Several years ago I started participating in the annual National Novel Writing Month held every November since 1999. Unfortunately, I've only completed one year, but the others that I signed up for, I made very good progress toward new writing projects.
For many of us, November isn't the best time of year to try such a challenge. But, I'm interested in getting back into fiction after several years away from it and I think this is a good way to get back into the game.
I'm leaving my
profile link to NaNoWriMo here if you would like to join me and also you can keep up with my weekly progress on this site as well.
I would love to hear whether you signed up or not, and how you are doing along the way. Quite a number of us on BellaOnline are giving the challenge a try this year - I hope you join in on the fun.
Edie,
I'm thinking about it. As I do every year before chickening out.
Hello Edie. I am definitely having a go this year and it is great to meet other people that are participating. Wishing you the best of luck with this and I hope to speak with you very soon.
I did it. I signed up for NaNoWriMo.
Nice one, Maeve. Welcome aboard and good luck
Yup NaNoWriMo is about learning skills! The best goals are SMART -
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
So that's why NaNoWriMo is great. You need a deadline. You need something specific to try for. It's fine if you don't quite make it - what you're doing is building up your skill set!
Is anybody else working on a mystery novel for NaNoWriMo? Let us know!
You should give it a shot Maeve, you might surprise yourself!
Way to go, Maeve - I'm proud of you. Hope you let us know how you are doing or if you need encouragement.
Clare, glad to see you are in. Please let us know how you are doing.
Very true, Lisa! It's all good!!!
Dear all,
After finally sitting down to write last night, I have determined I may need to pass on NaNoWriMo this November. When I look at my commitments and schedule, I know I can not put the time and effort in that I would like - all of which makes me very, very sad. I may have to do my own DiNoWriMo early next year. :-)
Sometimes it's about knowing our limitations and when I look at what I'm behind on, I grow weary...LOL...even though I know the point is to stretch one's self out of one's own comfort zone and make it happen - I think I need to recognize it would not be a good idea at the moment. This month I'm teaching, going to conferences and preparing for a certification exam, plus I my writing projects (i.e. two sites at BellaOnline)...
However, I am here to support you all and will be cheering you on because it is definitely an exciting and worthwhile exercise. I'm excited to see so many people participating! Keep it up!!!
Dear Dianne -
Don't look at it as an all-or-nothing thing. It's like meditation. Meditation isn't about perfect no-thought bliss for a full hour. Meditation is about training your mind, bit by bit, so that it runs more smoothly. Sometimes it's only 2 minutes. Sometimes it's 30 seconds! It's that repeated practice that makes the wheels turn more smoothly and the thoughts roll out like smooth waves.
So many people put off writing until the time is right and they can make the perfect effort. That's what often stymies us. Shake loose those expectations. It is NOT going to be perfect! It is NOT going to be stellar! It is simply going to flow. Whatever flows is going to be wonderful, for the mere fact that it *did* flow.
Try stream of consciousness plot releasing just for ten minutes. You don't have to make a perfect story. You don't even have to write a coherent chapter. Simply release a scene from your mind. Releasing that scene frees your mind up for other thoughts! And it lubricates your mind in the process of releasing scenes
.
No stress! It's like journaling
Dear Lisa,
I know I should have that mind set and trust me - I did just free flow last night, but then I kept stopping, not to correct myself, but rather to work on an article, go shopping for a kindle...LOL...while cooking dinner, reading a chapter to study and all that other stuff.
I guess if I stop thinking that I have to reach 50,000 words I can do it. I've bantered this about in my head all day and gosh my mind is exhausted trying to figure out when I will have a minute to sit down and free flow (write).
Hearing someone else take thoughts out my head, I feel like mayyyybeee I can do this. You're so right, we put things off waiting for the right moment and that right moment may never materialize and I think that is my struggle - realizing that but then also having other stuff going on. For example, I say if I didn't have to teach, go to conferences and pass that test this month - I would be all over NaNoWriMo. But if I try and don't make it, at least I started a foundation for something that i really want to do. If I don't try, then I would definitely have nothing.
Anyway....enough of my musings...Thanks, Lisa!
Dear Dianne -
Right it sounds like the meditation analogy works wonderfully here. You keep getting distracted, so you think it's not worth the effort. But the core idea of meditation is that you *are* going to be distracted. Life is about distractions. The meditation is the training, tiny bit by tiny bit, to help you focus through distractions. You feel a call to lose focus, you gently draw yourself back. You feel like you can't quite do it. You gently draw yourself back with the idea that yes, this will be OK.
Don't think about 50,000 words. Don't even think about 1,667 words. Just think about one little piece of a scene. What interesting scene could you release? The beauty of it is once you release that scene, your brain now has space within it and new things flower there.
And the additional beauty is that the more you make these little forays into success, the more smoothly everything flows in your life - not just the writing, but your other writing, your other projects, and so on. It is training your mind to focus and "just do it".
Lisa,
That's exactly what I did the first year and probably why I was successful. You make it sound so peaceful :-) - gently drawing myself back in, but it's true.
I'm going to keep going. I know whatever happens at the end of 30 days, I will feel like I accomplished something.
Dear Dianne -
That is great! Whatever you create, it will be something that did not exist until you wrote it down
. Sometimes short stories are the most beautiful ones!
Lisa
Maeve, maybe next year. It is hard work and fun at the same time! Plus, you can write nonfiction or fiction - your choice.
Maeve - way to go. Let us know your progress.
Well, it's day 10 and as of yesterday I was a little ahead of the game. Haven't written anything towards NaNo yet today, but will by the end of the day.
Word count as of yesterday was 18102.
How are you doing? How many words so far? We would love to hear your progress report and if you need a pep talk or have a question, just let me know.
That is great news, Edie - congratulations! Is your story going the way you initially thought it would?
No, I'm slowing down all of a sudden. Need to catch up real quick!!! Doing a lot of writing, just not for NaNo.
How are you doing? Are you glad you signed up?
I was doing great, even with a family reunion to write around. Then it happened. On monday I fell while walking the dog. Flat on my face. Broken arm. The right one. Can barely type this. Guess that's that foe NaNoWriMo for me.
Dear Edie -
It's natural to go through highs and lows when writing, and I think part of what NaNoWriMo trains us to do is how to push through those slow times. We might be fired up for a while, then ease off for a while. Somehow we find a rhythm that sustains us and moves us forward.
It does help to write ahead when you can, to buffer for those slow times!
Dear Maeve -
I'm so sorry to hear about your accident! What a time to have an injury like that! I'm glad to hear you are all right. Your arm will heal. That's all right, you had fun for the first half of it, and you have half a story! That's better than no story! You can always finish it up later on when you heal.
You could have some fun training Dragon to learn your vocabulary, and then you'll have a back-up plan for the future!