Bending the Rules

Posted on November 20, 2013March 22, 2019 by Ely0604

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles FreeDigitalPhotos.net

NaNoWriMo is about writing a novel in 30 days. The rules state that you start writing a brand new novel on November 1st and after 50K words and/or 30 days, you should have a new novel. But rules were made to be broken or at least bent. Many participants use the NaNo challenge to finish a novel they have already started, because 50K words does not a novel make (at least not completely, for most genres).

So if the rules can be bent to continue a novel already in progress, why can’t they be bent even further (or in the other direction maybe)? The point is to get the writing done, right? Why force yourself to sit and focus on something that inspiration refuses to participate in? If I am bored writing it, then the reader will get bored reading it. It will feel as forced to the reader and it does to me, trying to pull the words from someplace they don’t want to be found.

     More than 26K words in and I am still eking towards the real action in the story I am writing. I’m actually only one scene away, but it’s like there is a wall preventing me from seeing or going any further. There is a lot of lead up and a good chunk, if not most of what has already been written, will likely not make the cut when it comes time to edit (which is not until after November of course.) But the closer I get to the good bits, the harder I find it to focus and produce the words I need to get there. And no, there is no jumping ahead and writing the good bits first, because I only know the feeling I’m going for and a portion of how it will be achieved. Getting through the lead up helps shape the story as a whole and without it, it would be like building a house with no foundation. At least, that’s how it works for me. Other writers will have different opinions and approaches.

     Yesterday, I was barely able to write over six hundreds words. My mind and my heart just weren’t in it anymore. So why force myself to continue something when inspiration is pulling me in another direction? Simply to stick to the rules? But then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the challenge, to get me writing? So as of this morning, I am going back to working on a short story I was writing before joining this year’s NaNo. Anything new I write will be counted towards my daily word count since I am still writing, just not the novel I intended. If I finish that and I still don’t reach the 50K word goal, then I will just go wherever inspiration leads me.

     It just doesn’t make sense to fight with my muse because he/she/it isn’t telling me what I want to hear and then later curse him/her/it out because they aren’t telling me anything at all. Unfortunately, as many writers can attest, we are slaves to our muses and not the other way around. So we need to be open to listening when they are speaking and that’s exactly what I’m choosing to do.

NaNo Prep 2013

Posted on October 9, 2013March 22, 2019 by Ely0604

Image courtesy of nanowrimo.org

It is officially NaNoWriMo prep season and everyone is busy gearing up for November 1st. Everywhere I look, there are status updates and blog posts all about the ways in which everyone is getting ready. With each strategy, brainstorm, and novel idea I read about, I feel the longing grow stronger and stronger. You see, since I discovered NaNoWriMo back in 2009, this will be the first year that I will not be participating. It feels a bit like being grounded on the night of the biggest party of the year and having to listen to everyone else’s excited chatter about what they will be wearing and who they will be going with.

You might be asking why I don’t just sign up and join if I’m already missing it before it has begun. The answer is simple. Every year, for the last four years, I signed up, jumped headlong into a new novel and burned out about halfway through the month. And this is when I had time to dedicate to my writing. I’ve continued to join, even though I have yet to win, because NaNo pushes me beyond my everyday limits and gets me writing more than I do virtually the entire rest of the year. I have always counted this as a win even if I don’t technically win the NaNo challenge of 50K words in a single month.

Image courtesy of Ambro FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This year however, I am halfway through one of the longest, most tedious projects I’ve ever been assigned at work. It is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. By the time I get home each night, my mind is numb and my body aches. Ignoring these feelings, I still try to get in some writing whenever I can because there are stories within me that are still waiting to be told. There are characters that wish to be introduced to the world, places that need to be charted and events that need to unfold and they are all relying on me.

Despite my desire to do the writing, my body is so worn that I am barely able to keep my eyes open when I finally have the time to sit down and write these days. I am lucky if I am able to eek out anything more than 300 words in a single sitting. With that in mind, how could I ever hope to meet the 1667 a day minimum I would need to reach the 50K goal? The saddest part of all is that this would have been the first year that I would have participated with a vast network of fellow WriMos that understand the insane journey that is NaNoWriMo and might have been the difference between me burning out and actually winning the challenge this year.

Who knows, over the next three weeks I might just end up giving in to longing and join after all. But if not, then I wish all my fellow WriMos good luck as I live vicariously through your posts on your NaNo progress. Not to worry though, next year, I will be back in line amongst the ranks of sleep deprived writers!