Anyone who thinks that they will get a polished, publishable novel out of the NaNo experience needs the cold water bucket dumped on them, but there’s a certain feeling of having one’s Wheaties-peed-upon because there’s a mistaken impression that participants are carrying this false impression in their hearts. Spend a little time in the forums, and you’ll clearly see a lot of vocalization about “oh my, what I just wrote is utter crap.” What you’re not able to see is that folks are smiling as we type it.
I respectfully disagree about the semantic point of “draft” vs. “novel.” It’s a novel. It’s not finished, but it is a novel, in the sense of “a longish piece of fiction.” As I wrote today, I’m making a story for my son. The only library it will be found in is my own. I’m entitled to call it whatever I like, and enjoy the process, for the same reason I hang up my children’s artwork, and not call them to task for poor palette choice or lousy perspective.
I don’t get paid to write — far from it, in fact — but I can enjoy my efforts, and I can appreciate the what-the-hell spirit of a hundred thousand like-minded non-writers doing the same thing, at the same time, with the same rock-bottom expectations, just because the act of creation itself is enjoyable.
If anything, all the hatin’ is just making me that much more motivated.
It sometimes seems as though “real” (paid?) writers feel affronted by Nanowrimo, as if a bunch of dilettantes are trampling their life’s work for a month every year. This is really the wrong way to look at it. The point of Nano is to inspire people to do something they’ve wanted to try. This doesn’t diminish what “real” writers do (how could it, if Nano novels are all so purportedly awful)? It’s just an exercise in inspiration. That’s all. I think people need to be more open minded to that. (I know you admonished folks to take this up on their own blogs, sorry). Everytime I see a “real” writer criticize Nano, it just seems kind of small-minded. Anyway, let me add this: I write professionally for a living, and things I’ve written during Nano are just as valuable as things I’ve written at other times. Writing is writing.
Postscript: Despite above comments, I actually hate to debate fellow typecasters, and generally avoid arguments of all kinds in my offline existence. So I hope no one takes my comments personally. It’s just kind of a general defense of Nano, since it’s always aggravated me each year when inevitably, ‘real’ writers declare it unworthy.
Yikes. In the interest of restoring harmony to the Luddosphere, I shall now retreat upon my cloud back to the summits of Mount Elite from whence I apparently came, never to speak another unkind word against NaNoWriMo.
Now, now. Let’s not start calling one another “elite” or we’ll never get anywhere. 🙂
No one’s making anyone love the giant free-writing exercise that is NaNoWriMo, and the intention is not to smear the work or effort of paid novelists by saying “my 50,000 wordz is as gud as yerz phear me the noew novelist!!!1!!!” I certainly won’t let my creation loose on the world, unless it passes muster from, say, my fifty worstest enemies, armed with red pens and thesauri and spleen. It just rings false to me to hear someone — anyone — who makes a life out of forging words into shape to disparage the efforts of others to do the same, especially when it’s done for entertainment or self-improvement purposes.
Why am I writing a 50,000+ word novel in a month? Because I can.
Don’t worry. My editing-sense is chomping to get its hands on my draft. Just skimming it to do word counts shows me how much I have to do. He gets his chance on December 1st, and during business hours when he gets to critique the grammar in my emails and nitpick about the names of variables in my software. (“I don’t really like ‘DisplayMode’ that much, how about ‘DisplayStyle’ instead, and I don’t care how many files you need to change.”) For two hours a say, though, he’s locked up in his lightless little box while the rest of my brain gets to gallop around unfettered, playing in the sandbox of this silly little story I’ve laid out.
Oh, I think those of us ranting and raving about Nano are merely defending their own positive experiences with the exercise. I like Elizabeth’s thoughts on the subject in Little Flower Petals– it’s just a method for producing a draft, and it may not work for everyone. I thank you for raising a little controversy actually. Since the election has ended, I’ve really been casting about for topics to rant and rave about.
