Deep Deep Breath
Well, the National Novel Writing Month is done, and I got 50,000 words done. I must admit in all honesty that I did not completely write a novel, although I did write the first 50,000 words of the first draft of a novel. The novel itself when it is completed will probably clock in at about 75,000 words, putting me at about two - thirds finished Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it, and I am convinced I will knock out this novel (the first draft of it, I mean) very very soon.
My writing plans for December are of an academic nature. I have two papers that have been accepted to conferences in the Spring. The two papers are right now too similar (O K, I admit they are identical) so I need to do some extra work to get two different papers. My plan is to do that research and writing this month, and to get two different (and good) papers ready for those conferences by the end of the year. I have most of the data I need already, so it is just a matter of number-crunching more than actually legwork. So it is a writing job more than a research job, but it counts. I will keep up my regimen of 5 days a week, one thousand words a day of creative work for this blog. I made the commitment, then came this crazy Na No Wri Mo thing, but now that we are back to normal, I am getting back to my commitments. So I am getting back to my blog.
I liked the experience of writing 50 K words in a month. It made me be committed to write EVERY day, something I have never done before. The quota was excruciating, and I would not want to do it again any time real real real soon, but I am convinced that it was good for my writing. And I am psyched to do it again next year. And I will wear my T-shirt with pride! As I expressed in the brief post yesterday, it was an extremely fortuitous set of events, just the right dominoes falling at exactly the right times, that introduced my to Na No Wri Mo. And I am grateful for the kick in the creative pants that I got from doing this.
I will rest in December from creative work per se, and do other projects, as I said above. But I will get back into them in January. My plan now is to get back to Soulmates at the first of the year and finish it, then let it sit and revise my prior novel, then revise Soulmates, then prepare and participate in 2003's Na No Wri Mo. Am I nuts to have the muse planned out so specifically. Probably, but that is a bridge I will either cross or drive off or blow up when I get to it. But I think being organized and planning will work for me.One of the keys to successful planning is to recognize that planning is not a strait jacket but is the guard rails on the side of the highway. They keep you on track, but are not the end all and be all. Good planning includes the recognition that the plan can change. So I submit the above plan (if that is even what that can be called) with the understanding of planning that I above expressed.
Another thing I appreciate about my Na No Wri mo experience is the nice people I my town that I have met. Met in the cyber meaning of the word, that is. There was an in person meeting right before the month started that I could not make, so some of these folks have actually met I R L. But I have just communicated via e-mail with these folks, and it was very pleasant exchanges. I am going to the meeting with these guys tomorrow night, and am looking forward to it. I have never been in a writing group, so maybe this will turn into one. Of course we have no idea where this little group will go and what it will morph into, but the possibilities intrigue me. Whether we end up a critiquing group, an encouragement group, or some other type of group, I am willing and excited to give it the old college try. At this point, we don't even have a set schedule, we do not know how often we will eventually meet or when we will eventually meet or even a final answer as to where we will eventually meet, so it is extremely up in the air as of this writing. I hope that tomorrow's meeting will help us nail down a few of these answers. My impression is that the meeting tomorrow is mostly a social and decompression meeting, which is good. Personalities are an important part of the writing group dynamic, of course they are an important part of any group. So tomorrow's meeting will be important in determining the feel of the group, as well as the specifics and the what, where, and when questions.
That was a long paragraph, but one of the rules of this kind of blogging is that lack of editing. This is about the habit and the practice of getting thoughts done on paper. Writing is rewriting, but you can not rewrite unless something is first written. This is very congruent to the Na No Wri Mo philosophy, with its quantity over quality mantra. So this blog right now is not about grammar and spelling and formatting, but is instead about getting one thousand words on paper. My thoughts about my writing, and writing in general, and other writing topics. At least for the time being. When I am back into a specific writing project of a creative nature, either writing or rewriting, then I will focus on that in this blog. But for now, what you see is what you get.
