A Novel in 30 Days

We are approximately two weeks away from the start of the phenomenon called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. And it holds a special place in my heart because, for the first time ever, I actually participated in it last year and ended up having so much more fun than I thought was possible in the process. Oh yeah. And I wrote a novel in 30 days.

The pace is supposed to be hectic, but even though I was working 40 hours a week it seemed like I was always going over my words-a-day limit. Well, you read my blog. You know how prolific I can be. Or course during NaNo 2012 I didn’t yet have a blog. Can you believe it? I’m interested in seeing what kinds of different challenges come this year both maintaining my three blogs and doing NaNo. I might just go entirely gray from the process, but I’m prepared for that possibility.

It was right around this time last year when I decided I would finally go for it. I mean, I had known about NaNo for about 10 years by then, but there always seemed to be something keeping me from it. I realize now that that something was fear. Fear that I would never be able to finish it. Fear that I would be a failure. And I couldn’t deal with the fear, so I came up with excuses for not doing it. Last year I finally came face to face with myself and fought the fear. So what if I didn’t finish. At least I would try, and that was worth something.

Then I had to find something to write about that I thought I could sustain throughout the month without getting bored or running into plot dilemmas right and left. O had written a book before so it wasn’t new to write a piece that large, but the NaNo book had to be at least 40,000 words to be a “winner,” which would end up being the largest work I had ever written. It was daunting, and I knew I wanted something different from what I had written before. So, I went with a ghost story.

And throughout the month of November I dove deep into the world I had created, into the back stories, and into the intrigue, and into the connections between character. And yes, also into the massive plot construction and maintenance that any true novel requires. By halfway through the month I knew I would get to the end, and I knew exactly how I was going to do it, too. It was all very surreal, actually. After all those years being afraid, when I gave it a chance and didn’t let it overpower me, I realized it was easy.

Oh yeah, and I’m doing it again. My goal is to write 1500 words a day, and I know as I type that goal that it will be harder to achieve than last year. First off, I am maintaining these three blogs this year, and blogging takes a lot of time and energy, creatively and functionally. I am also still working 40-hour weeks, and I will also be spending quality time with my family. It promises to be even more daunting than last year, but I’m even more excited about it. It turns out I thrive on pressure. Who would have guessed?

Now I just need a subject and plot to write about. And I have two weeks to come up with it.

Sam