NaNoWriMo 2013: The Sophomore Slump

So I did it again. I subjected myself to 30 days of committed writing on a singular work, and I wrote a large part of a novel. I went into NaNoWriMo this year with a few different goals some of which I achieved and some of which I failed to fulfill. My main goals were as follows: 

1. No literary fiction this time. I wanted to try something outside of my wheelhouse.  
2. 2000 words a day for total of 60K (last year's goal was 50K)
3. A multi-perspective story

What have I been up to?

Currently, I have a good bit of spare time on my hands. Well, not literally on my hands, but I'm sure you've heard the commonly used phase, right?  Luckily I don't have access to many video games during this stretch, so I'm forced to do something besides play The Last of Us, which is pretty amazing. So, in the spirit of self-betterment, I'm trying to be more constructive with my times and write a bit more. I'm also trying to edit Derek's novel (Derek is my pal from high school; you can read his blog here). While his prose is impressive--it's making me doubt the quality of my own work--my editing is slow. You'd think with all the papers I grade that my editing skills would be like at LV 99, but, nay, I'm still a mid-level editor. So that's taking some time.

Move on or stay and work things out?

Man, I'm currently at a loss for what I should do with my novel. As I begin the steps towards publication, the more I begin to question if my book is ready. And if it's not ready now, I  have to wonder if it will ever be ready. Then I wonder if I will ever be prepared for the rejection that comes with attempting to publish. After an afternoon of these ideas tumbling over and over in my mind, I just want to give it up and start working on another novel, or better yet, stop writing and go do something I'm good at like napping or video games.

Things Shouldn't Be So Hard

This makes me smile. 

I think I'm nearing the completion of my first novel. I don't really know when to stop editing it or when to start sending it off to try and to find a publisher or an agent (I'm obviously floundering). I've slowly made my way through the novel a few times, I'm getting feedback from friends--who are too positive with their comments, and I'm getting sick of working on it. But I know I have to push on. After beginning to research the publishing process, I've quickly become overwhelmed with the idea of selling my novel. Because publishing is not about my lofty aspirations, nor is it about some semi-autobiographical theme in my book; it's about sales. And I don't know if what I've wrote is marketable.

I don't even know if it's good.

Failed Attempts: It's easier to post fragments than work on my writing.

NOTE: This isn't worth your time if you're expecting polished, fully developed ideas. I was just doing some free writing with my classes and typed it up because it's writing, and I may as well chronicle it. If, on the other hand, you want to see me write badly to feel better about yourself, or to just judge me, then feel free to keep on reading.

Fragment 1)

A turning point: this is the moment when your life changes. When everything that you hoped would happen, happens. The moment that TV shows and movies so eloquently and untruthfully create. This is your moment. It's not about Cynthia. Every other day is about her. She's beautiful and all the guys like her, but it's not about her so let's not shift any of the focus. Let it be about you. Are you ready? Are you ready to become the reality of your daydreams and hidden hopes? 

I've been away working on my novel...and other stuff

So I've been away from my blog for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing (I say that so that my imagined readers will stop judging me for not posting anything as if you're all just dying to read my thoughts). Most of my writing time has actually been spent editing my NaNo novel, which is currently a second draft. When I wrote that last sentence, it made me sound as if I've been diligently working on my novel since I started editing it in January, but that I would be a lie. I've worked on it in spurts, and I've been living life, playing (too many) video games , watching (too much) TV , and reading (too few) books.

NaNoWriMo - IT IS FINISHED

DAY 22, 23 & 24

So I've totally been keeping up with my NaNo daily goals all Thanksgiving Break, but I've been doing all the family stuff and traveling that goes with Thanksgiving. So if you're one of the few who are interested in me writing a novel and how I'm going about doing that, then I'm going to give one big update for the last five days. 

I've pretty much solidified how many chapters are in my book and how I'm dividing those chapters. I've decided to use the days of a week as an organizational structure following my protagonist through his seven day vacation home. I've drafted the first five days completely. I've outlined the last two days and I'm just writing the days as they happen.

