Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Five Lessons from Camp NaNoWriMo

Now that Camp NaNoWriMo is over (and has been for two weeks), I thought I'd reflect on my experience. Never mind what my actual word count was; I assure you it's a pathetically abysmal figure. But even though I was nowhere near completing 50k, I gained a lot of insight about my writing process from the experience. Well, ok, there were some things I already knew, but since I was secretly hoping I would wake up one day and suddenly be able to churn out 50k of beautiful shining prose in no time at all, I had to re-learn some of those things. (Ha.) Here are some things about my writing I either learned or reconfirmed during the challenge:


1. I AM NOT A PANTSER
It's sad that this is even here, because I totally knew I'm a plotter at heart. (This is one of those things that, surprise, didn't magically change overnight.) I'm the type of person who likes to have at least some sort of plan, even if I decide to ditch the entire thing later. Not having a good grasp of the structure of my story made me feel antsy. I had some vague ideas of what was supposed to happen, but not organized or detailed enough that I felt comfortable drafting, which made it hard to move forward with the story. I wrote a lot of beginnings that didn't feel right, and I couldn't fix it because I wasn't sure how I wanted it to go in the first place. So I kind of got stalled and didn't know how to continue. :(

Tip for future Linda: Outline first! 
Well, first I have to brainstorm a lot of random stuff, but outlines are great for organizing information so my ideas aren't a giant mess in my brain. I'm trying all sorts of different plotting tricks, from synopsis-writing to note carding to plotting by spreadsheet. It's a lot of fun and I'll let you guys know how those methods work out for me!


2. DON'T LOSE FOCUS
The dumbest thing about the previous point is that I'd originally planned to use NaNoWriMo not to draft a story but to brainstorm for my outline, precisely because I knew I worked better that way. But somewhere along the way I forgot my purpose. Instead, I decided I should be writing the actual story because that felt like what I was supposed to be doing. That's what everyone else was doing! And then I realized I had no outline and started trying to make one up ASAP so I can write the story, even though the whole point of this particular NaNo was supposed to be brainstorming so I can come up with a solid outline later. *facepalm*

Tip for future Linda: Stick to your objective! 
I had a personal goal but then got confused, went off track, and started sabotaging my own efforts by trying to skip ahead. Next time I will be clear about what I want to accomplish and not change my plan for silly reasons, like impatience or wanting to be like everyone else or temporary insanity. (I still can't get over my own stupidity.)


3. MOMENTUM IS KEY
At the beginning of August, I wrote every day for a week. I don't think I ever hit my daily quota, but it felt awesome to know that I was actually writing. (Never mind that I was basically writing a ton of crappy beginnings I would never actually use.) I was productive! I felt like a writer! It was amazing! And then... I got sidetracked. Writing was so fun I wanted to skip right over the brainstorming and outlining phases to the drafting phase (see point #1 about my denial of my plotter-ness). Needless to say, it didn't really work out (see point #2), and when I broke my streak I couldn't get myself started again.

Tip for future Linda: Don't stop writing!
I don't think someone has to write every day to be a writer, but I can see why it'd be really helpful when you're starting out. I'm terrible at daily routines despite how much I love the idea of them, but I do want to make writing a bigger part of my life. So I signed up for 750words.com. Right now I mostly write word vomits of whatever's on my mind (lots of rants and raves about recent reads [oh look, alliteration!]) but I'm hoping to transition to fiction [oh look, rhyming!] once I spend September doing what I was supposed to do in August; namely, brainstorming and building an outline. [Sorry about the ridiculous bracketed asides. I don't know what got into me.]


4. DON'T WORRY ABOUT PERFECTION
It is so, so hard to give my inner editor a temporary vacation (I don't really want to kill her; she'll be so useful during revision!). But apparently it actually is possible; just look at my previous paragraph. (Heh.) Anyway, everyone emphasizes how important it is not to worry about quality during a first draft, and while I could kind of see why, I also wonder, "But why not get it right on the first try so you don't have to spend so much time fixing it later?" I suppose I want to strike a balance. I don't want to write complete gibberish for the sake of word count, but I also don't want to get so hung up about quality that I never finish. It's painful to recognize how bad my NaNo writing was, but somehow it still makes me happy that I wrote those few thousand words during the challenge.

