Photo by John Collins
A web of extension cords, the clattering of keyboards, and a constant stream of soft drinks and coffee are the signs that fiction writers have invaded a favorite coffee shop or restaurant for a November tradition.
The month of Thanksgiving is also known among word geeks as National Novel Writing Month — or, as the participants call it, “NaNoWriMo” or just “Nano.”
Participants (“wrimos”) each complete at least 50,000 words of a novel during the month, averaging 1,667 words per day, every day. Anyone who makes it to 50K “wins” NaNoWriMo.
Even if they think their writing is gibberish at that point, they’ve completed the tough milestone of grinding out a first rough draft.
Regional groups host write-ins at local restaurants, have online word wars to compete for highest word counts, and parties at the beginning, middle and end of the month.
Currently, there are 291 active participants who call the Memphis region home, organizers said.
Laura Smith of Bartlett, one of the municipal liaisons (MLs) guiding Memphis-area events for NaNoWriMo, said she heard about the event midway through the month her first year, but she tried to play along. The next year, she was better prepared and attended more events.
“I was very addicted to the write-ins,” she said. “I made a lot of friends.”
Today, she’s in her fifth year of participation and her third year as an ML. She’s reached the 50,000-word mark every year for the past three years. Although she has a full-time job in Bartlett, she is also a part-time University of Memphis student and still manages to get absorbed in her Nano duties. She takes her role as ML seriously, even though it does take time.
“I do cheerlead a lot of the people because I don’t want them to ever feel lost or anything,” Smith said. “I mean, you could be sitting there writing, and if you have a problem, just take out your headphones and ask somebody, and they can help you work through the problem as you’re writing. That’s really great.”
The Memphis group also usually has a dare jar at the write-ins. Anyone who gets stuck is welcome to pull a dare (such as “Elvis dances on screen”) to inspire his or her writing. Local participants also contributed memorable details each year to create a communal character, and all the writers are encouraged (but not required) to include the person in their books, even just as a background character.
So far, this year’s communal character is a tall and lanky gay man whose names starts with an N, is obsessed with paperclips, staples and rare teas and has a chunk of purple hair. His handwriting is terrible, he’s afraid of escalators, and has an irrational hatred of snow globes. He drinks apple juice on the rocks at bars, wears black ties to work and never uses contractions. He judges someone’s trustworthiness by the person’s perfume or cologne, is obsessed with the pumpkin spice smell, has a unicorn tattoo on his neck and sneezes endlessly when he feels stressed. (Not every characteristic is used for every appearance.)
As of Nov. 9, the Memphis Wrimos have collectively written more than 1.3 million words, and they’re just a third of the way into the month.
“One of the unofficial sayings of Nano is ‘Don’t get it right — get it written,’” said Dani Bell, now in her eighth year of Nano. The first three or four years were rocky, but she’s won Nano every year since 2009. Her husband is participating this year, too.
Bell, a Memphis resident who works the night shift at a Bartlett alarm company, usually writes romances with a fantasy or science fiction background, but this year’s book is in the young adult category. She’s also serving as one of the Memphis region’s NaNoWriMo municipal liaisons, keeping local write-ins organized, posting pep talks on social media and encouraging area writers.
She writes and edits during lulls at work or at home, and she is working hard to turn her writing hobby into a full-time job. She sees the daily word-count pressure of Nano as a great tool.
“It helps me get out of my head,” Bell said. “I have tons and tons of ideas, but it’s hard for me to get them out before I start over-thinking it.”
One of the surprises that new fiction writers learn during NaNoWriMo is that no single writing style, pace or practice is the “right” way. For example, there are plotters and there are pantsers. At the extreme, a plotter might create an entire world scenario for the novel, write elaborate character sketches, and have extensive plot outlines before November arrives. At the other extreme, a pantser will “fly by the seat of his pants” and just sit down at the keyboard on Day 1 to see what thoughts emerge.
Bell is a pantser, and she believes the pace of Nano keeps her from getting in her own way. She battles her inner editor, who often whispers, “It isn’t good enough.”
“Basically it’s just, ‘Take a deep breath and plow through it,’” she said. “Nano is just about getting that very rough first draft out. You just have to get those ideas out for anybody else to enjoy it.”
Smith said she’s both a plotter and a pantser. She’s been planning her current novel for about three years and has about 20 books at home for historical research. Although she usually writes in the young adult genre, her book this year is a medieval Scottish romance set in the 1300s.
She makes use of modern conveniences and period inspiration to keep the words flowing. She keeps her laptop on a keyboard stand for the proper angle, and she uses specialized writing software (Scrivener) that combines word processing and management of notes, research, photos, videos and more. Smith displays character images on the side screen of Scrivener so she always has an inspirational visual handy. She also listens to period Scottish music.
Once, a song helped her add a new scene of about 5,000 words to her day’s output, Smith said. “A song can do a lot.”
Her difficult point comes in January, when most participants tackle the edits to their first drafts. “I hate editing, and that’s typically where I tend to fall off the wagon,” Smith said.
It helps her stay on task now that she now has online friends, a brother who writes and a boyfriend who will help with critiques. Her boyfriend wants to turn her book into a graphic novel, she said.
Bell has also gathered a close group of friends from her fellow writers, who understand the pressures and joys of writing fiction. They also understand having weird Internet search histories during November, such as blood spatter and how long it takes for certain drugs to affect a victim.
After the rush of November, the writers face long weeks or months of polishing those rough drafts. Bell said, “It can take me up to a year to finish editing, because I just finished editing part of last year’s novel, probably about a week before Nano started.”
Jenny Oldenburg, also of Bartlett, balances taking care of her infant daughter and her writing efforts. This is her 13th year as a wrimo “with varying degrees of success,” she said. This year’s book is about a girl who is participating in NaNoWriMo.
“I thought that would be fun, because I didn’t really have an idea so I’m writing about a girl who’s having relationship troubles, etc., and she’s writing a novel about her video game character,” Oldenburg said.
She continued, “The fun thing is, if I get bored with the real world stuff, I can switch to her novel, and I can really not worry about the quality of her novel, because she’s not a writer.”
Despite the demand of a high daily word count, the participants seem to enjoy the “torture” of NaNoWriMo, because they keep coming back for more.
“It’s an adventure,” Smith said. “I can say that. It’s definitely an adventure.”
To follow along with the work and the frolics of Memphis-area participants, join the Facebook group or visit the international NaNoWriMo website, where you can also find regional groups of writers. Click the donations link if you like the idea of supporting this writer-friendly event. Click here to read frequently asked questions (FAQs) about NaNoWriMo.
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journalinc.com.
