National Novel Writing Month - The Wrimo Report

Barbara Plotkin Gilchrist

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:12:05 +0000

"I heard the boom of a 2,000-word wall crash to the ground."

With rutabagas and crispy shallots dancing through my head, I scribbled furiously through the last two-thousand words of my first NaNo novel while watching the nine hundredth hour of the The Food Network Thanksgiving marathon. Soon, I too, would be sitting down to a delicious turkey feast, my NaNo experience, a sweet and exhilarating memory.

Oh, wait…

I still had to transcribe my hand-written NaNo novel into my computer. (My eyes tend to glaze over when reading FAQs and I kind of missed the part where it said you could verify your hand-written novel in two easy steps. But let’s not go there).

Hey, I wasn’t going to let a little thing like typing 50,000 words in two days from chicken-scratch notes discourage me. I knew my three famous friends would rush in and help me if I needed them.

Let me explain…

I first heard about NaNo from a fellow Wrimo on November 17. The idea excited and terrified me at the same time. I had never written a story longer than 2,000 words in my life. Could I write 50,000 in two weeks? That night, driven by an insane desire for a coconut cupcake, I drove to the local bookstore with its insanely good café and purchased my cupcake…and a moleskine notebook in which to write. Properly nourished, I opened the moleskine to begin my adventure when I noticed a piece of paper inside.

It told of the history of the moleskine and the men who had used one to make their own history: Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Bruce Chatwin (a noted novelist and travel writer). I felt that funny feeling you feel when it all comes together, when the planets align, you find a dollar bill in your pocket, and everything is right with the world.

I had my story! I would channel the tortured yet brilliant souls of all three men to help my protagonist finish a NaNo novel! I mean, talk about a creative support group. I commuted four hours a day by train and wrote in my moleskine until every page was weathered and felt “alive.”

Fast forward to November 30. I was typing downstairs in my makeshift office, the midnight hour looming before me. An Italian radio station was blasting music through ITunes as my head precariously hung in front of the computer, ready to crash into the screen at any second when…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Holy you know what, it was the burglar alarm. It hit me that a crazy stranger could be thinking of taking off with my computer and ruin my chances of ever submitting my NaNo-novel. (The mind isn’t always rational when under pressure). I unplugged the mouse from the computer and thought I could swing it at the assailant’s head if it came right down to it. By now, my American bulldog, Sadie, was barking furiously.

“Where is my husband?” I thought when I saw him walk downstairs, half-asleep, and proceed to turn off the alarm before heading back upstairs.
“But…what if someone is in the house?” I stammered.
“The wind made it go off. Now get some rest.”

I knew if I lay down all would be lost, so I typed and typed and made it by midnight. I heard the boom of a 2,000 word-wall crash to the ground. For one stirring moment, I was invincible. I bade goodnight to Ernest, Pablo, and Bruce and slept sweet dreams until early afternoon. Since then, I’ve had two more NaNo victories and gone to lots of crazy places in the process.

Still, you never forget your first.

Barbara Plotkin Gilchrist resides in Madison, Connecticut with her brave husband, two wonderful kids, Beth and Mike, her trusty sidekick Sadie, two guinea pigs and a rabbit. She has promised her husband that in 2010 she will not use NaNo as an excuse to get out of unloading the dishwasher.

Kansas Lane

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:32:13 +0000

"I wanted a novel by the end of the month, so darn the side effects, I was going to get one!"

To Do List:

-Keep up with seven high school classes
-Prepare for midterms and take end-of-semester tests
-Sleep
-Oh yes... Write a novel

That's pretty much what my life looked like during November. Of course, it was much easier said than done. Not having to attend high school every day helped quite a bit, though. I only had to attend school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For the rest of the week, I had four classes online that kept me quite busy, and two younger siblings keeping me too busy. My novel was shabby at first, my characters undeveloped, my word count hovering around 10,000 for a long time, and my sleep debt unpaid. However, I wanted a novel by the end of the month, so darn the side effects, I was going to get one!

Every day I would sneak chapter after chapter during school, and during my classes I would jot down ideas. My teachers were a little weirded out seeing, "Bombs? Maybe he dies by disease. Stabbing?" in my notebooks, but I had a goal in mind.