Tip for future Linda: Just write — you can fix it later!
I hate producing terribleness. It's annoying and discouraging and excruciating and utterly unavoidable when you're a normal person who hasn't written all that much, like me. (This is in contrast to literary geniuses who've been writing forever. There is a very slight chance that such luminaries may find it possible to avoid producing terribleness, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.) I need to get it through my head that it's ok, that I need a huge quantity of thoughtful practice (which means no random banging of the keyboard), that everyone has to start somewhere, and that I can revise later. And that I will improve, if I keep at it.


5. SPREADSHEETS ARE AWESOME
This is the part where I reveal my geekiness. I love spreadsheets and graphs and metrics! I would use it to track every little thing in my life if I were disciplined enough to log everything (I'm not, but it doesn't stop me from trying). I still use spreadsheets to track personal finances and books I've read, though I've abandoned many others over the years. (Like the one that cataloged everything in my closet. I wish I hadn't stopped maintaining it; that one was pretty useful.) I made a word count spreadsheet for Camp NaNoWriMo, and even though I didn't do a great job of keeping up with my quota, I still enjoyed tracking my (pitiful) progress and admiring the pretty charts I made.

Tip for future Linda: Motivate yourself with metrics!
I really like how Savannah J. Foley tracks her daily and weekly word counts with a spreadsheet, and I'm totally making myself some spreadsheets for when I get to the drafting phase. It makes it easy to visualize progress, and I will be motivated to beat my goal so my graphs and charts look good. Plus, spreadsheets are fun! :D


Anyway, I might not have won the challenge, but now I have a better idea of what I need to work on in order to write more successfully. No more getting ahead of myself and losing focus and momentum! Easier said than done, of course, but I'm glad to be more aware of my issues and to get back to my general plan/schedule.

I don't think I'll be able to participate in the official NaNoWriMo since I'll be in Europe for half of November (so excited!!), but maybe I'll do a MyNoWriMo like Holly Dodson and challenge myself to writing 50k in October... or not. The thought of it kind of freaks me out. If I do, though, I'll be sure to review the awesome Krispy's Dos and Don'ts of NaNoWriMo — her tips are so funny and helpful!

How about you? Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Are you going to this year? Let me know if you have any tips or resources to share!

34 comments:

  1. I can relate to those lessons ESPECIALLY no.4 -- I have to make a real effort not to edit as I go along but it is so flipping hard not to!!  Any mistake that I try to ignore seems to change its font size to XXXL *lol*  And I like your 'tips for future Linda', very cute.
    Never participated in NaNoWriMo, never gone beyond the thinking-about-it stage ... though the idea of doing a personal one does appeal, if only to exercise the writing muscles!
    Where in Europe will you be holidaying?

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  2. I agree with #4. Perfectionism is the demon that destroys first drafts. When I feel its nasty breath, I leave notes in the texts with asterisks so I can come back and fix them later.

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  3. LOL about the mistakes morphing to XXXL size! That's how I always feel after I make a mistake in an uneditable comment or tweet. :P If it's in my WIP, though, I don't think I can keep myself from fixing super obvious typos. My self control isn't that good yet, haha. 

    Ooh, let me know if you decide to do a personal one! I'd definitely cheer you on. :)

    Going to Europe won't be purely a pleasure trip. I'm spending a week in Germany for work, and then a week traveling around Denmark/Northern Europe with my family. I haven't seen them since January so I'm looking forward to hanging out with them a lot! :D

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  4. Ooh, great tip! I've read about various writers who write things like *something goes here* or [fix this later] in their first drafts, and that's something I'd like to try, too. Glad to hear it really does work! :)

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  5. This is something I've been thinking of writing a blog post about, not because I have this same problem but because I don't really have this problem and therefore might be able to provide some useful perspective. Alas, I think the only reason I never had a hard time with writing consistently is that I started writing when I was too young and foolish to worry about perfection, so I was blissfully free and unaware in my early drafting days.

