by Becky Clark Cornwell
61,412.
The number of Legos on my son’s floor? The number of rejection
letters I’ve received? Miles of cable hooking up my computers,
printers, and modems?
No. Well, yes, but that's not what’s important right now.
61,412 is the number of words I wrote during the National Novel
Writing Month challenge between November 1 and November 30, completing
two first draft manuscripts in my series of books for middle readers.
Chris Baty started NaNoWriMo in 1999 with 21 aspiring novelists
accepting the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch
in November. Six of them crossed the 50,000-word finish line. In
2003 there were upwards of 25,000 participants with 3,500 crossing
the finish line.
Why, you ask, would I subject myself to this type of chained-to-your-desk-butt-numbing-caffeine-driven
torture? Simple. To write. To get it done. To learn. Having survived,
I highly recommend this peculiar approach to kick-start a stalled
project or to silence your inner-editor or to give yourself a shove
right over the Niagara Falls of your creativity.
But before I go any further, I have a confession. I cheated. I didn’t
write one long novel, I wrote two short ones. But I knew I was going
to cheat before I even started, so as penance, I set my bar a bit
higher at 60,000 words. There, I feel better.
Despite bending the rules, I wrote and I learned.
I learned to plant my hindquarters in my chair for extended periods
of time. It seems obvious, but the obvious truths are often the very
ones we overlook. If I’m not in front of my keyboard, it’s
guaranteed that no writing will take place. But if I’m sitting,
fingers poised, I will.
I learned the importance of an organized plan of attack. I knew
how many days, hours, and minutes I had available to write. I knew
how many words I needed. I had access to a calculator, a 40-cup coffee
hypodermic, and the pizza delivery guy. My plan was born.
I learned how to write faster and better. When quantity matters
more than quality, I learned to stop editing myself along the way.
Something magical happened when I ignored my dictionary, thesaurus,
and style manual. I was free to write creatively instead of correctly.
My word choices broadened in direct proportion to how far behind
I was on my word count that day. Instead of using a safe but boring
word like quickly, I found myself using a more
colorful phrase like in a jiffy or as
fast as a pig going downhill on roller skates. What a bonus
to count all the extra words!
In the dark recesses of my gray matter, I know there lurks a problem
with point of view (POV). Writing oodles of scenes, broken only by
eating and sleeping, allowed me to shine a very bright light on POV
and keep it in the front of my mind. While I may still have occasional
POV issues, 30 days of concentrated focus taught me to notice and
correct them. My critique group will be delighted.
I also learned it doesn’t matter whether I’m cranky,
sad, angry, tired, or hungry. Nobody can tell based on my writing.
Now I know I never have to put off writing until I’m in a better
mood. As a bonus, I learned that writing always puts me in a better
mood.
I learned the importance of good health. Sitting and writing is
a physical ordeal, despite all outward appearances. I had to take
time to exercise and stretch every day. I had to protect my fingers,
forearms, neck, and eyeballs constantly. I also flossed more often
than normal, but in retrospect that probably had more to do with
stalling.
On a personal note, I learned my household will not fall apart if
I focus on an all-consuming project. Thanksgiving dinner is just
as enjoyable with Stove Top as it is with homemade chestnut-oyster-bleu-cheese
stuffing. (Actually, my kids say it’s more enjoyable. Go figure.)
Laundry will not topple over and suffocate us while we sleep, field
trip forms will get signed in a timely manner, and the Health Department
will not need to visit.
Those Legos, though, do need to get picked up.
Get more info at NaNoWriMo.org, a fun, irreverent and inspirational
site for every novelist, aspiring or otherwise. National Editing
Month is in March. Sign up in October 2005 for the next NaNoWriMo.
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