The Relaxed Writer

5 Reasons You Might've Said "Yes" to NaNoWriMo

Did you ignore my reasons to say no to NaNoWriMo this year?  Well, then.  Let's look at a few reasons why you might've said "Yes." 

1.  You want to have some fun.

As a NaNo writer, community awaits, in the form of in-person meetups, writing dates with friends or community online with writers around the world.  I imagine nothing's more inspiring than sharing the  journey to 50,000 words with scads of fellow writers who know exactly what you're up against.   

2.  You want to be told what to do.

NaNoWriMo offers you a straightforward writing assignment for the month. You've got a deadline.  (November 30th.)  You've got a wrap party.  (Don't you?)  You've got a wordcount.  (50k.)  You've got  guidelines. (New stuff only.) 

You've even got tips from the NaNoWriMo founders themselves.

3.  You want to kick your inner critic to the curb for the month.

I really can't illustrate this point this any better than Cinette did when she commented on yesterday's Relaxed Writer post:

"My one and only reason for signing up for NaNo is because I need to make myself power through a first draft without running back over (and over, and over) the first thousand or so words. My inner editor is one pushy dude. I'm going to try and force a holiday on him.As your fingers fly, you won't have time to talk back to yourself as you write."

4.  You want to write every day.

My guess is that by mid-November, the process of transitioning to writing and actually sitting down to write will take you a lot less time than it does now. 

Why?

• you'll have little time to waste
•  you'll know you're not alone
• you'll be writing with low expectations ("just get it done" vs. "do it right")
• you'll know you're taking on the challenge to have some fun

5.  You want to get out of planning the holiday party.

If you're reading this in the U.S., your participation in NaNoWrimo is the perfect excuse to let someone else host Thanksgiving this year.  May I suggest you offer to bring the rolls and the drinks?  No cooking for you, my friend.  You'll be too busy writing.

-----

If you're joining in the fun, the day's fast approaching.  Good luck to you!  Coming soon: a few tips to help you get and stay in the groove as you NaNo. 

----

image credit:  Schmeegan (Flickr)

3 Reasons You Might Want to Say "No!" to NaNoWriMo

As a life coach, I often offer my clients permission.  Permission to take themselves more seriously.  Permission to say no.

Permission to run like heck from crazy schemes that'll challenge--if not utterly decimate -- their sense of balance and well-being.

So it probably won't surprise you that I can think of a few really good reasons you should think twice before signing up for NaNoWriMo.  

I'm not saying NaNoWriMo isn't right for everyone (tomorrow I'll take a look at why you may want to do it).  For now, though, a few reasons why NaNoWriMo may not be the right fit for you.

1.   Apples to Oranges

NaNoWriMo was created in 1999 by Chris Baty and three of his friends, Rolf Nelson, Ryan Dunsmuir, and John Sanders, in their San Francisco apartment. These friends were twentysomethings at the time, and they met daily to write and drink and shoot the breeze. ("Half literary marathon and half block party," says Baty.)  

Chris and his friends didn't have much else going on. 

And they weren't taking themselves very seriously.

If you're like several of the writers I've coached through NaNoWriMo, you may instead be greeted at the door by a demanding cat.  A spouse or kid wanting to connect (or be fed).  A reminder that your Thanksgiving holiday to be planned and shopped for and prepared.

You might even be putting a bit of pressure on yourself:  "I'm really a fiction writer if I win this year" or "I'm not a real writer if I don't."

Take a deep breath.

Does NaNo's 50,000 word success criteria suit you?  Take into account your personal situation, consider NaNo's origins and decide if committing to NaNoWriMo will truly support you as a writer. 

If trying to meet the arbitrary word count will make you crazed with stress, take yourself too seriously or alienate your cat or family members, you probably should pass.

2. That Body of Yours

Will you follow those twentysomething guys' examples and rely on Red Bull, bourbon and mucho Doritos to power you through hours and hours of writing?

Even if you choose healthier snacks and drinks, my guess is that, come December 1st, your body will show some wear and tear.

If so, how will you feel as you face the holidays?

• A little on the flabby side?
• Exhausted as heck? 

Consider whether you'll be able to regroup and recover before January 1, 2011 rolls around.  (Because no one likes to start the new year feeling icky if they can help it.)

Besides nutrition and exercise, you also need to consider whether you're  susceptible to repetitive strain injuries or carpal tunnel syndrome.

If writing and typing for long periods of time strains your body, think through carefully whether this month-long exercise is worth compromising your long-term health.  Say no to NaNo.  Or get your voice recognition software up and running so you can work in a way that works for you.

3.  Process or Product?

Chris Baty talks honestly about the original NaNo writers' motivations that first year:

"[W]e wanted to write novels for the same dumb reasons twentysomethings start bands. Because we wanted to make noise. Because we didn't have anything better to do. And because we thought that, as novelists, we would have an easier time getting dates than we did as non-novelists."

Are you in the same playful state of mind? If so, sharpen your pencils and charge your laptop battery. NaNo may be a no-brainer for you.

But take a moment to consider what your prose writing really needs the most.

• Would you benefit most from focussing on process for now?  If so, NaNo might be a terrific way to divorce your inner critic for the month.

• Or, do you most need to improve your story structure, character development, plotting or scene writing skills?  If so, imagine where you'd be in a month's time if you devoted even half the time you'll spend on NaNo to working through a fine fiction resource like Janet Burroway's classic, Writing Fiction: a Narrative Craft or Jordan Rosenfeld's Making a Scene.

Life is short (the wise ones say it's so).  What's the very best way for you to improve your writing in the next 30 days?

Dare to Do What's Best for You

I hope you'll think carefully about NaNo before you commit.  If you're ready for the challenge, here's wishing you luck, good humor and stamina. If not, here's a healthy helping of permission to say "No thanks, not this year."

