inner editor aside and given myself permission to write crap first.
The joyful abandon of killing off the inner editor and "just writing!" is dangerously wonderful. It gives you permission to go places you've never gone before... and not worry about any of it. Because it's Only A First Draft and the work of editing will winnow out the chaff.
I'd suggest that you lay your hands on a copy of Chris Baty's "No Plot? No Problem!" - THE book of Nanaowrimo. Inter-library loan it if you can. In the book, there is a "Month-long Novelist Agreement and Statement of Understanding" which starts like this:
I hereby pledge my intent to write a 50,000-word long novel in one month's time. By invoking an absurd, month-long deadline on such an enormous undertaking, I understand that the notions of "craft," "brilliance," and "competency" are to be chucked right out the window, where they will remain, ignored, until they are retrieved for the editing process. I undestand that I am a talented person, capable of heroic acts of creativity, and I will give myself enough time over the course of the next month to allow my innate gifts to come to the surface, unmolested by self-doubt, self-criticism, and other acts of self-bullying...
It goes on, but you get the idea.
Yes, I know you want to write a good novel, worthy of being on a shelf next to your favorite authors. However, if it's a choice of never starting the novel (it'll get done "one day...") or actually starting it and finding the 10K amount of gold in amongst 40K of crap, well, then you'll have 10K and the novel is started.
I hope this helps. I'll be banging my head on my desk all month - check out my Nano LJ (nano_merseine) for details and bloodloss.
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The problem isn't quite so much that I want to get it absolutely perfect from the start (I can get beyond that a little) but it's that I'll often find myself at some point writing my way into a situation where I really don't know how to continue... even with poor scene description and dialogue. More to the point, I also have the horrible tendency to simply get bored with conventional writing not because it's not perfect but because it doesn't engage me creatively. Even then, that's a much lesser obstacle to overcome and these comments, I feel, is what your response addresses. The issue of conjuring up another "magic box" to complicate my plot or spreading the plot too thinly or focussed in the wrong direction is more likely to be my downfall.
Pessimism/cynicism aside, the far more practical issue is one of time as I have other deadlines to meet in November without creating new ones.
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I don't know what I'll do if I write myself into a box. Watch my blog over the next month and we'll both see what happens.
Peace!
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