.JPG)
National Novel Writing
Month, affectionately termed 'NaNoWriMo’ by noveling adventurers, began in 1999
when Chris Baty had the crazy idea to write a novel, and the even crazier idea
to do it in only thirty days. After successfully completing his first thirty-day
novel that month, he decided to continue the program every November and help
spread the word to even more writers. Since then, NaNoWriMo has grown into a non-profit
organization called “The Office of Letters and Light,” which Baty uses to
provide a month long noveling experience to people across the country and world
though websites, work books, celebrity pep talks, newsletters, and No Plot?
No Problem. In this writing manual, Baty guides the reader through the
challenges and advantages of month long noveling.
Baty begins his field
guide with specific reasons for month long noveling as opposed to boring,
year-round writing. His hypothesis asserts that writing a book requires no
planned plot and no sketched characters – simply your imagination, a word processing
device, and a deadline. As Baty explains, deadlines bring focus and purpose to
any creative activity and force writers “to make time for achievements that
[they] would otherwise postpone” (Baty 26). Without the looming cloud of
November 30th over their heads, it would be almost impossible for
the average person to keep himself motivated through the painstaking process of
writing a first draft of their novel. It’s the short time frame of NaNoWriMo
that gives it so much power and has allowed so many writers to create what they
never thought they could. Only just secondary to a deadline in importance,
according to Baty, is the necessity of separating oneself from his
anthropomorphic Inner Editor, also known as the voice inside a writer’s head
that convinces him that his writing is terrible, the plot has unredeemable
large holes, and the idea wasn’t any good in the first place. Such acts of
self-bullying are absolutely forbidden in the trenches of NaNoWriMo. As in
another creative pursuits, “the quickest [and] easiest way to produce something
beautiful and lasting is to risk making something horrible and crappy” (Baty
32). By ridding themselves of their
Inner Editor, writers allow themselves to the freedom to simply spew out words
in all of their awkward and cliché glory. Looking back later, one will most
likely find that there is a literary gold mine beneath the muck.
Having set the basics,
Baty moves on to the actual process of preparing for and executing the month
long noveling process successfully. He provides a tremendous number of detailed
pointers that can give the writer direction and prevent him from feeling lost
and alone on the quest. Divided into two separate sections, the part one deals
with suggestions for prepping during antebellum NaNoWriMo. The need for writers
to keep themselves honest expresses itself in one of his most helpful tips,
when Baty suggests making two lists, or “Magna Cartas” (Baty 87). In the first,
writers should jot down the things they find most appealing about the novels
they read, and in the second list they should scribble down the things they
dislike in novels in general. While scrambling to supplement one’s word count,
Baty explains, it is easy to begin writing something which the writer himself
wouldn’t want to read. It’s important to keep in mind that “if you [wouldn’t]
enjoy reading it, you won’t enjoy writing it” (Baty 88). Within part two of the book, he gives
detailed suggestions pertaining specifically to each week, keeping the writer motivated
throughout the process. For example, in Week One, he recommends italicizing
rather than deleting sentences or sections the writer finds don’t actually fit
in the story. He reminds novelists that all words written, regardless of their
relevance, are “crucial steps toward the 50,000 word finish line” (Baty 115).
In Week Two, infamously known among veteran NaNoers as the hardest of the four,
Baty gives some cheap word count padding techniques to use for meeting the
daily word county when feeling low on creativity. Writing out contractions,
suddenly afflicting a character with a bad, stutter, or even adding in a
several word name are all viable strategies to get past the Week Two blues into
the Week Three high. His advice is specific and relevant, allowing the reader
to feel as though all their concerns are addressed and resolved
Baty offers suggestions
on everything from where to write to what to write - so many tips, in fact, that
he almost gives too many. While his detailed tips can be useful in guiding the
writer along, a novice might easily lose out on the fun of NaNoWriMo by
becoming bogged down in the suggestions. As Baty freely admits, 50,000 is a completely
arbitrary number which he “guestimated” in 1999 by pulling off the shortest
novel on his bookshelf and eyeing the word count. This seemingly impossible
number could easily scare off first timers who are unaware that it is
completely within their rights to shift it to a more manageable word count. He
also insists that writers should not NaNo a novel that they have previously
started. He explains that writers might be overly attached to a novel idea that
has been cultivated for a long time and be unable to force it into the rough
and imperfect form month-long noveling necessitates. However, this idea is a
little bit absurd and can keep dedicated writers from attempting month long
noveling with the novel of their dreams. He gives suggestions on how to deal
with relatives, what can and cannot be told to friends, and even what to eat
during the marathon. The overabundance of helpful guidance can cause novelists
to feel pressured into the suggestions and feel overwhelmed. While most all of his
advice is useful, readers have to be careful to sort through for what actually
pertains to them and sort out the advice that is not really needed.
Nevertheless, No
Plot? No Problem! is a fantastic must-read for any novelist interested
in embarking on the month long writing crusade of NaNoWriMo. Baty’s lively and
quirky writing style is relatable and expresses a profound understanding of
writers and the concerns they face on the threshold of November 1st.
Now the question is: have you ever wanted to write a novel? With a little help
from Chris Baty, maybe this November you finally can.
Works Cited
Baty, Chris. No Plot? No
Problem! San Francisco: Chronicle, 2004. Print.
Doyle, T. "NaNoWriMo's Creator, Chris Baty, Talks Shop."
Stanford Arts. Stanford University,
n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Horner, Kristina. The
NaNoWriMo Song. YouTube. Google,
n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment