From WereBear:
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Officially, NaNoWriMo.org emphasizes the month of November. The essential idea is that a writer sets a goal: 50,000 words in 30 days.
I only got to 12,000, but that is the best I’ve ever done. So I did get my shirt, this year, for the first time. I decided I can wear it in good conscience. Let me tell you why.
First of all: Plague Year. The deluxe version, with Trump in charge. So move that challenge setting all the way to the top. Under such circumstances, getting anything done on my novel, at all, should count extra. The exponential effect of 400% then becomes downright reasonable.
I first tried NaNoWriMo in 2013, when I had a lot of non-fiction under my belt. This helped me feel ready to admit I could never leave that beguiling, fickle, partner known as fiction. I accumulated less than 2,000 words on my various November attempts since then, until this year. What changed?
One important angle I learned is to embark on this 50k/30 days trick at the drafting stage of my novel. I start by throwing ideas into some kind of outlining program. At this point, they can be in any order, and made of paragraph fragments. But when the ideas sprout into actual characters, interacting in scenes, I’m ready to start drafting those pieces into being.
Despite 2.5 completed novels, a top NYC agent, and considerable cleverness and determination, I never made it “over the top” to actual publication. Deeply frustrated and actually angry, I turned to non-fiction blogging. I created a following, honed my craft, and self-published my first book, The Way of Cats. I was ready to get back into the arena.
When I’m outlining, scenes arrive in my brain in any order. That’s how I draft them, too. One of the beauties of our tech age is the abundance of wonderful programs to keep this ball rolling. My absolute favorite word processor is Scrivener. But I don’t, necessarily, draft with it.
Drafting is the first setting of actual prose on paper. Not the scraps of ideas of the outline stage, nor the buffed-up product of the polish stage. Drafts run free and wild. I let them pour out in all kinds of ways.
I have dictated them into my phone in the middle of a forest, or used Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard with my iPad, standing in line at the deli. My current favorite method is a Chromebook and this site: Writer, the Internet Typewriter. I find this the ultimate in cheap portability.
We need to let our brains go anywhere, and that’s why the proper tool combination is so valuable. Because the drafting process isn’t about the fiddly bits. Not about editing and not about stopping.
To speak in simplified neurological language, drafting is left-brained, while editing is right-brained. For best results, do not cross the streams.
It takes some discipline to simply keep going. Even though we just used a cliche and committed a typo and what an awful name we gave that person who appeared in the scene out of nowhere. Does not matter. That’s what Second/Third/Fourth Draft and the whole Polishing stage is for.
First Draft is the magic time. The quickest way to break the spell is to stand over our creative child like some schoolmaster. This is one of the reasons I use a different device and program for First Drafting than I do for the later stages, when my Mac and Scrivener really shines. Using the correct thinking and tools is how we train our brain to stay in their lane.
This year, my cozy mystery, The Cat’s Pajamas, signaled me it was ready for the First Draft stage in late October. After years of research, and months of throwing ideas into Mindmeister, the planets were aligning.
I planned this book as the first in a series, set in the Roaring Twenties. Such a demanding task, combining multiple book longevity with historical context, doesn’t necessarily require such a long on-ramp. Many a writer found their main character demanded more adventures, or one compelling image was enough to launch into drafting. My own workflow seems to work best when rooted in deep topsoil, at the point where I’ve accumulated enough scenes at the sentence, or paragraph, stage.
When we get ready for any 50,000 words in any 30 days, go for it. This is about Flow, that elusive creative stage discovered and named by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. When we are running on curvy roads in this new muscle car, learning when to shift, how to lean into the turn, and the best way to handle the accelerator, we drive.
We keep driving until we get to the garage. That is when we tune the carb, rotate the tires, and give it a loving wash and polish. Only then.
If we focus on drafting and do not stop, we arrive at 50,000 words, which is enough for the next stage. I’m still drafting. I will draft until I get to the end. I’ll figure out where everything fits, later. Only then will I correct typos and give them better names.
