2009-12-01
NaNoWriMo - The Aftermath
So, I "won" NaNoWriMo yesterday by uploading 50,222 words to its validation site.
They by no means constitute the Next Great Memoir, but there are over 50,000 of 'em, and as I said to my friend (and fellow NaNo masochist) Dan, if 20,000 turn out to be workable, I came out ahead. Some thoughts:
I am obviously much more of a sprinter than I am a long-distance runner.
I did, for the most part, manage to get at least something written every day (I gave myself a break on Thanksgiving). I got nowhere near the recommended daily word count most days, but by the 30th I had a not-entirely-daunting 4,000 or so words left, which I managed to bang out in about 4 hours. I don't even wanna go back and look at those last pages. Yeesh.
IF I do this again, I would go into it with at least some kind of outline or plot grid. I jumped all over the place in the narrative, writing things as they occurred to me, so I am not putting myself down when I say this "manuscript" is an UNHOLY MESS.
I really also should have taken more advantage of the online resources that were available (message boards and the like). I didn't attend any of the local "write ins" that were happening, either. It would have at least been something of a networking opportunity, but because I tend to be a hermit when I write, I just didn't get it together to go plop in a foreign chair with my laptop.
Can you read it? Right now - no. Sorry, but I can't even bring myself to go back and look at all of it right now. I'm sure that there are passages that don't outright suck, but I need to really sit down and see what I have here, and edit the crap out of it, before I post even a few paragraphs. The "finished" product is by no means finished. It's like a giant, tangled pile of Christmas tree lights.
Overall, it was a good experience, if only because it gave me something to gripe about (insert winking emoticon here).
lisamcc at 7:38 a.m.
3 comments so far
Jon Metters
2009-12-02 14:48:26
I think it is badass that you did it. Even MORE badass that you won! Bravo.
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Lynette
2009-12-03 14:33:16
Good for you. Seriously, I never would have committed to that - much less FINISHED. I'm proud of you, my dear. Tangled mess or not.
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missi
2009-12-05 15:21:32
you rock Lisa... you are so cool for doing this... can we read it SOMEDAY?
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Stumble It!
