I'm taking the month of April to do a "Nano," as we sometimes say. What, you are asking, is a Nano?
When I first joined Absolute Write, I heard people talking about their Nano project, and I thought they were talking about a little book, just like how we have nanotechnology, nanometers, etc. Well, they were really talking about about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, which is November every year. During November, participants commit to writing 50,000 words, which is, I guess, a nano-novel (well, at least a centi- or milli-novel). I tried one year and failed miserably, by the way. During other months, however, sometimes people give themselves personal challenges for that month. For April this year, I committed to writing 1000 words per day, or 30,000 in my work in progress (WIP) Nyasaland.
I've heard someone say that there is no such thing as writer's block. (I'd like to know what he thinks it is, then.) The Nano experience has caused me to somewhat believe him, as much as I think this guy's a stuffed shirt. I used to think I had to "have it in me" to write anything. Well, this is how Nyasaland got stuck at 38K words for MONTHS, and how the NaNoWriMo project sat for two years before I dusted it off to become my current shopper to agents, Resingled. For these projects, my computer would sit cold and lonely, a guilting voice in my head saying "they ain't gonna write themselves, you know."
What I'm finding is that sometimes I need to write through the writer's block. Pick a spot in the story and say "I'm going to get my characters to have dinner with a friend." Who cares if it's good? Get writing. Editing might not be the most fun thing, but it's the necessary outcome of writing, and the necessary prerequisite for publishing.
Now, this doesn't mean something's wrong if this doesn't work for you. Sometimes it doesn't work for me. But it works more often than I think it should, works better when it works than I think it should. One of the great things about writing is that if something doesn't work, stop doing it and do something else. When the new thing stops working, stop doing it and do something else. Find what works and make it work for you.
Ah yes. Writers' block. Hmm. I've heard all sorts of solutions over the years. I'm two-thirds of the way through my umm...ninth I think...novel and I've got it bad - writers' block that is. Writing through it has produced garbage and like yourself, Chris, I'm doing a sort of Nano, but a local one we call BIAM (book in a month) and my figures are abysmal. You know what? I'm sick of writing. Onwards and upwards. Got to find out why the antagonist does what she does. Maybe that will be an incentive. Write to find out how it all ends?
ReplyDeleteHmmm, sometimes stopping and outling what you have so far helps find direction. Or, interview your main character. Another thing I've done is to ask three questions: what does the MC want? What must he or she do to get it? And what happens if she or he fails? Depending on how far in you are, if you have an idea for the "famous final scene" it's a matter of connecting the dots to there.
ReplyDeleteI doubt you can do it wrong as long as you are doing SOMETHING. You might have to go back and beef it up, clean it up, or take it in a new direction, but you will have gotten somewhere at least! Keep it up!
Hi Chris, and welcome to blogland. I've found two things that work for me are:
ReplyDelete1. Having a routine. That way the muse knows where and when to find me, should she decide to appear.
2. When you complete a day's writing, finish either mid-sentence or at a crucial hook, so that you immediately have to think on your feet when you resume writing the next day.
Incidentally, you need a 'join' button on your blog!
Oh, I like the idea of ending on a writing cliffhanger! That's the type of thing that tends to make my lose sleep, however! But sometimes that's a good thing.
DeleteAnd when you say a "join" button, so you mean a "subscribe" or "follow" button? Funny, it was on the right side near the top on the old template. Hmmm, looks like I'm about to spend some time looking at the options here.