I'll be the first to say it: I'm a blogging virgin. Yes, I've used Xanga in my high school years and a tiny bit of LiveJournal to pass the time since, but I've never truly kept up with any type of blog, let alone one with a purpose. This, is my first. And with a little help from others, I think it may help me complete my "quest".
Many of you visiting here are probably wondering just what exactly is the NaNoWriMo Quest. My sister told me many years ago about the NaNoWriMo organization, or National Novel Writer's Month. Perhaps they describe it the best: "Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!" From November 1st-30th members have the goal of writing a novel at a minimum of 50,000 words (or getting at least 50,000 words into the writing of a novel). I've written ever since I was very young and I've always wanted to write at least one novel in my lifetime; NaNoWriMo seemed like an excellent motivator for that. Yet college always got in the way of the unfortuitous timing of November...mid-terms and final papers abound. There was no time to try to write anything more than research papers on the mythology of Shinto and United States' governmental policies. Finally I'm taking a break from school inbetween degrees and I'm putting my mind to it. This year I will write my 50,000 words.
While there are no hard and fast rules to NaNoWriMo, it is suggested that you don't start writing until the strike of 12:01AM on November 1st. Why? If you're already in the process of writing, what's really going to change for you that month? Nothing. So for the next three months I will be working on the plot, outlines, character development, and more, setting up the stage for the production. I will want to start writing. I will want to give in. But if I wait and allow the excitement to brew then perhaps, just perhaps, this can be the motivation I need to do what I've always wanted.
Why am I writing here? I need to be accountable to more than just myself. I need more than just the wordcount update every night in November. I need an invisible army to hold me to this promise, to make this real. So the question is readers, will you stand behind me?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
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The journey of a first-time novelist and life along the way.
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This is very cool! I'm excited for you! I don't know if you know, but I wrote a novel the summer between my undergrad and starting grad school. It took me about 2 months and it ended up being about 70K. It was a great experience that you're going to love! I was kind of addicted to it like when you get addicted to reading a book. I wrote for a minimum of 3 hours a day.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried to publish it yet because I'm still in the middle of the 3rd draft. That's the problem with writing... the many drafts after the initial. And with grad school already underway, my 3rd draft has been put on the back burner. Maybe November though... :)
Anyway, good luck!
Chantal
I had to sit and ponder for a couple minutes who Mrs. C was. This is really inspiring and I'm glad you're starting this project. Let me know if you need to chat about it, but good job starting the blog, they are so much fun!
ReplyDeleteAlways,
Miss E.
It's interesting that you are intent on writing a novel, as that was always on my "back burner." Finally, I ran out of excuses, picked up where I had left off, and began writing again in earnest, but what I decided to do was to post my novel on a blog, one chapter at a time. I've now posted twenty chapters, plus prologue, which represents the first of three parts of my novel. How much I post will depend on factors such as interest and feedback.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck with your endeavor.
Drachma
http://thebookofdrachma.blogspot.com/