NaNoWriMo

[klnscribe]

Is anybody doing National Write a Novel Month this November? I've been wanting to do it for a couple of years but was derailed by the Screenwriting Expo.

But this year, since the Expo is in October I'm really looking forward to finally putting my trashy adultry thriller on paper. I know some Done Dealers have tried it in the past. Can anyone share any tips?

"K":)

[Totiwos]

I forgot all about it coming up. Hmmmmm, maybe. It'll depend on the status of some current projects. Thanks for the reminder.

[Furry Mound]

I can't do it this year, because I'm just starting on a rewrite of a novel, but I did do it last year, and loved it. I finished early, too, about Thanksgiving day or so.

Really had fun, and think it's a great experience.

[joeld42]

I did it last year and had a blast, even with juggling writing during SW expo and family visits over the thanksgiving holidays. The result was total crap, but it was 50K words of crap. I'm definately going to do it again, and I'm looking forward to the NanoWriMo screenwriting event they are starting (next june, I think).

Joel

[RKBentley]

NaNoWrimo's Website is now currently open for sign ups and the message boards are open.

This'll be my third year doing it, every year I've had fun doing it. I'm doing a Horror Zombie fic this year set in Rhode Island.

[haunted1]

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo. With the script I'm working on and the research going into the next one I don't know how I'll have time to write a 50,000 page novel, but... it's worth a try.

Does anyone know of anyone being published that wrote their novel during the NaNoWriMo? Just curious...

[RKBentley]

Haunted, that's a good question for the NaNoWrimo Boards more than the DD Boards.

IIRC, Lulu.com has a special for NaNoWrimo Winners to get their novel printed.

As for getting published for real, I don't know...

[dodo1]

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo. With the script I'm working on and the research going into the next one I don't know how I'll have time to write a 50,000 page novel, but... it's worth a try.
Geez, you're going to write a 50,000 page novel? But hey, as you said, it's worth a try. ;)

[haunted1]

I guess 50,000 pages or 50,000 words, whatever comes first.

I just hate to think of the rewrite work that would need to be done when your through - 1 month to write the novel, 11 months to rewrite it.

[Totiwos]

Well, I signed up. If it turns out that I end up with a script or production deadline, then I'll just have to deal with it. I like the idea of trying this, and I don't know that I'll be in a better position to give it a go next year.

I'll be writing literary fiction. My working title is "The Unintended Mongrel." It'll be about a 33-year-old single woman who finally meets the man she believes is her true love, but when he is killed, it causes her to question her understanding of love and faith. She meets him while they're both volunteering at an animal shelter, thus the mongrel reference. I'm envisioning an exploration of big questions such as "Does everyone have a true love?" I've done some scene card work, and I also plan to set aside time to work on projects around the house that would otherwise occupy my time in the evenings so that I'm as free as possible in November.

[RKBentley]

6 Days to go...

[Willith]

Yikes! I'm not ready!

[Totiwos]

I poured over my scene cards for plot and subplot holes and themes today while waiting for the plumbing to be fixed. Tonight's assignment is to develop character names and do some more research. I'm getting excited, really looking forward to this.

[klnscribe]

I was really gung ho before... Now I'm afraid, very afraid. I've already changed the setting of my story from LA to my hometown of Chicago to avoid having to stop and do research.

Everybody says this is supposed to be fun. I've written a dozen screenplays. Why am I freaking out? :o

[Totiwos]

Freak-not! In a month, it will all be over.

I'm pretty excited. I've got my stack of 74 scene cards by the computer, have cleaned the house, stocked the cupboards and returned the library books. I just need to wrap up some unexpected business.

I don't imagine I'll be around DD so much for the next 30 days.

Good luck!

[RKBentley]

Word count so far: 1270.

[Geevie]

My third year in the trenches. My only advice is to plant your butt in the seat and write. Don't worry so much about getting it right. There'll be time for editing in December.

[Totiwos]

A mere 855 words from yesterday, but I had to wrap up some other business before I could start writing. I'm rusty at novel style, and I'm sure I'll get faster as I adjust. And when I can write on the weekend. It's one thing to come home from work and write when you're not facing an intense deadline and another thing when you have to shake free the stress and then jump into being creative AND quick.

[yeehi]

558 words and the end of the first scene, so far!

