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| Contemplating my novel!! |
Perhaps November is my favorite month after all. I
thought it was October, but now I have changed my mind. I think it has
something to do with the way the sun slants into my windows through the prisms
as they dance upon the wall. Or, maybe how the garden looks after the first
hard frost and snow, forlorn yet very much alive with birds clamoring for the
last bits of berries. Or, could it be the solitary work of writing on that
novel with NaNowrite? Maybe it is a combination of everything. With the lawn
mower tucked neatly inside the garage along with the kayak, it is time to think
of winter projects. There are so many that I worry winter will be over too
soon!
I have been a strong supporter of NaNowrite for
several years. Let us just chat about it on this first Saturday of November.
NaNowrite began in 1999 with just 21 participants. The idea was (and still is)
to produce a writing piece of 50,000 words in just thirty days. Let us break
that down. To produce that kind of writing, it means you need to write 1,667
words per day. If you did not start yesterday, that means you need to write
3,334 words today. Do not despair! It can be done.
I think this is good advice for anything we want to
do and learning to do it in small steps, not just writing. But for now, it is
writing I am talking about. Now perhaps you do not want to write the American
novel. Right. Perhaps you want to leave a memoir for your kids. Now we are
talking, yes?
The best practices for NaNowrite the following tips.
Write fast! Yes, do not ponder, dillydally, ruminate or noodle around, just
write. Do not do any editing. None. Zero. Nada. That is hard to do and I have
trouble with that one, of course our laptops have autocorrect so that is good,
but nonetheless, you will want to edit. Do not. Do not research while you are
writing. Make notes on a separate piece of paper if you need to, but do not
take time away from the actual writing. My last bit of advice to is to set a
timer. I use this for everything artistic that I do. I set a timer for writing,
for rehearsing, and even for playing music. It is good to stop and stretch…make
tea…take a walk…and then get back to work.
If this all sounds good, then please keep reading. I
think getting your thoughts on paper is important while writing a novel or your
memoirs…all the same. In the past few years, I have held writing sessions at
Trine in Wells Gallery on Sunday afternoons. I have loved meeting you there,
but honestly, the group could be larger. This year I have three write-ins
around town in two-hour blocks. I have secured these locations so we can meet,
chat a bit, and then get to work. All three are different, and the rules remain
the same, you can come to one or all three if that works for you.
The first write in will be at Caleo Café’ on Friday,
November 8 from 2-4. (Oh lucky us, we can order coffee!) I will secure the
table up front so come on in. If we are not friends yet, we soon will be! On
November 13, we will write at the Angola Carnegie Library. Karen Holman has
offered us the large table in the basement where it will be quiet and we can work.
Our last write-in will be in Wells Gallery in Taylor Hall on the Trine Campus.
This event will be from 2-4 on Sunday, November 24. That space is so beautiful
the words will just flow.
Bringing your laptop is the easiest way to write
when you want to count words, but I have written many stories by hand also.
Bring pencils, pens, paper, laptop, and a sparkle in your eye. If you have
questions, I can answer those for you, but most of all we will hear the sound of
the keyboard or the scratch of the pencil on your paper. Maybe there will be
wind or rain outside the window. We will not even notice.
Sylvia Plath once wrote, “And by the way, everything
in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the
imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
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