This is my fifth and final report on my progress toward my goal of completing a 50,000 word novel by November 30 as part of National Novel Writing Month. Read more of my thoughts on NaNoWriMo.

I fell over the finish line at about 10:30 p.m. on November 30 with 50,060 words. So I made it. I wrote more words on one project than I ever have before. I even feel slightly more like a writer.

I didn’t, however, finish a draft. I do have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but parts of the middle are more like “notes” than “scenes.” In order for me to feel like I’ve finished a rough draft, I need to flesh out these notes into actual scenes, but I need a little break before doing any more writing.

So this weekend I started outlining my novel in yWriter. Why am I outlining after I’ve written, you might ask? Well, I started with a rough outline, but I found that as I wrote, the story took off in a few different directions, I added characters here and there, and the result is kind of a mess. yWriter is helping me get a big picture look at my novel and where I need to add and remove material. I’ll review yWriter on Friday.

NaNoWriMo was both harder and easier than I thought it would be. Harder because despite all my elaborate planning, I was still writing right down to the wire. A large part of this, of course, was due to the trouble I had with my wrists in the second week. The rest was due to procrastination.

But NaNo was easier than I anticipated because although I began with only a hazy idea of a plot and a couple of characters, I was never stuck for long. When I came to a scene I didn’t know how to write, I just made a note about what needed to happen in that scene and continued. After I reached the end, I went back and completed some of those scenes, and I still have several left to write. But I was never afflicted with the dreaded writer’s block. Distracted, yes, blocked no. Amazingly, I don’t really find the process of writing to be difficult. The hard part is making myself sit down and write. So whether or not I write is a matter of discipline rather than inspiration, which is an encouraging thought. I suspect this was the case all along; I just needed to prove it to myself.

Please notice that I didn’t say that writing well is easy. My rough draft is just that: rough, unpolished, sometimes incomprehensible. But I expected that, and I embrace that. A rough draft means that I didn’t let myself get distracted by all the mistakes I was making. I didn’t let myself revise as I was writing, which is the curse that’s always made me lose interest in my previous novel attempts. So I’m proud of my draft full of stumbling sentences and awkward dialog, because it means I stood back and let myself write.

Of course, the roughness of my draft also means I have a lot of work ahead of me, but really, I can’t imagine it being any other way. Perhaps after my twentieth novel, the process will be smooth and logical, but I never expected my first novel to be something anyone would want to read but me. All the same, I’m looking forward to revising it after I’ve finished those few last scenes and set it aside for a month or so. I believe that working through the whole process is the only way to learn how to write a novel.

I know that NaNo isn’t for everyone, but it’s been a great experience for me. I’ve renewed my faith in myself as a writer, and I’ve written more on one project than I ever have before. I’m already looking forward to my next novel and next year’s NaNoWriMo. And parts of me are thinking about other crazy writing things I can do. Maybe I’ll try to write a novel in a week, or a weekend. Or maybe I’ll make my next project much longer. Maybe I’ll start that epic fantasy novel I’ve always wanted to write. Maybe my next novel will be in a different genre.

NaNo has also challenged me to try new methods of writing. This time, I started with only vague ideas for plot and character. Next time I might try a more detailed outline. And of course, now I have the opportunity to try writing in a whole new way with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. My NaNoWrMo experience has given me the confidence to reach for my writing goals.

If you participated in NaNoWriMo, I’d love to know how it went for you. Were you satisfied with the results of your efforts? Would you recommend the experience to others? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted: December 3rd, 2007 under NaNoWriMo.
Comments: 4

This Friday, instead of offering one of my own photos, I want to recommend the digital artwork of Ryan Bliss, creator of Digital Blasphemy. There are hundreds of wallpapers available on the site for paid members, but Ryan also offers some fantastic selections in the free gallery. I regret to say I haven’t yet sprung for the paid membership, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time (and money, of course).

Something about Digital Blasphemy wallpapers always spark my imagination. The details are so rich and complex, the images often provide the perfect backdrop to writing and other creative efforts. If you’re looking for a little visual inspiration, check out Digital Blasphemy.

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Posted: November 30th, 2007 under Inspiration.
Comments: none

Recently, I entered my post 15 Tips to Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the Lists Group Writing Project at Litemind. The entries below are my favorites from the other submissions.

• To Do To Make Tomorrow Better
• 7 Powerful Tips to Overcome Failure
• ten things i didn’t know until last week
• 40 ways to make your mind your playground
• 100 Sites I Seek Inspiration From
• 7 Tricks You Need to Fight Procrastination
• Escape the Rut

Enjoy!

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Posted: November 29th, 2007 under Briefly.
Comments: 4

Author Lynn Viehl posted today about the importance of balancing inspiration and practicality in writing. She brings the point to vivid life by describing the demons Necessity and Creativity, who pull her writing chariot:

“Generally Creativity gets all the credit for the success of the journey — something that would never have happened without Necessity’s determination and endurance — while Necessity takes all the criticism for every bump, pot hole and pitfall along the way — something that it knows would smother Creativity if it had to deal with it.

“They squabble, bicker and try to resist each other, but after a time they learn to travel together. They know that if we hitch only one of them to the chariot, we’re not going anywhere interesting, or we’re not going anywhere at all. Or Ego and Fear will take the lead, in which case there’s going to be a huge pile-up down the road.”

And at the end, she asks, “What’s harnessed to your chariot?”

I would have to say, right now, that Creativity and Fear are pulling my chariot, most of the time in different directions. Sometimes Fear takes the lead and Creativity is almost lost in the cloud of brimstone the demon casts in his wake. Sometimes Creativity charges forward and leaves Fear choking on dust, wondering where she went. It’s an uneven load they have to pull, as alternately thin and bloated as my writing often is, but somehow we manage to arrive together, usually with all limbs intact.

So what demons drive your creative work? Please leave a comment on Lynn’s post at Paperback Writer, and feel free to leave one here as well.

As a sidenote, I can’t believe I missed this when I was researching writers who use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but Lynn Viehl has a post on Taming the Dragon that I found useful. The comments from other writers were also insightful.

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Posted: November 28th, 2007 under Creativity, Writing.
Comments: none

I apologize, but my posting is going to be a little light this week so I can spend as much time as possible working on my novel.

If you haven’t yet seen this video about the Writers Guild of America strike from the Daily Show writers, it’s worth watching, both for the humor and for the inside perspective.

Also, take a moment to read Joss Whedon’s response to the New York Times on the writers’ strike:

“We’re talking about story-telling, the most basic human need. Food? That’s an animal need. Shelter? That’s a luxury item that leads to social grouping, which leads directly to fancy scarves. But human awareness is all about story-telling. The selective narrative of your memory. The story of why the Sky Bully throws lightning at you. From the first, stories, even unspoken, separated us from the other, cooler beasts. And now we’re talking about the stories that define our nation’s popular culture - a huge part of its identity. These are the people that think those up. Working writers.”

(via Deep Genre)

(Edit: If you liked the video above, here’s another one from the writers of the Colbert Report.)

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Posted: November 27th, 2007 under Writing.
Comments: none