As Isaac Newton observed, objects in motion tend to stay in motion. When writing your first draft, being busy is key. It may feel frustrating at first, but having daily writing periods curtailed by chores, family, and other distractions actually helps you get the thing done. This is partly because the hectic pace forces you to type with a fleet-fingered desperation. But it’s mostly because noveling in the midst of a chaotic life makes “book time” a treat rather than an obligation. It’s a small psychological shift, but it makes all the difference in the world.
― Chris Baty
There's an old folk saying that goes: whenever you delete a sentence from your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground. Where it will likely require medical attention.
― Chris Baty
Deadlines bring focus, forcing us to make time for the achievements we would otherwise postpone, encouraging us to reach beyond our conservative estimates of what we think possible, helping us to wrench victory from the jaws of sleep.
― Chris Baty
Yes, that’s right. It’s almost time for NaNoWriMo. Never heard of it? What, seriously? Have you been living under a rock or something? Well let me enlighten you.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short) takes place during the month of November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days – that’s 1667 words per day, for those of you who are mathematically challenged.
In a nutshell, it started in July of 1999 with Chris Baty and consisted of 21 writers. They had so much fun that in 2000 it was moved to the month of November (because it’s such a grey and dismal month and there’s nothing better to do) and they created an official website as well as a few ground rules: you had to use new words only, you couldn’t have a co-author, and your word count had to be verified by the end of the month. They had 140 people sign up – about 30 of them finished.
The next year, to Baty’s astonishment, 5,000 people signed up with 700 finishing, and it’s been growing steadily larger ever since. Last year there were 413,295 participants with 51,670 finishing.
I first attempted NaNo in 2006. I say attempted because I had no clue what I was doing and my story ended at 35,000 words. I missed the next year but in 2008 I completed the challenge, as I did for the next 6 years in a row. I did not participate in 2015, figuring I had enough un-finished books on my hard drive, but I got back in the saddle in 2016 and have been participating ever since. You might find it ironic that my 2017 novel was a sequel to my failed 2006 one.
NaNo is fun, NaNo is frustrating, NaNo is addictive. I totally regret the year I skipped it – I felt itchy the whole month and didn’t really get anything else accomplished. And I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s something that can’t be duplicated at any other time of the year. Under a deadline? Why not try a January NaNo? Nope. Doesn’t work. You have to do it at the same time as the other crazy people around the world.
And what do you get if you finish? Three things: a 50,000(+) word novel, the satisfaction of completing a challenge, and a shiny winner’s certificate that you can download and print off. And maybe you’ll have made a few friends along the way by attending local write-ins.
If you’d like to learn more or sign up, visit their WEBSITE . They’ve redesigned it a few times over the years, and you no longer have to copy/paste your finished novel into their validation thingamajig because the number of participants became too large. Now it’s strictly on the honour system.
And while you’re there, check out all the NaNo stuff you can buy. I have probably 10 tee-shirts from the various years, two hoodies, the NaNo USB bracelet, a NaNo travel cup, and two different sizes of NaNo thermoses (which sadly are no longer available).
This will be my 16th time participating. Normally in late October I go through a whole should I/shouldn’t I phase, but I skipped it this year. I mean, who am I kidding? Doing NaNo is some of the best crazy fun a writer can have.
Do I have an idea yet? Nope. Am I worried? Maybe just a little. After all, NaNo is just a couple of days away. But hey, this won’t be the first time I’ve started with a totally blank slate (and kicked myself for it). And if I write 50,000 words of absolute gibberish, who’s going to know but me?
That’s the beauty of NaNoWriMo.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
WORDAGE REPORT
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The word for last week is . . . progress! It’s about time, isn’t it?
The weather was more crappy than not – grey and dismal. And the temperature rose enough to make it humid on top of that. Thursday we were shrouded in fog, which enticed me to go down to the waterfront to take pictures. And Friday was so warm that I opened the window in my office. And immediately wished I hadn’t. The groove the window slides up into was covered in lady bugs. I must have removed over a dozen of them (and yes, I took them outside to release them) and I think a couple still escaped into the house.
The first half of the week I was tired and lethargic, but I still managed to get stuff done, and from Thursday on I was smokin’.
There were no more mice spotted, although one night the cats and I heard noises on the outer wall of the living room. It might have been the wind, it might have been birds trying to get seeds/insects caught in the siding, it might have been mice climbing the outer wall and trying to get under the siding. No idea. And frankly it kind of creeps me out to think about it.
And for about three nights in a row the cats heard something high up in the dining room. They both crowded onto the topmost platform of the cat tree and stared holes at the very top of the outer wall, just above the deck door. I’m hoping it was a squirrel digging for nuts, or storing nuts, in the eavestrough. It only happens at night though.
