On This Thing Called Writing (#5)

Draft a 50,000 word novel within the month of November. That was the challenge I decided to undertake. For me, it was less about an end product, than about the process. Namely, sitting down each day and reaching a minimum goal of 1,700 words. There were at least six days when I failed. Three of them during the last full week. However, on most days, I exceeded my goal by a couple of hundred words. One day, I even reached 4,000. And during the last two days, I wrote about 2,300 and 3,600 words respectively, in order to cross the finish line. 

I am proud of this accomplishment.

Despite the fact that few, if any, of those words will ever see the light of day.

(Snoopy's prize winning decorated dog house is a stand in for published authors and their novels. You can probably guess who Charlie Brown is and what his special tree represent--in case you can't, it is me and my writing.)

While it was an exciting experience, and I am thrilled that I completed it, the process has humbled me quite a bit. Coming up with action, characters, dialogue, and plot was not difficult. At times, it flowed like water from a fire hose. However, presenting it in the style and voice that reflected what I was hearing in my head, never happened. Also, telling the parts of the story that people, besides myself,  would want to read it, well, I have not achieved that part, yet. Finally, I have not figured out how to structure the story so that it ebbs and flows logically and gracefully.

Each day, after achieving my daily goal, I would reflect on what I had written. Then I would recall my favorite novels, the ones I have read over and over again. The gulf between my prose and that of those book's authors was huge. The differences were clear to me: too many words to describe a scene, unnecessary background information, poor pacing, etc. The sins of most amateurs.  While I know I can bridge the divide--all good writers suck in the beginning--I have not discovered exactly how I am going to improve. There are steps I can take. I can practice with short writing prompts. There are plenty of "how to" books, and some include exercises.  A class or two might help. At some point I am going to have to expose those raw, naked sentences. I will have to ask people for feedback.

All I have to do is sit down and plan it out.

Until I actually do that, there is one specific, concrete step I can do, first thing in the morning: sit down and continue writing for at least an hour (about the time it has taken me to produce 1700 words).  That was the whole point of this last NaNoWriMo challenge. Despite that achievement, I have not sat down and written something since last Tuesday, the last day of November.

Well, failure is not foreign to me. Nor has it undermined my optimism. Over the years, I have learned that losses and mistakes, if analyzed properly, are valuable lessons.

Also, Monday mornings, for me, at least, make for effective and productive fresh starts.

(The key is figuring out how to carry that momentum forward...)

Tomorrow is a new day.

One day at a time.

It is what it is.