Writing is a process that cannot be mastered. No matter the kind of writing you are doing (fiction, non-fiction, copywriting, academic, etc.), you are never complete. As a writer, you are always learning, trying new techniques and developing your own personal style. Writing is amorphous. You cannot even really refer to writing as an “it” because the writer is always the one with the control. Writing is action. That’s it. It’s like trying to master going to the bathroom: You either choose to, or choose not to, and pay the consequences.

Even the best writers, the ones we might refer to as “The Masters” or “genius” are still learning. There is not a writer alive who does not struggle and flail when putting together a piece. It’s the nature of the beast. William Faulkner said “the most important thing for a writer to be is never satisfied.” The learning, the trying, the failing, the trying again, the failing again, until finally some semblance of success is found, is the whole purpose of writing in the first place. To quote a cliche, “It’s the journey, not the destination.” In the case of writing, there is no destination. Ever. … Continue Reading

Update 11/23/2009 – The odds are stacked against me, I know, but I wanted to let everyone know that, if for some reason I do not make it to 50K words by Sunday, November 30th, I am going to continue with the novel, because I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Besides, who writes a novel to 50K words, doesn’t feel like it’s finished, and gives up?

Actually, I am planning (if I don’t make it) to do my own personal version of the NaNoWriMo and see if I can get to 50K words by December 15th.

If I make that and I still don’t think it’s finished, I am going to continue on even past that. Those who know me know I ramble when I talk, and I write a lot when I write, so to have an entire novel encompassed in 50K words is ridiculous to me. I’ve tried my hand at short stories, and I still will, but I can never encapsulate a story into 3K words easily.

So there you have it. Onward and onward.

That stands for “National Novel Writing Month.” Basically, every November, people from across the globe dedicate themselves to writing a 50,000 word (175 page) novel in just 30 days. There are no requirements other than that.

You don’t even need to have a coherent story, structure, theme, etc. Just write 50000 new words by midnight on November 30th, and you win…

Nothing! (Well, you get the satisfaction of having a bulky file to save, and if you’re really good, you might actually be able to do something with those 50000 words.

As you can see by the ticker to the right, I started quite late. I’m very behind. In fact, I’m too behind. To be fair, I was on my honeymoon during the beginning of this month, and since then I’ve been consistently enjoying married life. Crapping out a novel in 30 days was not top priority.

So is it possible for me to crank out about 45000 words in under 2 weeks?

Keep checking back to find out!

(Note: There will be no posts for 2 weeks)