by Jason Joyner | Dec 11, 2013 | Blog, NaNoWriMo, writing, writing craft, Writing Wednesday
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| Lookit what I won. |
In 2011 I wrote a post entitled, “Why I Don’t Do NaNo.”
NaNoWriMo, to the uninitiated, is the National Novel Writing Month. Each November writers are encouraged to plant the butt firmly in chair and crank out a 50,000 word novel. It’s been going on for several years now, and it always brings out a lot of excitement in writer circles.
In 2011 I talked about how it didn’t work for me when I tried it a couple of times. It was good for some people, but didn’t work for everyone, and I was one of those writers.
Fast forward to 2013.
Facebook was buzzing with my writer friends saying how they were going to disappear for the month because of NaNo. The excitement was palpable. Just because I said I wasn’t going to do it, I felt a pang of missing out.
Man, they were going to have all this fun.
Then on October 30, I thought, why not? I can try it again. If I get a few thousand words out, it’s more than I would have had if I weren’t writing. My main project was under going another round of revisions, so it was out of consideration.
But there was this new idea I’d been composting for a while. I even got to do some brainstorming on it with Jill Williamson on our flight back from the ACFW writer’s conference in September. Would the new idea hold water? NaNo seemed like an opportunity to play with it and see what could happen.
I jumped in.
For the first week, I kept up pace. A writer has to average 1667 words a day to finish the 50,000 on time. Then life started interfering and I fell off. Well, at least I had some words down.
Except I had a taste of success. Circumstances worked out. I kept plugging away.
By November 28 I had three days left and 10,000 words to go. Could I do it? Facebook friends were now cheering me on. My wife succumbed agreed to let me have time over the holiday weekend to hit the keys.
And on November 30 I clocked in at 50,077 words.
So, this is partially a self-indulgent, congratulatory post. Whoo-hoo, I did it!
But I also learned some things about writing.
I learned how to push for a deadline. My first novel was written over seven years. No sense of urgency there. Now I knew I could be dedicated and churn out some significant production if challenged.
I was able to explore a new idea. Obviously the first draft of everything is mostly crap, but it forced me to work through some plot points, and there are a few keepers in there. Of course, the chapter where I was stuck and decided to interview one of my characters for “word count” won’t make the final cut. But I learned things about Demarcus that I can use later on. It’s all good!
Having a minimal outline helps. I was drowning for a bit until I brainstormed a few plot points to get me out of a bunch of conversations over food. Even when one of the points was, “something bad happens now,” it helped me have enough structure to push forward.
I went from doing 1000 words on my best day to 5200 words. Again, they came fast and furious, and I hope they at least make complete sentences, but I got them out. Now the revision scalpel can come out.
So to me in 2011 – you were wrong. You can do NaNo, and with the right circumstances it does help you out. But enough of the blog post – you’ve got revision to do. Get cracking!
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Have you done NaNo? What was your experience? Please share in the comments below.
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 1, 2013 | Blog, it is time, writing
I normally post writing related items on Wednesday, but I can’t wait to get this news out there.
It’s been a long journey. Seven years of work and drive to learn the craft of writing. I know I’m still growing, but I’ve come a long ways in that time. I’ve finished a novel. I write a column for a local paper that runs about every six weeks.
Due to this encouraging news, I’ve decided it is time to go into writing full-time.
I realize that it may seem presumptuous to pull the trigger at this time, but I have a really good feeling about it. Besides, my wife teaches piano lessons, and with me home at the computer, she could easily double the amount of students she sees to cover things until I have everything firing on all cylinders.
Thank you to all of my loyal readers through the years. The best is yet to come, so I’ll see you on the other side. As soon as I clean out my desk, that is.
No risk, no reward!
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 19, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, writing, Writing Wednesday
Here we go.
I’ve been on this writing adventure for a long time now. I started back into it as an adult writing fan fiction (shout out to KFF, yo!). I had forgotten how much I liked telling the stories that popped into my head.
I came up with an idea for a novel. My writing friend Athena Grayson helpfully shot the sick goose dead before it got very far off the ground.
Then I had another idea. This one had some promise.
I started writing.
That was…a while ago.
We won’t go into detail how long ago *cough*2005*cough*.
I followed writers, read blogs, hung out at writing forums, and started writing about writing myself. I read a lot of books. Read books on craft. Read suspense, mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, YA, and even a romance or two.
Very slowly, I wrote.
I kept waiting for the muse to hit to really write. I learned the muse sucks.
