NaNoWriMo

And, I've begun the great 30-day race to 50K words! I'm exactly seven days into the marathon and I'm on track at 10,136 words. I've decided to write weekly blog updates to save my creative writing energy for the actual novel.

NaNoWriMo isn't as intimidating as I had first thought. 50,000 words sounds monstorous and overwhelming. Yet, 1700 words per day is quite manageable, as long as I stay on track. On November 2nd, I only wrote 180 words and had to write double the next day to catch up. The hardest part is to buckle down for an hour or so, tune out the world, and just write. I've given up Facebook for the month - yes, I am one of those people.

Day #1 was a struggle - a battle, really, against my perfectionist side. Immediately after I wrote the first paragraph, I hated it. My fingers itched to go back, move commas and sentences around, change names and personalities, rework the dialogue. But I forced myself to move forward. I knew, if I had to write 1700 words a day, I absolutely could not go back to edit. My rule is that I can only go back to add more words.

I have written a total of four whole novels (including one I wrote over email with my cousin) in the past. I started out with a handful of interesting characters. I knew the beginning and I had a vague idea of the end. Then, armed with this small amount of information, I would write a story.

I like what Alex, from Alex & Emma, says, after Emma asks, "How can you write a book if you don't know the end?" He responds with, "Because I know the characters and they tell me where the story goes."

That's exactly how I've always written books. But my NaNo book is different. It had to be. Like Alex in Alex & Emma, I also have only 30 days to write an entire novel. I can't just allow my characters to decide their own paths, taking their own sweet time in doing it. I don't have time for that. I had to have a plan.

I took many notes leading up to November 1st, and it's amazing how much easier it is to write 1700 words a day, when you have a solid vision of where the story is going. Everything flows - character's motivations are clear and upcoming events can be foreshadowed. I think I can save tons of time in the editing process by plotting the story out before I write it.

But, enough talk...I have 1700 words waiting to be written.

Until next time...