Okay, Rach. What the heck is NaNo?
Sounds like something from Mork and Mindy, doesn’t it?
NaNoWrimo
Actually it’s my lingo for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, traditionally done in November and now also in July.
This is NaNoWriMo’s description of itself:
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.
On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.
Nanowrimo’s mission statement:
National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
Check your local library or writers guild to find out if there are any NaNoWriMo groups or workshops in your area.
My dilemma (Well, one of them anyway)
For me, it’s not so much whether I’ll do, but deciding on a project. Recently I read a book by Libby Hawker called Take Off Your Pants! Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing and I told myself, “Now that, Rach, is the key to novel-writing!”
Is it though? As I prepare for NaNoWriMo by not preparing at all (unless you count this blog post as being more productive than Hawker’s 5-point plan), I wonder what might happen in the next two days beforeNaNo starts.
A. Will I get my butt in gear and follow Libby Hawker’s 5-point system?
B. Will I half-pants it? Or,
C. Will I resort to thrill-seeking pantsing?
A. Following Libby Hawker’s 5-point system
When Imagine having a (boring) plan that tells me what scenes to write ahead of time, I feel a yawn coming on.
Ask my mother if I’ve ever been any good at following a plan, or instructions—or logic. She’ll readily tell you about the wild goose chases I’ve eagerly sought out when I was planning on keeping my eyes on the prize.
B.half-pantsing it
Gosh I think I’m funny! Half-pantsing = I sort of had a plan.
I did this the first time I wrote a novel, and it wasn’t bad at all. It was like having rules, but only minimal rules. Sort of like going to a buffet in snug jeans with a snap that pops loudly when it strains and a fitted blouse without that flap to concealed the buttons. Your mouth waters for everything you can’t have, but you know your limits so you choose sparingly. You’re not completely satisfied in the end, but you feel good about your accomplishment.
C. Totally pantsing it
That rebellious, adventure loving side of me tells me that a plan takes away the thrill of writing, of having no idea what is going to explode from my fingertips when I sit down to write. It’s like finding out the sex of your unborn child and then not being able to wonder…but worse. It would be knowing every major event in that child’s life until the age of 20. Sure it would be comforting, but where’s the sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat and waiting for the results part of the process?
But then there’s the 50,000 words of chaos to unravel and sort out. I’ve done this before–it’s like giving birth to septuplets and trying to learn their names and their favourite foods while keeping up with the laundry and stocking the diapers and little jars of baby food. When do you bathe them, how do you remember which one needs the penicillin and make sure they’ve all gotten their turn at listen to Baby Mozart so they grow up to be level-headed and intelligent beings who take care of you in your ripe old age?
My second NaNo project is housed in my hard drive—it’s so beautiful and brave and hilarious, but I have no idea how to make it into something digestible. (Yet, but I will—it’s coming together in my mind.)
The verdict?
Logic tells me to make a plan.
My heart tells me to go on a literary adventure.
I think we both know what I’ll end up doing.
Resources
A resource I (and you should) plan to look at before NaNo starts:
NaNo Prep: Figuring Out What Your Story’s “About” Before You Start Writing