NaNoWriMo
October 26, 2009 Leave a Comment
It’s not like I am a terribly prolific blogger here at ScottDickson.net. Most months I manage to post at least once or twice. Since I know that many of you wait patiently (don’t you?) for my next post, I need to break the bad news that I am going to go on hiatus for November.
The reason for this is NaNoWriMo or the National Novel Writing Month. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? Here’s the explanation from the NaNoWriMo website:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists. Source: NaNoWriMo.org
I tried NaNoWriMo last year but due to work, family, running, etc. I didn’t make it. This year however, I plan on redoubling my efforts to produce a crappy 50,000 word opus by the deadline this year. If I seem scarce from the blog, Facebook, etc. it’s because I will be pounding the keys towards my goal. I do plan on updating my Twitter feed with my progress while I work on NaNoWriMo. Follow me on Twitter, or look at my Twitter sidebar here to keep up with my progress.
If I make it, this year I’ll let you know.
Cheers,
Scott D
