Writing a Novel in a Month

During the month of November, I took part in the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Sponsored by the Office of Letters and Lights, and specifically writer Chris Baty, the challenge is to write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days.

Not everyone who registers at the Nanowrimo (shorthand for National Novel Writing Month) website completes the challenge. Some barely get started before they throw in the proverbial towel; perhaps they are drawn away by other obligations or perhaps they find the pressure of writing 1667 words or more a day, without fail, too intimidating.

I am one of the winners, though. I wrote 50,099 words, and I did it by November 25^th, finishing the night before Thanksgiving. There is no grand prize, other than a certificate you can print out. But I would not want it any other way.

The experience was like no other writing exercise I’ve ever taken part in. I was free to write without editing, free to include any strange idea or character that came into my head. There was not outline to follow, no specific plot or theme that demanded rigid adherence to the rules of good fiction.

It was just plain fun.

And the more fun I had, the better my story got. What started as a vague idea became clearer about half way through the exercise; in the last 25,000 words characters crystallized, as did the concept of my story. Plot twists entwined themselves enticingly around the stakes of my storyline. My theme blossomed and the scent of success was heady.

I now have a first draft; a first draft that is at once horrific in terms of fictional quality, and brilliant in terms of potential. And that, dear readers, is what a first draft should be.

I encourage any and all to participate in this challenge. It means sacrifice and your family will have to endure your being cocooned in a self-made world for the month of November, but when the challenge comes around, accept it. Let your children eat ice cream for dinner and your spouse wear the same shirt two days in a row. You have a world to create, and you have to do it in thirty days.