First off, this is my first blog post as a college student. I feel so special, writing a blog as I sit at my desk in my dorm room at two in the morning.
Originally this blog post was supposed to be about different times of the day to write, and it was supposed to have been posted two weeks ago. But, in the true spirit of college and homework and procrastination, I stopped writing it halfway through. Then I realized that it is now October, and therefore time for the post I had decided to write about NaNoWriMo before it starts. Then I put it off again, and just realized that it is now almost November. So here it is.
What is NaNoWriMo?
If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, I have the great pleasure of being able to tell you about it. If you do, skip this part.
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The basic premise is that writers try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month, in this case November. At 12:01 on November 1 writers all across the world will start to chug coffee and type out that first sentence. This may sound crazy to someone who has never done it before, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. It will change the way you view writing, editing, large projects, and personal goals. Something magical happens amid the mixing of a fast approaching deadline, a ridiculous amount of writing to do, and absolutely no time to do it in. Writer’s block dies without even the tiniest of protests, and ideas pour out of your head and onto the page. They may not be the best written ideas, but they aren’t supposed to be. The fact is that at the end of the month you have a complete rough draft of a novel that you didn’t have the month before. Isn’t that something?
Why should you participate?
Mainly, because it’s insanely fun. Seriously. What a wonderful excuse to shut yourself in your room for the month and get lost in your own world. What an awesome way to avoid chores and a social life and all those other pesky things we do every day, and simply focus on writing. Participating in friendly competition with people all over the world through the NaNoWriMo site is comparable to riding a roller coaster with a whole crowd of screaming people. All day long. Every day of the month.
Secondly, it will do wonders for your writing skills. It will help you get over your inhibitions – aptly dubbed the ‘inner editor’ by Nanoers – and learn to focus on simply getting words on the page. I’ve just started college, but I’m not afraid of any essays I may be assigned. If I can write a novel in one month, why should I worry about a dinky little five page essay? I’m confident in my writing abilities now. I know, without any doubt, that I can get enough words down on the page and edit them into something coherent.
Thirdly, it’s extremely liberating. The idea of NaNoWriMo is that you sit down with the sole intention of finishing the 50,000 word deadline. In essence, you give yourself complete permission to write total crap, excessively pad your word count with unnecessary fluff, and have fun without worrying about how good your book is. It’s like taking a vacation to a place where you are allowed to simply create, without fear of failure. Sure, at the end of the month your book might suck. But what first draft doesn’t? At least you have a book now.
Fourth, everyone else is doing it, so you’ll be taking the plunge alongside writers from all across the world. Not only is this fun, but it is also extremely motivating to be part of such a huge movement of writer momentum.
Fifth, for the kick of being able to say that you are a novelist, and mean it. For that sweet look of awe and admiration on people’s faces when you talk about your novel. For the wide eyed stares when you whip out your paperback copy (a free goody for winners provided by CreateSpace the last two years I’ve participated) for show.
Pre-planning vs. Randomness
Now, for those of you who do know what NaNoWriMo is. You can do an outline. Or you can wing it, and be surprised by the result. In the true spirit of NaNoWriMo, I threw out the idea I’d been planning on doing for almost a year and came up with a new one from scratch off the top of my head. It’s so much more fun that way. Granted, I’ve done planning since then. I’ve drawn maps of my world (fantasy, maps are kind of needed to make any sense at all of the story) and done some character outlines and back stories. I have a general idea of where I’m going. I work best when I don’t have anything too specific, though. What about you? Are you an outliner or a spur of the moment person? How detailed (or lack thereof) have you gotten with planning?
Getting Ready for the Craziness
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so excited. My characters are chattering away in my head, begging to be unleashed upon a blank page. My fingers are itching to start telling their stories. I have a fridge stocked full of sparkling apple cider and Izze’s (my two favorite drinks), a shelf full of snacks, and a few pages of maps and character outlines. As is only polite, my friends have been informed not to expect to see me much in November. Actually, I doubt they needed to be informed, since I’ve talked about little else for the last month or so. I’ve got my backpack all ready to lug my computer around campus with me, just in case I get a few minutes to write here or there. All seems to be in order, and now I’ve got nothing left to do but wait. Which is maddeningly slow, darn it.
Anyone else done preparing, or started? It’s getting rather close now, I know. What have you guys done to get ready, if you plan on participating?
Whether you’ve planned ahead or not, whether you’ve made any preparations or are plunging straight in, I salute you for taking on this insane challenge along with your literary brothers and sisters across the world. I’ll try to keep some more frequent posts up during November to encourage and go along with NaNo, if I’m not too swamped.
Good luck!
Helpful links (I planned on making a few posts about planning during October, but I didn't get around to it, so these are some random links that might help you finish up the details on names, characters, outlines, and others before November. Sorry it's so late!) :
-The Evil Overlord List Note: I love this page so much that I will probably have a blog post entirely for it at some point in the future, but it may be helpful in avoiding or exploiting cliches now. Enjoy!
