Well, Nano is over for another year, and I once more find myself sitting in December wondering how I'm going to edit all of the words I wrote during November. The answer, of course, is one book at a time. I just wish I was faster at the editing process than I currently am.
Anyway, as I'm sure all of you noticed, my blog got a little bit of an update this week. I (sadly) took down the donation link to nano (though if you would like to donate, just visit www.nanowrimo.org and you can definitely make the donationt here). It will be back next year, though I won't be travelling to San Francisco in 2013.
You might also notice that I've added a 'goals' section. This is very important, because I have a lot of goals for next year, and I'm hoping that tracking them here will make me focus on them a bit more. Now, I didn't want to discriminate, so any and all goals I have will be making it into that section. You'll see that getting Pandora submission worthy is first on the list. What isn't there is getting it to Beta's by the 24th. I decided not to add that, because technically the list is for 2013 goals, and that's still 2012.
I've actually started to continue reading through Pandora to get it edited (almost done. On chapter 35 of 40) and I'm finding that there are actually some chapters that I enjoy reading! This is shocking because I'm definitely my biggest critic. I will sit there and rip my stuff to shreds, and then I hate putting it back together again. I think this is why I don't enjoy editing as much as some of my friends do. Anyway, the point is, I didn't find myself cringing during every chapter, and I think that means that maybe I'm ready to start raking in the rejection letters! (Let's face it, we're talking about a werewolf book. While I think it's great, most places are going to tell me that it's a hard sell...)
Of course, I'm still waiting to hear back for the short story I submitted. I'm not frantically checking every email, because I almost want it to take longer. Every day I don't hear back is another day that I haven't been rejected, so I'm looking at it as a good thing that it's been over a month since the submission!
I'm slowly reorganizing myself to truly become serious about writing. I always thought that last year I was ready for it, but I didn't even begin to be serious enough to truly make it as a writer. I'm not quitting my day job just yet, but I'm going to crack down. I'm going to follow through on my goals, and I'm going to be published. Maybe not this year, but soon. I have so many stories that I want to share with the world!
P.S. I have decided that, for now at least, the Sunday and Wednesday schedule is good for the blog, so I'm going to stick to that!
Showing posts with label December. Show all posts
Showing posts with label December. Show all posts
Monday, December 3, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Life After Nano (Day 28)
Today I read a blog post talking about NaNoWriMo (it was during a word war when I was supposed to be writing, but don't judge me! I got my words for the day done early, I swear!)
Anyway, in this blog post (which I'm sure wasn't actually intended as negative toward Nano) they basically said that nano isn't the end all of writing. That at the end of the day it doesn't matter. That getting the first draft of any book done isn't the biggest step.
Of course, I know that nano isn't the last step you need to get published. You can't finish a book and hand it over, expecting them to give you money for it. An author once visited my school and told us about the writing process. He glossed over a lot of it, of course, as he was talking to ten year olds, but the basic thing that I came away with was LOTS of drafts. So, I've always been aware that this isn't an easy thing to do.
The thing is, though, that I don't necessarily agree with everything that he said. No, the first draft isn't the end of writing. You can't finish writing the first draft and assume that you're done. And if you're doing something like nano (which can create some real crap writing, when you hit a part that you can't figure out and know you need to get the words, so you just write down whatever you need) then you really need to go back and look over your work. Not just for the spelling mistakes, but for everything. Plot holes, faulty character development, the stupid ball, and even bad choices.
But without that first draft, without getting something down on paper, there isn't anything there to edit, to double check, to get beta readers for, and finally to submit.
For me, that first draft came with Nano.
Yes, I know that 50k words doesn't generally a complete novel make. I knew that the first time I wrote nano. Of course, that year I did end up doing 50k novels, but just because the goal of nano is 50k doesn't mean that you have to stop there. You can keep going! Keep writing.
For me, Nano has blossomed into a novel nearly ready for submissions, and multiple novels awaiting my attention. A critique group who occasionally dabbles in writing exercises, and something to work toward (in case you're wondering, I'm hoping the Nano will one day ask me to do a pep talk for them. Step #1: Get Published!)
