Fun little fact about My Best Friend's Brother: The entire novel was written in just 30 days. Why? Because last year, I decided to do a little challenge called "National Novel Writing Month." During the month of November, writers challenge themselves to write a whole 50,000 words - the equivalent of one full novel. While this sounds like a stressful proposition to some, this can be a great way to get hesitant writers to over-write in an attempt to bring their skills to the foreground. Though many do not make the goal, I still believe that what they gain is a far greater understanding of what it's truly like to write an entire novel.
Some writers find themselves being caught up in small details, errors that they hastily go back to change over and over, writer's block, or simply getting bored with their stories. By joining NaNoWriMo, these hopeful novelists are forced to go beyond their inhibitions and just write - no matter what they write, or whether they are going to have to do major edits later on. For me, quantity trumps quality, especially in a first draft. I am a firm believer in making many revisions, and the more you have to work with, the better.
How did I complete the challenge? Well, that part is a little harder to explain. No doubt every writer has his or her own technique for such a huge amount of writing. I started with an idea for a story I had had months before actually writing any of it. (One of the rules is that you can't have started writing the story before November 1st. And yes, it goes by the honour system.) At first, I had tons to say, so I just wrote and wrote, disregarding the many mistakes I knew I was making. Like I said, it doesn't matter - write first, revise later.
One of the things I struggle with when trying to write a novel is always the middle part. You know, the part of the book that's supposed to take you from that brilliantly written beginning to that oh-so-wonderful ending. And while I'm usually pretty proud of my beginnings and endings, my middle parts always need more work that I care to admit. I get bored with the action, or the characters aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. And sometimes, I just find it hard to write all that... stuff. There's no other way to describe it. It's the stuff of the story.
Having said that, I felt a little defeated when it came to November 15th and I didn't have 25,000 words written. By November 20th, it was getting pretty clear that I wouldn't make it, and I almost gave up. However, one of my other techniques of writing is that I always have a couple of people who read my stories as I write them. (Test subjects, if you will.) So when I told my friends that I didn't think I would make it, they complained enough that I decided to keep going.
I think maybe if it weren't for them, I might not have done it. Hey, maybe peer pressure works sometimes! So I just kept going. Would you believe that I wrote 18,000 words in just the last three days of the challenge? Yup, on November 27th, I had just under 32,000 words. So, I apologetically ignored my family and pushed through. And I'm really glad I did it. Because if I hadn't, I don't know how long it might have taken me to finish otherwise.
For anyone that's thinking of doing it, I say just go for it! There really is no harm in trying. NaNoWriMo doesn't cost anything (though they take donations) and I honestly think it would be beneficial for anyone who loves to write but struggles with actually finishing something. So if you're one of those people, scroll back up to the link and sign up. You still have plenty of time to plan out your book and there's plenty of support in the writing community. Plus it's super fun to try to write something very quickly without looking back.
- Natasja
Some writers find themselves being caught up in small details, errors that they hastily go back to change over and over, writer's block, or simply getting bored with their stories. By joining NaNoWriMo, these hopeful novelists are forced to go beyond their inhibitions and just write - no matter what they write, or whether they are going to have to do major edits later on. For me, quantity trumps quality, especially in a first draft. I am a firm believer in making many revisions, and the more you have to work with, the better.
How did I complete the challenge? Well, that part is a little harder to explain. No doubt every writer has his or her own technique for such a huge amount of writing. I started with an idea for a story I had had months before actually writing any of it. (One of the rules is that you can't have started writing the story before November 1st. And yes, it goes by the honour system.) At first, I had tons to say, so I just wrote and wrote, disregarding the many mistakes I knew I was making. Like I said, it doesn't matter - write first, revise later.
One of the things I struggle with when trying to write a novel is always the middle part. You know, the part of the book that's supposed to take you from that brilliantly written beginning to that oh-so-wonderful ending. And while I'm usually pretty proud of my beginnings and endings, my middle parts always need more work that I care to admit. I get bored with the action, or the characters aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. And sometimes, I just find it hard to write all that... stuff. There's no other way to describe it. It's the stuff of the story.
Having said that, I felt a little defeated when it came to November 15th and I didn't have 25,000 words written. By November 20th, it was getting pretty clear that I wouldn't make it, and I almost gave up. However, one of my other techniques of writing is that I always have a couple of people who read my stories as I write them. (Test subjects, if you will.) So when I told my friends that I didn't think I would make it, they complained enough that I decided to keep going.
I think maybe if it weren't for them, I might not have done it. Hey, maybe peer pressure works sometimes! So I just kept going. Would you believe that I wrote 18,000 words in just the last three days of the challenge? Yup, on November 27th, I had just under 32,000 words. So, I apologetically ignored my family and pushed through. And I'm really glad I did it. Because if I hadn't, I don't know how long it might have taken me to finish otherwise.
For anyone that's thinking of doing it, I say just go for it! There really is no harm in trying. NaNoWriMo doesn't cost anything (though they take donations) and I honestly think it would be beneficial for anyone who loves to write but struggles with actually finishing something. So if you're one of those people, scroll back up to the link and sign up. You still have plenty of time to plan out your book and there's plenty of support in the writing community. Plus it's super fun to try to write something very quickly without looking back.
- Natasja