Keep going, everyone! :)

[Totiwos]

I'm up to about 3,800 words, but I have the whole day free. I feel like I'm finally settling into a rhythm. I write faster on weekends, removed from the post-work stress. If anyone's interested, I've posted the beginning on my blog. Keep in mind that it is just a quickly written draft.

http://www.patriciasnyder.blogspot.com

[klnscribe]

Okay,

Getting into a grove with my story. But for some reason the "just don't worry about it and write crap" vibe for the first draft of this novel is harder to do than with the screenplays.

But I'm up to 6836 words and thinking maybe next weekend I'll post an excerpt.

[yeehi]

Over 2000 words of my screenplay now :)

I am happy!

[RKBentley]

10,002

[yeehi]

2943 words.

Wish it was 3000, but reached the end of an important scene.

Might try to reach 3k later.

Keep it going, everyone! I find it encouraging that I am not alone :)

[ExtHollywoodDay]

22,441

Though I fully admit it's hard to keep pressing ahead since I'm sticking on some act II story beats.

[yeehi]

22,441?

:cool:

[Totiwos]

13,062

I feel like I'm in the novel's voice pretty well now, and I think I've finally managed to let go of the editor part of me that keeps wanting to go back and make changes. I hadn't developed the characters enough in my mind going into this, and that's slowed me down, but I feel better about them.

Full speed ahead!

[ExtHollywoodDay]

33,006

[Buzz2074]

21,585!

[dpaterso]

12,054 words! Or 66 pages. Er, that's writing a screenplay instead of a novel.

-Derek

[Jake Schuster]

Is anybody doing National Write a Novel Month this November? I've been wanting to do it for a couple of years but was derailed by the Screenwriting Expo.

But this year, since the Expo is in October I'm really looking forward to finally putting my trashy adultry thriller on paper. I know some Done Dealers have tried it in the past. Can anyone share any tips?

"K":)

Someone pointed out elsewhere that this dumb idea (and take it from someone who's written and published many novels) is akin to a contest to see how many hot dogs one can down in three minutes; as if that would make one a gourmand.

Novel writing is about taking your time, getting it right, thinking it over, making it great. The problem with this is that it encourages young writers to speed-write, which is not the way to 1) get published or 2) earn readers.

My fastest time was my first published novel, which took me five weeks. That's on top of writing a novel a year for the previous twelve years. And after that all of my novels took me at least eighteen months to two years. And they probably could've benefited from an extra eight months or so.

[pconsidine]

Clearly your not quite getting the spirit of the thing. It has nothing at all to do with getting published. If it did, then they wouldn't have made 50,000 words the target, which, as I'm sure you know, is only about halfway to a saleable manuscript.

NaNo is about learning how to shut off the internal editor and just write. "Quantity, not Quality" is the mantra. Some people need to feel the pressure of time in order to produce the pages. As screenwriters, I'd think that would be a familiar trait. This is just one way do create that pressure.

Last year, I tried it and didn't quite make it. I had a story breakthrough on the 25th and decided to start over. However, I consider the fact that I wrote 22,000 words (and good words, at that) in the remaining 4 days something of a victory. This year, I'm just pressing on, even though it took about 8,000 words for me to even figure out what kind of story I was writing.

"Real" novelists have absolutely nothing to fear from NaNo. It's a whole different species of writing, one with its own value beyond getting published.

[Jake Schuster]

But writing is all about "the internal editor". Simply writing whatever comes to mind isn't writing, it's typing. And 50,000 words is very near what a short novel would be. My first published book was 55,000 words long; my most recent probably three times that.

We have, as you say, "nothing to fear" (I mean, why should we? We only fear the suits who run the conglomerates who own the publishing houses); but as a means to encourage young people to become professional writers, this is sorely misguided. I say this as someone who's taught young students writing and who has mentored and continues to mentor younger writers.

[Hamboogul]

I once wrote a 22,000 word script in 8 days. And it was pretty damn good. Hey, if something like this motivates someone to write, why knock it? Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't.

[Jake Schuster]

I once wrote a 22,000 word script in 8 days. And it was pretty damn good. Hey, if something like this motivates someone to write, why knock it? Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't.

I didn't say I can't do it, nor did I knock anyone for wanting to do it. I was simply saying what other writers say, and with which I concur: that competitions such as this misrepresent what the real experience of writing a long work of fiction is really like, and that it's basically the fast-food version of what more professional writers do. Given a choice, I'd sooner sit down to a decent meal in a first-class restaurant than a Big Mac on the front seat of my Jeep.

I could easily "knock off" a novel in a week, but I won't because in fact it wouldn't be good in my eyes. But it would be publishable, because I've had many years of experience (both good and bad) which have taught me to understand what makes a novel work.

