Congratulations! You made a New Year’s Resolution to write a book in 2015. If you’re reading this, I hope this means that you have completed the first month’s assignment. If you didn’t get to it yet (you’re off to a bad start) or if you are just now seeing this post, it is not too late to get in the game. During the month of January, I asked you to (1) identify what’s holding you back and (2) to take the first step: WRITE DOWN YOUR IDEA. So, now that you have your story summary done, it is time to move on to your second assignment.
But first I want to say a few words about writing a book. Here is the REALITY OF WRITING A NOVEL…It’s hard work! I know. I have written two dozen books in various genres. Believe me, I know how hard it is, but I also know it can be done. However, I don’t believe it can be done in thirty days by joining a writing challenge or NaNoWriMo. In case you don’t know what this is, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is held every November. Participants have from 12:01 a.m. on November 1 until 11:59 p.m. on November 30 to write a 50,000-word novel. There are other writing challenges that are not as well known, such as one that requires 500 words a day and another that promises participants will have a “pristine and polished novel” in 28 days with a commitment of only 40 minutes a day. Of course, you have to buy the how-to $49.95 course first. I saw one just yesterday that “promises completion of a nonfiction book in less than seven days.” All you have to do to achieve this goal is to click on the “Buy Now!” button and get started.
Now before I get bombarded with hateful comments, let me be clear that I am not bashing NaNoWriMo or any other writing challenges or courses. To the contrary, I think the idea has merit, which is quite simply “butt in chair, get there.” You have to write consistently to complete a book. Joining a challenge does channel your energy and focus on writing. But writing so many words a day, every day, for thirty days is unrealistic. It puts a tremendous amount of stress and pressure on an unseasoned writer. And I have heard from many folks who have completed these writing challenges that while they had a finished manuscript at the end of the month, it was in no way ready to go to press. It was more like a starting point for the real work to begin. After all, this is a “seat of your pants” approach to writing, akin to the creative writing exercises we did in grade school.
I think this could be a good thing for those folks who crossed the finished line and now have something to work with that they may find out over the course of many, many rewrites is shaping up to be a novel. But what about the ones who failed? What about those who fell off the grid along the way, succumbing to the stress. Or perhaps they got sick or they had a family emergency or they had to work overtime or a million other things that can come up that will prevent a person from writing at this frantic pace every single day. And when this happens, it is nearly impossible to ever get back on the horse.The unfinished manuscript becomes a symbol of failure, something that one doesn’t want to be reminded of, so it is soon forgotten.
No, I think the best approach is SLOW and STEADY! Just look at the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise always beats the hare in this narrative. Why? Because slow and steady wins the race!
So join me for AWJ: Write A Book in 2015 (#awritersjourney). No gimmicks. Just a resolution and the reality of writing a novel…
ASSIGNMENT–Month #2 (FEB): Outline your novel. Before you build a house (or anything else) you must put down the foundation. Right? This is a critical step in the process, so it should not be be skipped in your enthusiasm to get writing. By taking the time to do this step now, you will have a road map in hand to follow so that you won’t detour off a cliff like Wild Coyote!
My good friend and co-host of A Writer’s Journey: From Blank Page to Published, Sara Whitford, and I discussed Nine Ways To Ouline Your Novel (part 1) and Nine Ways To Outline Your Novel (part 2) in great detail. So your assignment includes listening to these podcasts, deciding which method you think will work best for you, and then getting to work outlining your novel.
***Author’s Note: This is an open forum, meaning your comments and questions are welcome, so feel free to share your writing experiences, tips, resources, and general queries.***
Coming in March: Word Count and Cast of Characters… 
Leave a Reply