Unfortunately seven classes and 13K a day was too hard to maintain. Also, the matter of writer's block cropped up. While I did indeed write 52k, they weren't in the same novel.
Oh well, there's always Camp NaNo next year.

To whoever bothered to read my little story, stick with it, and if you have free time, you are one of the richest people on earth.

Adios, NaNoers,
Kansas Lane

Kansas Lane is a high school student, doing classes both online and at school. He has two siblings and a cat, as well as four unfinished novels. He hopes to write professionally in the future, enjoys NaNoWriMo, and cannot wait for Camp NaNo!

Kay, First-Time Winner

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:33:07 +0000

"The concept of total public humiliation was the best motivator I've ever met."

This year my strategy was personal public humiliation if I failed. Literally. I told everyone I met what I was doing for November 2009: writing a novel, a fifty-thousand word novel. Some were astounded at the undertaking; some laughed. For me, it was telling people and knowing they were going to be asking for updates, and the fact that if I failed to complete it, everyone would know of my failure and they would have fodder to deride me for months.

Each day I went to class (working on my Accounting degree) and my beloved classmates ragged on me and cajoled me and berated me for info once they saw the battered notebook that contained my notes. (Ever notice how bedraggled a notebook looks after about a week in a backpack..?) It was the fact that everyone I talked to—everyone who knew me at all—was asking me about my novel. That made me make it.

The concept of total public humiliation was the best motivator I've ever met. Normally I don't let anyone know about a plot until I finish the piece. But for NaNo '09, I blurted out plot tidbits, character info, and anything else that I could to get other people interested.

I even got a writer friend so interested he's going to proof my deformed, disjointed and strangely written baby and participate in NaNo 2010. The fact that all these people, friends, teachers and acquaintances were watching me, asking for the word count, had me sweating bullets from the 1st to the 30th.

It was with brutal relief and the secure safety of my pride intact that I penned in my last few words to complete my novel and submit it to the word counter at 11:58 PM on November 30th, 2009. It was an even greater boon to walk into class at a little after 1:00 PM December 1st and gratefully announce that the demon-beast of NaNoWriMo was conquered for the year. There were cheers and comments and then questions. Oh the questions. I have forestalled the next stage by telling them all that once I have my CreateSpace proof copy, they can read my crazy little project to their heart's content.

Kay is a twenty-three year old word-addict and writer-in-perpetual-training. She has attempted NaNo since '06, joined officially in '07, and finally won in '09 with 51,353 words. (Joy!).

Jenna St. Hilaire

Lindsey Grant — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:25:47 +0000

"I spent most of Thanksgiving week and the day itself blowing my nose and running a fever and typing."

I spent the first six days of NaNoWriMo in Italy, without computer or internet access. The nine-hour time difference meant I could start at 9 AM on the first of November, Rome time, so with pen and notebook, I began my novel at the front of St. Peter's Basilica just before going in for Mass (see picture). For the rest of that week, I wrote whenever time allowed me to pull out my little book—on the streets, on the trains, in the backs of churches while the rest of my group finished touring, at the hotel while everyone else talked over each day.

The ten-hour international flight gave me my first all-nighter, and I spent much of the first day home typing up the handwritten pages. To my surprise, I had accrued ten thousand words on the trip—just enough to stay on pace.

This was my first NaNoWriMo, and upon joining the site I promised myself a win. I took the advice given in the NaNo welcome letter and told just about everyone I know that I would write a whole novel in November; the constant questions and the fear of getting behind drove me to get my daily 1667. Whenever ideas ran short I hung around the forums, which reminded me of what I ought to do, and the videos and pep talks fed me energy and motivation.

With Thanksgiving coming, I began trying to get ahead on word count—and then I got the flu. I spent most of Thanksgiving week and the day itself blowing my nose and running a fever and typing. I validated my manuscript at 50,272 words on Thanksgiving night, and as I stared in delight at the fireworks on the winner's page, my husband came home from his parents' with a full plate of Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn't eat much, but I felt like a champion.

