Time to put on my thinking cap because the month of November is Write a Novel in a Month time aka NaNoWriMo. I hadn’t given much thought to it until September rolled around and a writer over at the Slate decided to write a chick lit novel in the three weeks plus change she had before resuming her regular SCOTUS beat when the Justices picked up their gavels for their new session. She set up a Facebook page for people to comment, give suggestions and even direct the narrative, a kind of “choose your own mama-drama”. It set me to wondering. Could I do something like that for NaNoWriMo?
I think I could. When I was in high school, I wrote a soap opera (126 pages/college ruled – I still have it) for my friends. They would suggestion scenarios, characters (based on themselves and people we despised – whom I tortured without mercy in true soap fashion) and generally, a good time was had by all. They were entertained, and I got the kind of instant gratification that made me want to write more.
I am torn between chick lit and chick lit. Okay, modern day and historical. But nothing is set in stone. What do you think? Would you read a novel in the making (without becoming odious copy editors)?
I am really thinking hard about this. I will be working on the memoir still, but the word count for NaNoWriMo is a mere 1600 words a day. It’s really doable if I don’t blog, and I wouldn’t be. I would put up a segment of novel a day and that’s it.
Interested to read your thoughts.
anniegirl1138 
Why not!?
This sounds like it’s right up your alley. I must say, and this is selfish of me, I would miss your regular blog posts.
Sounds like great fun! I’d love to see how such a story unfolds.
Maybe I’ll use November to write my not-a-novel. Hmmmmm… I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
Yes, do. We could be like an online writing group.
But to be part of an online writing group, I’d actually have to post excerpts of my book … online!
It wouldn’t be a final draft and there are writers who do this to get feedback, gauge interest and build a following. It’s a brave new world.
1,600 words per day?! Well, Joyce Carol Oates seems to enjoy it, so maybe it’s for you, too. Personally, I can’t imagine doing it. I post an average of 4/5 days per week, but they are small, manageable bits of writing. Not writing at all, really. More like typing. That’s a lot. Have at it and good luck.
It’s really not that much. I probably write twice that in a day when I add up blog and other writing. I think what bogs writers down is that it is a single piece rather than a lot of smaller unrelated ones. Small pieces, even those that approach a 1000 words or so, really are easier to knock out. It’s much more difficult to sustain a narrative of tens of thousands of words because the mind just reels when too much weight is placed on the task (and how can it not be? That’s the trick.)