Odd photo I took this past summer and for which I knew I’d find a use!
“We’re off and writing all over the world! Yay!” Breaking news from Chris Baty on National Novel Writing Month.
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! . . . And we’re off . . . will we make it to the finish line? November 1 starts “Thirty days and nights of literary abandon” . . . Kids, adults, whole families and even whole school classes do it: They attempt – and some achieve – a 50,000 word novel from scratch in thirty days. That’s an average of 1,667 words a day.
National Novel Writing Month is an event created by Chris Baty to help writers, would-be writers and lovers of words and literature get past that infamous old stumbler, writer’s block. And it’s true that people from all over the world participate. In 2008, 119,000 writers participated and more than 21,000 made it past the finish line, including me.
This is my second year in NaNoWriMo. Last year I worked on a book that has long been on my mind, And So Goes the World. This book spans sixty years and starts at the end of World War II. The changing social praxis over that time is integral to the story line, so I expect it to take well over 50,000 words and several years to complete the research and writing. It would not be unreasonable then to ask why I’m starting a second novel when the first isn’t yet complete. The reasons are: 1.) NaNoWriMo is great fun and 2.) experience has taught me the only way to hone your skills in any arena is to use them at every opportunity that presents itself or that you are able to create.
When I was in high school, I remember watching a TV interview of William F. Buckley, Jr. He talked about the value of being required in college to write at least 500 words a day. To be honest, after having to produce features and other materials on demand, including a twice-weekly newspaper column, 500 words a day doesn’t seem like much to me anymore. But I get his point. We all need to be able to communicate effectively – that is, clearly – in writing. For writers it is not only necessary to be able to communicate clearly, but it is necessary to write on demand. The best way to accomplish that is to exercise the writing muscle regularly, no matter what else is going on. Journaling, blogging,and NaNoWriMo are fine exercise routines. A professional doesn’t wait for the muse to strike. If s/he does, it never will. It is said that God helps those who help themselves. It would appear that the muse is of the same mind.
It’s important to understand that the 50,000 words written in the course of this exercise are not perfect. They are subject to revision and more revision and more revision. Then editing, copy editing, and proofreading. The idea of the exercise is to teach writers to separate the writer from the editor. Write first. Then edit. That’s how you gain victory over writer’s block. Does it work? It would seem so. Check out the NaNoWriMo website for a list of NaNo’s published writers.
So the process goes from writing to refining . . . and then what? Well, when you’ve got your manuscript, you have to sell it and to sell it you have to engage the interest of an agent or a book acquisitions editor at a publishing house. By certain serendipity, Kepler’s Books & Magazines (our wonderful, local independent bookstore) in Menlo Park, California had the perfect speaker for us (me, my daughter-in-law, and my friend Eleanor) to kick off our NaNo month. On October 31, a writer’s workshop was presented at the store by Alan Rinzler, an editor with Josse-Bass Publishers in San Francisco, California. Mr. Rinzler is also a free-lance consulting editor, which means that for a fee he will assist with the development of your book. It was an effort – the sort many of us do from time to time – to promote his consulting service, but Mr. Rinzler was generous with information. The time we invested was rewarded. I think most valued were the tips on writing book proposals. Most – if not all – of the tips he shared with us on Saturday and more are included on his website, so do check it out. And don’t forget to read your writer’s mags, very helpful. I’ve been reading Writer’s Digest and The Writer since I was about fifteen. They not only taught me how to write (my first poem was published when I was seventeen), but how to live. Poets & Writers is heavenly, the writerly equivalent of a box of fine chocolates. And, as with any profession, we have to watch the market: Publishers’ Weekly and Publishers’ Marketplace.
Link here to Agents & Editors: A Q & A With Agent Georges Borchardt in Poets & Writers
But, first things first: Good luck fellow NaNos. Many thanks to Chris Baty and his team. The most focused and persistent writers will cross the finish line and may the rest be inspired to try again next year. Above all, let’s have some fun . . .
