I've mentioned that I'm starting my novel today for the National Novel
Writing Month competition. As I beginning work on the novel today, I
thought I'd address some of the common questions.
Some notes about NaNoWriMo 2k4 from the FAQ:
When do I start writing?
At 12:00:01 am local time on November 1.
How do you win? Are there judges? What are the prizes?
The way to win NaNoWriMo is by writing 50,000 words by midnight on
November 30. Every year, there are many, many winners. There are no
"Best Novel" or "Quickest-Written Novel" awards given out. All winners
will get an official "Winner" web icon and certificate.
What if I start and don't finish?
That's ok. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
Why 50,000 words? Isn't that more of a novella?
Our experiences over the past three years show that 50,000 is a
difficult but doable goal, even for people with full-time jobs. The
length makes it a short novel. We don't use the word "novella" because
it doesn't seem to impress people the way "novel" does.
Why are you doing this? What do you get out of it?
NaNoWriMo is all about the magical power of deadlines. Give someone a
goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are bound to happen.
Pies will be eaten at amazing rates. Alfalfa will be harvested like
never before. And novels will be written in a month.
Part of the reason we organize NaNoWriMo is just to get a book
written. We love the fringe benefits accrued to novelists. For one
month out of the year, we can stew and storm, and make a huge mess of
our apartments and drink lots of coffee at odd hours. And we can do
all of these things loudly, in front of people. As satisfying as it is
to reach deep within yourself and pull out an unexpectedly passable
work of art, it is equally (if not more) satisfying to be able to
dramatize the process at social gatherings.
But that artsy drama window is woefully short. The other reason we do
NaNoWriMo is because the glow from making big, messy art, and watching
others make big, messy art, lasts for a long, long time. The act of
sustained creation does bizarre, wonderful things to you. It changes
the way you read. And changes, a little bit, your sense of self. We
like that.
Can I write one word 50,000 times?
No. Well... No.
I have a lot to do in November. Can I start in October and end early?
No. One of the best things about NaNoWriMo is the way it spreads the
agony of creation throughout a large community of co-sufferers. For
the pain to be properly distributed (and thereby diminished), all
participants must be working on the same deadline.
Do I have to start my novel from scratch on November 1?
Yes.
Does that mean I can't use an outline or notes?
Outlines and plot notes are very much encouraged, and can be started
months ahead of the actual novel-writing adventure. Previously written
prose, though, is punishable by death.
I'm just writing 50,000 words of crap, why bother? Why not just write
a real novel later, when I have more time?
There are three reasons.
1) If you don't do it now, you probably never will. Novel writing is
mostly a "one day" event. As in "One day, I'd like to write a novel."
Here's the truth: 99% of us, if left to our own devices, would never
make the time to write a novel. It's just so far outside our normal
lives that it constantly slips down to the bottom of our to-do lists.
The structure of NaNoWriMo forces you to put away all those
self-defeating worries and START. Once you have the first five
chapters under your belt, the rest will come easily. Or painfully. But
it will come. And you'll have friends to help you see it through to
50k.
2) Aiming low is the best way to succeed. With entry-level novel
writing, shooting for the moon is the surest way to get nowhere. With
high expectations, everything you write will sound cheesy and awkward.
Once you start evaluating your story in terms of word count, you take
that pressure off yourself. And you'll start surprising yourself with
a great bit of dialogue here and a ingenious plot twist there.
Characters will start doing things you never expected, taking the
story places you'd never imagined. There will be much execrable prose,
yes. But amidst the crap, there will be beauty. A lot of it.
3) Art for art's sake does wonderful things to you. It makes you
laugh. It makes you cry. It makes you want to take naps and go places
wearing funny pants. Doing something just for the hell of it is a
wonderful antidote to all the chores and "must-dos" of daily life.
Writing a novel in a month is both exhilarating and stupid, and we
would all do well to invite a little more spontaneous stupidity into
our lives.
Can anyone participate in NaNoWriMo?
No. People who take their writing (and themselves) very seriously
should probably go elsewhere. Everyone else, though, is warmly
welcomed.
Now, I knew most of this when I agreed to start this project but
somehow missed the most telling statistic right up until last night.
How many novels have been written through NaNoWriMo?
We had 21 participants and six winners in 1999, 140 participants and
29 winners in 2000, 5000 particpants and more than 700 winners in
2001, 13,500 participants and around 2100 winners in 2002, and 25,500
participants and about 3500 winners in 2003. This November we're
hoping for 40,000 participants and something close to 5000 winners.
So as I look at that, the completion percentage the first year was
less than five percent, it soared to almost eight, then steadied out
around 6 percent and change.
I've never been accused of being a mathmatician, but it looks to me
like a very small percentage of novels actually reach the 50k word
mark in 30 days, less than ten percent.
That's worrisome. But, alas, I'm already committed and would love to
have one of those hard-won NaNoWriMo winner icons to stick at my new
creative writing only blog, www.phywriter.com.
The novel that I'm working on is called _The Sky Pirate_, it is sort
of a space opera (insomuch that it doesn't actually take place in
space), and it appears to be channeling a _Firefly_ vibe.
I guess at this point, there's really only one thing left to say:
"Go!"
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johne cook
wisconsin, usa
johne.cook at gmail.com / jcook at apostate.com
http://www.phywriter.com
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