Have I told you about NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is November. There is a website all about it. The idea is to join hundreds and thousands of others in writing a complete start-to-finish novel of at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. 50,000 words is about 250 pages, maybe, so that is a very short novel, but certainly attainable in a month if you put your heart into it and strive for 1800-2000 words a day.
I first heard about NaNoWriMo in 2005. If you don’t know me well, you may not know that I had written a novel before that, called “The Man Magnet.” I started it in 1991 when I was taking a writing class with my friend Pam, the woman that introduced me to Mark and then married my father-in-law. I struggled and worked on that novel from 1991 until maybe 1999 or so? Maybe later. I don’t know when I finally finished it, to some degree. It sucks. It really does. It has some great scenes and some things I really like, but, as a reader, I know it is lacking… a LOT. So that went on the shelf. That seven-year novel obviously was not actively being worked on for much of that 7 years and, knowing there was no deadline, it was easy to not work on it (especially in all that time that I was falling in love, etc.). There was a great man named Tony in our little writing group and I remember when he heard that I was in love he said, “There goes the novel!” Since the novel was primarily about a single woman that hadn’t found love, he knew I would forget all about how that felt.
In 2005 I heard about NaNoWriMo and decided that this was an opportunity to try a different way of approaching a novel… where you had to write, no matter what. Where there was an assignemnet and a deadline and a goal. I have always been a “good student” (which can be a curse), but that might be exactly what I needed to jump start a novel I had been wanting to write. So in 2005 I wrote “What Goes Around” and I must say that it was/is a MUCH better novel than “The Man Magnet.” again, it still could use heavy rewriting and editing, things I’m not so good at (especially with no assignment and no deadline), but it is a pretty decent story and has much better characters and surprises.
At the time, I thought NaNoWriMo would be something I could particiapate on a yearly basis. As someone pointed out, the novel you write at 25 will never be written by you at 50 and vice versa. You shouldn’t put off the attempts and the effort. This time will never come again. But when November 1 rolled around in 2006, that was when Dad went to the hospital for his cancer surgery and he never came home. I was in Dallas every weekend and that was totally my focus. I think I actually signed up and started that year, but never got more than 2000 words down. So, I re-focused and knew I would do it in 2007. I was geared up and ready and then I got layed off. Yes, technically that would have been the perfect time to throw myself into a novel and have something to do, but somehow my mind wouldn’t cooperate. I don’t even think I signed up to try.
So now we are into 2008. I have been trying for weeks to come up with even a simple plot. I know from experience that it doesn’t have to be all laid out. That is the amazing thing about trying this sprint to the finish. With a rock solid deadline of time and words, you have to keep typing, even when there is nothing to say. When you are doing that, sometimes the characters and the situation present themselves to you without effort. It is a surreal experience to have the characters truly take charge of the story. I had ready about it, but never experienced it until I tried the NaNoWriMo. But I hadn’t thought of much more than the barest of situation, not even a plot. But tonight while I was at TC’s listening to Little Elmore Reed, an idea came to me. Not a conclusion, not really a plot, but at least a twist to add to the situation. I will sign up soon and begin my attempt at 50,000 words beginning this Saturday. Of course, with that being my focus, this blog may get a little left behind . . . or, with the extra creativity pumping through my veins, I may have so much to write I will have to write here, too.
When I get signed up I will give you the link to my NaNoWriMo page so you can see my progress and maybe read an excerpt. There may be one up somewhere even now from that last novel. I don’t know if they purge those or not. So, wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted. Maybe an agent reads my blog and will have my contract prepared before the last word is written!
