I’m a Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month again this year. It’s my third time as an ML in Buffalo, and I took the same role three times in Kentucky as well. I’m a pretty big fan of NaNoWriMo. It gives me an excuse to write so hard I can’t stop smiling, and it’s also an opportunity to get to know other writers in the region. (Did you know that writers, as a rule, are fascinating people?)
In the last couple of weeks before November 1 this year, I scheduled write-in events, and I took care of coordinating messages and sticker requests. And I also did some important things to get myself ready to write 50,000 words in thirty days.
First, I wrote a contract with myself. The contract is expandable. It started with seven items, and it currently has seventeen. Here are the first seven:
- I am intending to finish my novel’s first draft.
- I’m writing every day.
- Writing time comes first.
- There’s no place I can’t write.
- Don’t close the file.
- Reset, focus, and get back to work.
- I’m not tired, I’m not overwhelmed, I have plenty of time.
You can see my contract starts out generic but rapidly turns idiosyncratic and it does not contain a lot of legalese. I know my own tendencies (distractions) and I know the things I need to remind myself to stay on track.
Next, I made a “topics” list. The topics are my themes. They guide me to write with a message, not to just spew random action and dialogue. My #1 topic/theme for this book, I regret to say, is death. Industrial pollution, the self-help industry, money/credit, and vampires are other important topics for me to find some way to touch upon in this novel.
An item from my contract is “Open up to insights and messages from the universe.” So, in the same document with my NaNoWriMo contract, I’m keeping a list of messages from the universe. For example, last night I dreamed the Beatles were in a library (a British library, not my local Erie County Public Library). They looked circa 1969, and John was wearing the white suit from the cover of Abbey Road. He was talking to the press about a book, and praising it. From this dream I extracted the message that I would like to write in a style that John Lennon would enjoy reading. Surely that’s a good piece of advice for any writer, isn’t it?
I also wrote down the following message from the universe: “She’s my landlady.” See, now, that sentence doesn’t mean beans to anybody who’s reading this blog. But when those three words crossed my mind, I laughed out loud and lit up with insight about how two my book’s characters get along with each other.
Asking the universe for some specific direction on the last day of October, I did a Tarot card reading for myself. It is extraordinarily boring to tell other people about Tarot readings, so I won’t say anything, except that the Hanged Man was one of my cards. I was quite amused to flip over the Hanged Man, and I immediately planned a scene where narrator Zenna will hang upside down by her ankle. (Being willing to put characters through horrible and embarrassing trials is one of the secret requirements of being a novelist.)
It’s my last year as a Municipal Liaison; I’m putting it out there that anybody who reads this far and lives in Western New York should consider volunteering for the job next year.
And good luck to NaNoWriMo participants! May all your wishes get put down on paper.