NaNoWritMo 2010 Shall Live in Infamy

I tanked this year. I mean, really tanked. I didn't know what I was going to write but managed to write 12,000 words anyway. But that's as far as I got. Lesson learned: NaNoWriMo may light the fire but you really need a spark in the first place. I had no plot, no characters, nada.

I guess there's always next year.

NaNoWriMo's Been and Gone

I thought I'd have something to say during NaNoWriMo, but it turned out I was too busy just writing. I made my goal of 75,000 words in one month but haven't started the revision process as yet. For some reason, revising seems more daunting than just writing the words in the first place. I believe I need to set myself a similar goal: have the whole thing rewritten in 2 months, for example.

Here, for what it's worth, is what this experience taught me.

1. NaNoWriMo is fun for a lot of reasons, but perhaps the biggest single factor that makes it great is this: it gives you the momentum to just finish your first draft. So many writers I know get hung up at Chapter 3. It may not be great, it may need tons of rewriting, but just having the words to work with is a huge step forward.
2. Start from an outline if you want results. I didn't have a written outline, but I did know all of my characters (though a couple of them surprised me with their stubbornness to fit the mold I had set!) and I knew where the story was going.
3. If you have a day job, like I do, doing most of your writing on the weekends is the sanest option. However, I also set myself a week day goal, which was this: 5,000 words during a week, 10,000 on the weekends. Yes, I'm aware that doesn't quite add up to 75,000. I had to write a little extra once in a while.
4. Stay ahead of the curve. It's so motivating to see your little orange line soar, however slightly, above the blue standard that's set. I love the progress graph! A friend made a homemade copy in Excel that I need to try out, because it's extremely movitating. If you don't want to muck about with computers, try the gold star approach. Reached your goal for the day? Gold star! Or cute little kitty sticker. Or whatever floats your boat. You'll be amazed how fulfilling it feels to see your progress at the end of the day. Huh. Maybe my third-grade teacher was on to something.
5. Tell your friends! And ask them to ask you about your novel. Being able to say, I wrote 5,000 words yesterday, rather than, uh, no, I didn't do any writing at all, is extremely motivating, especially if you have the kind of friends who will give you a hard time about it (as well they should). I posted my word count on Facebook (whether people wanted to know it or not).

The most important thing? Just keep writing. My favorite part is when my characters start to "talk" back to me. Bob, a side character, turned out to be a scene stealer, for example. I had to keep reining him in (but not too much). He was a hoot! While Jane, who I'd meant to be a bit demented, came out all serious and emo. She just refused to crack a joke of any kind. Bob kept stealing the punch lines.

I love it when that happens.

Happy writing! May your novel be more prolific than this blog.