…plus one book recommendation on how to write.
It’s that time of year again, and I’ve embarked on the 50,000 words in a month novel writing challenge, Nanowrimo. I’m returning to The Sword in the Spaceship, an idea I’ve had for a while of doing a King Arthur and time travel story (props to Mark Twain’s fascinating A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court as partial inspiration, plus T H White’s The Sword in the Stone, of course).
I’ve done Nanowrimo before twice – no three times – once where I completed it, back in 2007, another when I used it to work on an existing novel in 2008, and another where I made a start and didn’t finish, in 2011. Some people find the whole exercise rather pointless – why bother to churn out a badly written novel, rather than taking the time to do it properly?
If Nanowrimo helps you write and you enjoy it, then great. If not, that’s fine. There’s no one-size-fits-all writing approach. But here are my reasons why I personally find it helpful:
1. An excuse to be antisocial
“Sorry, I’d love to come, but I’ve got to keep up with Nanowrimo!”
I always mean to prioritise my writing, but it tends to get the dregs of my time. Too often, it get what’s left after home and work and church have taken their toll, and after I’ve chilled out in front of the TV, surfed the web and so on. Since moving to London earlier this year, I’ve been really out of my writing groove. This is a chance for me to make it top priority for a limited time. Nanowrimo gives me a more concrete reason to say no to stuff than just my writing in general. Hopefully a month of intensive writing will help me regain my writing rhythm going forward.
2. The sketch before the painting
I use Nanowrimo as a way of doing the quick sketch before embarking on the painting. I find that Nanowrimo works best for harnessing the white heat of excitement as you try out a new idea or approach, throwing everything on the page to see what works and what doesn’t. Using it to work on an existing novel didn’t really work for me – I wasn’t able to treat it with the same exuberance.
For me, Nanowrimo is actually “draft zero”, in that it’s the stage of my writing which I don’t show to anyone. By the time I show someone my “first draft”, I’ll already have begun tidying it up and editing it.
3. Become a writing shark
You know the story about how some
sharks have to keep moving to breath, or they drown? Nanowrimo forces you to become a writing shark, moving on relentlessly or drowning in your paltry wordcount.
Sometimes I let myself get bogged down for days or weeks on some knotty problem with my writing. Nanowrimo forces me to keep writing – if I really can’t solve a problem now, I just have to skip it and come back to it later.
4. Harnessing social pressure
I tell people I’m doing Nanowrimo and have to write 50,000 words by the end of the month, and give them updates. If I don’t make it, I look a fool. This is a good motivator.
On the flipside, if you live in a city like Cardiff or London, there are plenty of other people doing Nanowrimo, and you can meet up for write-ins, where you have a quick chat, and then write together. There’s nothing like a bunch of other people tapping away industriously to stop me from firing up Facebook or Twitter!
5. It’s fun
I enjoy it. Which is a pretty good reason to Nano!
So how am I doing right now? I’m just shy of 10,000 words, which is around a day behind where I should be wordcount-wise. But it’s the end of the work week, and I’ve got the weekend to help catch up, so I’m not too concerned.
Two things have been particularly helpful so far: One, a small tub of Jelly Bean Factory gourmet flavour beans for rewards / motivation. Yum!
Two, Douglas Wilson’s book
Wordsmithy, which is a wonderful little guide to the writing life. The 49 tips don’t just cover writing technique, but the whole lifestyle and mindset of being a writer. Although not every piece of advice is necessarily applicable or helpful to me, I found it to be wonderfully written and frequently hilarious.
Check it out!
Are you Nanowrimoing? What do you find helpful for writing? Let me know how you’re getting on…