Discover more from Sotto Voce.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
Anyone who thinks that they will get a polished, publishable novel out of the NaNo experience needs the cold water bucket dumped on them, but there’s a certain feeling of having one’s Wheaties-peed-upon because there’s a mistaken impression that participants are carrying this false impression in their hearts. Spend a little time in the forums, and you’ll clearly see a lot of vocalization about “oh my, what I just wrote is utter crap.” What you’re not able to see is that folks are smiling as we type it.
I respectfully disagree about the semantic point of “draft” vs. “novel.” It’s a novel. It’s not finished, but it is a novel, in the sense of “a longish piece of fiction.” As I wrote today, I’m making a story for my son. The only library it will be found in is my own. I’m entitled to call it whatever I like, and enjoy the process, for the same reason I hang up my children’s artwork, and not call them to task for poor palette choice or lousy perspective.
I don’t get paid to write — far from it, in fact — but I can enjoy my efforts, and I can appreciate the what-the-hell spirit of a hundred thousand like-minded non-writers doing the same thing, at the same time, with the same rock-bottom expectations, just because the act of creation itself is enjoyable.
If anything, all the hatin’ is just making me that much more motivated.
It sometimes seems as though “real” (paid?) writers feel affronted by Nanowrimo, as if a bunch of dilettantes are trampling their life’s work for a month every year. This is really the wrong way to look at it. The point of Nano is to inspire people to do something they’ve wanted to try. This doesn’t diminish what “real” writers do (how could it, if Nano novels are all so purportedly awful)? It’s just an exercise in inspiration. That’s all. I think people need to be more open minded to that. (I know you admonished folks to take this up on their own blogs, sorry). Everytime I see a “real” writer criticize Nano, it just seems kind of small-minded. Anyway, let me add this: I write professionally for a living, and things I’ve written during Nano are just as valuable as things I’ve written at other times. Writing is writing.
Postscript: Despite above comments, I actually hate to debate fellow typecasters, and generally avoid arguments of all kinds in my offline existence. So I hope no one takes my comments personally. It’s just kind of a general defense of Nano, since it’s always aggravated me each year when inevitably, ‘real’ writers declare it unworthy.
Yikes. In the interest of restoring harmony to the Luddosphere, I shall now retreat upon my cloud back to the summits of Mount Elite from whence I apparently came, never to speak another unkind word against NaNoWriMo.
Now, now. Let’s not start calling one another “elite” or we’ll never get anywhere. 🙂
No one’s making anyone love the giant free-writing exercise that is NaNoWriMo, and the intention is not to smear the work or effort of paid novelists by saying “my 50,000 wordz is as gud as yerz phear me the noew novelist!!!1!!!” I certainly won’t let my creation loose on the world, unless it passes muster from, say, my fifty worstest enemies, armed with red pens and thesauri and spleen. It just rings false to me to hear someone — anyone — who makes a life out of forging words into shape to disparage the efforts of others to do the same, especially when it’s done for entertainment or self-improvement purposes.
Why am I writing a 50,000+ word novel in a month? Because I can.
Don’t worry. My editing-sense is chomping to get its hands on my draft. Just skimming it to do word counts shows me how much I have to do. He gets his chance on December 1st, and during business hours when he gets to critique the grammar in my emails and nitpick about the names of variables in my software. (“I don’t really like ‘DisplayMode’ that much, how about ‘DisplayStyle’ instead, and I don’t care how many files you need to change.”) For two hours a say, though, he’s locked up in his lightless little box while the rest of my brain gets to gallop around unfettered, playing in the sandbox of this silly little story I’ve laid out.
Writers, lay down your swords! (pens?)
Oh, I think those of us ranting and raving about Nano are merely defending their own positive experiences with the exercise. I like Elizabeth’s thoughts on the subject in Little Flower Petals– it’s just a method for producing a draft, and it may not work for everyone. I thank you for raising a little controversy actually. Since the election has ended, I’ve really been casting about for topics to rant and rave about.