As for motivating someone to write, it's the equivalent of saying, "Yeah, he reads junk, but at least he's reading." The logic doesn't follow, I'm sorry to say.

[ihavebiglips]

Okay now, Truman.

[Jake Schuster]

:confused:

Huh?

[ihavebiglips]

Simply writing whatever comes to mind isn't writing, it's typing.

:D

As Capote said of Kerouac writing On the Road on one spool of paper in a three week period.

[Jake Schuster]

:D

As Capote said of Kerouac writing On the Road on one spool of paper in a three week period.

Yes, indeed! I wasn't sure which Truman you were referring to: president, Jim Carrey or Capote. :)

[dpaterso]

Practice makes perfect, and with that thought in mind, any writing is good writing.

-Derek

[Jake Schuster]

Practice makes perfect, and with that thought in mind, any writing is good writing.

-Derek

All music is good music. All art is good art. All cooking is good cooking.

Still think that's true?:)

[pconsidine]

All music is good music and all art is good art - as long as you don't foist it on anyone else. Considering that it's the rare NaNo novel that ever sees the light of day, I wouldn't say that's a very accurate argument.

And as far as writing being the internal editor, that's both true and not true. For many people, myself included, the editor comes too soon in the process and the work is killed while still in its infancy. The best way to overcome that is to work quickly and stay ahead of the editor. After all, it's not as if these things are never edited - just not until after the first draft is done.

Writing is rewriting. That's what we all say around here. I just fail to see why it's so important that one rewrites a novel as one goes instead of waiting till after the first draft is done.

The bottom line for me is this - NaNo won't make a writer out of a dilletante. It won't make a good writer out of a bad one. But it also won't make a bad writer out of a good one. So what's the big deal?

[Jake Schuster]

All music is good music and all art is good art - as long as you don't foist it on anyone else.

I really don't want to get into a debate about this subject, but relativity doesn't work when it comes to art: a kid scribbling on a piece of construction paper does not produce a work of art, nor does someone banging at a piano he can't play make music. Art demands an audience, whether a viewer, listener or reader. By not "foisting" it on anyone else it becomes no more significant than a game of solitaire on a rainy afternoon.

I think what professionals are miffed by with this competition is that the market is already flooded with the most incredible crap--much of it self-published at great expense--all because someone took the attitude that whatever they do is art and worthy of being read. Editors are tired of getting query letters from people who have no grasp of even the simplest sentence structure or who want to turn their memories into great works of fiction.

As those of who have taught fiction writing well know, it's a process that takes time and thought and also a great deal of reading. To know what truly great writing is one has to read the truly great writers. Otherwise one aspires to mediocrity.

[dpaterso]

All music is good music. All art is good art. All cooking is good cooking.
Still think that's true?:)

Well sure, if you're practicing to get better at music, art, or cooking.

I need a "Geez, why is this guy being so frakkin pedantic?" smiley, stat!

-Derek

[Jake Schuster]

Well sure, if you're practicing to get better at music, art, or cooking.

I need a "Geez, why is this guy being so frakkin pedantic?" smiley, stat!

-Derek

Practicing is just that: private (repeat, private) work in preparation for what is put before the public. It isn't a finished product, it's not publication-ready, nor is it something you do in a concert hall at $125 a seat.

As for "pedantic", I always thought that DoneDeal was a gathering place both for the experienced and the aspiring. Sorry. I'll get dumb again. The details never matter in the end, do they, dpat? Try that one out on your editor or your development exec.:)

[La Femme Joyeuse]

Jake - are you familiar with The Artist's Way? I'm sure many here are. I never could get through the morning pages but it strikes me as a fantastic exercise and this novel-in-a-month does too. I know people who have done it and had tremendous creative and emotional breakthroughs.

the creative impulse is a primal and beautiful thing. we can't judge it, just be lucky enough to let it flow. of course not all which is created rises to a level which might be described as "classic" or "gourmet" or "transcendant" but the urge to create is what defines humans. To judge it is to stand in its way.

Creativity is that which cannot be governed; it has fomented revolutions, it has changed lives, it has shocked and transformed societies. But mostly - it is personal and it is good. POWER TO THE PEOPLE :)

[dpaterso]

Well I must say, this thread has been an eye-opener, I was planning to print and submit my WIP novel as soon as I hit 50,000 words, but evidently that isn't the way it's supposed to work. I'm going to write to the NaNoWriMo organizers and complain, they should have warned me.

