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Craft of Writing

Donna Sundblad

Running the NaNoWriMo Race

Have you heard? November is National Novel Writing Month. Last year I joined myriads of writers picking up the NaNoWriMo gauntlet to run toward the 50,000 word count finish line. For those who have not heard of NaNoWriMo, its website says that, “National Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000 word) novel by midnight, November 30.”

As I signed up, thoughts of insanity flashed through my mind, but I doused them with a bucket of wishful thinking. What could it hurt to try? A better question, where would I start?

Get Ready…
In the months previous to NaNoWriMo, I’d developed a series of related scenes by following writing exercises found in Pumping Your Muse. These scenes provided a rough outline for a novel, but lacked detail and depth. I met a few characters, had a basic layout for my fictional world and understood the main plot. With this assortment of short scenes clutched in my hand, I approached NaNoWriMo prepared to play a game of Connect the Dots with preexisting scenes. They didn’t count toward the 50,000 word count but provided stepping stones offering direction in the frenzied blathering of ideas from my mind to paper each day.

NaNoWriMo participants lined up at the November 1 starting line sporting working titles across their profiles instead of numbers. On day one, hope and excitement mixed with a touch of trepidation as we gathered.

Get Set…
If I hoped to write 50,000 words in a month, I needed a plan. I broke the task into manageable goals. The daunting word count goal of 12,500 words a week still sounded like more than I thought possible, but from there I broke it down to a daily goal of 2,000 words. If I attained my goal each day, I’d be a bit ahead of the mark, and it gave me a margin of safety if life encroached on my writing.

Go!
Word counter gauges registered zero. Stories bolted out of the shoot, developed and changed as characters grew. Plots thickened as characters interacted with their environment. Titles evolved in the process. Some participants started strong but limped the second week, losing momentum. Others dashed so far ahead of me that I couldn’t see their dust, only the huge word count.

Word upon word, line upon line, I steadily filled gaps from scene to scene. My thoughts lived within the Valley of Rocks, the Village of Chock and learned the secrets of the Windwalkers. The process forced me to write without going back to change or edit. In some cases, whole chapters emerged, while other times short scenes connected, filling in details. Gradually, the map of Trikel’s world took shape, offering specifics making the land of Windwalkers real. Trikel transformed into Manelin. I found the writing process fascinating. I couldn’t wait to turn the page as he made friends, recognized enemies and offered hope for the future.

According to the NaNoWriMo website, “The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly,” and it does. I had no time to ponder fine points or pull out the thesaurus to find a perfect word. The mission: Complete the first draft of a novel. At times I felt I’d signed on for Mission Impossible, but I plunged forward with both feet and watched the word count meter tally my daily progress.

Focus on Something You Can See
It’s important to keep your focus on the goal. I learned this trick when, as a runner, I ran long distance. Focus on something you can see. Once your reach it, move your attention to something down the road. Reaching smaller goals along the way boots spirits and encourages to keep going. It’s not a matter of keeping up with the other writers, but instead, staying focused on the personal goals you’ve set. Running toward the 2,000 word count each day provided measurable progress and a sense of accomplishment.

I tried not to compare my word count with fellow NaNoites. Self-doubt tried to creep in along the journey when I’d see someone write 20,000 words in a week, but I bumped such discouraging thoughts off the road by writing a few thousand words. I peeled my eyes off the word counts of others and checked my own. I needed to stay focused. 2,000 words a day. I could do it. No streamlining, no going back, I plowed forward. Along the way I met new people, made friends and got to know my characters.

An Exhilarating Experience
Are you cut out to run this marathon? It’s worth a try. When NaNoWriMo was founded in 1999, 21 people took part. In 2004, I stood with over 42,000 participants on November 1. Nearly 6,000 crossed the 50k finish line. What an exhilarating experience.

In my case, Pumping Your Muse set up a world, plot and a few characters on paper and solidified them in my mind. Scenes generated by the exercises in that book gave me a mental head start. If you’d like to check out the possibility of doing the same, you can preview the first three chapters of Pumping Your Muse here. Use the exercises to give you a jump start.

If you decide to join the organized melee at NaNoWriMo, you’ll run side-by-side with writers from all over the world experiencing the same pleasures and pitfalls. Even those who fizzle along the way complete something and gain experience even if it’s learning from mistakes.

Organizers work hard to make the site user friendly, and provide regional forums for writers to interact with others in their locale. If you happen across this article early in November, come on over to NaNoWriMo and join us. You don’t have to wait until next year. If you don’t have an idea for a storyline, or have an inkling but don’t know where you want it to go, consider buying a copy of Pumping Your Muse or a similar book to engage your imagination and capture fresh ideas with twists and turns that provide an unpredictable plot.

Writing a novel in a month provided an immense sense of accomplishment. Not only did I complete a first draft, but what was once Trikel’s world has been accepted for publication. The title of the upcoming book, Windwalker, reminds me of the NaNoWriMo experience. Come join in and run like the wind through fields of creative exploration and emerge with the first draft of a completed novel.

Hope to see you at the finish line.


About the Author
Author and freelance writer, Donna Sundblad, resides in Florida with her husband, Rick. Her creative writing book, Pumping Your Muse, is available in paper or ebook format. Check her website for more information at www.theinkslinger.net. Donna also edits for and co-owns Team Spirit Critique and Editing, LLC.