NaNoWriMo Blues

 “Finish things.” - Neil Gaiman 

I’ve been participating in National Novel Writing Month since 2018. I have yet to complete a novel, but the challenge has helped me to finish first drafts of short stories. The only times that I’ve “won” is with July and April’s Camp NaNoWriMo which lets you set your own word count. 

With all the controversy surrounding NaNoWriMo recently and the fact that none of my writing buddies are participating this time, I debated whether to participate this year. 

One of the things I struggle with is finishing things. I have too many partially completed stories. When I looked at my previous NaNoWriMo projects, I saw that my total word count was around 78,000. So, after some reflection I decided to jump in with the following goals:

• Get into the habit of writing regularly again. 

• Increase my total word count to over 80,000 words.

• Title my project “Short Story Roundup” and work on completing some stories.

So naturally I started a new short story. Sigh. 

Even without writing buddies for motivation, I’ve been enjoying working on the story though. I’ve also gotten back into the habit of writing regularly, even when I’m not in the mood and even if the word count is low. Progress is progress. I’ve also broken 80,000 words, so there’s that. 

There are still a few days left in the month, so my goal now is to finish the story. After that my goals are to keep up the habit of writing regularly past November as well as working harder to follow Neil Gaiman's advice to beginner writers, which I quoted above.

 

July 2023 Camp NaNoWriMo

 “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.”

— Isabel Allende 

I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo for the first-time last month. It’s a less intense version of November’s National Novel Writing Month challenge as you can set your own word count. I’ve participated in the November challenge a few times, but I never actually attempted to write a novel in thirty days. I used the challenge as a way to try and finish short stories. Even so, it still felt intense. Setting a low word count took a lot of the stress away. For this project I wrote a western short story. 

I started off strong, then quickly slowed down, figured some things out, and then got back into the groove. I passed the word count goal earlier than expected, and I was able to finish the story by the end of the month. As my other projects weren’t novels, this was my first time officially finishing a NaNoWriMo project. It was great to get a winner badge (see above) and certificate (see below) when you finish. It felt pretty good.

As the story is a first draft, technically it isn’t finished yet. But it has a beginning, middle, and end, and that feels pretty good. Now to get it into shape. 

Camp NaNoWriMo and Staying Motivated to Write

I’ve really been into westerns recently and now I’m trying my hand at writing one. How did I get here? 

One of the books I read last month was The Name’s Buchanan by William Ard writing as Jonas Ward. That led me to watching the 1958 film adaptation Buchanan Rides Alone, directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. That led me to watching all the films in the Ranown cycle, a group of western films all directed by Boetticher and starring Scott. 

For the last few years, I’ve participated in November’s National Writing Month challenge, aka NaNoWriMo. I haven't finished any novels, but the event has helped me to finish a couple of short stories. In April and July there's a less intense writing challenge called Camp NaNoWriMo, where you can set your own word count. A friend of mine is participating so I figured I would as well. As the last two stories I wrote were sword & sorcery stories, I was in the mood to try something different. Since I’ve been reading and watching westerns, a western short story seemed the natural choice. 

We’re just past the half-way point this month. Although my daily word count has dropped, I’ve been able to write something every day. Here are the things that have helped me stay motivated to write. 

Writing Buddies

I’ve found having a writing buddy or buddies on the NaNoWriMo web page can be motivating. Checking in and seeing that someone else has increased their word count motivated me to keep going a few times. Also talking with someone. There was a point where I was stuck, and I talked with someone about a few different things and answered his questions. A little while afterwards I figured out a way forward. I didn’t realize it right away, but that talk had helped.

Reviewing 

I have read more than a few books on writing and some have been more helpful than others. With books I find helpful I take notes in a notebook. I’ve been reviewing those notes and reviewing one book in particular, Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight. In the chapter titled "Idea Into Story" he has this to say:

“Particularize. You can’t write about a general character in a general setting — you need a particular person in a particular place, feeling in a particular way, in a particular situation.”

“Character, setting, and situation are all constraints in fiction.” 

“The more you know about your characters, setting, and situation, the more constraints there are — and the easier it becomes to decide what can and will happen in the story.” 

The advice seems obvious, but they are things that I haven’t always focused on. I found reviewing this advice helpful, especially after reading something in another book which I’ll talk about below. 

Reading 

Besides watching movies I’m reading western short stories for inspiration. Someone on Twitter recommended “The Defense of Sentinel'' by Louis L’Amour. I have it in a collection and gave it a read. The town drunk finds himself the only person left in town right before an attack. It was outstanding. 