So, yes, there are so many more steps after finishing the first draft (especially if the 50k doesn't finish off your story) but Nano doesn't promise you something ready to submit. That's not the point. The point of nano is to make you pick up the pen (or, generally more common, put your fingers to the keys) and get writing. Get started on putting down that novel that's been running rampant in your brain for years. Make those characters talk and prove to yourself that you can do it.
Then, come December, remember that Nano just starts the process for you. YOU have to be responsible for the rest of it. It's up to you to keep writing. To fearfully look back over that first draft, certain that you won't be able to keep anything. To find those diamonds surrounded by the crap that you can really build a novel from. To rewrite as much of it may need to be rewritten, and to finally show the world that, yes, you are a writer!
So hold those heads up high. Shout to the world that Nano helped you accomplish something you never thought you world! And don't ever let the world tell you that what you've done so far isn't an accomplishment, because it is! Then, keep going. Don't give up! One day, those words will be polished enough for you to show another person.
Happy Writing.
What do you plan to do once Nano is done? Have you ever managed to go back and edit a nano novel?
Anyway, in this blog post (which I'm sure wasn't actually intended as negative toward Nano) they basically said that nano isn't the end all of writing. That at the end of the day it doesn't matter. That getting the first draft of any book done isn't the biggest step.
Of course, I know that nano isn't the last step you need to get published. You can't finish a book and hand it over, expecting them to give you money for it. An author once visited my school and told us about the writing process. He glossed over a lot of it, of course, as he was talking to ten year olds, but the basic thing that I came away with was LOTS of drafts. So, I've always been aware that this isn't an easy thing to do.
The thing is, though, that I don't necessarily agree with everything that he said. No, the first draft isn't the end of writing. You can't finish writing the first draft and assume that you're done. And if you're doing something like nano (which can create some real crap writing, when you hit a part that you can't figure out and know you need to get the words, so you just write down whatever you need) then you really need to go back and look over your work. Not just for the spelling mistakes, but for everything. Plot holes, faulty character development, the stupid ball, and even bad choices.
But without that first draft, without getting something down on paper, there isn't anything there to edit, to double check, to get beta readers for, and finally to submit.
For me, that first draft came with Nano.
Yes, I know that 50k words doesn't generally a complete novel make. I knew that the first time I wrote nano. Of course, that year I did end up doing 50k novels, but just because the goal of nano is 50k doesn't mean that you have to stop there. You can keep going! Keep writing.
For me, Nano has blossomed into a novel nearly ready for submissions, and multiple novels awaiting my attention. A critique group who occasionally dabbles in writing exercises, and something to work toward (in case you're wondering, I'm hoping the Nano will one day ask me to do a pep talk for them. Step #1: Get Published!)
So, yes, there are so many more steps after finishing the first draft (especially if the 50k doesn't finish off your story) but Nano doesn't promise you something ready to submit. That's not the point. The point of nano is to make you pick up the pen (or, generally more common, put your fingers to the keys) and get writing. Get started on putting down that novel that's been running rampant in your brain for years. Make those characters talk and prove to yourself that you can do it.
Then, come December, remember that Nano just starts the process for you. YOU have to be responsible for the rest of it. It's up to you to keep writing. To fearfully look back over that first draft, certain that you won't be able to keep anything. To find those diamonds surrounded by the crap that you can really build a novel from. To rewrite as much of it may need to be rewritten, and to finally show the world that, yes, you are a writer!
So hold those heads up high. Shout to the world that Nano helped you accomplish something you never thought you world! And don't ever let the world tell you that what you've done so far isn't an accomplishment, because it is! Then, keep going. Don't give up! One day, those words will be polished enough for you to show another person.
Happy Writing.
What do you plan to do once Nano is done? Have you ever managed to go back and edit a nano novel?
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Daily Word Count: 15,296
Total Word Count: 270,391
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