NaNoWriMo is coming up. One month, one novel, 50,000 words. Spouses
to be ignored, kids to feed themselves, emails to go unanswered, Internet
temptation to be resisted, hours with butt planted firmly in chair at keyboard.
That is1666.67 words cranked out each day. Are you up for the challenge?
There is a site for it: http://www.nanowrimo.org/
The way it works is you go to the site, sign up, and begin writing on November
1. Oh, there’s one other step before you write, according to the NaNoWriMo
site. “Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great
advice and funny stories in the forums…. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope
someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile
noveling rewards.” Not sure how the chocolate part words, but I
believe you have to provide your own.
During the month, the goal is to write
daily, 1666.67 words. Then you login and update your word count. If you’ve met
the 50,000-word goal by the end of the month, you win. They put you on the
“hallowed Winner’s Page” and send you an e-certificate. I think the chocolate
can be used as either a reward once your 1666.67 are done or as a crutch during
the process.
The thing began in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1991. There
were 21 of them who concocted this idea because, among other reasons, they
figured getting dates, as novelists would be easier than as non-novelists. Whatever
the motivation, as long as it works. The next year 140 writers participated and
it has grown annually. By the end of last November 36,843 writers had met the
word count among the 256,618 writers who had signed on. Competing against that
many people, no wonder I haven’t been published.
Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds blog had an interesting article
last year on NaNoWriMo. The blog is entertaining though, be warned, spliced
with expletive deletives. He mentions the sitting-down-and-actual-writing
requirement. Chuck can write about 1000 words an hour. You can determine how
long it takes him to meet 1666.67 and figure your own speed as well. If you
give yourself weekends off, that means 2300 words daily for the rest of the
week. He warns that after 50,000 words, you’ve only just begun the novel. It’s
not even your fist draft, but your zero draft. You’re placing quantity above
quality and come Dec. 1, you’ll have all the sticks but will still need to
build the house. October Wendig declares should be NaStoPlaMo, national story
planning month and December becomes NaEdYoShiMo in which you edit what you
slapped down in November. The full article is here:
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