The 30 Day Novel

I swore when I started this blog that I would not write about writing. In my mind, short stories about authors with writers' block, struggling playwrights, and the plight of fighting to create the great American novel are played out and to be avoided at all costs. How boring and self absorbed is that? How many times has that been done and how could I possibly come up with a fresh take on those old cliches. A person that loves to write telling a story or giving some sort of commentary on the craft of which he is just barely scraping the surface - give me a break. That is not my goal in posting this entry about writing - although it is about writing. With that in mind, I'd like to (somewhat hypocritically) share a writing-centric blog post with you. So, without further ado, I give you my plan for a future writing project.

If you have been following my entries, here or elsewhere, then chances are that you are already aware of my current status as a jobless and, technically, homeless traveller. It has been quite a fulfilling experience to explore different cities while working on improving my writing and storytelling abilities. I have to face facts though. At some point, I am going to have to find home and settle into a regular life. I'll have to go to school, and/or get a job, move into my own place again, pay bills, blah, blah, blah... Those are just realities of life that everyone has to deal with and I am no exception. However, it is not time to do that just yet.

Going against conventional wisdom and falling directly in line with my recharged passion for writing, I have decided to sign up for National Write a Novel Month. Yes, you read that correctly. It is exactly what you think it is: A finished novel in thirty days. According to the website, the goal is to crank out a full length novel of at least 50,000 words within the month of November. My last blog, a travel memoir that will be turned into a book eventually, is over 53,000. Since I have a natural penchant for long-winded-ness, the word count of this endeavor does not concern me. The fact that it will most likely be a terribly weak story because of the time frame, however, terrifies me. But, that's the point; to generate as much material as possible within a short window.

I have been writing non-stop for the last few months and I think this challenge will be a fun and fulfilling exercise of creative stress. I am very fortunate to have supportive friends and family that have expressed their willingness to spare a couch or a bed until school, or other writing opportunities spring up in January. So, will I have to surrender this vagabond, beard-growing existence of creativity and exploration? Sure, but not until after I have a novel under my belt.

Here's a portion of the email they sent me when I signed up so you can get an idea of what I'll be doing. If you have the time or the desire to do it also, please let me know and we can compare notes as we chip away at the wonderfully insane task of writing a novel within 30 days.

Before you head off to begin training those typing fingers, we wanted to offer a few bits of advice. You'll find many great tips in the forums, and we'll be sending pep talks directly to your inbox during November. But for now, here's a quick overview of the three-and-a-half things we wish we had known for our first NaNoWriMo.

1) It's okay to not know what you're doing. Really. You've read a lot of novels, so you're completely up to the challenge of writing one. If you feel more comfortable outlining your story ahead of time, do so. But it's also fine to just wing it. Write every day, and a book-worthy story will appear, even if you're not sure what that story might be right now.

2) Do not edit as you go. Editing is for December. Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it's hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn't. Every book you've ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.

3) Tell everyone you know that you're writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who've had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.

3.5) There will be times you'll want to quit during November. This is okay. Everyone who wins NaNoWriMo wanted to quit at some point in November. Stick it out. See it through. Week Two can be hard. Week Three is much better. Week Four will make you want to yodel.

And we're talking the good kind of yodeling here.

With great well wishes on the noveling month ahead,

The NaNoWriMo Team

Let's do this!