:)

But thanks, either way.

– c.

And definitely also about the marathon factor and the days you don’t want to write. That’s a bit later.

I have read the (good!) points you’ve made against the stated goals of NaNoWriMo, but I’m glad you’re chiming in on these posts, because I think that there’s a lot folks can learn about the work during the nano-ing stuff, and you’re insight is, if you’ll pardon me, fucking gold.

I usually aim for the middle ground on first drafts — I know it’s not going to be perfect, but I aim for a solid B to B+ range. Hell, I’m going to go through five drafts anyway (if the latest novel and screenplay are any indicators) — but if my first draft is littered with lots of little problems, I’m looking at six or seven drafts. Further, the little issues take a lot lot lot of time to go back and fix.

So, for me, it’s a matter of economizing the process. Fixing small errors now — largely by making sure they don’t happen in the first place — actually saves me a shit-ton of time on the back end.

Also, from a professional standpoint, while the big picture is to enjoy the writing and to love the work, it’s also good not to get overfocused on one’s pleasure factor. Sometimes, writers have bad days. I don’t love those days. I don’t love writing on those days.

Often, though, I love the writing I *do* on those days. Maybe not that day. Maybe a week later, or a month. If I concentrated too much on how much I enjoyed it, I might not have gotten it done in the first place.

So, for me, writing is about satisfaction and long-term enjoyment rather than the pleasure factor of ass-in-chair. It’s marathon-esque that way. During the long run, you might be ready to quit, ready to run headlong into a tree to make it end. But you push, and you feel awesome for finishing when the day is done.

– c.

That is not at all what I meant. I’d be talking complete bullshit if I even implied that.

So, clarification: that’s not what I was saying.

At least I think I do.

From where I’m sitting, it looks to me like you’re taking it like serious work, but still having fun. That’s entirely good.

And also, you try to minimize the horrible blocks of TLDR exposition. Also good. You’ve clearly (and very enjoyably from my point of view) accumulated those skills.

I see so many people trying their hand at it, though, who worry that if everything they write isn’t a perfect gem, that they themselves are terrible.

So they fuss and fret and eventually none of it’s fun anymore.

And I guess I think it should almost always be fun, else why do it?

I take this same stance on my day job, to be clear, so this isn’t me being disingenuous or over-precious or having another standard for “the art of writing” vs “the job of writing. I just think it’s important to remember that it’s supposed to be fun.

(but yeah, I kinda figured you’d see it another way ;)

– c.

Um …

My body was hurled along the direction of the bullet. Though the round was quite large — .50 BMG being favored for snipers in the modern era — the damage done by the hole it made was itself minimal compared to that of the shockwave of its passage through the internal tissues. The adult human brain weighs about three pounds. I liked to think mine weighed a bit more, of course, but only a small fraction was blown out the hole on the right side of my skull, to land in the lap of an assistant to the Deputy Mayor for Community Development. The rest, instead, was frapeed into something the consistency of cottage cheese, as anyone who did an autopsy after the incident would discover.

Of a mercy, it’s the 8th paragraph in the story. So hopefully it’s uphill from there.