The Pros and Cons of NaNoWriMo

A few years ago, I completed a NaNoWriMo novel. While the product remains (rightfully) in a file
drawer, it was an intense month and an exhilarating experience to pass that 50k word mark in 30 days. I learned lot about myself as a writer. Since then, I've published two novels with Viking, been battered around a bit by the industry, and continue to work with other writers who have books in the pipeline. And I've got a few thoughts and tips to share about the NaNo experience.

CRAFT-WISE
1. NaNo is like boot. It's amazing to move your muscles way more than usual, learn your limits, your aptitudes and your optimal style of exercising/drafting.

2. NaNo forces you to avoid line-edits, ignore your inner critic and write with a wonderful amount of freedom.

3. NaNo, like an intense gym work-out, can leave your manuscript (like your muscles) a little sore, imperfect and longing for a slower, more measured pace of work.

4. Please stick the manuscript in a drawer for at least a week (or possible until New Year's) and allow your brain to rest and regain some perspective. While it's marinating, search the web for your favorite 10 (or more) "How to Revise Your NaNo Novel" articles. Print them out. If it's gonna take time, print out your novel, too, so it's ready to read on whatever date you have selected.

CAREER-WISE
5. Trust me. Your NaNo manuscript is not a finished product and does not represent your best work. It may have great potential but SEE #s 3 & 4 above. Do not send this unrevised baby to an agent or editor.

6. Seriously, don't.

7. Be aware that agents and editors get thousands and pages of NaNo novel submissions in December, just before they take a holiday vacation. (Heard any good "Editor walks into a NaNo Write-In... jokes?) They do not enjoy this and it nearly assures your work a nap in the slush pile.

8. Waiting to have a truly ready-to-submit manuscript probably won't slow down your path to publication. Submitting a weak, unedited manuscript will very probably slow down your path to publication. (Not gonna say definitely. I mean, we all know crap gets published sometimes.)

NOW...GOGOGOGOGO and get all you can out of this writing adventure.

It's like broccoli--good for you and someday you may like it!

Wordy Wednesday: NanoFAILMo

I've been seeing this word all over the interwebs this week and it's making me a little blue.  A few Novembers back, I completed a 50k NaNo manuscript.  It was fun, the constant writing was a rush and all that but, in the end, the most important thing I took away from the experience was a better understanding of myself as a writer (I don't imagine that manuscript will ever see the light of day).  Turns out, I can churn out mediocre prose quite rapidly and am willing to shut down the inner critic if neccessary.  However, I don't particularly LIKE writing that way.  And the first draft that I produced was so weak that the thought of revising it made me a little bit queasy. 

I am not an outliner because I worry that if I make a list of plot "rules," my efforts to follow them may keep me from being completely true to my characters.  I'm a huge fan of "and then what did s/he think/say/do...?"  That said, I do a lot of character backstory work--reading the books they read, studying their hobbies.  For my new manuscript, I actually went to NYC and took photographs of the apartment building in which I wanted my mc to live.  NONE of this would probably count in a NaNo ms, but it's definitely writing!

I guess what I want to say is that, hey, if you participated in NaNo and wrote a 50k word ms, neat.  But if you didn't get to the magical 50k finish line, you DID NOT FAIL.  You were writing, thinking, learning...trying.  That's what the process is all about.

So, congratulations!  (And stop beating up on yourselves!)