![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
On NaNoWriMo
Nov. 2nd, 2013 12:24 pmI'm not trying NaNo this year because it destroys my ability to write for months on end. I get paralyzed during November, and then shaking off that paralysis is extremely difficult.
But NaNo is everywhere, and I have these twinges of guilt for not trying. Luckily, I know something about successful writers, and that is this: no two are entirely alike. Graham Greene wrote 500 words a day and no more. As he got more skilled and needed even less editing, he ramped that down to 300 words a day. Not one word more, not ever, not under any circumstances. Jane Austen is famous for editing her drafts over and over and over again until she was happy with them. Her elegance and mastery could only shine after her initial writing was torn to pieces.
( Read more... )
But NaNo is everywhere, and I have these twinges of guilt for not trying. Luckily, I know something about successful writers, and that is this: no two are entirely alike. Graham Greene wrote 500 words a day and no more. As he got more skilled and needed even less editing, he ramped that down to 300 words a day. Not one word more, not ever, not under any circumstances. Jane Austen is famous for editing her drafts over and over and over again until she was happy with them. Her elegance and mastery could only shine after her initial writing was torn to pieces.
( Read more... )
