Fall is finally here! Cool weather, crisp beautiful mornings, autumn foods… it’s November, and it’s finally starting to feel like fall! Perfect weather for slaying dragons.
Dragons? Well, perhaps not the ordinary kind. According to the Encyclopedia of Mythological Beasts and Legendary Creatures, the mythical creature known as the dragon seems to have gone extinct in many parts of the modern world. Either that, or the worm has simply become very adept at hiding from men, the experts can’t say for sure. ;)
Anyway, the dragon I am referring to is quite a fearsome beast, capable of traversing the country at great speed in search of new innocent victims, intent on wreaking havoc and laying waste wherever he goes. This dragon is known to single out a curious part of society to prey upon, the authors and writers of all people – a fact that has the experts completely befuddled.
However, as little as the experts enjoy supporting one another, they all agree upon one thing: this dragon is truly in need of slaying. He is known by the fearsome epithet of Nanowrimo.
Quite a tongue twister, eh? I had you going for a bit too, didn’t I? Nanowrimo – National Novel Writing Month – the challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month – can seem like a monster that cannot be beaten. But I shall not give up yet!
Here it is day 9 of the NaNoWriMo quest, and I must admit, I’m just a little bit behind… well, perhaps more than a little bit! But, being behind presents even more of a challenge, and I like a little challenge now and then, so I am determined to keep writing! Much as I enjoy the NaNoWriMo challenge, it’s not always my favorite way to write. I am a mix between a seat-of-the-pants writer and an outliner… I like to outline just enough so that I have a general idea of where I’m going but not so much that creativity is stunted. I like surprises every now and then when I’m writing! Haha, right now, in the story I’m writing, I’ve already had quite a few surprises, including a town I didn’t know existed, a character who absolutely insisted on being written into the story, and an entirely new element added to the plot that I wasn’t intending!
Here’s a fun quote from J.R.R. Tolkien, “I met a lot of things on the way that astonished me. Tom Bombadil I knew already; but I had never been to Bree. Strider sitting in the corner at the inn was a shock and I had no more idea who he was than had Frodo. The Mines of Moria had been a mere name; and of Lothlorien no word had reached my mortal ears till I came there. Far away I knew there were the Horselords on the confines of an ancient Kingdom of Men, but Fangorn Forest was an unforseen adventure. I had never heard of the House of Eorl nor of the Stewards of Gondor. Most disquieting of all, Saruman had never been revealed to me, and I was as mystified as Frodo at Gandalf’s failure to appear on September 22.“
Amazing, isn’t it? Especially when you consider how epically brilliant Tolkien’s finished work was!
Anyway, back to what we were talking about, the whole NaNoWriMo challenge is even more of a challenge to me because you’re not supposed to go back and edit what you’ve written (it slows you down and supposedly stifles pure forced creativity!)… and I simply cannot do that. For me, it’s impossible to go on writing when I’m not satisfied with what I’ve already written. So, I’ve come up with a slight compromise. Each time I sit down to write, I simply write, forging on ahead as quickly as I can until I have to stop. Then the next time I sit down, I look back over what I’ve written previously, editing just enough to assure me of its worth, and then continue on blazing new ground. It’s worked pretty well so far… we’ll have to see what my thoughts are on this new plan of action at the end of the month.
So, I am determined to slay this evil Nanowrimo dragon. He is waiting to conquer or die… and armed with my sword of ink, I shall prove the victor! Are you with me?
Very well then, forward march! The time to slay the dragon is here! The quest has begun!
Oh, and on a completely different note (but still on topic, i.e writing) the Amazing First Chapter Contest on Nichole White’s blog The Pen and Parchment is drawing to an end. It’s time to vote before it’s too late. I did enter a chapter… though I won’t say which one. And at present, there are still 6 days left to vote and not that many votes, so if you’re interested, read the chapters here and vote on your favorite!
Signing off,
~ A Servant of the King
To the praise of His glory
Psalms 43:3 and 5 “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell… Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
This verse has absolutely nothing to do with the post I wrote, but it was a really neat verse so I thought I’d post it anyway.
[Image of Smaug the dragon from J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, courtesy of Google Images search]
The Director says
I love your take on NaNo :) Quite the beast, eh?
Love your blog, too!
— The Director
A Servant of the King says
Haha, thanks. Yeah NaNo is definitely a monster, isn't it!
Star-Dreamer says
That really is a wonderful way to describe nano. And that quote from Tolkien is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! I know I read it somewhere before I read it in your blog (though I can't seem to remember where) and I just absolutely love it, because that is exactly what seat-of-the-pants writing is like!!! :D
I really need to post something about Nano on my blog really soon, but I've just been too busy to think of blogging. :D
Galadriel says
I am very near the beastie's heart–31k sound good to anyone?
A Servant of the King says
@ Star-Dreamer: Yes, I absolutely love the quote from Tolkien! He was brilliant, wasn't he? Haha, I think I want to frame that quote and put it on my wall somewhere!
@ Galadriel: Wow! I'm impressed. Is that 31k since the beginning of November? Good work!
Star-Dreamer says
Oh, I would totally frame it. Maybe I could do it in illumination or something. Then post put it up in a gold and black frame. That would look good! :D
Adam Terrell says
2,000 words per day for 25 days, and then 5 days (2 days if you don't work on Sundays) to edit 50,000 words. Not for me, señor.
A Servant of the King says
Well, technically, you don't really have to go back and edit. It works out to be about 1667 words per day, if you write every single day. Of course, if you miss a day (and unfortunately, I missed last weekend) it starts to add up pretty quickly!
But it's not unconquerable!
Jake says
Aye, it does add up, but Millard )http://onehundredelectricians), a friend of mine, is a success story of catching up. :) Tis very possible.
I am sitting on a nice 18.8 thousand words, but I must write some more today…perhaps the dragon is smaller for me, but I find that I can stick to about a 1,700 words a day or more. :)
@Star Dreamer
Ye may have read it on my blog: I posted it some time ago. :)
A Servant of the King says
Yes, catching up is possible… if you have the time to catch up! lol
But I'm still working at it. I know I can write it – I've done it before in only 13 days – but I had more time to write then.
Still, I'm enjoying it! And my story is taking lots of new twists and turns… I stared off with a really basic outline and its starting to gradually fill in all the blanks!