I know, I’m doing PerNoFiMo (Personal Novel Finishing Month) instead of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) but this is about how it feels.
I spent Saturday cranking out 3000 words in the novel I’m working on, tentatively titled Whip It! I was feeling pretty proud of myself because that’s a lot of words to produce in just a few hours, so I posted an announcement to Twitter. Someone almost immediately came back and said, “That’s great! If they’re the right words…”
If they’re the right words? If they’re the right words? I said it last week and I will say it again. NaNoWriMo and PerNoFiMo are not about putting the right words down on the page. These events are about putting words down, period. A bad first draft can always be re-written, edited, cleaned up, etc. A blank page? You got nothing to work with.
I explained this, and the person who made the comment understood immediately, and I’m glad, because there are lots of people out there who would still insist that if I didn’t write the right 3000 words, then I’d just wasted a lot of time. Well you know what? Those people most likely aren’t ever going to succeed in writing novels. So there!
Have a great day! I’ll post my progress on PerNoFiMo tomorrow in my Writing Wednesday post 😉
Don’t forget to visit www.nanowrimo.org to find out more about National Novel Writing Month.
Also at Oh Get A Grip this week, we’re talking about what it’s like to live with a writer. Good stuff. Stop by for a look!
[New Post] Episode 43 – NaNoWriMo! – via @twitoaster http://www.cynicalwoman.com/2009/11/10/e…
Cynical Woman webcomic is up! This week, we look at NaNoWriMo! http://www.cynicalwoman.com/2009/11/10/e… (Please RT)
@Cynical_Woman Thanks for reminding me I wasn’t actually reading your webcomic yet…. *bad fan*
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I love how the text deteriorates from the first panel to the third. Brilliant! And what’s this “right words” crap? First draft are mud pies, damn it, not sculpture.
Kathleen,
The problem is, if you’ve never written before, you might not understand that. I had no problem explaining that point when I got the original comment, and the guy was very quick to understand. It’s those people who DON’T understand, who insist that writers have to slave over every word in the rough draft, that kill me. I’ve spewed out 10K of really rough writing in the last week. That’s an accomplishment! That’s 10K I’ll be able to refine next month, or as soon as I’ve got the first draft done.
And glad you liked the text in the background. I had to work to throw in little things like spelling errors, verb tense problems, etc. Making certain mistakes is hard to do when you’re doing them deliberately!
Cynical Woman – you rock! An hour spent in the throws of creation are better than an hour spent critisizing others when they lack their own contribution. What has that person done to inspire passion or drama, anything… besides vehemence? Maybe they need to get off the couch and write something – productive. Let’s see their great american novel or piece of prose.
M’Lady,
Exactly! Why criticize when you could write your own crappy first draft? That way, if you’re damned and determined to criticize something, you have your own crappy first draft right there in front of you to make snarky comments about! LOL!
I wish more people would turn their criticism to creative efforts. Maybe some will. Thank you for the feedback. You rock too!
LOL!!! Write on, Cynical Woman! 🙂
(From a former NaNoWriMo writer)
Celine,
Thank you! How did you do when you undertook NaNoWriMo? I’m curious to know!
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Right words?
And congrads on those 3,000. That’s 3,000 closer to your novel’s ending, I say.
Thanks Pam! I’ve turned out another 5K or so since then, so things are going along smoothly. I find that when I let go of certain expectations and just write, story twists and interesting plot turns just suddenly show up. It’s amazing the potential this book now has in its rough draft state. Can’t wait to get it finished so I can get started on editing!