Then something changed. I learned to write no matter what. I set my mind to it and plugged away at it. In the last year I wrote twice as much as I had the previous six years.
Suddenly I had a first draft of a novel done.
Well shoot, now what do I do with it?
So here I sit in the airport terminal. Ready to fly off to Dallas to meet with a few other writers (about 700 or so, not many). I’ve made the commitment. I’m not doing this lightly. It is time to go for it.
Here I go. And if I have any advice to give, it would be this: go for it.
See you on the other side.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 19, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, writing, Writing Wednesday
Here we go.
I’ve been on this writing adventure for a long time now. I started back into it as an adult writing fan fiction (shout out to KFF, yo!). I had forgotten how much I liked telling the stories that popped into my head.
I came up with an idea for a novel. My writing friend Athena Grayson helpfully shot the sick goose dead before it got very far off the ground.
Then I had another idea. This one had some promise.
I started writing.
That was…a while ago.
We won’t go into detail how long ago *cough*2005*cough*.
I followed writers, read blogs, hung out at writing forums, and started writing about writing myself. I read a lot of books. Read books on craft. Read suspense, mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, YA, and even a romance or two.
Very slowly, I wrote.
I kept waiting for the muse to hit to really write. I learned the muse sucks.
Then something changed. I learned to write no matter what. I set my mind to it and plugged away at it. In the last year I wrote twice as much as I had the previous six years.
Suddenly I had a first draft of a novel done.
Well shoot, now what do I do with it?
So here I sit in the airport terminal. Ready to fly off to Dallas to meet with a few other writers (about 700 or so, not many). I’ve made the commitment. I’m not doing this lightly. It is time to go for it.
Here I go. And if I have any advice to give, it would be this: go for it.
See you on the other side.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 12, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, Dallas 2012, resources, writing, Writing Wednesday
In one week I’ll be at the airport.
It’s time for the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Dallas. This is my first writing conference, and I’ve already shared some resources I’ve found while preparing.
One would think that with all the advice on the web that there wouldn’t be nerves. Ah, who am I fooling? We’re human, and anytime we do something wildly different it will create anxiety. I’ve been working on a novel for a long time. It’s finally to a point where I feel comfortable going and seeing what happens.
So, if you’re like me and worried about what to expect for your first conference, here’s a few more posts I’ve found circulating the net while procrastinating preparing for take-off.
Mike Duran says chuck the check list but pack the deodorant.
Agent Karen Ball gives her two B’s for the conference. Scroll to the bottom of her post, and you’ll find several other helpful links. One of them I’ll link specifically, from Tamela Hancock Murray for the ACFW 2011 Conference with the helpful title of Conquering Conference Jitters. So you can read that post, or jitter away. The choice is yours.
Maybe I’ll see you at the conference. If we’re lucky, we won’t end up like the unfortunate gentleman below.
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True picture of a n00b at the ACFW conference last year
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by Jason Joyner | Aug 15, 2012 | Blog, now what do I do, revision can be fun, the end, writing, Writing Wednesday
There comes a day in every writer’s life when they must type these words.
The end.
I’ve resisted calling myself a writer or an author, because I’ve never written those words on something significant. Sure, I’ve finished a few short stories, but my novel WIP was something that seemed like it never would get done. Other people might argue that since I write regularly (this blog, a newspaper column) then I am a writer. I never felt like I was there.
Until this weekend.
On Sunday evening I sat on the couch, my laptop warming my legs. I finished the last sentence of my novel. Set the laptop down to think about it. Picked it up, read the last chapter and reconsidered.
Then I typed, “The end.”
I finished the first draft of a labor of love. I started with the initial idea and first couple of chapters in 2005. Yes, it took me this long! I thought about giving up several times. It never seemed right to quit though.
After 60,000 words (what the word processor counts, not including all the erased words that didn’t make the cut), I had the basis for a novel. I could say it.
I had written a book.
Well, I finished the first draft. Which I count as significant, since so many people say they’re going to write a book and never do it. I vowed last year to not be that person.
So…now what?
*Looks at his watch, taps his chin*
Oh, you’re still here? Cool. Me too.
Now of course is the dreaded revision process. Although,
I liked the last time I did some serious revision. I realize that my writing needs a lot of work. Characters are flimsy and need a work-out. Plot points disappear like the
Big Lost River here in the Idaho desert. Cliches need filleted.
And it’s not like I’m on a deadline or anything…
(more details next week)
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