Here in the trailing hours of November, it would be easy to look at my word count badge and regard the past month as a failure. I guess it was a technical failure in the sense that I didn't reach the word goal, but it was by no means a moral failure.
Back in September and October, my thought was that I should have a detailed plan from the very beginning. Last year I got a late start and pretty much wrote by the seat of my pants. I thought if I decided my plot, setting, characters, basic conflict and ultimate resolution before putting hand to keyboard it would build a nice frame and all I would have to do come November would be to fill in the details. Instead, it had the effect of tying my story, and my creativity in a straight jacket.
Now I see that having less control instead of more, would have led not only to higher word counts, but ultimately to a better story.
Once I realized this, the words started to flow a lot better, but by then I had also realized something else: Completing Nanowrimo could give me nothing that I don't already have (that in itself was a pretty startling revelation), so I was able to let it go this time without any regrets. Having said that, I think Nanowrimo is a blast. It's worth doing just because it's a lot of fun, it's a personal achievement, and you just might write a passable first draft in the process. Congratulations to all the "winners." I'll totally see you all next year.
Back in September and October, my thought was that I should have a detailed plan from the very beginning. Last year I got a late start and pretty much wrote by the seat of my pants. I thought if I decided my plot, setting, characters, basic conflict and ultimate resolution before putting hand to keyboard it would build a nice frame and all I would have to do come November would be to fill in the details. Instead, it had the effect of tying my story, and my creativity in a straight jacket.
Now I see that having less control instead of more, would have led not only to higher word counts, but ultimately to a better story.
Once I realized this, the words started to flow a lot better, but by then I had also realized something else: Completing Nanowrimo could give me nothing that I don't already have (that in itself was a pretty startling revelation), so I was able to let it go this time without any regrets. Having said that, I think Nanowrimo is a blast. It's worth doing just because it's a lot of fun, it's a personal achievement, and you just might write a passable first draft in the process. Congratulations to all the "winners." I'll totally see you all next year.
Labels: Nanowrimo
Don't worry about word count. Some of the best bits I have read are short stories or maybe even one-liners. It's much more enjoyable to write a story that flows and has a lasting effect on people than to worry about how thick the book is.