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WOW: Do you nano? (500 Words)
Dec. 4th, 2023 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarker Original Posting 11/01/2019
If you do, you are probably already set up and ready to roll, just as soon as November First starts wherever you are. On the other hand, if you have missed it...It's November! For many writers, that means it's nanowrimo time again! National Novel Writing Month! There's a website (https://nanowrimo.org/) with support, and all that, but the main idea is simple. Toss the internal editor in the back, and write! Aim at 50,000 words (or more! Just because you hit the goal, don't stop now! Keep going!) during the month of November. That means 1,667 words a day, or 12,500 per week. Although I'd recommend doing a bit of overloading or front-loading, because there may be turkeys and other interruptions towards the end of the month. So, say 2,000 words a day, or even 2,500 words a day to start?But part of the fun is not fretting too much about the target, and just settle down and write whatever you can, whatever feels good! Push to do more than you have done before. Try a genre you haven't tried, but always wanted to. Switch from that hackneyed third person to first person (or, for the very adventurous, give second person a try!). Maybe play with present tense instead of the well-trodden past tense?Oh, yeah, there's also the fun of trying discovery writing if you have been an outliner, a planner. Or play with some planning, if you have always done discovery writing.Rediscover the fun of writing! Remember why you wanted to do this stuff, and go ahead and enjoy it for a month!One notion that I've seen a lot of people suggesting is what I might call incremental outlining or planning. Basically, sure, go ahead and at least have a kind of idea of what you want to write, maybe a few of the characters and so forth, but don't worry too much. Then, every day, start out with a little brainstorming and outlining. Probably a scene or two. Set the goals, figure out what you want to have happen in this scene, who you need, and... write! Yes, you may find yourself needing to go back and rearrange scenes or rewrite stuff later, but... don't worry about it for now, we're pushing for words, and more words! Okay? Just write those daily pieces, and we'll fit them into the quilt later.So, even if you haven't tried nano before, let me invite you to join in, and write! Don't worry, you haven't lost much preparation time. Actually, I think you could include whatever preliminary sketches and so forth you want to do before you dive into writing, writing, writing as part of your nanowrimo word count.And when people ask if you nano, you can smile, and say, "Yes!"Go ahead, write! You've got a month to run wild, and an invitation to, as Nike likes to suggest, just do it!
If you do, you are probably already set up and ready to roll, just as soon as November First starts wherever you are. On the other hand, if you have missed it...It's November! For many writers, that means it's nanowrimo time again! National Novel Writing Month! There's a website (https://nanowrimo.org/) with support, and all that, but the main idea is simple. Toss the internal editor in the back, and write! Aim at 50,000 words (or more! Just because you hit the goal, don't stop now! Keep going!) during the month of November. That means 1,667 words a day, or 12,500 per week. Although I'd recommend doing a bit of overloading or front-loading, because there may be turkeys and other interruptions towards the end of the month. So, say 2,000 words a day, or even 2,500 words a day to start?But part of the fun is not fretting too much about the target, and just settle down and write whatever you can, whatever feels good! Push to do more than you have done before. Try a genre you haven't tried, but always wanted to. Switch from that hackneyed third person to first person (or, for the very adventurous, give second person a try!). Maybe play with present tense instead of the well-trodden past tense?Oh, yeah, there's also the fun of trying discovery writing if you have been an outliner, a planner. Or play with some planning, if you have always done discovery writing.Rediscover the fun of writing! Remember why you wanted to do this stuff, and go ahead and enjoy it for a month!One notion that I've seen a lot of people suggesting is what I might call incremental outlining or planning. Basically, sure, go ahead and at least have a kind of idea of what you want to write, maybe a few of the characters and so forth, but don't worry too much. Then, every day, start out with a little brainstorming and outlining. Probably a scene or two. Set the goals, figure out what you want to have happen in this scene, who you need, and... write! Yes, you may find yourself needing to go back and rearrange scenes or rewrite stuff later, but... don't worry about it for now, we're pushing for words, and more words! Okay? Just write those daily pieces, and we'll fit them into the quilt later.So, even if you haven't tried nano before, let me invite you to join in, and write! Don't worry, you haven't lost much preparation time. Actually, I think you could include whatever preliminary sketches and so forth you want to do before you dive into writing, writing, writing as part of your nanowrimo word count.And when people ask if you nano, you can smile, and say, "Yes!"Go ahead, write! You've got a month to run wild, and an invitation to, as Nike likes to suggest, just do it!
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