    Since then, the idea of drafting and editing provides a LOT of hope whenever I seem to be getting stuck. I always muddle through until I get to a comfortable place again, knowing I can fix it later. I guess I can see why thinking of "later" might be daunting (regarding how much work is still ahead), but for me it's just a relief to push a weak passage off to another day. I do the same whenever I contradict myself--I don't go back right away to fix it, I just let it slide, maybe make a note of it somewhere. Something might change farther along that makes some of that early stuff irrelevant anyway, so why spend too much time making the beginning perfect if all of it is going to have to change to fit the later events of the story?

    Also, having a writing routine honestly is the best help in the world. I wouldn't have believed it until I observed it, but when I try to sit down to write outside my normal time, or when my routine was royally busted earlier in the day, it can be very hard to get the focus I need.

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  6. Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Lura! You should totally write a blog post about this. I love reading about people's writing processes since everyone has unique methods and perspectives, and it's a great way to learn from other writers' strengths. I think it's so cool that you find it easy to write consistently -- perfectionism and lack of discipline are major struggles for me. I hope you decide to write more on the topic! I can learn a lot from you. :)

    And you're so right about "later" being daunting for me. I'm a champion procrastinator and tend to put things off until there is no "later" (or, in the case of personal deadlines, indefinitely). I guess that's why I keep thinking my writing has to be decent on the first pass. And I try to plan things out before I write so I don't have major changes to make after drafting, but you're right, I'm sure things will change anyway when I'm working with something as huge as a novel. I need to stop treating it as an English paper!

    Thanks again for all your great tips and insights. I definitely need to develop a writing routine. Starting small with 750words is helping me ease into it, and hopefully I will soon develop a habit of writing more every day. :)

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  7. Thanks for sharing your Camp NaNoWriMo experience with us! I've never participated, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. (#4 always kills me!) I'll *probably* pass on the actual NaNoWriMo in November, because I'll (still) be knee-deep in revisions, but you never know! I hope you're having a great week! :)

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  8. When I did NaNoWriMo for the first time last year, I worried a lot about the fact I get the urge to edit whatever I've written before, mid-draft stage. I didn't have as much trouble as I thought I might, but it's hard to continue when the content from yesterday desperately needs editing. Or rewriting.

    Hooray for spreadsheets! LOL. I love tracking my word counts/progress on them. :)

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  9. I spreadsheet the heck out of everything too. Like as much as I possibly can. Nothing makes me happier than a well presented spreadsheet of life things.

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  10. Sounds like everything I've ever learned. Go spreadsheets!

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  11. Thanks, Carrie! :D Best of luck with your revisions!

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  12. Yeah, it's so hard to stop myself from wanting to delete everything! I got around it this time by *pretending* to delete (I just inserted page breaks and started over, lol), so that's how I managed to get some word count for my spreadsheet. :P But I didn't make much progress story-wise. I need to learn to force myself to keep going!

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  13. Hehe that must be why I enjoy reading about your writing process so much. A lot of it really resonates with me. :)

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  14.  OMG, I totally forgot I wrote that post. Haha. Glad you found it helpful, and I'm sorry for peer-pressuring you into Camp NaNo. But no, I'm not actually sorry. :) I didn't get very far with my NaNo word count either, but I feel pretty good about it too. Like you said, writing every day isn't necessary, but it's a good habit to develop, especially when you're just starting out. I did 750 words for a while and it helped, but I let it go. Maybe I should start again...

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  15. Knowing your writing self is very important! So kudos.

    I don't know about spreadsheets but having a goal for the day really helped me. I aimed for 2000 words a day because I knew some days would just be impossible.

    When I just couldn't move forward plot-wise, I'd double up on my descriptions. Was Natalie wearing a dress? No, she was wearing a red, flowing dress with a sweet sweetheart neckline. That usually sent me in a direction of how my character felt about something. And even if (ok, when) that got cut, I still knew my character better.

