![[Logo]](/images/101ReasonsLogo.png "101 Reasons to Stop Writing")
What do you think when you learn that A. Writer’s latest novel was written in a month?
A. “Wow! That writer must have an extraordinary gift! We must critically re-examine his work after he dies, and name a university after him.”
B. “Gosh, that’s pretty quick, but way outside the record. Famous Dead Guy could write a novel a week.”
C. “So fscking what. I have no standards. Give me guns and aliens and gratuitous sex.”
D. “Gee, I wonder if it would’ve been better, with a little more time, or is that the best they can do? I’ll buy it if the cover’s pretty and there are no new populist bestsellers this week.”
E. “Sounds like a rushed first-draft piece of shit. Did they bother to finish the sentence they were on? Even book-of-the-movie writers get six weeks. Hope they put more effort into their resume.”
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E
And returning to the subject of NanoWrimo, much like a crow and its favourite piece of roadkill, there is a huge difference between a novel written in one month and a first draft written in the same time span. My last three books underwent 20+ drafts each before publication, which wes ten times the work I put into writing the blasted things in the first place.
Incidentally, did you know writing and rewriting give you headaches in different parts of the brain? And the twitches seem to move from side to side too.
Yeah, but Simon: you’re a pro!
Remember, every time you say you don’t believe in writers, a model-turned-suspense ‘author’ dies….
Not true. I say it every day, like a mantra, and yet there she is on NatGeo, taking credit for other people’s documentaries …
Redrafting your own work and despairing that others would redraft theirs also requires different regions of the brain.
Mr Haynes, you are truly a giant among nano’s.
I don’t consider myself a pro, I just impersonate one from time to time.
And is there any way of targeting this model-turned-writer-zapping death ray? Only there are some which have already had a lifetime of press coverage and I think it’s someone else’s turn.
I’m a NaNoWriMo veteran.
However, I known damn well that what I’m turning out is shit, unpublishable, and not really fit for human consumption.
What it is is a start.
I’ve written 50k in 12 days. The book’s not done; I’m going to keep on writing, and finish my draft. Because that’s what it is: A rough draft. I’ve spewed the ideas on paper. It doesn’t suck horribly, and doesn’t contain filler or padding. It’s my story, in it’s roughest form. After a couple dozen rewrites, then we’ll talk about being a novelist.
What irritates me the most is the number of people who will post excerpts, tidbits, ask questions, all wanting to know if their work is any good.
My answer? No. You haven’t finished. It sucks. It might suck less when you’re actually done, but considering that it’s day 14 and you’re not even past 4k… I doubt it. It’ll still suck though.
The only comfort I have is that the majority of these people will probably go on to self-publish or POD, and give my future agent all the more reason to take me on… because I don’t suck.
Or rather, I won’t in a year or two, after this book is actually fit for human consumption.