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This week: Discovery vs. Structured Writing Edited by: Jeff  
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"Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written.
-- George R.R. Martin
Trivia of the Week: Jhumpa Lahiri's first book, a collection of short stories called Interpreter of Maladies won her a Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Her first novel, The Namesake, was published in 2003 and was adapted into a successful film of the same name. She's also been nominated for the Man Booker Prize, the National Book Award, and was appointed by Barack Obama to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In addition to a B.A. in English, she holds four post-graduate degrees: an M.A. in English, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, an M.A. in Comparative Literature, and a Ph.D in Renaissance Studies, all from Boston University.
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DISCOVERY VS. STRUCTURED WRITING
With NaNoWriMo a little over a month away, a lot of writers are starting to think about the novels they're going to attempt to write during the month of November. And while there are an ample number of preparation activities running both on WdC and off during the month of October, it's worth thinking about you own personal writing process before you sign up for anything, particularly whether you're a discovery writer or writer who prefers to plan his or her writing in advance. If you're not sure which kind of writer you are, consider which of the following most applies to the way you write stories:
If - before you start writing the actual story - you prefer to write outlines, plot out scenes on index cards, carefully think of your story in terms of plot points, character arcs, pacing, and/or brainstorm bits of dialogue and other pieces of the narrative that you'll try to work into a structure you'll assemble before writing, you're a structured writer.
If - on the other hand - you prefer to just dive into the story writing and figure things out as you go along, you're a discovery writer.
It's important to note that being a discovery writer doesn't necessarily mean you don't do research or any preparation at all; only that your writing preference is to let the narrative develop naturally as you write it, rather than trying to specifically plan and craft the progression of the story in advance of the actual writing. Some discovery writers can spend months or even years preparing for their story by doing research and mentally preparing to write something, even if their actual process is one of discovery rather than rigid structure. And it's also possible to be somewhere in the middle, where you do a little bit of structured writing and then prefer to discover large parts of the narrative during the actual writing.
Each of us has a different writing process, and it's important to understand which one we have so that we can prepare for our writing endeavors more efficiently. Whether it's NaNoWriMo, a poem for a WdC contest, or something you're writing on your own, having a clear concept of how you work best will enable you to write to the best of your ability without wasting a lot of time. I can't count the number of friends I have who used to spend weeks or even months agonizing over an outline, only to realize that they're really more discovery writers and that writing outlines are nearly impossible for them because they just aren't able to see the story until they're already in the middle of it. And I know many writers (myself included) who thought they were discovery writers, only to learn that the reason they always come up way short or word count, or rapidly lose interest in what they're writing, is because they don't respond well to feeling like they don't know where they're going as they're in the middle of the actual writing. There is no overall right or wrong methods of writing... only the right and wrong methods for you.
The featured items this week are all NaNoWriMo activities and advice for those who are considering tackling the annual November writing challenge. Each one of them is excellent and can really help you prepare for the task... but make sure you look through the activity before signing up to make sure it's compatible with your process. A prep activity that encourages rigorous plotting may not be helpful for a discovery writer. And a discussion forum filled with discovery writers may not be the best fit for a structured writer for whom NaNoWriMo is the part of their process where they grind it out and follow the plan rather than allowing other thoughts and ideas to start tempting them to go in another direction.
Whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year or not, make sure you know what kind of a writer you are, and the process that works best for you. Which type of writing gives you the most satisfaction, the least stress, and helps you generate the most output. Once you know that, you can seek out activities and groups that embrace the same kind of process that you do, and might even be able to save you a considerable investment of time with a group or activity that just isn't going to allow you to get the kind of support you need.
Until next time,
-- Jeff
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I encourage you to check out the following Writing.Com items:
A nano place to chat about NanoWrimo 2013...
Each day in October, complete an assignment from the October Nano Prep: 2014 Calendar. The exercises will help you develop your novel-length story before writing it and prepare for the marathon writing of NaNoWriMo.
This is a group for people who would like to take part in National Novel Writing Month but don't want to follow all of the rules. The overall goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November, but on novels that have been started already. However, other goals are acceptable as well. If someone wants to they can go for 25,000 words in the month of November.
A NaNoWriMo fundraiser... compete as a NaNo writer or donate by sponsoring one!
Writing.com is exactly the kind of place where the thought of NaNoWriMo can send people into an excited frenzy. The NaNoWriMists has existed since 2006 to support those excited people - and if you're one of them, then why wait? Join us now, get excited, and you'll soon be writing as you've never written before!
These words are from the official NanoWrimo site. They are inviting you to post on their Outside-The-Box forum: Nano Rebels. I am using their words to invite you to post here and be a Nano Rebel with me! NanoWrimo is for everyone. Rebels are welcome!
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Feedback on my last newsletter about WdC birthday activity overload:
Quick-Quill  writes, "I think I read everyone of Barbara Cartland's books, then I discovered Harlequin Romance and I read 5 a months for a number of years and then graduated to borrowing instead of buying. I won't admit to the number of those books I read until I met up with Rosemary Rogers and the era of the bodice rippers."
Wow, that's a lot of reading!
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  writes, "You have to have fun." (Submitted item: "Kids Next Door Operation: W.H.A.T.I.F?" )
It's always important to remember that!
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For Authors: October 01, 2014 Issue [#6579]
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