After watching High Noon, which I really enjoyed, I read the short story it was adapted from, The Tin Star by John M. Cunningham. A PDF of the story is available to read for free online. An aging sheriff refuses to flee when a man he sent to prison is released and heads back to town for revenge. The set up is the same as the movie but the rest of the story is different. I thought it was excellent and it was interesting comparing the two. 

This month I also started reading another book on writing, Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress. I’ve had it for a long time but I’m just now getting to it. When I’m trying to write stories, I can come up with beginnings and I can come up with endings. But I always struggle with coming up with what happens in the middle and bringing everything together. 

Some of the advice Nancy Kress gives ties into the advice Damon Knight gives in his book:

“Ask yourself, “What does each of my characters want?” Once you know — I usually make a short list — you can figure out how these particular individuals would go about getting it. This in turn suggests scenes.” 

I’ve read this advice before, but once again it’s something I haven’t really focused on. I also found the idea of tying what characters want to potential scenes helpful. 

To the Finish 

The month is just over half-way over and I’m still plugging away at the story. I still have some things to figure out, but I think I have a better handle on the characters, and I have a number of scenes to work on. Best of luck to all the other writers out there. 

Thoughts on National Novel Writing Month 2022

“Beginning is hard, but continuing is harder. The most important thing creators do is work. The most important thing they don’t do is quit.” - Kevin Ashton 

I participated in November’s National Novel Writing Month for the fifth time this year. I haven't finished a novel yet but then again, I’ve never gone in thinking I was going to actually write a novel in thirty days. Instead, I’ve used the month to try and finish some of my short story ideas. 

I had the following goals for NaNoWriMo this year:

• Complete four of my short story drafts by working on one a week.

• Write 500 to 1000 words a day.

• Beat last year’s word count.

• Write every day. 

Three of the drafts are incomplete stories from previous NaNoWriMo’s. The fourth is actually a completed story, the first story that I ever submitted for publication. It’s also my first rejection. I decided to apply some of the feedback that I received and expand upon it. My plan was to work on that one and then finish the other three. 

Beyond that, I hadn’t really done any planning or preparation. But as I began writing I realized that I was still trying to figure out my characters and their motivations. I started asking myself a lot of “how” and “why” questions. This led to asking and answering questions about my character's backstories and their world. I wrote these questions down and started writing out possible answers. This helped a lot, kept me writing, and led to ideas that I was able to put into the story. As helpful as it was, it wasn’t enough. 

When I got to the middle of the month it was clear I was running behind. I was writing every day, but only 200 to 600 words a day. And I was still working on the first story. 

I decided to rethink my goals and review what worked for me last year. In 2021 I read a book on writing for motivation, Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight. It helped a lot. But this year I wasn’t reading anything like that. So, with all that in mind I came up with new goals:

• Finish the story I was expanding. 

• Try and get to a second story. 

• Increase my word count so I can beat last year’s word count.

• Read a book on writing. I pulled Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin off my shelf. 

• Write every day. 

I rethought my goals again within a few days. I just wasn’t increasing my word count and I was really wrapped up in the story I was trying to expand. So, I dropped two of the new goals. I decided to not worry about getting to a second story, not worry about beating last year's word count, and just focus on completing the one story. My stress level went down immediately. For the rest of the month, more often than not, I found myself getting into a writing groove when I sat down to write.

Reading Le Guin’s Steering the Craft was a big help. I had started it before, but I don’t think that I was ready for it. Between the feedback I got from all the people who read my story before I submitted it, and the feedback I got from the rejection, I had a better understanding of what kind of things I needed to improve. I didn’t finish the book but the advice and the exercises from the first few chapters were enough to motivate me to try and apply the lessons to my writing. 

One of the things I learned from NaNoWriMo this year is to adapt as you go. I felt good about my original goals but then reality set in. It helped to review and replan throughout the month. I think it also helped that I had more than one goal. I always had one particular goal to fall back on: Write every day, and update my word count, even if it was only one sentence. It kept me going. 

So, this is where I wound up at the end of the month:

• I met one of my original goals, to write something every day.

• I met one of my updated goals, to complete the draft of one story. 

 

NaNoWriMo is over and now I have some new goals: finish more stories. 

Ten Things I Learned from National Novel Writing Month 2021

 “Finish things.” - Neil Gaiman

This year was my fourth year participating in November’s National Novel Writing Month. I had three goals this time. Beat my previous year’s word count, write every day, and finish a story. 