NaNoWriMo - Week 3 is my B

DAY 15

Morning: My morning writing is pretty much the same everyday. I wrote about 500 words.

Afternoon: After school, I stuck around and typed about 1,100 words. I worked on some flashback stuff from the father's perspective. I actually wrote the scene from my protagonist's perspective, but I wasn't paying attention because I wanted to write from the father's perspective. So I had to copy and paste and do some major edits to flip the perspective.

NaNoWriMo - Week 2 is Over

DAY 8

Morning: I kept up with my normal 500-600 words during my planing period. I do some of my best writing in the morning. I wish I had more time to write before school. I'm developing my first female character which is nice. I find that writing as fast as possible is the best way to find out how a character really thinks. It's funny how sometimes my own characters surprise me. I had one of those, "Okay, so that's how she's going to be. I can work with that" moments.

NaNoWriMo - Week 1 is Complete!

So I started writing my novel today. I actually started a few days ago just to get some ideas down. But I want to chronicle the victories and defeats of my first attempt at writing a novel (in a month, no less). So a lot of this blogging will be concise. I want to keep up with the when and how and what I'm doing during this month. I'm writing this in conjunction with the goal of 1667 words a day, so things may get a little sloppy or a short. Forgive me. I will not be editing this much. Also, I normally don't try to post mundane occurrences on my blog, but I think a lot of this will be a little on the mundane. But maybe I'll have some cool revelation or something.

NaNooooooooooooooo!

I'm doing it. I'm going to participate in National Novel Writing Month. I've avoided it for the last 2 years. I've sidestepped students who do nothing but encourage me to participate  I've excused my way out of doing it. But, hey my pal Derek said it best, "Worst case scenario, you write one page, put it down, and none will be the wiser. Best case scenario, it's the motivation you lack and you become a best-selling novelist." I've got nothing to lose and it would be nice to become a best selling author, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to write a novel. I've wanted to write a novel for a few years, but I've never mustered the internal strength, nor I have been able to silence my fears of sucking, to move forward. So here is my attempt at making it official. I'm doing it.

Freewriting: I Remember

I wrote this prompt with my students. I may do something in the future with it, so I'm posting it here (relatively unedited).

I remember when the best part of my day involved a swing set and kickball. When girls had cooties and boys chanted rhymes about shots that prevented contracting this disease. When being picked last in a game caused true heartbreak, and new shoes could make me run faster, jump higher, look taller. 16 year old kids were giants and everyone over 20 was old.

I remember when I was too young to say things like "I remember when."

A Paragraph or Two

I didn't write this to complain...But it is crunch time at school, and I have about 35 more research papers to grade before Christmas break. I feel like my mind is going to break from self induced stress. It's like a anthropomorphic research project punched a hole in my face and my brains mix with blackred goo pour out of the hole (the thought reminds me of a garbage pail kid card).

Writing in the Shadows

As a high school English teacher, I have the tendency to immerse my literature classes with the writers I love. I find myself creating units around novels that I want to spend more time reading. Once, I assigned Beowulf (the Seamus Heaney translation) to a class just because I had bought the book and had yet to read a word beyond the first page. But being a student of literature has handicapped my personal writing. I have found that I live in the shadows cast by my favorite authors.

Writing With My English 101 Class

I wrote with my English 101 class last night and a woman in the class shared about her dead son. It was amazing to see someone so vulnerable. First class, first free write—she slits her wrist and bleeds for 26 strangers to watch. When I saw this, I was amazed. Her freedom empowered me. I was renewed, re-energized, ready to write about myself. Not teacher me, not friend me, but me in the purest sense of the word. I was ready to write about the 16 year old me that lost his older brother and held his hand as he breathed his last breath. About the me that sat with my wife as we found out that we lost our first child before it was born. Willing to open up. Willing to be honest. Willing to share.

I'm not sure what it all means, but I had to write about it.