Anyway, I guess my eighth grade award was right about one thing - I have always loved writing. I used to think that someday, in the vague future, I might write a book, if I ever came up with a good idea. When I envisioned that vague someday, it was about 30 years in the future, when my children were all grown up, and I'd write while sitting on the porch of the Italian villa I owned.
Well, 30 years and my Italian villa will have to wait (let's be honest, I'll probably be waiting my whole life for the villa). I'm going to write it now, when my kid is not even close to grown up, sitting right here at my kitchen table.
Last week, when I was in Saint George on vacation, I woke up in my hotel room at 4am and thought "I have a good idea for a book!" so I grabbed the Best Western pad of paper and started writing. When both sides of those papers were used up, I wrote notes on my phone. And then, at 8am, which I deemed a more socially acceptable time to ask for more paper, I went down to the lobby to pick up a few more sheets. It made for one tired adventurer that day, but I was really excited about my idea.
Since then, my excitement has definitely waned, and has been replaced by the realities of writing a novel. You guys. It's hard (and I haven't even really started yet!). Anyone can crank out a 500-word blog post, but a novel with 50,000-100,000 words?? That's crazy. Not to mention, this is on top of everything else I do (I'm still not sure where my novel-writing hours are going to come from).
To be honest, I'm terrified.
But I'm doing it anyway.
I'm going to participate in National Novel Writing Month (abbreviated to the weirdly catchy NaNoWriMo, or sometimes just NaNo). It's where 300,000 people across the country write an entire novel in one month.
I'm not writing my novel for the intent of publication. In fact, I'm almost 100% sure I'll never even let anyone read this novel. But I want to prove to myself that I can do it, and it could eventually lead to a good novel (you know, 30 years down the road in my Italian villa ;). This week, I've been reading, researching, outlining, interviewing people and googling random things to prepare for November 1, and even this stage in the process has been really engaging and fun for me.
Anyway, now that I've declared my goal publicly this blog, I have thousands of people to hold me accountable! Don't let me quit. Ask me how it's going. Tell me to get off my blog and work on my book ;)
Has anyone else ever done NaNoWriMo?
Or written a book?
Or maybe just have a super motivational quote for me?
I need all the help I can get!
I have a novel that I wrote in high school. It's high fantasy. I started to hardcore revise (read: rewrite) it in college, then I just got super busy and had higher priorities. I wish I had time to go back to it.
ReplyDeleteDo it in November with me! :)
DeleteAh, I'm so excited for you!
ReplyDeleteI kind of toyed with the idea of participating in NaNoWriMo but I honestly didn't think I could commit. I'm also writing a novel - that was probably clear from potentially participating - and really enjoy it. I don't write with the intent to publish, I write for myself - like you say, no one may ever see it, although I do share mine with my partner. If anything comes of it, well that's jolly brilliant but I also think it's important in life to do things for YOU.
Good luck! I'll give you one piece of advice - back up your work, and then back it up some more, and then even more! This comes from someone who lost the story they'd been working on for over a year.
:-)
Bits & Bobs
AH I can't believe you lost what you had been working on for ONE YEAR! That is terrible. But good advice - I will definitely be backing up my progress now! Can I ask which software you used to write your book?
DeleteI know - what are the changes of USB and laptop breaking?! But, the positive is that I found an old USB that I thought only contained pictures and to my surprise the bare bones - literally - were on there and so I've been slowing working on that since. I think that is why I don't write as much as I used to now. It kind of irks me that it isn't the same as before, y'know, because I was so loving where it was all going.
DeleteI started out basic using just regular Microsoft Word, formatting as needed.
:-)
I know a girl who is in Florence, Italy writing a novel on a Fulbright grant. Don't give up on your villa dream!
ReplyDeleteShelby, you are awesome. Thanks for commenting :) And maybe a Italian villa isn't too crazy of a dream after all!
DeleteExciting! I only ever feel anger and/or grogginess when I wake up at 4am. Good luck, wish I could be there to do some babysitting swaps with you!
ReplyDeleteHa. I think I'm turning into one of those weird people like my dad who never really sleeps anymore. It's terrible. And yes, I recently discovered the art of the babysitting swap, and it's fantastic. I wish we could swap!
DeleteYay! This is my first official NaNo as well, and I'm super excited (and a little terrified). Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm terrified too. Like, majorly. Let's do this together!
DeleteI love nanowrimo but being in school makes it hard for me! So I'm doing it the day after finals! My dream is to be an author and it really is such a scary process! But rewarding! And I have started to write on the backs of advertisements or odd shaped pieces of paper. Then, it's not as much pressure. I just have to fill that piece of paper and maybe, I'll fill two! Then I type them up at night!
ReplyDeleteI definitely could NOT do it while I was a student! And you are amazing to start thinking like an author and write things down as they come.
DeleteI've never done NaNoWriMo, but I've always wanted to try! Sounds like such a good idea to get a first draft written. My sister just got an agent last year & published this year--it's such an exciting journey to watch. Good luck to you!!
ReplyDelete