Why NaNoWriMo ?

From a Nanowrimo Champ-ee-yon!!



Why NaNoWriMO:

To be succinct, I needed to get over some serious writer’s block.

In the third grade, I had a teacher who became my “inner critic.” (Note: Read The Artist’s Way, by Julie Cameron, for more information on the inner critic).
I had written a short story (the first part, I should say), about a girl who found an old trunk with treasures, and somehow became transported into a magical world. This teacher, who never intended to be cruel so far as I can tell, implied that in order to begin this story, it was essential that I already know the ending. I should only write if I know the ending, I became convinced.

I have spent about 40 years since, in and out of writer’s block, and have not finished anything but one short story (which I discarded) in all that time. I wrote for work, and not for myself.

***Now I know it does not matter if I know the ending from the outset. I am NOT tied to an outline, or any preconceived notions.


How I succeeded:

Find your voice. This includes what makes YOU unique. (more on that in later blogs)

Find what makes YOUR characters come alive. That is not found in their appearance, wealth, education, or even their diction, although these things may help you flesh out their character development.
No, characters come alive through their dreams; their pain, their past, their motivation. Think it over.

It does not matter if your first draft is total MUSH. JUST WRITE!

You can look for gems in the rubble after your first draft is done.

Right now, I have about 58K words. No, it is not finished; but two major story arcs are finished and I have a lot of subplots to work with. On November 1st, I had NOTHING!


TIPS:

*Plan ahead of nano wri mo if you can, but if you didn’t don’t be afraid, JUST WRITE!
*Use incidents from the news, from your past or those of your friends, from your favorite movies or books, but change them to make them uniquely your OWN
*Go ahead, and go into the Forums. Make friends, get moral support from others!
*Also, read the posts of other people who are panicking about NaNo, and realize that you are NOT alone!
*Go to the adoptables forum, and/or the “dare” forum, and decide if you see something there you want to write about, or just see if you can get some great ideas. You can always alter the ideas to fit what you are interested in writing about.
*Try to write about characters that excite you: you love them, you hate them, or you identify closely with them.
*If you don’t know the exact word for something right away, don’t waste a lot of time poring over it. Just put in the word “ROVER” instead, and mull it over later. You can go in at the end and say “Find” all the ROVER’s, and then fix them. But you’ll have a rough draft, YAYY!

**Best tip: go to Word Wars. Challenge others or just declare war against yourself. Don’t be afraid: JUST WRITE!


See my other blog, which will focus more on issues:

http://writinglite.blogspot.com/