Until then, I put my mental pedal to the imagination metal and drive like a bat out of hell. Window open, grinning big enough to get bugs in my teeth, soaking up the amazing scenery.
That’s how we get a novel.
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Yes, my cozy mystery has a cat in it. (A theme in my life.) Check out my author page on Amazon. +Follow me to get notified of my novel-in-progress, The Cat’s Pajamas.
Chromebooks come with the Google Suite, which includes the Docs word processor for turning that draft into a polished work. Both Writer and Docs will work offline, too. Because we still shouldn’t be hanging in that coffee shop. Yet.
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TaMara here – I’m happy to highlight our authors’ works, just send me an email and we’ll get started.
WereBear
This year, I got books from Jackaltariat authors for my bookworm niece. (What can I tell you, she takes after me :)
The Wysman by Dorothy A. Winsor
Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Roberts
SiubhanDuinne
This is great news, WereBear! Can’t wait to be one of the first readers of The Cat’s Pajamas when it is published. Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WereBear: I hope she likes it, WereBear.
The process you describe here is helpful for me even when I’m not doing NaNo. Really insightful.
Elizabelle
Wow, I love that Writer site you recommended. Especially the typewriter sounds. And an interface that predates internet addiction. Truly will be useful. Thank you, WereBear
ETA: And thank you for all the wise comments on writing. Excellent that you have another book
finishedin progress (!), and thank you for sharing your expertise.WaterGirl
Just want to remind you guys that our list of Balloon Juice authors is in the footer at the bottom of the site.
Alison Rose
Congrats!! And how awesome, because in 2020 I got into reading cozy mysteries (since I do like a mystery but I cannot deal with thrillers anymore) and of course I am a cat lady, so I will 100% be eager to read this when it comes out!
WaterGirl
Love the cover for the upcoming book, WereBear!
I wonder if that’s anything like the process I went through with my porch. I decided I wanted to do it and I started buying things here and there to decorate the porch. That was a tangible representation of the porch I wanted to build (not with my own hands) and I think that helped me make it a reality.
Tom Levenson
Lovely stuff here. Thanks.
Your thoughts on flow are so on point.
Frankensteinbeck
I am so, so completely different from you. I’m the most organized writer I know. The longest part of the process is thinking up ideas, a period that doesn’t look like work but is surprisingly deliberate. As a professional, I can’t just let this go on and on at its own pace. I’ve had to learn how to twist my own brain around to create inspiration. Once I have that, I make outlines. First the book, then each plot point gets its own outline as a chapter. The chapter outlines are detailed. My goal is that when I sit down to properly write and let Molly, my left-brain, take over, at no point will I have to stop. I don’t have to wonder what happens next. If the flow stops, I can glance over at Wordpad and see the next event. Outlines for the whole book do get updated as the writing goes along, more and more as professional rigors force me to speed up the process instead of dawdling and waiting for fully formed book inspirations. Still, the process remains the same.
It does have the benefit that my story pacing is tight as a drum, and I almost never need story level edits. Between the constant reviewing as I set up the outline, and getting feedback from alpha readers with each chapter to make sure everything had the effect I intended, it’s done right the first time.
NaNoWriMo isn’t an option for me. All my writing time and energy goes into my ongoing books. Currently, about a fifteen year old girl necromancer who does not want to be a reality TV star.
Aleta
Thanks for this WearBear. It’s simply wonderful.
Looking forward to your newest book.
+ Thanks Tamara.
Laura
TaMara, how do I find your email?
I am not writing a novel right now. For the first time in five years, I feel no compulsion to work out a story. I started five chapters–which I actually like==but stalled out. I just can’t get interested. This is not writer’s block; I think I am simply done with the novel=writing part of my life.
I do have a brand new one out that I think is my best book. It’s here, if anyone is interested: Amazon.com: Raven Woman’s Tavern eBook: Koerber, Laura: Kindle Store
It’s a dystopia set in the near future about how acts of kindness in under dire circumstances. So not a gloomy, depressing dystopia. More a defiantly optimistic one.
