So, I thought that, since I yapped about it so much, I should give you a wrap up of my experience with NaNoWriMo.
I ended up the month with a little over 10,000 words. Not my best effort by far, but not a horrible showing either. I did not get to enter my final word count because the site was very busy towards the end of the month and I had little time to “upload” my files for statistical purposes. I did not get a laptop, but I will. I have decided that I really need one, for portability and to be able to backup my writing and pictures. Eh, so be it.
The fun stuff? Well, I got to create a few interesting characters in my story about HoBo’s. My idea for the novella was to write a series of short stories, all centered around a train, or train culture (HoBos, travelers, subway commuters, etc.) I think it never really “clicked” because the stories were so disjoint and I never did come up with a central “plot.” Some of the stories would make for great short stories in eZines, because I do think they came out pretty decently, or could be decent with some major “clean up” (but they are interesting enough to stand alone.) On the whole, Vagabond Times was a fun adventure, and I might finish it off some day, depending on my ability to solidify a plot.
Writing a novel or novella is harder than it seems, especially for a blogger like me (I’ve since started calling my fellow bloggers the “yap and snap” club, since, well, that’s what we do, right?) A lot of people, especially those who are not writers think that, well, they think you are either a writer or you’re not. If you’re a writer, that sort of implies that you can work with words-you’re a verbivore!-you can put words down on paper, convey thoughts, transfer emotions, and, well, just generally spill your guts using a pen and paper. Being a novice “writer” I can tell you that this is not exactly true. There’s all sorts of writing. Some of it easy, some more difficult, some easy for some people, etc. Just because I can blog, does not a writer make me. Sure, I can write an office memo, and I like to joke about having a “bullshit generator” that can make stuff up on the fly but writing a serious piece of fiction, like a novella, well, it takes a different beast. It takes the ability to organize, to develop, to form, to flow. None of that happens in a blog (well, except for maybe “the great TiVo incident” but, like, we won’t go there, ok?) So, yeah, I’m a writer, I do an OK job with the blog but, novelist? Far from it. I’m still going to get that laptop though.
And, the best part of NaNoWriMo? I came up with a great idea…for another book. (A “real” one with a plot and everything.)
Until next November…
