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Fall has arrived-crisp mornings,
trees shedding leaves and "the summer is over" doldrums.
With the impending approach of winter and the fuss of the holidays,
sometimes our muses decide to take a hike. A great way to drag
the old biddy back is NaNoWriMo.
National Novel Writing Month
starts on November 1st. For thirty days, writers from around the
world compete against themselves, with a little friendly competition
and support from others, to write a 50,000 word novel.
What the Heck
is a NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo, also called NaNo,
started in July of 1999 as the brainchild of Chris Baty and 20
other aspiring novelists from the San Francisco Bay area. They
took the normally solitary craft of writing and made it something
that was "half literary marathon and half block party".
The second year, with a website and Yahoo group, the number of
participants climbed to 140 from as far away as Canada. Each successive
year, NaNoWriMo's participants grew exponentially.
While participation in NaNoWriMo
is free, the organization started asking for donations to cover
expenses. In 2004, NaNoWriMo partnered with Room to Read, an international
children's literacy program. NaNoWriMo donated fifty percent of
their net profits, over $7000, from the 2004 event to the new
Cambodian Libraries program. The money was enough to establish
children's libraries in three Cambodian villages.
By 2006, there were almost
80,000 participants. Some were aspiring writers, some amateurs
joining for the fun and some established authors looking for a
kick in the pants to their muse. The library project had established
seventeen libraries in Southeast Asia. The official number of
words logged in 2006 was 982,564,701.
Also in 2006, the founders
of NaNoWriMo established a non-profit organization called The
Office of Letters and Light. Starting in 2007, they've shifted
their focus from libraries abroad to a writer's program for children
called Young Writers Program. Portions of all donations to NaNoWriMo
will go to the program that helps kids grades 2-12 learn to write.
How NaNo Works
 The
name of the game with NaNo'ing is to turn off your inner editor
and just write. Sometimes this is easier said than done but the
deadline of November 30th helps push a writer into more productivity.
I know when I'm under a deadline of any kind, I tend to work harder,
concentrate better. NaNo is an opportunity to have a self-imposed
deadline with a ton of support to achieve that goal.
NaNoWriMo provides a forum
for communication with the other participants as well as tips
on how to succeed. Also, regional sections allow you to communicate
with other writers in your area. Last year, I met with a several
local members to talk and commiserate over lots of coffee. The
local competition helped push me even more. I had to meet with
these people and report progress.
For the last two years, I've
joined the insanity. My first NaNo novel from 2005, is sitting
under the proverbial bed awaiting serious edits. Well, actually,
it's in a folder called "Under the Bed" on my hard drive.
I hadn't discovered Roses Colored Glasses nor the world of online
instruction on the craft of writing. The technical flaws in my
2005 NaNo product were daunting. I ended up starting over with
something else. Someday, I'll pull the book out and try to wade
through edits.
The second novel ended up chopped
from 55k words to 30k and sold as the novella, The Rememdiu. I
fell behind on word count last year and made a heavy push at the
end. I won't try to do 22k words in five days again. Great boost
of word count but it turned out to be detrimental to the story
line. Then again, you can't edit a blank page.
Why Not NaNo?
I'll be joining the fray again
this year. I'm using October to plot and brainstorm. Come November
1st, I'll jump in with both feet and a lot of coffee. If anyone
wants to join me, we can set up a Roses Colored Glasses thread
in the forum for progress reports, kicks in the posterior and
comfort when your characters misbehave.
The NaNoWriMo forum will relaunch
on October 1st after annual cleanup. Stop by and look me up! My
screen name is Shayla Kersten. I hope to see you there with your
inner editor banished and your muse learning a month-long lesson
in obedience!
For more information on NaNoWriMo,
check out the following links:
NaNoWriMo
The
Office of Letters & Light
Young
Writers Program
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Reviving
the Muse
Roses
Self-Editing Workshop 
Being
& Writing Foreigners 
Falling
into the Creative Well
Drink
from the Creative Well in Moderation 
Read
New
Hobby
Eat
Healthy
Add
to this: Exercise: a thirty minute walk blows out the cobwebs,
gets the lungs breathing deeply, has the heart pumping, and relieves
stress. If you can't do thirty minutes, do fifteen in the morning
and fifteen in the evening. Do something.
So
You Can't Get That Manuscript Finished?
One
Slice at a Time
What
do you mean it's October? 
5.
Premieres on TV
4.
Go see a movie
1.
Do something romantic
Revise
Submit