I can't believe it is mid December and several weeks have passed since completing NaNoWriMo. The housework which suffered terribly has been caught up. Christmas decorations adorn our home and outdoor lights cast a festive and welcoming glow. Effectively downsizing on clutter, donations have been made and receipts await tax return preparation. Ebay auction sales have gone favorably as our unwanted items reward holiday bargain hunters. These are a few of the activities that have filled my days since the end of NaNoWriMo. I would be remiss if I did not mention that I fractured my ankle as well (more on that in another post).
I have been busy but I cannot say these activities have brought about the strange sense of delight and accomplishment I got out of NaNoWriMo. Without the challenge of a daily word count goal my writing life is lost. I crave the flashing cursor on the page inviting creation. My writing life is in its infancy and needs nurturing.
NaNoWriMo was a journey and an adventure. With a blank page in front of me and an insane deadline, I simply wrote for the sake of writing. Words flowed as my fingertips tapped the keyboard. I did not worry about the mechanics and my inner editor was silenced. I would say this was one of the few times in my life where I JUST DID IT. I set myself free from an ego driven world that evaluates achievement and failure and focused only on doing. Sure, most of what I wrote was crap, but it was glorious crap. On a few occasions I was rewarded as an unexpected twist surfaced and wove itself neatly into the unfolding storyline.
Music was my companion during NaNoWriMo. Early in November, with some hesitation I plugged in my headphones and signed into my Pandora account. Within a few sessions I found I could not write without music setting the tone. Placebo, Muse or Clint Mansell set the tone for angst ridden and edgy internal conflict. Film scores infused movement and energy into slow moving passages. Fela Kuti and Djembe beats lent themselves to snappy exchanges of dialogue. Jazz, fusion, classical, acoustic, and indie are other some of the other musical genres that visited themselves upon this 50,000 word draft.
Many people have asked me what happens after NaNoWriMo. This experience has provided me with a starting point to develop my writing. I am signed up for a writing class and have ordered two writing instruction books as a Christmas gift to myself. Essentially, I like the plot of my crappy 50,000 word rough draft and I intend to start on a revision process which incorporates writing skill improvement. I will print out the manuscript and attempt to read it. As I embark upon this journey, I will post excerpts and welcome reader feedback. Maybe, one day just maybe, a part of my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel will be published in some format.
As Thoreau said,
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