Saturday, October 31, 2015

My Half NaNo/Half Scene/Half Book/Half November Writing Challenge

Tomorrow is November 1st, which for many writers means the official starting date of NaNoWriMo. Midnight tonight, it's an On your mark, Get set, Go, across the world as several hundred thousand writers will attempt to silence their inner critical editor voices and bang out their 50,000-word first drafts.

Fun factoid: last year 325,142 writers, including 80,000 teens and children, signed up to take the challenge.

I'm not sure how many completed it.  Because it's freaking HARD to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days!

Fun factoid # 2: Since 1999 over 250 writers eventually went on to traditionally publish (I assume after much revision) their NaNo novels-- Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus... oh, and my book Thin Space (the first draft of which was crazily dashed off during NaNo, 2008)

NaNo is a fun, wild, relentless, ridiculously difficult and yet freeing ride and I halfway want to do it again this year.

But I'm not.

First, because I have just started revising a novel and, for me, revising is less about word count and more about scene work.

Also, I have a ton of other things to do. (Somehow, and I'm not sure exactly how this happened, I have nine events/presentations/writing workshops/school visits set up for this month, and now I've got to actually, um, prepare for those.)

I love the challenge-y goal aspect of NaNo though, so I have decided to craft my own NaNo-style program.

It's all about halves....

1. Revise half of a scene per
2. half of the days in November that I am not out and about presenting
3. which would get me roughly halfway through my revision

Anyone want to join me?

Pledge in the comments your Half NaNo Style Challenge, (or create whatever the heck other kind of writing goal you'd like to shoot for this month).

We'll meet back on December 1 and see how we've done.









6 comments:

  1. I'm in! I am using NaNo to revise, too. I'm calling it NaNoReViSo in my mind.

    I planned to revise 10 pages to equal 1000 words and still signed up for the regular NaNo. I'm revising/writing 6 days a week with Thanksgiving off if I want it.

    I love the pep talks they give out and want to move myself forward with that group momentum. I'm just changing the rules like I often do with NaNoWriMo. (I've never 'won' but always get my books further along with it.)

    Thanks for throwing this out there, Jody. I feel a little less alone in my improvisation.

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  2. I love that-- NaNoReViSo. I confess that I've bent the rules before doing NaNo. It's the way I approach all things writing-process-related. Take what resonates/do what works/ignore the rest. Good luck with yours, Karrie and see you on Dec. 1!

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  3. Mine might be 1/4 stye, Jody, a sI am doing PIBoIdMo, Picture Book Idea Month, and writing an early chapter book w/ a writer friend. I'm in.

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    1. That sounds cool, Kathy! I have heard of PiBoIdMo--seems extremely difficult to me. Good luck!

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  4. Jody my friend Ami does something called #WIPmo every November for those who are working on work in progresses. Her Twitter handle is @amilouiseallen and she always posts on her blog. She also tweets the hashtag frequently too. Maybe you could join that?
    I am doing neither revising or writing this November which feels strange to me...I am usually revising but right now twiddling my thumbs lol

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    1. Thanks for the tip, Rachel. I will check it out :)

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