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| Melinda Viergever Inman |
Assessing
National Novel Writing Month
Some of you have just come staggering out of NaNoWriMo. The
past month is a haze. You now have a very rough draft, a family that is tired
of eating pizza, and a house you were barely able to throw together for
Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. Everyone is still grousing.
Happy holidays. Merry Christmas.
Writing a novel is a time to listen to the voices, disappear
into your imaginary world, and become acquainted with your characters. But
you've done this while running headlong into two sacred holidays that are
weighted with the best pitches Madison Avenue can throw at us.
You're feeling a bit schizophrenic, as if you really might
have tipped over into the crazy novelist stereotype. Your teenage daughter
still isn't speaking to you because you were novel-distracted as she spilled
her heart to you mid-draft. You hope your husband can find it in his heart to
forgive you and that your younger children didn't suffer too much emotional
damage. You had to meet that word count.
How did you get into this mess? Where did all the craziness
begin?
The
history of NaNoWriMo: http://nanowrimo.org/history
National Novel Writing Month was started in San Francisco in
1999 for these reasons: "We wanted to write novels for the same dumb
reasons twenty-somethings start bands. Because we wanted to make noise. Because
we didn’t have anything better to do. And because we thought that, as
novelists, we would have an easier time getting dates than we did as
non-novelists."
If you're not a single twenty-something trolling for dates,
you're writing with purpose and God's leading, and you do have something better
to do in November, you may find NaNoWriMo doesn't work for you.
Personally, I can't think of a worse time of year to draft a
novel. I’m glad I didn’t know about NaNoWriMo when I was first learning my
process. By the time I did hear of it, I knew it wouldn’t work for me.
But,
what about you?
If you participated, and it was a disaster that causes you
to rue the day you ever heard of NaNoWriMo, take heart.
Likewise, if you participated, and it gave you the kick in
the pants you needed to finally write that story, take heart.
Learning is part of becoming a successful writer. No matter
the outcome, you have grown wiser. You can now write about that wisdom gained
and utilize what you learned.
Writers are an independent breed. We must each find our own
voice and discover the source of our writing mojo. We must each develop our own
method. For some, writing is a mostly solitary, thoughtful activity completed
at our own pace, not as part of a social movement. For others, writing in
groups with a national focus is what we need to make it happen.
We must carefully consider our techniques. We must be
purposeful. What works for one writer will not necessarily work for all, and
maybe not even for that writer later in life.
Make your choices wisely. Learn from your mistakes.
As Christian writers, we attempt to write while cultivating
thriving families, healthy marriages, and deepening walks with Christ.
NaNoWriMo may or may not be the best way to accomplish those goals, or it
might, depending on your process and who you are as a writer.
What do
you think?
Did you
participate? What did you learn? Will you do it again?
Nudged
toward evil by Satan, Cain 's hard-hearted hubris results in Abel's murder and
Lilith's broken heart when he is banished, splitting the family and propelling
mankind toward ever-increasing violence as their siblings seek revenge. Crushed
by what he's done, Cain runs, certain he's destroyed Lilith, his parents, and
the entire family. With Satan hounding his every move and no idea of the forces
arrayed against him, can Cain ever find God after he's committed a sin of such
magnitude? Can he ever be forgiven?
Melinda Viergever Inman was
raised in the tornado capital of the U.S. - Wakita, Oklahoma, of
"Twister" fame. There her parents met. There her roots were sunk in a
storytelling family. During years of relocation, tragedy struck. Wounded and
heartbroken, Melinda forsook her roots and ran from herself and from God. A
journey of trial and heartache brought her home again. A prodigal now returned
to her secure foundation, she writes with passion, illustrating God's love for
wounded people as he makes beauty from ashes. Fallen is her second novel, Refuge
her first. Melinda shepherds women in church and prison ministry and writes
inspirational material on her biweekly blog at http://melindainman.com/blog/ . With
her family she is involved with Mission India, rescuing orphans and providing
theological and job training for impoverished students— http://rimi.org/.
Connections:
