November is NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, hence the term,
NANOWRIMO, that you might see popping up around the web lately. Basically it's an effort to encourage aspiring writers to put aside their worries, their disbelief, the excess of advice out there for writing, and to simply WRITE! 50,000 words in one month is the goal (that's about 1,667 words per day)- quantity over quality - no editing, just writing. They acknowledge that you'll write lots of crap, but you'll be writing and writing a lot. That's the only way to get better with your writing.
I know of one friend who plans (or planned) to enter. Anyone else out there?
To answer the unasked question, No, I will not be entering. I think it's a very worthy endeavor, but hopefully I'll be in the midst of starting a new job then. I'll be back to patting myself on the back for just getting 500 words down per day. I am in awe of anyone who can crank out the words necessary to accomplish Nanowrimo.
I missed it last year, and this year I've been dedicating my time in an effort to finish editing my novel as opposed to starting something new. Maybe next year I may find the time. I have, however, heard something that may interest other writers out there who are thinking about approaching agents or publishers this time of year. Wait! After Nanowrimo is completed, alot of people send their work out, bombarding agents and publishers, and making it even harder to get noticed in the slush pile. I've been told that the beginning of December sees thing calming down a bit, and so to try then. I plan for January. That's my deadline.
ReplyDeleteBut still, good luck to everyone!
Haha. Very true about the rash of submissions after Nanowrimo. I'm thinking that all the agents need the holiday break at the end of December to recover from the dreck they had to read as a result of the contest. My guess is that many people hardly edit after they've finished writing for the contest. Good luck finishing your own editing! Make it the best it can be.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can enter Nanowrimo together next year and cheer each other on. :)
ha...I'll hold you to that next year. We'll probably need as much support as we can get, and seeing as we both have a love - or passion, in my case - for fantasy, then it could turn out quite interesting... ;D
ReplyDelete