According to a recent survey, 81 percent of Americans believe that they have a book in them somewhere. Only a few of them ever write it.
Right now, I fall into both of those categories.
I believe that I have a book or two within me. But I have yet to write it.
In fact, this is part of my reasoning for this blog. I have a desire to write, but I don’t have the clarity or the focus. I started writing articles and posting them here to develop my skills as a writer. I feel that I’ve made some progress, although I have a long way yet to go.
Until recently, writing blog posts has been enough. Not too long ago, a friend of mine told me that he wanted to write a book, and that he thought he could do it in 30 days.
I scoffed.
Until I learned that November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). And it comes with a challenge: Write 50,000 words in the month of November.
50,000 words. That’s a pretty lofty goal. That’s a lot of writing. It works out to 1666 words a day. On average, I write 750-800 words in each article that I post here on JeffRandleman.com. One post takes me around 45-60 minutes to write, edit, and prepare for posting.
But 50,000 words…
Ever since my friend mentioned it to me, I’ve been toying with this idea, with or without a few modifications:
- I could write a fictional novel, just as NaNoWriMo is designed.
- I could write a non-fiction work. I have several ideas for this already.
- I could write several months’ worth of blog posts for this site. At 750 words per post, that would give me more than 65 posts.
There are several pros and cons to each of these scenarios.
In the first one, I could write a fictional novel that would be entertainment. But I don’t have any great ideas here. At least not yet. And writing dialog isn’t my strong point. It seems too forced to me.
In the second scenario, writing a non-fiction work, my work would be cut out for me. I already have several directions I could go with this one. In fact, I already have a rough outline developed for one of them. But the research would be the killer. Supporting facts, illustrations and structure would be time consuming.
My third option, writing a stock pile of blog posts, is very appealing. This is what I’m used to doing two to three times a week already. I could do this. The drawback is that I’m afraid it may make me lazy, knowing I have a supply of articles ready to post. I think my writing skills would suffer over the next months as a result.
I realize that this sounds a bit whiny. I’m not trying to sound that way, really. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to write so that I continue to do what I’ve been doing, while challenging myself to grow in my abilities. I’m not sure how I want to do that.
I’d better figure it out, since November starts tomorrow.
Or, I could just shift the time frame to accommodate me. No one ever said that I have to do this exactly like everyone else is. Although I’m sure that the accountability and camaraderie would be a great help to me.
One way or the other, I’m trying to challenge myself. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Do you have a book inside you? If so, what do you need to do to write it? You can share your thoughts in the comments section below.
50,000 words. wow. i think twitter and facebook and blogs (including my own) have dumbed me down too much. i don’t have the attention span. i used to have a note book that had fits and starts of novels in it, some of them pretty good, but all with out any kind of life beyond a great opening line or several sentences strung together. if you have the gumption, do it! it would be something i’d come back to your blog to check out. p.s. i love your Scripture memory challenge – noodling on that one for next year.
50,000 is a lot. I wrote for an hour last night, not sure if I’ll keep it or not. I may reconsider and look at a different direction. And go for the scriptur memory challenge! I have several people who are tackling that one with me. It seems to be working pretty good.
I’ve definitely been toying or wrestling with this idea. I’m not sure I could do it this month, but maybe it’s a good challenge. I think for me, I need to schedule a regular portion of my day to write – focused on my topic.
That’s exactly how I have to do it. I’m trying evening right now, after my kids are in bed. But mornings may be a better option. I could head into the church office an hour early and spend that time writing. For me, it’s not so much the satisfaction of completing 50,000 words in November, it’s completing the challenge despite the time frame. If November doesn’t work for you, try December. Or January.
Similar to you, I feel I have a book, or something, to write and that is why I started my blog.
Hearing about NaNoWriMo brings up emotions that make me want to tackle the task of a 50,000 word book. It could be fun but I am unsure of what I would write about.
I’m currently doing something similar to your third idea/modification. I write posts Monday-Friday but only post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This leaves two extra posts a week to use as I see fit.
If you go that route, do be careful. It can make you feel safe and lazy as you have “backup” material.
Good luck in whatever direction you choose Jeff!
As much as I want to do just that, I’m leaning away from #3 for that very reason. I know myself too well. Someday, I hope I can do that but I’m not sure now is the time. I’m leaning more towards my non-fiction material. Though that may change by this afternoon… 🙂
Hey Jeff, I’m a bit in the same place, and looking to exercise my writing muscles until it becomes more natural to sit and spit out thoughts on command.
I came across a website that you might find interesting. https://750words.com The idea is that what you write there is not public, so you’re more free to not worry about grammar or form, and express thoughts more freely without regard to topic focus or audience.
Of course, you can do that on this website, and keep it private if not for public consumption, but then again…writing is in a big part learning to write for an audience (benefiting and encouraging your readers). But, thought I would share for those who are in earlier stages of their effort to develop better writing habits.
Absolutely! Thanks for bringing this to the table. I actually stumbled across this website just a few days ago. I like the simplified writing environment a lot. My personal preference is to write in Pages on my MacBook Air. And I also journal, old school, with a real pen and everything! Thanks for the reccommendation!