I kept writing, and on the 29th, at 57,500 words, NaNoWriMo gave me the prize I wanted most of all: a complete first draft of a novel, something I had not managed in ten years. It also gave me confidence and momentum that I plan to use in revising this novel and writing others.

Best Christmas gift an aspiring writer could ask for—and I got it for Thanksgiving. Many thanks to the wonderful people who make NaNoWriMo happen!

Jenna St. Hilaire lives in Bellingham, WA, USA with her husband and a lot of houseplants and books. Her talents include reading, writing, making music, making people happy, remembering loads of random trivia about the Bible and Harry Potter, wearing the wrong shoes for an outfit, and daydreaming.

Bob Grant

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:35:32 +0000

"The act of creatively inserting a random garden shovel, and the crazy woman driver who swerves to miss it, forced me to swerve as well. "

I’ve had a story kicking around in my head for a couple of years and decided this year I was going to put it on paper. I signed up with NaNoWriMo on October 31 and started writing the next night. I quickly discovered it was one thing to have an idea, but quite another to get it to be more than a few pages of disjointed thoughts. After almost a week of spinning my wheels, I did what everyone says not to do: I re-read what I had written and I hated it. There was only one thing to do. Select all, delete.

Two nights later, I started over, writing from a different perspective, ditching my early plot line, and letting my main characters do what they wanted. My pace was slow (I don’t type well – actually I don’t type at all), and 50,000 seemed impossible.

Then the Traveling Shovel of Death made an appearance. I introduced a new character that would become its victim and my story took off. My intended victim survived the TSoD, and saved my story. The act of creatively inserting a random garden shovel, and the crazy woman driver who swerves to miss it, forced me to swerve as well. Suddenly, I was writing without thinking and that’s when the fun really started. My characters became frequent visitors to my dreams. I would write dialogue and they would say things that made me gasp. More than once, I heard myself ask, “Where did that come from?”

My story includes a male character who believes nothing is impossible if you have courage and work hard enough. He was right. At the end of the month I had 51,000 words and the momentum to finish the story a few days later. I also had a crazy woman driver who might be the lead character when I do it again next November.

Bob Grant is a carpenter in mid-coast Maine. This was his first year as a NaNoWriMo novelist. Now that November is over, he has renewed his vow to finish restoring the home he shares with his wife, two dogs, and a cat.

Robin Strachan

Lindsey Grant — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:35:17 +0000

"I prefer to think of it as my first out-of-body experience—and yes, it will go into a future novel."

On Friday the 13th of November 2009, I decided that with almost 30,000 words on my green bar, I could afford to join friends to celebrate their two-year-old daughter’s birthday. The event took place at a Serbian Orthodox Church, which also was holding its annual fund raising dinner dance. The church’s priest, Father George, plays keyboard for a popular swing band that was featured that night. My friends and I (who were seriously under-dressed for the occasion in jeans and sneakers) watched in fascination as couples dressed in formal attire danced to popular big band songs. Something about the manner of dress and the music made it feel like an event from the 1950s and I, of course, began to take notes for a future novel.

I was immersed in a discussion with friends about our days as newspaper reporters when suddenly I felt queasy and dizzy. The feeling worsened and I excused myself to go to the restroom. Halfway there, I knew I was about to pass out and lowered myself to the floor so I wouldn’t hit my head and bleed all over the dance floor (which was carefully polished with a special powder to facilitate gliding). Thankfully, the band was on its break, so I didn’t get trampled by any dancers.

It was fortunate that one of the better dancers also happened to be a cardiovascular nurse. She, along with two physicians who did not speak English, tried to revive me. Because I had no discernible pulse and my blood pressure was so low, someone called 911. Two ambulance companies arrived—it being a slow night, apparently—and a lively discussion ensued about who would transport my body. I regained consciousness just as Father George was making the sign of the cross on my forehead—a surreal moment, to be sure.

