It’s November again, and that—for those, who have ever participated—may still mean NaNoWriMo. Yes, November is the month when lots of writers across the country used to engage to write a whole novel before the clock strikes December.
I’m not so sure rushing out a novel in four weeks is a great idea, myself. It can be done if one enters with all the background research and prep work accomplished. Even still, it has a downside. Although it’s no longer an official Thing, let’s say you have privately committed yourself to the pledge. Three weeks in, you hunch, haggard, over the keyboard, racing for the finish line. What positive lessons has this forced march taught you? Here are a few I’ve experienced in the past. No doubt you can add others.
Discipline!
There’s no getting around it: if you want to crank out a whole book in four weeks, you’re going to have to keep your nose to the grindstone. Every day, butt in chair. Even when you feel completely empty of ideas, you need to get a few words down on paper. After all, this is just a first draft. It doesn’t have to be good, only done. And that sense of discipline will help you with every manuscript you write.
We all start off strong, but what happens by the middle of the month, when you see you’re way behind the schedule you’ve set for yourself? Or real life has gotten unforeseeably complicated, and that hour you’ve set aside every day is suddenly an annoyance rather than pleasurable me-time? There are certainly legitimate reasons to abandon ship, but often, our reasons are really excuses. It’s helpful to have a community cheering you on by this point in the month, but if you don’t have that, let me remind you: you’re not the kind who quits, are you? Heck, no!
Plotters: Letting Go.
Some writers feel they need to be in control at every instant of the process. That can lead to a lot of anguish if things stall out and the clock is ticking. Maybe you need to trust the process, let the story and characters carry you for a bit until things gel again. If you can’t seem to get to the next action, jump ahead. Write a fun/spicy/intense scene you know is coming further along in the story. Sometimes this unblocks the log jam, and you can just incorporate it later when you come to it in order. I’ve done this a lot—it’s an effective remedy.
Pantsers: Doing the Preparation.
On the other hand, if you’re the sort who usually ambles through a novel figuring out what happens as you go, you may want to put on your plotter pants this time. Four weeks is a pretty tight schedule unless you’ve worked things out in some detail ahead of time. It’s not a bad exercise to go against your nature. Just saying.
Forgiveness.
After all the blood, sweat, tears, and pep talks, you may just not make it before the November page of the calendar is torn off. It’s OK! The truth is not everybody writes in the same way, and you may actually have done your book a favor by slowing it down. Speed is not the issue. You’ve been thinking intensely about the importance to you of writing, you’ve done a lot of it, and gotten a lot of great ideas down on paper. It’s got to be a win.
I guess what I’m saying is that an exercise meant to up creativity shouldn’t become the tail that wags the dog. Make it work for you, not the other way around!