Despite the higher temperatures, it’s really starting to look like fall outside. The leaves on the trees seemed to start changing all at once, and the wind and the rain helped dislodge them. I need to take a walk in the park before it’s too late.
There’s nothing like kicking through the crisp, fallen leaves to put a smile on my face.
NEW WORDS:
2821+381+336+1079=4,617
DOWN: 576 – words
No surprise here, seeing as my posts were back to normal length.
For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I had no late nights getting blog posts done. In fact, most of them were done before dinner. If that’s not progress I don’t know what is. :-)
Aside from getting all of my blog posts done, with ease I might add, I also got the rest of my notes transcribed from Writersfest, such as they are. There weren’t as many as I thought there were, so I also wrote a wrap-up post for Writersfest.
I’d been doing so well, all week long, that Thursday night I just kind of relaxed, forgetting completely about Fiction Friday. I had already decided to post an excerpt from my very first NaNo.
Goals For Next Week:
Keep up the good work with the blogs; settle on an idea for NaNoWriMo
POETRY:
Finally! A form that was a little more challenging. It was kind of accidental, too. I just got so into the form that I automatically wrote the example for it.
There was a poetry gathering last week, but I had a migraine and didn’t go. The poemwork was to write a gothic poem, which is a kind of fun assignment for this time of year. We’re back in the church for our gatherings, so it’s kind of ironic that the weather was unseasonably warm.
I also finished one form, ready for posting, and I have three forms that just need an example. Also, I have the research done on three more. So I’m not as far ahead as I was hoping to be at this point, but I’m getting there.
Goal For Next Week:
Keep working on the new forms; get some examples written.
CRAFTING:
Tuesday was my regular guild meeting, where those of us who were doing the woven fabric baskets were supposed to finish them. Yes, I said supposed to. I had done my stitching homework, so my basket was as far along as the others. The actual weaving wasn’t too bad, but keeping it together was. We didn’t have nearly enough straight pins, so I’ll be finishing my basket at home.
I didn’t have much time for stitching outside of the guild meeting, but I did make some progress on my zentangle sampler. I’ve got another square almost finished, and I know what I want to do for the fourth one, but I seriously doubt I’ll have it finished in time to turn it into a tote bag for the retreat.
Speaking of the retreat, I’m going to need to start thinking about what I’m taking with me. Maybe the zentangle, maybe the kit, maybe something else altogether. Most of the participants are from the Toronto guild, and I don’t want to look like a dork in front of them.
Goal For Next Week:
Finish my basket, work on zentangle.
WHAT I’M READING:
I finished Spells For Lost Things, by Jenna Evans Welch, and really enjoyed it. Now I’m reading The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman.
On the Kindle I’ve started Pawsitively Poisonous, by Melissa Erin Jackson. To be honest, I didn’t do as much reading last week as I’ve been doing.
Goal For Next Week:
Keep up the moderate reading habits; update my Goodreads.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Despite the crappy weather, that new leaf of mine might have gotten a little bigger. It may even have a new shoot or two trying to sprout. Hopefully I can keep nurturing it this week.
Well, despite this being fall now, that new leaf of mine is beginning to grow. I spent a lot of quality time in my office. A bit of goofing off time too, but mostly productive time. And the funny thing is, I kind of enjoyed it. I want to keep up the good work in the week ahead.
Tuesday is the supplement meeting of the stitchers at the library. I don’t know about anyone else, but I fully intend to show up in costume. It is Halloween you know. I’m even going to make myself a wig of green hair and I got some cheap red shoes to supplement my witch’s outfit.
There are three poetry forms that need their information distilled down, and three that need examples. Let’s see how far I can get with them.
I’ll be using another excerpt for Fiction Friday this week, I won’t be far enough into NaNo to post something fresh. That is, supposing I’m able to settle on an idea and actually start NaNo. It would be so much easier if I could come up with an idea in say, September, so I’d have time to research it. But at this point I’ll be happy just to have an idea by Wednesday.
Well, I didn’t get any extra sewing done, nor did I start any knitting or crocheting. No Christmas crafts either. When I wasn’t struggling, then last week was all about the writing. Which is a good thing, going into NaNo.
It’s unlikely I’ll be squeezing a lot of craft work in during NaNo season, but you never know. I guess it depends on how fast I can write.
I made a couple of lists last week, and they really helped, even if I didn’t get everything done on them. It was actually thanks to those lists that I got my Fiction Friday up on time. As I was sitting there, waiting for the grocery stores to open, I glanced at the list from the day before to see what I’d missed, and there it was – "find excerpt for blog post". I was late to start my grocery shopping, but I got the post up on time.
So, lists for sure this week. They help keep me focused and they give me some structure to my day. And lord knows, I can use some structure.
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