I was taken to the hospital where my fainting spell (called syncope) was investigated, although a cause has yet to be determined. I prefer to think of it as my first out-of-body experience—and yes, it will go into a future novel. I was told to take it easy for the next week while every conceivable medical test was performed. This, of course, gave me license to lay around on the sofa with my laptop and finish my novel, which is titled Manifesting Destiny. It was my first year as a participant in NaNoWriMo. There can be little doubt that it will be my most memorable experience as a Wrimo.

Robin Strachan, who lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, wears many hats. By day, she is a National Development Officer for the PKD Foundation (polycystic kidney disease) in Kansas City, Missouri. When she isn’t traveling around the Northeast raising money, she is a writer whose poems, articles, and feature stories have been published in regional and national publications. She also is an artist specializing in watercolor and pastel. She has two grown daughters who are enthusiastic readers and critics of her creative endeavors. This was her first year as a NaNoWriMo participant, and she plans to make it an annual challenge.

Kiera Whalen

Lindsey Grant — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:48:14 +0000

"Let’s not talk about that year. Let’s talk about this year: my first success."

I’ve wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember, but as of last October this lifetime of dreams hadn’t added up to much output. My thirteen years of ideas for those novels that go down in history had ended up falling flat when I put them on paper. My Inner-Editor is an evil little creature, forcing me to delete entire paragraphs at a time if they aren’t perfect, and it makes me look back on everything I’ve written in embarrassed disgust. Did you write that? it asks me, in a shrill, hateful voice. Well, it’s a nice piece of dialogue, I suppose. If you’re five years old. Another thing holding me back was the complete lack of a deadline. I am thirteen years old, and too young for any sort of job forcing me to get the words down on paper.

Then a friend told me about NaNoWriMo, and it was like an angel sent from literary heaven. I tried it last year, certain this would make me the next-best-American novelist. In fact, why only America? Why shouldn’t the entire world bow down at my literary prowess? I failed horribly my first year. Let’s not talk about that year. Let’s talk about this year: my first success.

This year, I told myself I would succeed. Even though I had planned no part of my story out, which to my Inner-Editor is a crime worthy of death, and even though I was 100% certain my story would fall down flat, I rushed head first into NaNoWriMo with the goal of crossing the finish line. My school does not do NaNoWriMo or the YWP, so it was up to me to write 1,666 words. This meant I had to give up things I loved: my hours of free time I had previously reserved for playing video-games, my hours of sleep which I spent finishing chapters, and even my health. Since I type in an awkward, hunched position on my bed, I did not only get sores in my wrist, but through my entire body. It was all worth it, however, when I wrote my 50,000 word (hobbled).

My novel isn’t the Next Great American Novel. In fact, it is an ugly monster. Its distorted face is filled with blemishes such as plot holes, characters with no real purpose, and a bad case of schizophrenia as the general feel of the novel goes from horror to lighthearted to depressed. I don’t hate it though. In fact, I love my deformed novel. Because that’s what it is. The most I’ve ever written. Now I have something to show for my thirteen years of trying to be an aspiring writer. It’s hard being a thirteen-year-old writer sometimes, what with the distractions and complete lack of deadline, but now I know that every November things will get a a little better.

Kiera Whalen lives in New Jersey and is thirteen years old. When not at her computer, either attempting to write the Next Great American Novel or using the internet, she can be found in her basement playing video games, or on her couch, her nose stuck in a book. This is her second year doing NaNoWriMo.

Laura Wolf, Teacher

Lindsey Grant — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:40:27 +0000

"I, their teacher, was the only real casualty with a case of poison ivy, a broken finger, and a 38,000 word count."

Teenagers are a maddening species of energy. November was an active month of corralling kids to pour their energy and enthusiasm and passion into their writing (and not climb the trees in the school yard). And for the most part we experienced many successful moments of quiet word warring or reflection. I, their teacher, was the only real casualty with a case of poison ivy, a broken finger, and a 38,000 word count. Boo.

But they kept me writing and silencing my inner-editor with their happy comments. Little statements like, "I never thought I could do this" or "My friends want to read my story because I keep talking about it." My favorite moment came when a student said she stayed up late writing because she wanted to see what happened to her characters next.

