NaNoWriMo is this month… and I’m not officially participating. It’s not that I’m not writing every day – I am – it’s just the daily 1666 word count is a bit of stretch this time month. Look, I know it’s not even technically a lot of words, but I’ll be traveling and have other work commitments that mean although I’ll hit my daily count (around 1100 words), I won’t have a lot of time to catch up if I fall behind on hitting NaNoWriMo’s 50,000-in-a-month goal.
The last time I did NaNoWriMo was 2010 and I did make the goal, and I loved it. It served the purpose of establishing a daily rhythm for writing that I’ve refused to let (hardly) anything break. I need that rhythm, the constant drumbeat of just doing the work. My first drafts are big, loopy, messy affairs, and I just need to get through them – a constant daily goal allows me to do that.
The other question that often comes up between writers during NaNoWriMo is: Are you a pantser? It’s short hand for: Do you write with an outline or not? If you’re one of those writers who don’t, then you’re writing by the seat of your pants.
I’ve heard very successful writers argue both sides of the coin. Some that never touch an outline, others that can’t imagine starting a book without one. I tend to split the difference – I don’t prepare a hard outline, but I definitely have a road map in my head. I’m prone to exploring some backwoods routes, however, kind of seeing what’s out there. I know where I’m going (more or less), I just like to explore a little bit while getting there.
One thing I have started to borrow from screenwriting is preparing color-coded cards for scenes and beats (check out Black Snyder’s Save The Cat). It’s a great way of visualizing your book as you put it together, and it sets up an easy process for breaking it down again as you edit and rewrite.
Whether you wear pants or not, the best thing about NaNoWriMo is just the writing…getting the words on paper, and sharing those words with others and letting others support you while you do it. I’ve learned that our writing community is deep, active, and helpful – and nothing demonstrate it more than this month.
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