It’s December 1, 2013, and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is over. I wrote for 30 consecutive days meeting and exceeding my goal of 1667 words a day. 50,000 words sounds daunting but since this was my forth one, it’s almost business as usual. I won’t say that it was easy. Hence, there were times when I sat and stared at a blank screen for a few minutes not knowing where to go – writers block. Eventually you begin writing and something miraculous happens and you’re on your way to meeting your goal.
Most of my days I spent at the library pecking away at the keys in isolation. Writing is a something you can only do alone. Therefore, I looked forward to participating in the write-ins where a group of us gather at a library or coffee shop and just write. It’s more like a cathartic environment where we all support each other without collaborating in the writing process. How many words did you write? Or, let’s see how many words you can write in twelve minutes - I got over 350; the winner over 500.
One write-in, a few women sat around a table without any writing materials or computer. The organizer of the group was dumbfounded when they asked, how do you know what to write or where to begin? I instinctively thought about Regina Brett’s book, “God Never Blinks” one of the chapters talks about writing where she astutely says, if you want to write, just write. That is what I did for my first “so-called” book and into my fourth. I had a germ of an idea and just wrote - surprisingly my characters developed into something I never thought possible – the beauty of “NaNoWriMo. I think these individuals wanted someone to give them a quick fix, a formula – this is how it’s done, etc. It’s similar to writing a school paper, the teacher gives you the assignment but ultimately it is up to you to write it and what you’ve learned from the assignment.
The best write-in was at the Cleveland Heights Library on Lee Road. The librarian brought out an entire shelf of books about “NaNoWriMo” and hand outs: how to develop a character (Character Worksheet) and scenes (Editing Review Sheet). I took a few of those handouts when I’m ready to go back through my “draft” and begin to edit; first, however, I need to finish it.
Why am I apprehensive about finishing my first draft? Quite honestly, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps the fear of the finished draft that says to me, what will I do with it now? I find it hard to edit blog posts let alone editing an entire book of well over 50,000 words.
At another write-in, a few more women were there talking to a few of us about how we began our story. It was twenty questions about this or that; the woman was giving me a headache and she was becoming very annoying when she asked if she can read my work. I flatly said, “No!” She was so worried about all this research she needed to do that she was missing out what “NaNoWriMo” is all about – just write and develop your craft. For me at least, it is the discovery that I can write dialogue and build characters that hopefully makes sense. Moreover, it is putting together your experiences into a cohesive manner. To piggy back on what Regina Brett said, writing it down instead of procrastinating about what to write; you’re missing out on the experience. Just like I’m afraid of finishing, these women were afraid to start.
I told another woman what Regina Brett mentioned in her book, “just write.” Oh, I can’t do that she said. I want to take a writing class with other writers. That is perfectly fine to do that but eventually you will need to put pen to paper or fingers to your computer keys. On the same vein, I do remember taking a writing workshop at, “The LIT” several years ago on Fairhill Road. I was extremely nervous because I never really wrote before where I needed to read for the class. I was intimidated when a girl read first and her work was so professional with hundred-dollar-words. We had an in class assignment and I wrote about my mother and the instructor really like it. Why, because I wrote from the heart. I wanted to type it out, and cherish it. I lost it!
There was another girl at the write-in writing that I was very impressed with. She was in high school and was writing during the evenings. She was applying to colleges, doing her homework and writing during the wee hours of the night. That is what you do when you’re young – you try to do it all no matter how tired you are. I told her my story when I was a senior in high school, I wrote this term paper on F. Scott Fitzgerald on a typewriter where I needed to place the footnotes at the bottom of each page. Can I tell you, that process took me the entire night to finish? I remember my Dad coming down to the kitchen early in the morning to get ready for work and he looked at me surprisingly that I was still pecking away at the electric typewriter.
At my last write-in, another girl wrote her book in long hand. I asked her how she knew she reached her goal? She estimated how many words she wrote per page. As I thought about her process, it might be the best way to write because you’re not editing as you go. During “NaNoWriMo” you shouldn’t be editing, but I do. I read the last paragraph I wrote the night before and edit a few words here and there. If I didn’t do that, I might have more words in my count. I ended 2013 with 58,100 words and some change. Not bad for not deciding until the last minute to do it again this year.
I’m not entirely sure why I continue to write unfinished books; they are new when I begin and someday I will surprise myself and finish one of them. My characters are an amalgamation of people that I know and crazy experiences that I’ve witnessed. What I enjoy most is having a goal every night and reaching it; creating dynamic characters and dialogue that adds to the story and interweaving my experiences into something that hopefully will interest a reader. Perhaps I should set a goal of finishing.
National Novel Writing Month (November 1 - 30)
www.nanowrimo.org
Regina Brett
http://www.reginabrett.com
The LIT closes it doors in 2011
http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2011/08/the_lit_clevelands_organizatio.html
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