So how did I do? Well, I beat my word count by the 15th, wrote every day (some days more than others), and I finished a story. Now technically the story isn’t really finished. It’s a first draft. A pretty rough first draft so it needs plenty of work. But it still feels good. 

While I’ve learned something from each year’s experience, I feel like I learned the most this year. So here are ten things I learned from participating in NaNoWriMo 2021. 

One: I’m a plantser.

A “planner” believes in rigorous preparation and a “pantser” believes in hardcore spontaneity. A “plantser” is somewhere in between. While I didn’t have everything plotted out in detail this year, I didn’t jump in blind either. I had a goal in mind and a number of story beats that I knew I wanted to hit. I found that this helped me with keeping forward momentum and it allowed the freedom for new ideas to develop. This kept me interested. 

I’ve spent way more time in my life thinking about stories instead of sitting down and writing them. When I did sit down to write I didn’t finish. I either lost interest or I wasn’t sure where I was going and gave up. Now I have a better idea of how much I need to figure out before sitting down to write. 

Two: Using a timer can help you be productive.

I learned about this method last year. Set a timer and don’t stop writing until it goes off. If you stop writing, stop the timer. This method worked really well the first couple of times I tried it out. I started off small, just fifteen minutes. Then I went from thirty minutes to an hour. My problem in the past was that I wasn’t doing it regularly. I tried it again last month and was more consistent. Funny thing is, after seven days I stopped using the timer. I found that I didn’t need it anymore!

Three: Write fast, edit later.

Don’t second guess yourself. Unsure about including a scene? Include it. Can’t decide between which way to word something? Write down both ways. The most important thing is forward momentum. You can always cut stuff later. 

Four: Talk to a writing buddy.

Whether it’s in person or online, talking to someone who is also writing can be motivating. Even just reading comments from others who are sharing their struggles and accomplishments. 

Five: Hemingway was right when he said, “Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next.”

I’m familiar with this advice but it didn’t have an impact until now. Maybe because I wasn’t so focused on finishing a story until last month. Since I had a number of story beats worked out ahead of time, and because I learned new things as I was writing, whenever I stopped for the day, I knew what would happen next. I felt good and it left me motivated to jump in the next day. 

Six: You need a goal. 

This is pretty obvious of course. The most common goal is a daily word count. I wasn’t reaching the recommended 1667 words per day. I figured that was okay since I wasn’t working on a novel. My goal was to finish at least one scene per day.  It left me with low word counts but I felt a sense of accomplishment after completing a scene every day. The downside to this was even with just working on a short story, I was behind at the end of the month. I think a word count goal is something I still need to consider. 

Seven: Take notes as you write.

This helped me stay in writing mode.  While I was writing I would get new ideas or think of ways to improve previous scenes. Instead of stopping the flow by tinkering with previous scenes or starting something new, I’d make a note on the document somewhere or add to a list in a notebook I kept by my side. 

Eight: Find a way to stay organized that works for you.

After a few days and trying different things, I found myself working between two documents and a notebook. The first document consisted of the story draft, character names and notes, place notes and history, and conversations. The second document consisted of a general outline and list of story beats. The notebook consisted of anything that popped into my head, for example, background information, small details to add, and notes of inconsistencies to address later. 

Nine: Find a workflow that works for you. 

My main rule was this: When working on the draft, stay focused on the draft. No editing. This became more challenging the more I wrote. The longer the story got, the more the logical part of my brain wanted to create order, fix things, and tinker. This was bad for forward momentum. 

So, my other rule was I could edit before or after, either as a warm-up or as a warm-down. This helped me focus on finishing scenes and moving forward.

Ten: Read for motivation. 

I discovered pretty quickly that one of my weaknesses is writing fight scenes. Since I was working on a fantasy adventure story, I started reading Robert E. Howard again. He’s a master of action scenes. I also read Damon Knight’s Creating Short Fiction. It was an enjoyable read and I got a number of ideas out of it. 

Bonus: Don’t wait for motivation. 

You get a lot farther from sitting down and doing the work, even when you’re not motivated, than waiting for motivation to hit. Also, you’d be surprised how often motivation actually kicks in once you get started. Who knew?! Well, a lot of successful writers apparently as I see this advice given a lot. I guess some people just need to learn this for themselves.

Closing

I have mixed feelings about month-long challenges like this. On one hand, it’s a way to be productive, but on the other hand it can be stressful. Whether it’s drawing, writing, or something else, doing something creative every single day takes time and energy. 