    I think your number 4 is the most important...and the hardest to do! Permission to suck. Just as long as you're moving forward.

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  16. Oh man, I needed this post today! I make so many of these mistakes. Especially the whole "don't worry about perfection." I know I am going to go back and revise so I don't know why I worry so much in the first draft. It's ridiculous. Great stuff going on here today! Love it! Glad you shared this.

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  17. All those Tips for future Linda: parts could be renamed Tips for future Peggy:. Seriously, I think our brains work the same.

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  18. P.S. I left you an award on my blog. :)

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  19. Hehe yeah I came across it while I was going through the archives. :D Thanks for suggesting Camp NaNo! It was a good leaning experience. 750words is interesting but I wonder if I should change my timezone so I can cheat a bit. It's so frustrating when I forget until 11:53pm and then can't type fast enough to make the quota for the day!

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  20. Thanks! Absolutely agree with you about knowing your writing self. I think what works for everyone is different and people need to figure out what that looks like for themselves. :)

    Wow, so cool that you can do 2000 a day! I think I'll have to start smaller and work up to it. I'm not actually very good with descriptions, so I should probably write more of it as practice. That's probably a good way to get used to giving my inner editor a break, too. Thanks for the tip! :)

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  21. Thanks, Abby! Yeah, it's so hard for me not to worry about all the little things while drafting. It's so hard to just move on and leave fixing for later. Glad you found the post helpful! :D 

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  22. I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles with all those issues! I'm sure future Peggy and future Linda will learn a lot from our mistakes and be even MORE awesome. :D

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  23. Wow, thank you! I know you read a ton of amazing blogs; I'm so honored you chose to give me an award! :D

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  24. I dont think NaNoWriMo is for me actually. I dont like feeling rushed or pushed. I enjoy writing, and if I force myself to do it, I dont think that will be the case anymore. Just me!

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  25.  LOL. Here's a confession: I totally used to cheat with the timezones because I always ended up writing just before midnight!

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  26. Those are all great tips.  Well, I haven't done the spreadsheets, but 1-4 are spot on for me.  =)  I've never done NaNoWriMo, but this past Row80 round, I wrote my WIP's complete first draft in less than 80 days.  That was awesome. =D

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  27. I totally agree that NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone! I'm not even sure it's for me, since I've never managed to win the challenge. :P But I'm very prone to procrastination, so that self-induced pressure actually helps me to get stuff done. I think it's awesome that you can do it on your own! :)

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  28. Wow, that's amazing! Congrats! :D Maybe I should try that instead of NaNoWriMo. 80 days sounds a lot more doable than 30. 

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  29. Thanks. =D Finishing it wasn't even my goal.  I thought I'd get 60-80% done, but I surprised myself.  I like the flexibility.  If life happens and you need to change your goal, no one's going to look down on you.  It's less a competition because no one is doing the same thing.  Some people even included exercise goals, or regular blogging in the mix.

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  30. I never even thought about using spreadsheets. I love them, too, so now that you mention it *smiles* I'm totes going to start using it.

    BTW, how long does it normally take you to finish a WiP? I'm thinking I might be somewhat unnatural :O

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  31. haha I love how you and I are such complements of each other.  You dislike series, I pretty much only read them (can't let go!!), you are not a pantser - if I outline it kills my will to write the piece, you hate love triangles, I live them (used to, at least ;P)...

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  32. Spreadsheets are so fun! :D

    As for finishing... um, I wouldn't know. XD I've never managed to finish anything before; I just have all these random beginnings, haha. I started this blog to keep myself accountable about making progress, and hopefully I'll finish something for once! :) 

    From what I've seen, some people take days or weeks while others take years. I think it's different for everyone, so just do whatever works best for you!

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  33. Omg that's SO TRUE! We're like total opposites on sooooo many things, lol. But it's always fun to hear from a different perspective. :D (And real life triangles sound so exciting! My life tends to be super drama-free, haha.)

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