NaNoWriMo 2010 Updates

Monday November 1 marked the beginning of National Novel Writing Month – otherwise known as “NaNoWriMo”. The goal of NaNoWriMo is simple – shut up and write! Actually, the stated goals are to write a novel of 50,000 words of fiction over the month of November. That amounts to approximately 175 pages of writing. At the end of the month, you have your word count and text validated, and if you make that 50,000 word threshold, you are officially classified as a “winner”.

No, that doesn’t mean that your book will automatically be published, or that Steven Spielberg will want to direct a big screen version of it (though I do think that Matt Damon could play the lead in my story, but more about that later). Or that it will even be decent writing at all, or that anyone other than yourself, friends, and family will even care. And there aren’t any big prizes other than the pride in knowing that you did it.

This year is the 12th year that NaNoWriMo has been in existence. It started with 21 participants in 1999. In 2009, there were 165,000+ participants, and 30,000+ of them completed the challenge. They have also created a Young Writers Program.

I am not sure I had ever really considered writing a novel. I definitely hadn’t ever thought of it in high school. But then, the inspiration suddenly hit me. It wasn’t about writing a novel. It was about becoming a better writer – regardless of the genre, fiction or non-fiction.

And, imagine this, it was about the mental challenge – not that I have ever undertaken a task for that reason. That’s my story, and I am sticking with it.

And a challenge it is. It’s not so much about the quality of the writing so much as the quantity. And if you think of it, the actual process of writing needs to start with getting it committed to paper first and foremost – the Inner Editor is a hellacious individual at times. Think of how many things we don’t do because our Inner Editor (or Critic, or Rational Human Entity) puts a “stop” on things just because of some level of “rational thinking”, instead of just forging ahead and “getting it done”.

The fascination with the process is really what has me intrigued. And with that in mind, I am embarking on an adventure: to write 50,000 words in 30 days – an average of 1,667 per day. Hopefully, I will be standing here on December 1 with a rough draft of something, anything – and maybe it will actually serve as the foundation for something worth reading in the future. My fingers are crossed. Stephen King had to start somewhere.

You can follow my progress here. My current word count will be posted on the home page.

And if you are interested in making a donation to help support NaNoWriMo (a non-profit organization) and their Young Writers Program, please go to my sponsor page here.

Wish me luck!

Update: November 3, 2010: Current word count = 12,072. This process has been incredible thus far. What I have come to realize is that a) I type a lot faster than I’d ever imagined (with two fingers as well!), and b) putting out the first 12,000 words has been virtually painless – and a lot of fun. I can see the plots and sub-plots developing right before my very eyes. The characters are getting some depth, and the fun has really yet to begin! At this rate, I could have 15,000 words by the end of week one, and that would reduce my daily writing to 1,521 words per day for the remainder of the month. It still sounds daunting to say the least!

Update: November 6, 2010: Current word count = 17,032. I had a day in which I didn't write a word, and I am still well ahead of schedule. I can see how the Inner Editor goes to work in subversive ways. So far, so good, but I can see how this is going to get a lot more challenging soon enough. In the meantime, I am enjoying the fact that I am a couple of days ahead of plan, and have a revised goal of 20,000 words by the end of the weekend. A good pot of coffee on Sunday morning should solve that one!

Update: November 10, 2010: Current word count = 30,279. Consider me completely dumbfounded that I am where I am right now. I am about a week ahead of schedule, and at my current rate, I could actually have this done by November 18th. I highly doubt that is going to happen because I am fully expecting "reality" to set it. But writing on a daily basis has been a pleasure, and very productive. It is amazing what you can write in a 20 or 30 minute window of time when it becomes available. My next goal is at least 35,000 words by the end of day on Sunday, November 14th. The plot thickens!

Update: November 13, 2010: Current word count = 41,449. Apparently, my plot line is writing itself. It has been incredibly easy to write 41,000 words thus far. It comes down to sticking to the process of writing. It comes down to "write now, edit later".I had hoped for 40,000 words by the end of 11/14, but I think I may actually be able to get to 44,000 or 45,000. At this rate, I will break the 50,000 threshold by Thursday 11/18!

Update: November 17, 2010: Current word count = 50,017. Mission accomplished! And there are plenty more words to be had! With 13 days left in the month, I am the proud owner of a first draft for a novel - my first novel! There were times when the words wouldn't flow, and other times when they would spring forth effortlessly. Writing can be a very Zen-like process - knowing when to push, knowing when to retreat, and simply being in the moment! Now I can print this and let my Inner Editor have a field day with it!

Photo credit: mpclemens