NaNoWriMo is over. So now what? I realize I need to keep doing the things I learned throughout the year, not just one month out of the year. So far, I’ve continued to write a little bit every day since last month. I may not continue to write every day from here on out, but hopefully I’ve developed some good habits. Habits that will help me finish things. 

(Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month)

Thoughts on National Novel Writing Month

 “The truth is that there’s always a gap between the story as you imagined it - compelling, insightful, rich with subtle nuance - and what actually ends up in the manuscript. This is because stories must be written, and read, one word at a time…” - Nancy Kress 

This is my fourth year participating in National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. Every November people try to write a 500,000 word novel in thirty days. It’s recommended to write 1667 words a day. I’ve never been a stickler about the official NaNoWriMo rules. I don’t often hit 1667 words a day and I don’t think my ideas are detailed enough for an entire novel. 

I’ve had story ideas and characters running around in my head for years but I haven’t written many of them down. I figured participating would be a way for me to finally finish something. That’s been more challenging than I thought.

Although I have yet to complete a story, let alone a novel, I did get something out of the work I put in. Each year has been a learning experience.

2018

The project for my first year was a science fiction/fantasy story that evolved from a story I came up with in my childhood. Although I didn’t finish it, by writing for a month I saw my characters come to life. At the end of the month I had a partial draft and I knew how the story would end. That’s more than I had before I started. It felt pretty good. 

2019

For my second year I decided my project would be a collection of at least four short stories. My plan was to write one story per week. It sounded like a good idea at the time but I wound up spending the entire month on the first story. I didn’t finish it. On the positive side I beat my previous year’s word count. 

2020

It took me a while to figure out what to do last year. My first thoughts were to finish a previous project or start a new story. But I also had some essays that I wanted to write. So I took last year’s idea and tweaked it a little. I named my project Short Fiction and Essays. I worked on one piece of fiction and a variety of essays. 

Once again, it sounded like a good idea at the time. It was a way to get me writing. I beat my previous year’s word count once again but the only thing I finished was one essay. The essay became a post for my blog. But at the end of the month I didn’t have the sense of accomplishment that I had the previous two years.

I thought having separate mini-projects would make it easier for me to finish things. Instead, I didn’t feel as focused as the previous two years. I only finished one essay and I didn’t think that was much of an accomplishment. Since I update my blog at least one a month, I would have written that essay whether it was National Novel Writing Month or not. In the end I didn't see the point.

As disappointing as last year’s experience was, it was still a good learning experience. It helped me understand that NaNoWriMo works best for me when I use it to focus on writing fiction. I decided on this year’s project pretty quickly. 

2021

This year I’m putting all my energy into one story again. If I finish it before the end of the month I'll start another one.

I wrote my first short story when I was in high school. I don’t have it anymore but I remember some vague details. I tried to write a new version of that story once before but nothing came of it. But I didn’t stop thinking about it and it kept growing. I decided that this year’s project would be based on that story. 

Before the month started I gave myself three goals:

Write every day. 

Break last year’s word count. 

Finish the story. 

The month is just over half over. I’ve written and updated my word count every day so far. I broke last year’s word count on the 15th. That was huge for me. Not so much because it’s a higher number, but more importantly because I’ve gotten further into a story than in previous years, in half the time.

I don’t have everything worked out story wise but I’m finding that things get worked out as I sit down and write. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the first time and it feels pretty good. 

(Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month)

NaNoWriMo Diary Part Two

“As slowly as I write, the story seems to unfold itself, in spite of me.” - Isabel Allende

Saturday, November 16th

Decided to reevaluate my goals. The original plan was to write a collection of short stories with a prologue and epilogue. I figured that I’d work on one story a week. I finished the prologue quickly and wrote notes for the epilogue. The first story is taking much longer than planned. My new goal is to finish the first story.

I usually work Saturdays and it’s an early start. Working out of the office today so need to travel as well. No writing before work. Busy day so no writing during lunch either. Takadanobaba Taproom after work. Finished and posted a new blog post. Took up most of my time so didn’t get as much NaNoWriMo writing done as I had planned.

Sunday, November 17th

Set the alarm for 9:00 AM. Got up and headed to Starbucks. Got some writing done. Went to Watering Hole afterwards. Got more writing done.

Monday, November 18th

Slept in today. Didn’t get any writing done in the morning or afternoon. Didn’t do any writing until after work.  Dinner and writing in Saizeriya.

