Janine and Shannon are participating in National Novel Writing Month, in which we’re trying to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. In this episode, we thought we’d update you about how this fun adventure is going and what a wonderful time we’re having embracing imperfection.
Discussion topics include:
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How great it feels to get our writing goal accomplished first thing in the morning
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What a lesson in embracing imperfection NaNoWriMo has been
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The “bad-off” Shannon did with a fellow one-month novelist sharing examples of how bad their novel writing has been
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That it would be impossible to write a perfect in a novel in a month, so the goal is just about getting the words done
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The first rule of NaNoWriMo: You don’t talk about you’re writing about
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The liberation of knowing that no one will read the book in its first draft
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The challenge of not being about to remember what was written the day before, even with daily writing
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A key to succeeding at this challenge (or any challenge): prioritizing it
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How NaNoWriMo has helped Shannon with her cartooning homework
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Strategies for keeping up with NaNoWriMo when traveling
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How the lessons from NaNoWriMo can be applied to so many things (virtually anything!)
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Shannon’s joy in engaging in a challenge that approaches the edge of what she thinks she can do
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Janine’s love of tapping into her creativity by writing a novel in a month
Links:
- NaNoWriMo, in case you want to join it mid month
- Janine’s blog post about NaNoWriMo
- The Getting to Good Enough Facebook group where NaNoWriMo participants are encouraging one another
I always enjoy listening to you two. With all the giggling, I feel like you are sitting across the table from me and having a glass of good wine and just shooting the sh*t. I wish I was doing NaNoWriMo with you. I was really looking forward to it. But I’m enjoying just sitting quietly with my dog, petting her, and giving her treats and kisses. When she crosses the Rainbow Bridge, I will eventually do a NaNoWriMo of my own, so thanks for suggesting that it can be done at any time.
Write like the wind, ladies!