Best wishes to all for this strange and stressful holiday season
Major Major Major Major
Congrats on your best NaNo yet!
For my current WIP. A trick I discovered to keep myself from editing is to write a THE STORY SO FAR document in between act breaks, with what should have happened. When I go back and revise, those documents are the canonical story, and can guide my editing process.
I actually managed to fully outline the whole novel this weekend, including what the parts I’ve already written will become. First time I’ve managed to do this for a long work. I’m about 60k words in, but better late than never!
I picked up Scrivener about a year ago and it’s been a huge help in this process. Not everybody will need all the tools, but they work well with my software engineer brain.
ETA: as long as we’re doing shameless plugs, that sci-fi/fantasy collection I’ve got five stories in is of course ever available. (BJ writeup of same)
Thad Phetteplace
I’m currently serializing my second novel (a NaNoWriMo project from a couple years ago) while I edit and attempt to complete it. I’ve found it a useful method for overcoming writer’s block. Public accountability motivates me, evidently. You can follow along on Wattpad, or friend me on Facebook to read it there.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/249748789-the-apocalypse-contract
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@WereBear: What, no love for Tom Levenson’s non-fiction tome?
Congratulations on doing NaNoWriMo. Sounds like success to me.
I’ve been finding that at best I can accomplish about 25% of what I thought I could get done in any given day, so 12000/50000 sounds just about right.
I can’t figure it out. The first thought at sunset is always, “where the hell did that day go?”
WereBear
@Elizabelle: I also remember when all the screens were green letters and a dark background. So easy to read :)
Kristine
Truer words were never writ, because the Editor on Your Shoulder will wedge their way in if given any opening at all.
Congrats on NaNo! I got through it this year for the first time after years of false starts and abandonment. Did not make my 20K goal–made it to 18K+. Given that it was the election month, I’m lucky I got that much. Days passed during which I didn’t write a word.
WereBear
@Alison Rose: I love cozies, so starting my own is a dream come true :)
Kristine
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
A-yuh.
WereBear
Manifesting is the hardest part of the magic.
WereBear
@Tom Levenson:
Thanks! I’m one of those who had to learn how to NOT think :)
SiubhanDuinne
@Laura:
Raven Woman’s Tavern sounds most interesting I just ordered it on Kindle. Thanks!
WereBear
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Much love! But NaNoWriMo is all about the fiction :)
Alison Rose
@WereBear: What are some of your faves? Like I said, I’ve only recently gotten into the genre, so I haven’t read a lot, but the last one I picked up was Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander and I quite enjoyed it! The punny titles are always appreciated :)
R. Jamie Langa
I published my first novel, The Dream of the White Elephant, a month ago under the pseudonym R. Jamie Langa (I comment here under a different ‘nym). So NaNoWriMo was more of an final editing month for me.
There were a lot of lessons learned from that. With any luck, self-publishing my next novel will be much less painful.
WereBear
@Frankensteinbeck: I used to try to write that way, but my brain just goes blank.
I write like Billy Pilgrim (from Slaughterhouse Five) lives :)
Frankensteinbeck
@WereBear:
Everybody has to find the way that works for them. I absolutely cannot do that ‘sit down and let it flow’ thing. My ADHD won’t allow it. Even in the mad epiphany state in which I wrote most of Wild Children, I needed at least crude outlines. Even during the eighteen thousand word binge writing Falling From Grace.
Very, very seriously, I have learned that every writer is different and half the job is figuring out how our individual brain works so we can do this thing.
WereBear
If you haven’t read any of the classics from the Golden Age, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Rex Stout are favorite authors.
More recent writers include Elizabeth Peters, who has several series with a academic/museum theme. (She has a PhD in Egyptology.) When writing as Barbara Michaels there’s a supernatural element with excellent suspense.
Miranda James (who is a man) loves cats and books in their series!
Dorothy Gilman has a bit of a spy take with her detective, with more action than one would expect from a little old lady :)
Rand Careaga
@Frankensteinbeck:
Let us pray, then, that you and I never meet, because if I understand this whole matter/antimatter thing, we’d be reduced to our constituent quarks, and leave a crater the size of San Bernardino County.
I’m actually rather pleased with my mature prose style, which is less self-consciously gorgeous than the stuff I was attempting forty years ago, but it turns out that I can’t plot my way out of a Glad bag. A former neighbor of mine has published, to critical praise, a couple of novels, a somewhat racy memoir, and a “how-to” tome for aspiring writers, in which she urges the novitiate to just start writing and trust the connective tissue to appear spontaneously. Well, a quarter of a million words in, my timeline is a hot mess and I’ve written myself into half a dozen corners. Still, I trudge forward.
My environment of choice is a useful product called “Scrivener,” which I imagine would be enormously useful to someone more organized and methodical than I am.
WereBear
@Alison Rose: Also the Cadfael series by linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name “Ellis Peters.”
Her medieval monk uses his botanical and medical knowledge to solve crimes which are a bit more gruesome than the genteel “body in the next room” standard for a cozy.
WereBear
@Rand Careaga:
Hands down my favorite software of all time. But my laptop went flippy and unreliable, so I was exploring what I could do with a Chromebook. Which, when it comes to drafting, is quite a lot :)
Frankensteinbeck
@Rand Careaga:
I hear a lot of good things about Scrivener, but OpenOffice is working great for me for the writing process itself, and I have to use Microsoft Word when I exchange files with my publisher. Between those two things, I’ve never been motivated to give Scrivener a try.
Major Major Major Major
@Frankensteinbeck: Scrivener exports to Word just fine in my experience, once you work out how to make the template. I know some people run into bugs though.
WereBear
@Frankensteinbeck: Some of the advantages are more suited to my methods than yours. It’s a non-linear editor, which allows easy rearranging from any sizes, from fragments to chapters and beyond.
For someone like me, who generates quilt scraps and needs a way to stitch them all together, it’s much better than a setup like Word. I can change someone’s name in the whole book with one operation, for instance.
And I still need to export it to Pages for the final document, with page numbers and all for the paperback, etc.
JoyceH
In 2019, I published the first four books of my Regency Mage series. Late that year, my plan for 2020 was to publish 4 more. Had titles and premises, though not plots. Then as many of you know, in December of 2019, my twin sister died. So that sort of threw things out of whack. In early 2020, I thought well, maybe I can eventually get back on track and get a couple books out. But — nothing. I wrote nothing this year.
Maybe 2021? I have an awesome new laptop. But as for those four titles and premises, just not feeling it. I started getting some fictional notions, but this is something completely different – high fantasy in a fictional realm, I’ve been drawing a map! And then, I got another Regency Mage notion, an entirely different one. So perhaps the Muse is creeping back.
WereBear
I hope so. Mine can be a cuddly kitten or a wary feral cat :)
RSA
@Alison Rose:
Funny coincidence—in 2020 I got into reading cozy mysteries because it was hard to deal with stories in which innocent people encounter cruelty or suffering. I’ve left unfinished some thrillers and horror novels that I might have liked in the past.
Good luck with your cozy mystery, @WereBear!
J.
@WereBear: Congratulations! I know how hard it is to bang out 80,000 words. It took me 25 years to finally get there. And I love the cover. (My cozy mysteries also feature cats and have a black cat on the cover.) Well done!
PaulWartenberg
NaNo writer here as well.
I get the word count but then I keep losing my focus to finish what I started. :(
I need to keep the motivation to write going.
CONGRATULATIONS to every other NaNo writer who gets published! I bow to you.
Obvious Russian Troll
I hit 50K this year for the first time ever.