-Derek

[ihavebiglips]

Well sure, if you're practicing to get better at music, art, or cooking.

I need a "Geez, why is this guy being so frakkin pedantic?" smiley, stat!

-Derek


No ****! Jesus, Jake... lighten up.

I don't see how you feel your craft (or ART) is being shat on by the people that are engaging in, as Le Femme said, a writing exercise. If anything, you should love the idea of marginal to crappy work flooding the market. That might, by default, elevate your work to something seemingly more profound.

My comment about Capote wasn't in support of his comment; it seemed he suffered from the same artistic arrogance. Say what you will about Kerouac's ability, but in three furious weeks of pounding on his Underwood he managed to influence a generation, and more to follow.

PS - where can one find one of your novels anyway? Now I'm curious...

[Geevie]

Well I must say, this thread has been an eye-opener, I was planning to print and submit my WIP novel as soon as I hit 50,000 words, but evidently that isn't the way it's supposed to work. I'm going to write to the NaNoWriMo organizers and complain, they should have warned me.

-Derek

:rolling:

[pconsidine]

I[R]elativity doesn't work when it comes to art: a kid scribbling on a piece of construction paper does not produce a work of art, nor does someone banging at a piano he can't play make music. Art demands an audience, whether a viewer, listener or reader. By not "foisting" it on anyone else it becomes no more significant than a game of solitaire on a rainy afternoon. While I completely agree that the markets for writing are flooded with the most absurd crap, that's not really the point. The mere existence of NaNo doesn't affect that at all. Those who would write and submit crap would still do it in a month or a year or ten years.

However, and this is very difficult for me to admit, I disagree with the above quoted statement. If there's anything I have learned after spending my entire life in the creative arts, it's that there isn't anything objective about Art anymore. I hate that fact with a passion, but hating the truth doesn't make it false. Art does not demand an audience and Art that isn't significant (by your definition) is still Art. That's the world we live in now. There is no objective definition of Art anymore - it's all in the intent.

But this isn't a conversation about what is art and what isn't. It's a discussion about whether an exercise like NaNo has a damaging effect on literature as a whole. If you really want to talk about what's damaging literature, let's talk about the best-seller list or the multinational media conglomerates or the vanishing pool of skilled and astute editors or any of the millions of other things that are causing far more harm than a group that encourages people to sit down, shut up, and write something.

[Hamboogul]

Also, I think someone who is trying to break into the screenwriting biz like the rest of us shouldn't be on such a high horse to frown upon something that motivates writers to work on the craft.

[dpaterso]

Also, I think someone who is trying to break into the screenwriting biz like the rest of us shouldn't be on such a high horse to frown upon something that motivates writers to work on the craft.

My smartass-fcuker-o-meter just exploded.

-Derek

[Hairy Lime]

Jake - are you familiar with The Artist's Way? I'm sure many here are. I never could get through the morning pages but it strikes me as a fantastic exercise and this novel-in-a-month does too. I know people who have done it and had tremendous creative and emotional breakthroughs.

the creative impulse is a primal and beautiful thing. we can't judge it, just be lucky enough to let it flow. of course not all which is created rises to a level which might be described as "classic" or "gourmet" or "transcendant" but the urge to create is what defines humans. To judge it is to stand in its way.

Creativity is that which cannot be governed; it has fomented revolutions, it has changed lives, it has shocked and transformed societies. But mostly - it is personal and it is good. POWER TO THE PEOPLE :)
+1. Well said, hon.

[Geevie]

Unless you're truly inspired and not just doing it for some silly speed contest.:)

I don't believe it's an either/or situation.

I've participated in Nano the last three years and I find it liberating.

For those writers who are *so* caught up in the editor they never finish anything, it's a great exercise.

"Don't get it right, get it written." I heard that from a produced screenwriter AND a published author.

Must be something to it, I reckon.

I don't know why there always have to be negative folks to p*ss on things just for the sake of p*ssing on them. If you don't think it's a good idea, you don't have to participate.. and you don't have to read what other people produce.

Simple as that.

[dpaterso]

Finished my first pass first draft script @ 113 pages! I can see I missed a couple of pacing targets by a wide margin so more work is needed, of course, but fcuk it, I'm feeling like I actually did something. I'll let it cool for a while then fire up the chainsaw.

Hmm, 11 days to go...

-Derek

[Qazworld]

great work dpat.

[yeehi]

Well done, dpaterso!
:)

[dpaterso]

Thank you! Yay me! Just waiting for Jake to come along and tell me how futile and useless it all is.

