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Lately I’ve been running across these ebooks about writing a novel in 100 days. I admit to being just the opposite of a skeptic (read: Rube) but I wonder how many folks try to eat this elephant in one sitting. I’m thinking a Costco sized jar of Tums would be needed for consuming an elephant in this manner.
On one hand, if the end result is a completed novel then I guess it could be an okay thing. On the other hand, what happened to the love of the craft? What happened to the pure joy that can only be had by building plot, characters and scenes, then rebuilding them as needed to make them work? I’m not sure that writing should be a meat grinder. Some things are just better when they are slow roasted instead of microwaved.
I’m thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if there had to be included as part of the cataloging of books a field for the number of days it took the author to complete the work? Of course I’m a statistics geek so that may be just me.
Now, I’ve been known to advocate the “write every day” premise. I think it makes a bit of sense in that it works to polish and hone your skills and it keeps you writing. If you write 2000 words a day and do that for a couple of months then I guess you really could write a novel in 100 days. I can write a couple thousand a day but I tend to spread them out over several projects for clients and myself. Unless I’ve got a brilliant concept rolling along in terms of novel writing I’m not too keen to torture myself by spending hours at the computer, pumping out dribble for dribble’s sake.
No post on this topic would be complete without mentioning National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Oh, and whoever coined that acronym needs to be taken out back and horse-whipped. But I digress 
natch – Ash
Every November, maniacal scribes from throughout the land sign on to write a novel length manuscript in 30 days. Quite a few are way successful at accomplishing this task and many have done it more than once. I think from a motivational perspective this is a very good thing. If someone ends up with a draft that they can then rework over a period of months then I say “Yee-Haw”.
I guess what I’m less fond of are “systems” that are promoted that give struggling new authors the impression that at the end of three months of daily writing, they will have a manuscript they can print and send off. I think that’s a bit disingenuous.
Heck, I’m no expert. What do you folks think? Have you ever done something like this? If so, what were the results? How about NaNoWriMo? How’d that work for ya?
I did the first draft of my first novel during NaNoWriMo 2006. It was fun! It took me another 18 months to get an actual finished product, naturally, but the initial kick in the ass was good.
RJ,
Okay, this is what I mean about the benefit of Nano technology. You had fun and ended up with a worthy product. I’ll bet most nano completers feel the same.
George
I agree. Most people who participate are doing it strictly for fun, or realize that a lot of work goes into editing/rewriting. I know that every December-February, there are agents who are flooded with crappy first-drafts from delusional Wrimos, but most participants know what’s what.
Hey George,
I have to admit that I avoid NaNoWriMo for that exact reason. I’ve got several personal and professional projects on the go. Some fiction, some non-fiction, but regardless of which type, I have to be in the mood to work on it.
If I don’t have the inspiration to work on a particular project, nothing in the world is going to get me producing anything other than crap. It’s just the way I work…some days, I can crank out 6,000 words+ on a particular book, the next day, I can’t get out 500 words that are worth anything.
I personally think time limits force writers to compromise on quality. Once they’re done, very few of them are interested in going back and working out all the kinks (or, in most instances, Grand Canyons) in their work. (In many instances, I’ve found some of these gaps so bad, I’ve had to start over.)
Sorry, but there’s a huge difference between doing something because you want to and because you HAVE to.
.-= Angie Nikoleychuk´s last blog ..Welcome to Creatively Single =-.
Hi Angie,
Thanks for dropping by. “Grand Canyons” hehe. Awesome. I think the end result is different when you have to do something as opposed to wanting to do something. It’s like writing a passionate blog post vs a obligatory one.
George
Personally, I have participated in NaNo three years in a row. The first year I was lucky to get to 10,000 words; frustration city. The next year I was determined to finish a draft of my first ever novel; and I did. It felt like a monumental accomplishment for an aspiring writer who struggled trying to finish anything. It was a great motivator tool for me. The third year, well, life got busy and I wasn’t able to finish. Was it worth it? Absolutely. It showed me that I can complete something. It boosted my confidence as a writer. My next step is putting that novel through the editing/revision process and that scares the crap out of me.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Script Frenzy-Day 26 =-.
Hey Carrie,
Good on you for that kind of writing dedication. I think if you were not scared of the editing/revision process, then something would be amiss.
Best of luck to you!
George
Hi George,
Ah, yes, the 100-day novel and NaNoWriMo.
I agree that a novel in 100 days is pretty outlandish. I read in The New Yorker not long ago that Nora Roberts writes and finishes a novel approx. every six weeks (don’t quote me on that, though, just saying from memory) — but, she’s also been doing this for a gazillion years. I think it said her FIRST novel took a year or more. Yeah, I think 100 days is not realistic for most — especially a new/unseasoned author finding his or her way.
About NaNoWriMo (ugh! the acronym is awful!!!) — I did it for the first time in 2009 and finished it — the word requirement, that is. I never edited it or tried to submit — but I used the exercise to develop a writing habit and to help me determine what it took to set a ‘real’, working schedule for myself. I’m unsure if I’ll do it again. The process was enjoyable, for sure — like CandyLand. Now I know I can summon the discipline and produce a lot if I set my mind to it.
Fun topic, George!
.-= Lori (JaneBeNimble)´s last blog ..What I Learned from Racing =-.
Hi Lori,
What a great perspective on the NaNoWriMo! It sounds like you got out of it exactly what you needed to.
A novel every six weeks. Oy. Can you imagine being that prolific?
George
George,
I think someone can write the first draft of a novel in 30 days or 100 days. However, that draft will be what writing teacher Lary Crews calls “pure green dreck,” and it will take much longer to polish it into meaningful words.
Many writers are motivated by writing in a limited time frame. Others find it difficiult or impossible to do.
