In Word

I looked at the calendar today, and realized that it’s October 21st.  This means a number of things, chief among them that it will be November 1st in approximately ten days.

Is it just me, or does that thought fill you with a magnificent and insatiable desire to write 50,000 words of a novel in one month?

Since I’ve survived it before and can therefore call myself a “veteran,” I present Beth’s 5 Tips For NaNoWriMo Survival:

1. Be Flexible

Go with the flow.  Roll with the punches.  Whatever.  The point is, what you think your story will be about before you start writing and what your story is actually about are probably two different things.   Chances are you don’t want to spend thirty days in a tug-of-war with your plot and characters, so step down and let them write the story.  Who knows—they might have some good ideas.

2. Think Small

1,667 words per day comes out to around five to six pages of double-spaced text.  Personally, it takes me about an hour to write one double-spaced page.  It goes without saying that most of us won’t be able to get the 1,667 in one sitting.  Take small chunks of it to help you along—ten-minute word wars with crazy writer friends will get you an extra 250 words here and there, or you could pit yourself against the clock for a five-minute micro-burst.  No one doesn’t have the time to do NaNoWriMo; some of us just aren’t as good at managing the time we have.

3. Relax

You’ll get behind at some point.  So when it happens, take a deep breath and keep writing.  I’ve found that the last week of November is usually my most productive—that’s when all the adrenaline kicks in, and you’ll make up for lost time almost without realizing it.

4. Embrace the Cliche

Or the bad writing, or the weak plot, as the case may be.  NaNoWriMo isn’t intended to create publishable material—but it will give you the competitive edge you need to get that first draft on paper.  Chances are the story will change in the first re-write, so let yourself have fun with it.  Tie up the inner editor and toss him in the closet.  You’ll be thankful for it later.

5. Write

As fun as it is to write up these cool numbered lists, there’s really no formula to getting the 50,000.  If you have difficulties along the way, the solution will be to just write. And that’s that.

Oh, yeah—caffeine helps, too.

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Word count: 0

Novel title: Unknown

Countdown: 29 days

NaNoWriMo 2009.

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My outline, started on March 3 of this year, is now complete.  I never thought I was the type to write 7,000-word outlines…but in the end, it’s not so bad.

Writing the next draft has commenced.  It’s good to be back.

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Words are so much fun.  They can be put together in ways that make you think, give you goosebumps, or leave you feeling sad or happy.  The words you’re reading now are probably making you wonder why the writer took time to put them here in the first place.

I’ve been looking up lots of words lately, mostly for use as chapter titles.  There’s something really cool about having each chapter titled with a single word—it’s a nice effect.  So far, I’ve found titles for each of the twenty-four chapters I’ve outlined.  The only problem is, I’ll need at least fifteen more, and my imagination is beginning to fail me.

So I have come to present you with a question:  Do you have a favorite word?  Perhaps one that wouldn’t be too out-of-place in a fantasy novel?  Maybe?

Beth’s List Of Cool Words:

• Dichotomy
• Dissidence
• Animus
• Consequence
• Inferno
• Contingency
• Superiority
• Legality
• Divergence
• Reality
• Enigma
• Inadequacy
• Leverage
• Alliance
• Stratagem
• Imperative
• Inquisition
• Arcane
• Fulcrum
• Portent

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I’m a pretty bad writer—both in the techniques used, and the results they yield.  I tend to dive into a project without more than a vague idea of where it’s headed, which usually makes things difficult as I go on.  Organization just isn’t one of my best qualities.

Surprisingly, such was not the case with my NaNoWriMo novel of two years ago, a fantasy/allegory that’s been under construction ever since.  Because of the allegorical elements, I always had a clear idea of where it was supposed to be going—the problem came with all the stuff in between “Chapter One” and “The End.”  As more and more plotlines and characters came on board, it became more and more difficult to keep things straight in my mind.  In the end, it’s almost as difficult to write a story with a clear purpose in mind as it is to write something from nothing.

So at long last, Beth, the stubborn writer, has buckled down and written an outline.

To my knowledge, there’s two types of fiction writers: those who are disciplined enough to place a priority on outlining, to whatever extent that my be, and those who would rather insist that outlining stifles the story and they’re better off without it.  (That’s me.)

Firsthand experience: write the outline, and everything will be better.

I don’t know.  Maybe there’s brilliant writers out there who can carry an outline in their heads, but I’m not one of them.  The purpose isn’t to lay out everything exactly as it will be written; just give yourself a roadmap of how the story develops.  Once you’ve got it down, deviating will be easier, because you have the backbone firmly in place and you can backtrack if needed.  Be as detailed or as vague as you like (somewhere in between works for me).

So there you have it…confessions of a writer wannabe.  (Cherise, you are now entitled to a big “I told you so.“)

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