Words Piling up
Nanowrimo
Word count 50067/50000
Winner
While my novel is not finished, I finished the challenge. Yesterday I crossed that 50,000 mark. I will admit that my book is not very good. I do not think I will let anyone read it. It is not really worth reading or re-writing. I am still happy I did National Novel Writing Month. I would say it is more of a good experience then a challenge to write something good.
Here are the lessons I learned about myself and writing by doing National Novel Writing Month.
1) I need to read more
Currently, all most all of my reading in web reading. I only read to two books this year. If I want to improve my writing I need to read more. I have no idea how professional writers would try to express what I want to express. I have an idea how you would do it in a movie or TV screen play. That might be because I watch a lot of TV and Movies.
Goal: Read at least a book a month before the next Nanowrimo
2) Word count is a good tool to keep writing.
I was amazed at how will trying to keep to a word count worked for me. I did a good job at writing about 2000 words a day. At times I pushed forward and wrote more so I keep up my word count. The nanowrimo pace might be too much to keep up, but I should figure out a weekly word count that I can keep up.
Goal: Write at least 5000 words a week on my primary project.
3) Writing with a group of other writers can be very helpful
I got a lot of writing done at the area write-ins. It was good to be around other people who were writing. I know that it kept me on track. I want to keep writing with this group of people. They are also pretty fun people to hang out with. I have time to hang out with more people. It might as well be as I write.
Goal: Attend at least 40 group write-ins between not and next November.
4) I need to find my voice as a fiction writer
Over the last five years or so, the only things I have written are my weblog and my journal. I think I have a pretty good idea what my voice in those things are. I am also not too worried about them. I want that writing to be as close to my center as I can. I want people to think they can know me by reading Sad Salvation.
By the end of my novel, I felt that I was just working writing fictional weblog entries. That is not who I want to write. I want to be able to use a greater number of styles then that. I need to find a fictional voice for myself. This will help me figure out how to do this.
This also goes along to trying to improve my writing. I think that I need to know more about myself as a writer before I improve as a writer. I want to write more before I try to get better.
Goal: Write more so I can find my fictional voice.
5) It is often important to choose done over good.
In the book Bird by Bird Anne Lamott advises that you need to let your first draft be bad. I have gotten lost in the past by trying to make my first draft good. I now know that it is more important to get it done first and done right second.
Goal: Choose done over good when I have to.
Word count 50067/50000
Winner
While my novel is not finished, I finished the challenge. Yesterday I crossed that 50,000 mark. I will admit that my book is not very good. I do not think I will let anyone read it. It is not really worth reading or re-writing. I am still happy I did National Novel Writing Month. I would say it is more of a good experience then a challenge to write something good.
Here are the lessons I learned about myself and writing by doing National Novel Writing Month.
1) I need to read more
Currently, all most all of my reading in web reading. I only read to two books this year. If I want to improve my writing I need to read more. I have no idea how professional writers would try to express what I want to express. I have an idea how you would do it in a movie or TV screen play. That might be because I watch a lot of TV and Movies.
Goal: Read at least a book a month before the next Nanowrimo
2) Word count is a good tool to keep writing.
I was amazed at how will trying to keep to a word count worked for me. I did a good job at writing about 2000 words a day. At times I pushed forward and wrote more so I keep up my word count. The nanowrimo pace might be too much to keep up, but I should figure out a weekly word count that I can keep up.
Goal: Write at least 5000 words a week on my primary project.
3) Writing with a group of other writers can be very helpful
I got a lot of writing done at the area write-ins. It was good to be around other people who were writing. I know that it kept me on track. I want to keep writing with this group of people. They are also pretty fun people to hang out with. I have time to hang out with more people. It might as well be as I write.
Goal: Attend at least 40 group write-ins between not and next November.
4) I need to find my voice as a fiction writer
Over the last five years or so, the only things I have written are my weblog and my journal. I think I have a pretty good idea what my voice in those things are. I am also not too worried about them. I want that writing to be as close to my center as I can. I want people to think they can know me by reading Sad Salvation.
By the end of my novel, I felt that I was just working writing fictional weblog entries. That is not who I want to write. I want to be able to use a greater number of styles then that. I need to find a fictional voice for myself. This will help me figure out how to do this.
This also goes along to trying to improve my writing. I think that I need to know more about myself as a writer before I improve as a writer. I want to write more before I try to get better.
Goal: Write more so I can find my fictional voice.
5) It is often important to choose done over good.
In the book Bird by Bird Anne Lamott advises that you need to let your first draft be bad. I have gotten lost in the past by trying to make my first draft good. I now know that it is more important to get it done first and done right second.
Goal: Choose done over good when I have to.
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