I did it. I signed up for the NaNoWriMo 50,000 word challenge. That means come Monday, it’s 1,500 words a day, no exceptions, until the long November sprint is over.
Several forum board buddies and I are gingerly sallying forth, knowing full well that we’ve failed before (failure, of course, is defined ONLY as failure to pile up all those words, nothing else) but what the hell, we’re going to give it another whack.
I hope to keep a diary somewhere online–but I’ll post Monday’s inaugural entry right here.
Meanwhile I recommend checking out the NaNoWriMo website. Those folks deserve tremendous credit for making their quirky vision into a solid, going thing, a real manifestation of a near-impossibility: drawing novelists, young or old, would-be or real, into an online community.
Thanks and a tip o’ the hat.
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I once took a class with a writer named Steve Lattimore who mentioned the idea that every writer must produce a certain amount of “crap” before anything good comes out. His going estimate was somewhere between a half-million and a million words – or 10 to 20 NaNoWriMo books. I think the main point he wanted us to learn is that writers write – whether they write well or poorly, they can’t be writers unless they write. So what better way for any writer to stay in the game than to pound out 1,500 words a day for a month? Think of it the way Lance Armstrong trained for the Tour d’France – he didn’t bike the race of his life every day, but he prepared for it every day of every week for years.
BILL — I applaude you! I am also looking forward to a running commentary on your daily writing. We you deveoted bloggees (is that a word?) don’t necessarily need to read the product, but would love to hear how the process is going!
Knowing you…I can’t begin to imagine what will emerge — something great no doubt…even if it takes 5 years to complete it.
I’m jealous, wish I could join in…don’t worry, I’m not even considering it.
RYAN…this is esactly what you need — right hand excluded or not — get to work!
Oh, and Bill, you can post a copy of your NaNoWriMo certificate on the blog!