Ready, set – write!

Today is the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo. This means that today, before getting the pen to paper, you truly wonder what exactly you have signed up for. Is it really possible to write (or in my case: edit) so much in a single month? Will it be possible to keep the high spirits – and especially the creativity – in that long a period? Especially if you, like me, does not write/edit that much in everyday life, if at all. These thoughts also have a grim tendency to resurface again during week two or maybe three of (Camp) NaNoWriMo, where you maybe are or a close to be behind with your wordcount and you are about to be sick and tired of the lack of cleaning lately.

The only thing you can do, in order to get through these insecurities, is to actually sit down and write.

It might sound trite, but it is still true. Because – it is possible in most cases to write/edit that much in a single month. But in everyday life where you don’t have a deadline or another reason to sit down and start the work, it’s often put aside and ends up in the bottom of a long list of things to do – and then it suddenly seems more important to get the groceries, take the dishes and vacuuming. It is simply down prioritized and then the daily life passes quietly. One of the things I myself think is so amazing about (Camp) NaNoWriMo is that it helps you to prioritize your writing (or poetry, or editing of texts etc.) so it’s suddenly more important than to get the floor clinically clean. Because writing a book, a collection of short stories, or a collection of poetry is without a doubt hard work. Especially when it’s done in such a short amount of time that NaNoWriMo is. But it gives you that kick in the behinds that you need to get a motivation to get it done – now. You have made a commitment. Even though this commitment is only for you own sake, and you’re the only one it hurts if you break the commitment. For me personally it is without a doubt a motivation that I have made this commitment. Well, that and then the cabin and the forums.

So will you always be able to keep the creativity level high? Will you always feel inspired and have a sensation of the story/poem to come to you as if an invisible muse whispered it into your ear? Here’s the sad answer unfortunately no. No you really won’t. But if you sit down anyway and start writing, the dedication, the inspiration and even the creativity will often slowly come. Some days it will probably not, but you will still in the end of the day have more words than you did before. And most importantly, you will have more to work with next time you sit down and write. You can always turn to the wise words:

“I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.”*

Often you have to make yourself feel at least somewhat inspired. And again, you can best do this by writing.

 

*I’ve had a little trouble trying to figure out, who first said this, but I have found similar words said by William Faulkner, Herman Wouk, Somerset Maugham, Jane Yolen and Raymond Chandler. According to the book “22 Tricks – om at skrive godt” (translated: 22 Tricks – about writing well) by Thomas Oldrup is this specific quote by Peter De Vries.

The blank page and the empty mind

But what do you do then when you’re about to start writing, but just sit there staring at a blank page, feeling completely uninspired and empty for all ideas? Again is the answer: write. In this case, I see two opportunities/exercises you can try:

1. Empty your mind. Maybe one of the reasons that you can’t get the creative juices running simply that you cannot help but think about what you are going to have for dinner tonight or how you should have reacted to something that happened at work. In this case, I learned at a writing course a very useful trick: set at timer to 5-10 minutes and write all thoughts down. You are not supposed to look at what you have written ever again, so grammar, spelling mistakes and so on doesn’t matter. The most important thing is that you under no circumstances stop writing. Even if you do not feel like you can find more to write about, then you’ll just have to repeat a single word or a sentence until something turns up. This could for example look like this: “Write, write, write something. What should I write? This is a weird exercise. Maybe I should see some television later tonight. Then I could watch that movie – what is it called again?” And so on. I find this exercise is especially useful when too much has happened around me in a while and I have some trouble keeping focus on writing.
2. Word wars. Even if you’re the only one participating in it. In NaNoWriMo’s forum you can participate in word wars with the other participants. If it on the other hand is not one of the NaNoWriMo-months, you can easily have your own little private word war. A word war is – as the name suggests – a competition where it is about adding as many words to your novel/short story in a set time period that you possibly can. If you’re having trouble with getting words down on paper, I will personally suggest trying to take a short time period. Some take word wars that last as short amount of time as five minutes – I prefer that they are not shorter than five-ten minutes. But that is of course a matter of taste. Similarly to the first exercise, it is about getting as much down on paper as possible, why you shouldn’t worry about grammar and spelling mistakes; you can always correct them later. I find this exercise very helpful, since I can have a tendency to lose my concentration and then surf one various homepages or I juuuuust has to check Facebook. For a lack of focus you can of course also use helpful programs, such as Citrus, that I use myself sometimes. But almost nothing can get my focus to be completely on my writing like a word war can. Maybe except when inspiration and creativity hits! And luckily it does that sometimes.

Do you have some tips and tricks to get started with the writing, even when the inspiration seems to be nowhere to find? Then I’d really like to hear about them (write in the commentaries so others can also enjoy the tips and tricks) J