On December 1st, I introduced our research project to a tumult of usual groans, but this time, interspersed throughout the groans I heard, "Is this like our novel project? Because that was fun." Two students have promised to compete in NaNoWriMo next year, and two have continued to work on their stories, eager to see if they can finish a novel and maintain passing grades.

Laura Wolf teaches high school English in North Carolina. This was her first year participating in NaNoWriMo and leading a class in the YWP. Other than writing, she enjoys reading good books, eating delicious food, watching bad reality TV, and playing board games with her husband.

Today's Guest: Shoshana Kessock, Queen of the Write-a-thon

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:09:43 +0000

Q: Shoshana, you wrote 11,952 words at this year's Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon. Are you equal parts fast and dangerous when it comes to noveling? What else can you do really quickly?
A: I would say that I lived both fast and dangerous at the Night of Writing Dangerously. Going to San Francisco was my very first write-in in the four years I've participated in NaNo, since I usually like to work on my own when writing. Still, since I decided to go, I set myself the challenge that I was going to reach 50K in the company of all my fellow NaNo-ers. That meant that I had to write a heck of a lot very quickly, since I came to California way under 50K. I really wanted to ring that bell!

I will say, I took a lot of risks going as fast as I did. I'm usually much more exacting and careful with my writing, which always makes NaNo so hard. I end up editing all the time, even though I know that we're not supposed to, and I've had to unlearn that to really write dangerously. That night, I decided to take a risk and go fast and loose and it worked out really well for me. The work that came out of that night was not only fast but surprising. My characters and the story ended up going in a completely different direction than I expected, all because I was deciding to push myself and not be so worried about being perfect. The work that came out was really good and completely out of left field. All I had to do was zone out, focus on the work, and everything else just fell away while I blasted through the work. It was exhausting but totally fun too.

I'm not very fast at anything except typing really (I can top out at 90-95 words per minute, and it really tested that speed in San Francisco) but I'm also a pretty quick reader. For example, I tore through the latest Stephen King book (over a thousand pages long) in four days, and I always keep a book on me to get some reading in wherever and whenever I can.

Shoshana is a four-time NaNoWriMo winner and admitted retail monkey from Brooklyn, New York. She is an avid fan of well-written graphic novels, fantasy literature, adorable puppies, good horror movies and chocolate-covered strawberries. When she isn't serving the masses in retail, she is a film student, photographer and struggling writer who takes the time out to head to local role-playing and gaming events and conventions. Her dream is to publish, travel, and have a bulldog she will name Mr. Beefy.

Today's Guest: Ryan Willcott, Fastest Pen in the West

Lindsey Grant — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:41:20 +0000

Q: Ryan, rumor has it that you write your NaNo-novels by hand, and at breakneck (er... wrist) speeds. Why do it by hand? Do pens shrink from your grip? Do you really count up all those words, or it it a "guesstimate"?
A: I don't actually own a computer or laptop. I started off last year using a
notebook and spent several hours trying every pen in the stationary store. Once I found the right one, I started writing and did 10k on my first day. I came to realize I'm a terribly slow typist, so I decided to stick with the good old pen and paper.

I find that setting goals is a great motivator. It allows me to see a finish line and work towards it. This year I set myself the goal of writing 50k in only five days... by hand. It took a lot of dedication and effort, but I was able to achieve it. Competition also helps me Write Like The Wind™. Word Wars and challenging other Wrimos are great inspirations to write – and quickly!

I write approximately the same number of words on each line, and lines on a
page. When I'm writing for speed, I count the lines and pages and average out the words. Later, when I have more time, I take the time to get a more accurate count.

Many people generally ask how many pens I tend to go through in an average
NaNo. This year I have had the privilege of sending 15 pens into novel heaven. Which I like to wear on a lanyard (see photo) as a reminder of all those that
have fallen.

2009 is only Ryan's second NaNo, but he has already been very
successful. His competitive spirit has pushed him to write over 100K... by
hand. Although he has not truly admitted to it, many believe him to have a
bionic arm. Always one to entertain, Ryan never backs down from a
challenge. If it’s not writing with a pen in his mouth, or using his foot,
it’s writing upside down, and accepting challenges to break-dance. His
enthusiasm and drive are unmatched.