Dare to do what's best for you.

----

image credit:  E-Magic (Flickr)

p.s. - The above links aren't Amazon affiliate links.  I promise to let you know clearly if and when I use them in the future.

----

What do you think?  Come November 1st, will you or won't you NaNoWriMo?

Just. Ask.

Sometimes the simples lessons are the hardest to learn, aren't they?

Like most coaches I know, I work with my own coach to help me see opportunities, take risks and do business in a way that serves my clients well, generates good income AND adds fun and happiness to my life.  Together my coach and I are creating a business that really works for me, not the other way around. (I not only teach this  "make your business work for you" concept in my Empowered Freelancer teleclasses, I live it.)

Anyways.  Like most coaches I know, my coach pushes me to do stuff I wouldn't ordinarily do. Like send out a survey to my list of ezine subscribers so I can learn more about their needs.

I'm embarrased to say that to-do item was on my list for two months.  I procrastinated, avoided and put it off.  Why?  I suppose I was scared, but really-- of what?!  Because once I started getting back folks' responses, I had a blast.  I got to know folks better.  I got marching orders for future projects.  And I learned that my community is as good a fit as I could have imagined for what I have to offer.

It's not always easy to ask for what you want.  I know.

But as a writer, today I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on these questions, and then follow up by taking one concrete action:

• If I weren't afraid to do so, who would I ask for help?  What would help me most? 

Coaching, mentoring, writing feedback and so much more is all readily available to you. All you need to do is ask.

-----

If you're a Relaxed Writer subscriber and you took my recent survey, thanks again for your time & input. I loved getting to know you better!

And congratulations to C. Ann Golden and Cheryl Glantz Nail -- the two winners of today's drawing.

----

 

 

Writing Lessons from Photographers - "Never Shoot a Sunset"

In recent posts I gave you a few tips to help you put your writing in perspective and stay motivated for the long haul. 

In today's post (the third and final of my "Writing Lessons from Photographers" series), I'll show you a fun strategy you can use to improve your writing and editing chops.  Let's play a little game, shall we? 

*** 

"Writing Lessons from Photographers" - Never Shoot a Sunset

  
Take a look at this snapshot from my recent trip to a nearby beach at sunset. 

Grab a pencil.

Now quickly jot down three specific things you notice in the photograph. If you like, write a phrase or two to describe the overall mood or tone the image conveys to you, and I'll do the same.

Let's compare lists, shall we?

I'll go first.

If I'm trying to be objective, I see modest ocean swells, an annoying timestamp I just can't figure out how to get the timestamp off the pics my new little Vivitar handheld camera makes, and--oh yeah, a sunset. 

But here's a smattering of what really comes up for me when I look at this photograph:

• the scent and feel of ocean air, laced with salt and sand,
• the path the pelicans cut as they flew in formation just above the waves, 
• the pleasure I felt as I watched my three-year-old daughter scrunch wet sand between her fingers and toes, crouching on all fours as she pushed her way up a small incline pretending to be a "streetsweeper."  (The fact that she's imposing a mechanical metaphor onto nature--not the other way around--is another subject altogether, isn't it?  Aii.)

When you see this picture, I'll bet you're focussed on sand, light and wave.  You see what's actually there.

When I look at this picture, I'm taken by riptide to a technicolor sea of memory and recollected experience -- stuff that's nowhere to be found in the pixels of this 2-D photograph. I'm so driven by memory it takes deliberate effort for me to see what's actually there.

"Never Shoot a Sunset"

Steve Szabo, my photography professor at the Corcoran, once warned us rather bluntly: "Never shoot a sunset." 

Besides steering us away from visual cliches (and who better to warn than a darkroom full of aspiring fine-art photographers), Szabo's pithy injunction taught us to look hard at the photographs we were making.  He taught us to look at each image we made on its own terms. 

Szabo taught us to ask:

• What overtones, memories or sense experiences are we bringing to our experience of viewing the photograph?
• What aesthetic choices did we make to actualize our message?
• How did we do and what's lacking?

Had I been striving for "art" in the image above, I would've needed to manipulate expsoure, composition, or any of the other expressive tools of photography to evoke the mood I wanted to create. But to do this successfully, I'd have to first figure out what material I was bringing to the work vs. what was actually there.

Learning to See What's Really There

Szabo's advice to photographers is immensely useful for writers.

On a practical level, if you're still getting your writing chops up, you can save yourself time by avoiding the writerly equivalents of "sunsets" -- those cliche topics that threaten to become overly sentimental or melodramatic.

And no matter where you are in your writing journey, you'll improve your craft by consistently practicing seeing what's actually on the page (not what you recall or think or wish or project).  Szabo's advice can  improve every piece of writing you do, not just your essays and anecdotes. You'll become more aware of what you're doing well and you'll quickly learn which literary techniques you need to strengthen and improve to get your message across to the reader.

Personally, I've found this gentle practice of discernment enormously beneficial away from the writing desk, too.  Learning to see what's really there is helping me become more present, awake and mindful throughout my life, whether I'm coaching writers, loving on my little one or learning a new jazz tune. 

Seeing what's there/what's not is a beautiful practice for anyone aspiring to become a truly relaxed writer. 

What Do You Think?  

• What literary "sunsets" will you avoid writing about...for now?
• What specific questions will you begin asking yourself as you review your drafts?
• How will you practice seeing what's truly on the page and what's not?
• Will you try this practice out in your daily life, too?

 

New on Facebook

I just posted a few photos from my Corcoran days for you to check out.  Stop by my Facebook Fan Page to see the new "Writing Lessons from Photographers" photo album.  (Just click the Wall link or press the arrow key to access the "Photos" tab.)  If you'd like to see a few more, let me know!