NaNoWriMo...Yep, I'm trying it.

So, I'm trying out my very first NaNoWriMo this month, and I have to say, I'm loving it! I re-read Stephen King's "On Writing" to brush up a bit and *hopefully* avoid making ALL of the mistakes he lists in there (adverbs are not my friend... adverbs are not my friend... adverbs are not...but they can still be my friends when I'm blogging, right? Please?). I am also trying out some of his suggested methods. Here's my game plan.

1. I came up with a (fairly simple) real-life situation and started writing about it. No plots. No outlines. No character pages. Just a simple concept, and a commitment to write at least 2,000 words a day where I let the characters dictate what happens. (note: the daily word count requirement was beefed up in order to create a buffer of free time needed at the end of the month when I fully intend to surrender myself to a gratuitous napping regimen that is to be further enhanced by the occasional turkey coma. Why on earth is NaNoWriMo in NOVEMBER people? Honestly!)

2. I let a few characters dance around in my brain for oh, I don't know, like two whole minutes before my sassy lil' protagonist came screaming into the foreground... then I let her take over, and I'll tell you what:

It's like magic! Magical things are happening, seriously! Characters are coming like, right out of nowhere, and they are freaking awesome to boot. I guess that Stephen King just might know a thing or two about writing novels after all...

3. I am writing what I know, for once.

It. is. way. (waaaaay) easier.

4. I am doing absolutely no editing until the first draft is complete, and it turns out that this completely works for me.

The story flows better and faster. The characters stay alive, and bright, and interesting, and driven, and can you tell that this is really exciting for me? It is! After spending the better part of eight months writing over 50,000 words of a YA novel only to NOW realize that it has card board cut outs where characters are supposed to be, I've found that writing a book with real characters with real issues is just nothing short of awesome. Plus, when I'm not stopping to read and re-write, my word count piles up and goes all sorts of gangbusters in no time. (Yes, I will have to edit the junk out of it come December, but I get the feeling that that part will be just as interesting.) I also keep going off into really random character tangents and they are quite revealing. They may hit the trash bin come editing time, but for now, it's just exciting to see a little more about who they are, and the visuals that are coming through in some of them are nothing short of stunning.

5. Are you scratching your head a little bit and wondering how I can possibly say all of these really great things about my own NaNoWriMo novel without realizing that I sound like a self-promoting, self-absorbed little turd?

Good wondering (and yes, I just said "turd"). Here's how. Because I don't feel like I can take credit for it. (Like, at all.) For the first time since I started writing with the real, and sincere intention of getting published, I feel like I am just the facilitator. Like a story is coming through me and that it's not necessarily by me. I don't know. But I'm having fun, and I'm even finding that the characters are creating and resolving conflicts that I had no intention of creating or resolving. It's nuts. These little buggers sort of have a mind of their own, yeah? It sure makes my job easier. I can't wait to see who else decides to show up, and what happens next...

The really interesting thing is, I am having such a great experience, and learning so much along the way, that the end result is no longer of any consequence. I feel like the experience I am gaining throughout this process is reward enough. This could never go anywhere, and I'd still be happy about the journey.