So, what did you do last month?
Me? I’m a winner at Nanowrimo. I wrote a novel. Or, more accurately, over fifty thousand words of raw material for a novel.
I do have one concern. My novel didn’t end. I passed 50K, but I still am not sure where the novel was going. Without my artificial, arbitrary deadline, I’m not sure I’ll ever find out. Because writing 50K in a month is not a healthy way to live.
Here’s how I did it. I woke up at 6 a.m., my husband made me coffee and I did small writing things, like journalling and catching up on the past year of thank you notes for baby gifts, until the baby woke around 7:30 a.m. I made sure to eat lunch while the baby did, so that when he went to sleep for his nap, around noon, I could sit down as soon as possible at the laptop and work on the Nanowrimo novel. Sometimes I checked email, or blogged, to my detriment. The baby’s nap is usually an hour fifteen, so anything other than power novelling meant that very little novelling got done. Occasionally, on very wonderful days, I would finish my goal of 1700 words per day during his nap. Usually, I did not, so after he went to sleep at night, around 7:30 p.m., I would sit down and write till I hit the goal. The later I novelled, the harder it was. The worst days were the ones in which I had to start after he went to bed for the night.
But I did it. And now I’m glad that it’s over. I’m going to go do laundry. Or bathe. Or read my book. Or watch TV. Or a movie. Or any other of the zillion things I put off last month, saying, “I’ll get to it in December. Right now, I gotta novel.”
December 2nd, 2004 at 2:07 pm
Congratulations!! But do try to make it end. Or you’ll be like Michael Douglas on “Wonder Boys” with the world’s longest novel and no end in site. I LOVE that movie!
December 2nd, 2004 at 7:40 pm
Love your URL.
December 12th, 2004 at 9:02 pm
Believe, me, the thought of my novel sitting, dusty and unended while I run about getting stoned in a ratty pink bathrobe is as alarming to me as it is to you!
I hope you’ve also read Wonder Boys. It is one of those rare occurrences: great book and solid movie.
I had an embarrassing incident with the author, Michael Chabon. But I still love his books, as does Drake, who is continually drawn to the spine of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and tries to pull it down, though I’ve baby proofed the shelf by jamming the books in so tight that he can’t.