You’re really not supposed to sign up past the last
possible minute.
But that’s exactly what I did. Last year, on the first of
November, caught up in the excitement of all my friends’ posts on Facebook, I
decided, “What the heck! I’m doing it!” and I signed up to write a novel in a
month.
Not
so crazy
Like I said: this isn’t the recommended procedure.
Most people going into NaNo knowing months ahead of time that they’re going to
do it. They have time to plot and research and scheme.
But I wasn’t totally crazy: I had an idea, I had a
story structure I thought might work – I was even borrowing from the master who
borrowed from the masters: if Shakespeare could steal his plots from Italian
writers, surely I could steal mine from Shakespeare!
I was taking my favorite play – Twelfth Night – and adding
a little magic to grease the rough edges (i.e., to make Orsino not quite such a goober). No need to plot,
right? I could just jump into it.
It all seemed like a great idea.
No,
actually, still totally crazy
And I actually got some stuff I liked. The fantasy
parts were gorgeous. I loved them. It was better than I’d expected, and I felt
like I’d finally found a way to do justice to a story I’ve loved for a long
time.
But I stalled. Not because I can’t write a novel –
at this point, I’ve written at least six of them. And not because I can’t write
fiction that fast – I’ve actually written it faster than the NaNoWriMo timeline
calls for.
It was because I was ignoring who I actually was: I’m a planner. I don’t do things on a whim.
Oh, occasionally, I’ll just give something a whirl, and that can be fun .
. . but my normal mode of operation is to spend some time thinking things
through before I make any kind of commitment.
And now I know that there’s a reason for that: it’s
because that’s how I work best. Planning ahead plays to my strengths, and it makes
up for my weaknesses. Planning lets me dream. Planning lets me tweak. Planning
lets the whole project gain depth and nuance and weight. It’s like brewing beer
or aging whiskey: time equals taste.
And planning takes away my fear, leaving me ready
for the work. Planning lets my anxieties rise, get dealt with, and melt away . .
. all before the initial work begins. Then, when I start, I start
confidently . . . and that confidence carries me all the way through the
thousands of words that stand between me and the end.
Not
a waste of time
But I’m still glad I gave NaNo a go on the spur of
the moment.
Why? Because I didn’t know all of this about myself until I tried.* All that stuff I wrote above about my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to novel-writing? It’s something
I didn’t understand that well until I tried to do things differently. Doing things differently let me learn something about myself, and that makes it a win for me.
(In fact, it even makes me think that I ought to stay open to doing things differently in the future - who knows what else I might learn?)
(In fact, it even makes me think that I ought to stay open to doing things differently in the future - who knows what else I might learn?)
Plus . . . following that instinct to join NaNo got thousands of good words out of
me – words that are the perfect start to brainstorming, planning, and plotting
the novel that I WILL write . . . that fantastical take on Twelfth Night, the
one where Orsino has a reason to fall in love with Viola, and Olivia has a
reason to marry Sebastian – even after she knows who he is.
I’m looking forward to it.**
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
*Okay, that's not quite true. I totally knew I was a planner. I just didn't realize how deeply that part of my personality affected my novel-writing style!
**Of course, that novel will have to take its place in line - I'm already at the editing stage with one novel, the writing stage with another, and the plotting stage with a third! < --See, that list? More proof of my planning personality. :D
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