Well, the National Novel Writing Month is done, and I got 50,000 words done. I must admit in all honesty that I did not completely write a novel, although I did write the first 50,000 words of the first draft of a novel. The novel itself when it is completed will probably clock in at about 75,000 words, putting me at about two - thirds finished Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it, and I am convinced I will knock out this novel (the first draft of it, I mean) very very soon.
My writing plans for December are of an academic nature. I have two papers that have been accepted to conferences in the Spring. The two papers are right now too similar (O K, I admit they are identical) so I need to do some extra work to get two different papers. My plan is to do that research and writing this month, and to get two different (and good) papers ready for those conferences by the end of the year. I have most of the data I need already, so it is just a matter of number-crunching more than actually legwork. So it is a writing job more than a research job, but it counts. I will keep up my regimen of 5 days a week, one thousand words a day of creative work for this blog. I made the commitment, then came this crazy Na No Wri Mo thing, but now that we are back to normal, I am getting back to my commitments. So I am getting back to my blog.
I liked the experience of writing 50 K words in a month. It made me be committed to write EVERY day, something I have never done before. The quota was excruciating, and I would not want to do it again any time real real real soon, but I am convinced that it was good for my writing. And I am psyched to do it again next year. And I will wear my T-shirt with pride! As I expressed in the brief post yesterday, it was an extremely fortuitous set of events, just the right dominoes falling at exactly the right times, that introduced my to Na No Wri Mo. And I am grateful for the kick in the creative pants that I got from doing this.
I will rest in December from creative work per se, and do other projects, as I said above. But I will get back into them in January. My plan now is to get back to Soulmates at the first of the year and finish it, then let it sit and revise my prior novel, then revise Soulmates, then prepare and participate in 2003's Na No Wri Mo. Am I nuts to have the muse planned out so specifically. Probably, but that is a bridge I will either cross or drive off or blow up when I get to it. But I think being organized and planning will work for me.One of the keys to successful planning is to recognize that planning is not a strait jacket but is the guard rails on the side of the highway. They keep you on track, but are not the end all and be all. Good planning includes the recognition that the plan can change. So I submit the above plan (if that is even what that can be called) with the understanding of planning that I above expressed.
Another thing I appreciate about my Na No Wri mo experience is the nice people I my town that I have met. Met in the cyber meaning of the word, that is. There was an in person meeting right before the month started that I could not make, so some of these folks have actually met I R L. But I have just communicated via e-mail with these folks, and it was very pleasant exchanges. I am going to the meeting with these guys tomorrow night, and am looking forward to it. I have never been in a writing group, so maybe this will turn into one. Of course we have no idea where this little group will go and what it will morph into, but the possibilities intrigue me. Whether we end up a critiquing group, an encouragement group, or some other type of group, I am willing and excited to give it the old college try. At this point, we don't even have a set schedule, we do not know how often we will eventually meet or when we will eventually meet or even a final answer as to where we will eventually meet, so it is extremely up in the air as of this writing. I hope that tomorrow's meeting will help us nail down a few of these answers. My impression is that the meeting tomorrow is mostly a social and decompression meeting, which is good. Personalities are an important part of the writing group dynamic, of course they are an important part of any group. So tomorrow's meeting will be important in determining the feel of the group, as well as the specifics and the what, where, and when questions.
That was a long paragraph, but one of the rules of this kind of blogging is that lack of editing. This is about the habit and the practice of getting thoughts done on paper. Writing is rewriting, but you can not rewrite unless something is first written. This is very congruent to the Na No Wri Mo philosophy, with its quantity over quality mantra. So this blog right now is not about grammar and spelling and formatting, but is instead about getting one thousand words on paper. My thoughts about my writing, and writing in general, and other writing topics. At least for the time being. When I am back into a specific writing project of a creative nature, either writing or rewriting, then I will focus on that in this blog. But for now, what you see is what you get.
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