Hope you're all getting on OK with your own NaNo's or NaScri's. No weekly progress reports? Step up and confess, and receive mindless ra-ra encouragement in return! :)

-Derek

[Jake Schuster]

You know, dp, I've avoided this thread for some time, because I'm a bit tired of being misinterpreted when all along I'm pretty certain I'm making myself perfectly clear. I never said this contest was "futile" or "useless"; I said that it gives the impression that writing a novel is like a sprint, an exercise in which one simply spews out words in hopes of reaching a certain word count by a deadline.

Now, I've always understood that DoneDeal is a forum for professionals as well as aspiring practitioners to share ideas, ask questions and state opinions based on their experience. I've taught and mentored many writers over the years, and I like to believe that, as a dues-paying writer who toiled for over a decade before any recognition came my way, who took the risk of working as a full-time writer, often in deep poverty, and who has learned at least something about the profession, I have something to share with those just starting out.

Frankly, I don't really care who wants to enter such a contest, and I'm pleased you've reached your goal. My concern is only that one should not view this as a matrix for making a career out of writing fiction. Someone earlier mentioned the "inner editor", and I replied by saying that writing professionally was all about that inner editor; that over time that editor clicks in automatically, but that it has to be developed over time.

When I was young and first starting out I was fortunate to have a mentor, a former college professor, a well-known novelist, who told me the hard truths of the profession, and prepared me for my life as a writer. I'm grateful for what I've learned from him, and, really, I've just been trying to pass on some of those hard truths here. What he taught me saved me many years of making foolish mistakes or, more importantly, harboring unrealistic dreams during those years when I really needed to be developing my talents.

I'm not the least bit interested in insulting others on this board, or in putting anyone down or in engaging in personal politics. I'm simply being a writer putting in my 2¢.

[dpaterso]

Actually I think I pretty much got what you were saying, Jake. Your post pattern usually follows 3 easy steps:

1. Pontification
2. Irritation when no one agrees
3. Galloping around on your "you misunderstood me again" high horse

Whatever point you're making often gets lost in the dust cloud.

-Derek

[Jake Schuster]

Actually I think I pretty much got what you were saying, Jake. Your post pattern usually follows 3 easy steps:

1. Pontification
2. Irritation when no one agrees
3. Galloping around on your "you misunderstood me again" high horse

Whatever point you're making often gets lost in the dust cloud.

-Derek

I never pontificate, dp. I'm rarely irritated (frankly I don't give a flying fvck), and as for being misunderstood, maybe you should phrase it as "misread in haste". And as for the future, pardon my dust, as they used to say.

[Hairy Lime]

Thanks for the new siggy, jake.

[Jake Schuster]

Maybe you should aim for originality, eh Hairy?

[Hairy Lime]

"Quotes" by their very nature are not original, Jake.

[Jake Schuster]

Guess you ran out of your own quotes, then.

[Hairy Lime]

Don't usually use my own. If I did I might be accused of pontificating.

[Jake Schuster]

I don't use my own, either. So much for pontificating.

[dpaterso]

Amateurs.

-Derek
"Yay me!" - dpaterso

[Hairy Lime]

Amateurs.I resent that remark. I'm a pre-pro.

[RKBentley]

38,811. :)

[ExtHollywoodDay]

Creeping past 44,000 right now. Zoiks. Too few days left!

[RKBentley]

Hit 50362 on th 25th.

Now back to the normality of life and not smelling like a coffee shop all the time. heh.

Time to take a few days off and then dive back in and edit it and add some more k in December...

[Geevie]

I made the 50K but the book itself won't be finished for a while longer.

It's a victory of sorts. I'll take it. :)

[pconsidine]

I'm with you, geevie. I made the mark, but out of those 50K, there are probably all of six that are any good. Too bad they're not in the same sentence.

At least the concept isn't crap. That's something, right?

[dpaterso]

Hey pretty darn good, well done on beating the challenge, 50k is an oddball size but it ain't easy to squeeze that amount of writing into 30 days, what with real life snapping at your heels. Congrats to everyone, even if you didn't quite make the target.

-Derek

[yeehi]

:o
I have to write my excuses. Life upheaval.

I am very glad i got as far as i did, am happy with what I wrote and will continue as soon as i can. :)

Well done to everyone on your efforts, especially if you managed tens of thousands of words!

[ExtHollywoodDay]

I finished a hair over the 50K, though a couple of my later chapters were like half a chapter followed by a quickie synopsis of what was left to come.

It was totally worth the experience.