Naturally, I couldn’t do it with one project. I started out with a second draft that 20K words in I realized I really need to rethink more than I have. So I got 30K words out of a first draft on another project (40K now). Which was not ideal, but oh well.
What seems to more or less work for me is to write until I hit a wall, then let the piece rest and rethink it. Then I repeat the rest/draft cycle until I have a completed first draft.
Robert Sneddon
I started writing a short story during NaNoWriMo that’s grown a bit in the writing to the point where I could probably self-publish it via Kindle (circa 30,000 words, not a commercial-length book in today’s pro market but it would sell as a $1.99 novella, maybe). My problem is that rather than clean up what I’ve got, cut out chunks that don’t work etc. and make it into a real book I’ve started writing the sequel. I have too much time on my hands.
It’s about the Demon King who’d rather be in his study reading a book than going around being Evil and all that, but when the Heroes turn up to destroy him (this happens about once a week on average) he’s got to put the book down and go and do his job. He is much put upon. The working title, riffing off Japanese light-novel isekai tropes, is “The Demon King Is Too Powerful!”. The sequel may be entitled “The Demon King Is Way Too Powerful!”, just because.
Citizen Alan
I never reach my goals on NaNo because it’s in November, which always starts with an election in my very red state and ends with Thanksgiving, so I spend most of the month fighting off depression and impotent anger. That said, I’ve got a guy who’s now working on an audio book of my first novel (Strangers In Boston), and I’m about 50k into the sequel (Strangers In Dallas). So, yay! Progress!
Josie
I wrote the first draft of my historical novel and found it to be too short. I was told by an editor that a book like mine should be 80,000 words. Mine is only 50,000 at this time. Now I have to go back and expand and add to it, but it is so hard to get back into it again. I feel like I have said all I wanted to say. The pandemic is not helping, since it seems to have affected my creative abilities, which were not too great in the first place. I’m sure I will get over this hump, and it helps to know that others have similar problems. Thanks for writing this helpful post.
Nelle
Years ago, I had a lovely weekend at a conference being a driver for Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Great conversations on creativity.
WereBear
@Nelle:
It was my pleasure to pick up and drop off a favorite writer from a faraway airport. Elmore Leonard!
He was disappointed that I wasn’t a baseball fan, but second best was talking shop :)
WereBear
@Citizen Alan: I am getting set to record my own audio book.
It was excruciating because the person who “wrote” the user’s manual for the digital recorder will be severely beaten with a sea bass should I ever encounter them…
pluky
@WereBear: Oh my! If the jacket implies truth you blogged (ever so sporadically now alas), on another site that I used to read all the time. If so, how the hell do you manage to swap so many hats (personal and professional) without tearing your ‘fro off?
JoyceH
@Josie:
If you’re not totally committed to traditional publishing, and you go back and think you’ve told the story you want to tell in sufficient detail, you might want to consider self-publishing. There are a lot of rules in traditional publishing that can be blithely ignored when you self-pub. Like they’ll insist that a cozy mystery be a particular word count, not because that’s the perfect size to tell that sort of story, but because all their other cozy mysteries fit that size and they want a similar look to them all when they’re printed and shelved.
JoyceH
BTW, since there seem to be a lot of writers on this thread, going to pass on what I’ve seen described as a sure-fire cure for writer’s block. Someone posted to one of my writers groups on Facebook that if you’re experiencing writer’s block, the cure is to change your font to Comic Sans. Haven’t tried it myself, but someone else posted to the thread, “I hate myself – but this works.”
Josie
@JoyceH:
Thanks for saying this. I have considered this route and will take it if the effort to expand the book proves to be too much for me.
WereBear
Apparently I contain multitudes ?
WereBear
@JoyceH: This tip fits into my own fondness for changing devices and methods. For instance, importing it in Pages in a different font lets me find typos, no matter how often I’ve read it.
Laura
@SiubhanDuinne: Thank you! I am really touched.
lahke
@JoyceH:
So glad to hear that we may get more of Mary Bennett. I absolutely dote on these books!