Each writer needs to write in the way that is best for them, but I believe that most writers—at least until they have gained the kind of experience Nora Roberts has—do best by focusing on finishing the “pure green dreck” draft first. Then they can focus on revising and polishing.
I’ve seen too many writers who never finish a novel—often never getting beyond the first chapter—because they want it to be perfect.
.-= Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..While There’s Still Time =-.
Hi Lillie,
This is admittedly a problem of mine. I tend to edit on the fly, fixing all spelling/puncuation/grammar errors. Slows me way down, it does. I am planning on doing NaNoWriMo this year to break me of that awful habit!
George
I did NaNo (my lazy, shortened acronym) last year and completed it, but I don’t know that I would do it again. The forced march seemed to block my muse instead of encouraging it.
.-= Laura Eno´s last blog ..Nine Words =-.
Laura,
“Forced March” Hehe. Now THAT conjures up a visual!
George
Hi George,
Great topic.
I did NaNoWriMo in 2007. I made it to 20K words which was huge for me at the time.
I think e-books titled “Write a novel in 100 days” are less about deceiving people and more about giving those people what they want. No one is going to buy the book “Write a novel in two years, stick it in a drawer for two months, polish it for six months, start showing it to agents, rewrite it for six months based on agent’s recommendations…” (Subtitle: Statistics show your current marriage will probably end long before you finish and sell your first novel.) Reality bites and rarely sells well.
Like NaNoWriMo, these books serve a purpose if they give writers the courage to start. If I could write a book (or e-book) that kept even a handful of frustrated artists practicing and honing their craft and not drowning their frustrations in frivolous or harmful pursuits, I could look at myself in the mirror without shame, even if I practiced a bit of deception to get them started.
One becomes while doing.
BTW, none of this should be taken as defensiveness on my part. I have no such book (or e-book) written or planned. I believe there are writer wannabes right now searching the internet or their local bookstores looking for a book that promises them a completed novel in 100 days. I believe the demand drives the supply, not the other way around. Writer wannabes will keep looking until they find that book that convinces them they can do it too, and some of them will go on to be successful novelists.
Write on!
Tammi
.-= Tammi Kibler´s last blog ..Write Fast – Eight Tips to Write Articles Faster =-.
Tammi,
An absolutely brilliant perspective – one that I respect a lot. I do guess that everyone responds or can relate to their own specific method. If something works for a writer and they ultimately become a success because of it, I say Bully!
George
I’ve done Nanowrimo every year for the past 3 years, and my 9 year old did Nanowrimo (Young Writer’s Program) for the last 2 years. We both completed our novels. He’s edited both of his but needs to add illustrations, while mine are all in the editing process. Yes, I’m terrible at editing, but I’m still trying. I just haven’t figured out what approach works best for me.
I think what Nanowrimo taught me was that I could accomplish something like this if I just put my butt in the chair. I now blog regularly, post short fiction (recently started submitting) regularly, and occasionally poetry too. I recently submitted and won a local poetry contest. I never would have had the nerve to do any of it without the initial confidence and push that Nanowrimo gave me. In fact, before Nanowrimo, I’d never written a story before.
As far as the 100 day novel, rough draft I could see, but it would still need lots of revision imho. Like I said, I’m still working on mine! I think it’s possible though, but you’re right about it smelling a little fishy too.
.-= ganymeder´s last blog ..Friday Flash: Quietus =-.
Ganymeder,
Yours is a great and inspiring story. NaNoWriMo has really opened the door for a lot of folks to get their butt in a chair and tap the keys. For so many of us it is push that got us (finally) started.
Ugh. Editing. If it ends up driving you buggy and the editing is the only thing holding you back from submission, consider the services of a professional editor if you can afford it – it may end up being worth the price!
George
I am fascinated by the paradox here. Apparently, for some writers, if they believe it will only take a few months to write a book, they will actually sit down and get started, but if they believe it will take years, they will put off the task to some future, perfect time.
Not ALL writers, surely. Still, isn’t it interesting to consider that the longer the work takes to write, the more reason we should start soon? And yet many need the deceit to get started.
Still mulling it over.
Thanks again for the topic, George.
.-= Tammi Kibler´s last blog ..Writing Jobs in Your Hometown =-.
Human beings are hard-wired to procrastinate and I _wish_ I could find the journal article with the research. It doesn’t work for everybody, but for MANY people, setting the deadline, and setting it soon, will get them motivated.
People who love to write, who want to write, know they aren’t going to turn out a finished product in 30-100 days. But it’s that foot in the door we hear about in so many other professions. If we can’t take the first step of FINISHING a novel, how can we sell one?
dear sir/miss/mrs
i am living in turkey and i read nonowrimo.org and decide to try this steps.
very easy and i advice to eveybody.
try and make hpy yourself.
sincerelly
mfkarsli kocaeli-TURKEY
I actually blogged about this subject a couple of months ago. I was feeling frustrated at the time because I bought an ebook by Amazon’s latest it girl. I was curious because she claimed to have written the book in a few weeks time. Don’t know what I expected, but I counted twenty something typos and grammar errors on one page. Just because you can write a novel so fast doesn’t mean you should.I’m embarrassed to say it took me three months to write the 15,000 word novelette I’m now in the middle of formatting for Kindle and Smashwords. These days writers seem to be more about the backlist than good stories. I guess I’m old school. I’m expecting my new full-length project to take at least six months if not longer.
septemberlynngray´s last [type] ..Why you might want to read Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris before you begin to write
I agree. The problem today is that any slack jawed lackey with a computer and an Amazon account can publish. I think something that poorly edited does the reader a great disservice. What are the odds that someone who comes across something like that will ever download another book by a no-name author?
George