Tuesday, November 19th

Did some writing in the morning but not on my story. Worked on a NaNoWriMo blog post. Nothing during lunch. Saizeriya for dinner. Got some writing done but also had to do some preparation for work tomorrow. Busy week. Too much to do! Tried to flesh out some scenes. Feels like the story is getting convoluted and that I should do some editing. Told myself to keep writing and edit later. 

Wednesday, November 20th

Busy day at work so went in early. Ate lunch quickly and did some editing. Cleaned up the part that I felt was getting wordy and out of control.  Wasn’t sure how to handle it last night. Came up with some ideas today. Fixed it and moved on. More writing after work. Tired. Recently it seems like I’m thinking more about my daily word count than telling the story, 

Thursday, November 21st

Got up early. Did some writing but not much. Spent too much time goofing around online. Finally stopped myself and wrote something. No writing at lunch. Wrote after work. Was hesitant and nervous to get started again. Doubts. Tired. Jumped in and just started. The words started flowing. Part of the problem was moving on from the part I had been struggling with. Sometimes I overthink think things. I just need to start getting the words down.

Friday, November 22nd

I’m off for the next four days. Taking a trip to Kumamoto, Kushu to visit my good friend Patrick and his family. My plan was to do some writing on the plane. Didn’t happen.  Got up early to catch the flight and wound up sleeping on the plane. We took a drive to the next town for lunch, watched Seijun Suzuki movies, and went into the city for craft beer. Was beat at the end of the day so no writing. Actually felt good to take a break.

Saturday, November 23rd

Day of sightseeing. Road trip to visit a temple near Mt. Aso. Burgers for lunch at a place called Strong Boss Saloon. Stopped by a park with a gorgeous view of the mountains. Dinner at the local Chinese restaurant when we got back. More movies. You can see where this is going, right? Another day of no writing. 

Sunday, November 24th

Road trip to the town of Omuta for a lecture on Manga Karuta. Was great. Lots of old manga and karuta cards on display. Local style okonomiyaki for lunch. It’s made with a spicy sauce. Delicious. More movies when we got back. Love Seijun Suzuki movies. Started writing again in the evening. Was good to write again after a two day break.

Monday, November 25th

Flew back to Tokyo. Slept on the plane again. Started writing in the afternoon. Was tired but pushed myself to write something, even just a little. Need to keep going. Once I got started, I forgot that I was tired and the words started flowing. Back to work tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 26th

I’m at a point where I’ve  figured out a lot of the upcoming scenes and I know how they’re going to flow from one scene to the next. After that I have story beats that I want to hit and an ending. Still need to figure out how to get from story beat to story beat.

I usually discover new things as I’m writing scenes. I’m fascinated by this process. Things I didn’t think of before hand, character dialogue that I wasn’t expecting, suddenly pop into my head as I write. Between thinking out ideas during my walk home in the evenings and sitting down and writing, I’ve been able to move forward with the story. 

Wednesday, November 27th

Wrote a little during lunch. Just a few lines but it all adds up. Wrote more after work. Word count not as high as the last few days. Will be on a business trip on Friday and Saturday. Not sure If I’ll be able to hit 10,000 words. 

Thursday, November 28th

Dinner at Saizeriya. Crazy day at work. Didn’t get as much writing done yesterday as I’d hoped. Have to get up really early for a business trip tomorrow. Thought about stopping here and just not worrying about it. In the end I decided not to give up just yet. 

Friday, November 29th

Business trip to Matsumoto in Nagano. Had to get up pretty early to catch the train. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a rush hour train. It was crazy how packed it was. At one point I thought I was going to have one of my ribs cracked. By the time I got on the express train in Shinjuku I was exhausted. Two and a half hour train ride. I slept most of the way.

Went to a brew pub after work. Nice little place called Bacca Brewing. Thought I’d do some writing but the staff and locals were friendly and we talked for awhile. Got back to my hotel and got in some writing before midnight. 

Saturday, November 30th

Busy day at work. Did some writing at the end of the day. Worked on the blog first. That took some time. Finally got around to working on my story. Very low word count today. Didn’t hit 10,000 words. Final word count: 8626. Pretty low but it’s more than last year. 

Final Thoughts

I like drawing and I like writing so I attempted both Inktober and NaNoWriMo for the second time this year. Having two monthly art challenges in a row is pretty tough. I really wish Inktober and NaNoWriMo weren’t consecutive!

While I’m disappointed that I didn’t meet most of my NaNoWriMo goals I’m pretty happy with the way my story is turning out. My long term goal now is to break 10,000 words next year. My short term goal is to finish the story that I worked so hard on in November. 

Next: More struggles with creating from my school days.