Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Friday, June 10, 2011

I'd rather write crap in 30 days than take a year

I'm sure you've all heard of NaNoWriMo. Have you heard of BuNoWriMo, the brainchild of Hart Johnson and the Burrowers? It's like the November writing madhouse, only in June. I wanted to participate this year but wasn't sure I could get done with House of Diamond revisions in time.

Well, guess what, I finished my final revisions on House of Diamonds over the weekend! And it is good-- polished, ready for its final review by the editor and then on to copy editing. Release date is set for August. Done and done. No cover yet, but that's in the works.

So I decided to jump right into the next project and get that first draft done in 30 days. Because my first drafts are garbage. They are heinous. It's my ability to revise and rewrite that makes my work publishable, not my ability to spew out 50,000 words really fast. It is because my first drafts are so stomach-churningly awful, that I prefer to write fast and get it over with.Then I can take my time and rework it later.

So I'm in BuNoWriMo for this year. Here's hoping I achieve my goal to have one really garbage, piece of crap first draft by July 1!!!

34 comments:

  1. Feels great, doesn't it? Congrats on finishing your book! Can't wait to see it in print.

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  2. I didn't think I'd hit the mark for NaNo, but I did, and it gave me something to work with. I'm not fond of my first drafts either!

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  3. Yay for finishing and having the mojo to keep on! I'm still working on my nanowrimo from two novembers ago so will pass!!!I write shitty first drafts too but this one took me way too long down a dead end.
    Jan Morrison
    I'm still having problems here and there with blogspot not letting me comment other than as anonymous so sorry!

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  4. Good for you, Karen, getting your new book almost out there. You didn't even take a breather in-between.
    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  5. Love this attitude! Let the suckage begin! Followed by revision brilliance!!

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  6. Heather, LOL "Let the suckage begin!" I'm going to borrow this line and make a poster for my writing area.

    Manzanita, I took so many breathers and breaks that if I were to add it up it would probably be about 8 months. Enough time.

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  7. Congrats! on the rewrite. I'm in the same place too. Feels great, doesn't it. Good luck working with your editor.

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  8. Best of luck to you! I have noticed through my college classes I would also prefer to get the rough draft out of the way- then I can go back and rework what I really want to convey in a piece.

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  9. Best of luck on your (NON) piece of crap first draft :)

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  10. Yay for first draft crap!!GOOD LUCK KARENG!!! Yay!! Good for you!! Take care
    x

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  11. That's exciting! I guess that's the perk of being an editor and an author... your book (despite what you claim) is guaranteed not to suck! (Because, after seeing the wonderful things you've done to my book, I know that you are not capable of producing crap! lol)

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  12. You also get to set your own release date! I need to become an editor.... hehe...

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  13. Whitney, Actually I don't! And I've been wanting a cover for ages, still don't have it :(

    Old Kitty, You always make me smile!!

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  14. Hahaha, okay, so much for that great idea!

    Your book still is guaranteed not to suck though. Defintiely a perk. :)

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  15. Go for it! I'll be cheering you on. My first drafts are bad, too. However, I wasn't ready to write yet.

    Happy Weekend.

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  16. Are your novels typically 50,000 words long-- finished product?

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  17. I'm a great fan of NaNoWriMo and sort of plan my writing year around getting my next crap novel written and through its like 3rd edit before the next NaNo starts. I'm getting a nice collection of crap novels. Entering one in June would throw my whole year out of whack! But go you! I'm sure yours isn't crap! (How many times did I use that word 'crap'? As I don't curse, I usually say 'crappola.') It was your Post Title that I blame for my profanity.

    Denise<3

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  18. Great that you finished your book. That is something I have never done, let alone tried. I'm sure I have stories in me; I'm not sure how to get them out.

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  19. I think that is what has turned me off writing. I write a first draft and then think 'this is terrible, I am hopeless' and then give up and then read someone else's work, and think 'I write better than that' and then go back and write another draft etc. Must stop the dirty cycle.

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  20. Awesome, work, Karen! Good luck with BuNoWriMo!

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  21. Congrats on finishing - I'll look out for the book come August.

    Now go write some garbage!

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  22. Sarah mentioned about the BuNoWriMo, and although I had no idea, I started a new story at the beginning of June. I'm at 15k and writing in fits (500 words one day) and spurts (3000 words on another.) We'll see how it goes.

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  23. Anne, That's kind of how I'm doing it. It may take me til July 30 instead of June 30, but that's ok, I just need to do it fast.

    Dorothy, LOL, I should be writing garbage right now! Even my inane blog comments are better than what I've got started up in my office.

    flamingodancer, What is lacking in your process is the revising. I don't know anyone who can write a first draft that sparkles.

    L'Aussie, That's how I've tried to use both November and June the past few times. And sorry for putting a new bad word in your head :)

    Suze, The "rules" are to have a 50K novel done in 30 days but I don't always hit that. Uncut Diamonds is over 90K words published, House of Diamonds will be 56K words published. My new one (that I hope will not ALWAYS by garbage) will probably be about 60K. Also, it is not about Marcie and Shawn McGill, but completely new characters, etc etc.

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  24. Huge congrats for finishing House of Diamond. And best of luck with your crappy first draft in June. I love first drafts because it doesn't matter if the writing is awful ;)

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  25. Wow congratulations on the final revisions!
    well done you!

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  26. I'm like you: messy crappy first draft. Then I fine tune, revise and revise and revise again till it is as polished as I can make it. I am doing 1k1hr sprints to get this current WIP finished before Nationals. I hope to have something I can polish afterward during the summer months.

    Good luck!

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  27. I almost do the Nano every year, but I do have this fear of writing something so incomprehensible that it can't even be fixed in the second draft.

    Congrats of getting to final revisions! Yay you!

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  28. Well done! I am pleased to see we have messy first draft in common! We had visitors in June, so was not able to knuckle down for that challenge. I enjoyed the challenge of NaNoWriMo and gained my second novel draft from it. The deadline challenge was good for me. I hope to do it again this year and write another. Maybe a sequel to my first.

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  29. That's awesome! I'm writing but know I won't be able to reach that goal with school reports this month. Still, hopefully I'll be spurred on by your success to push a few extra pages out.
    Will totally NaNo again this year, I love the frenzy and my family know to stay away except when bringing forth snacks. :)
    Wagging Tales - Blog for Writers

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  30. Awesome Karen! * high fives* Congrats!

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  31. Karen, you totally crack me up. First, congratulations on polishing one project and diving into another! No dust settles under your feet.

    I also love churning out a yucky first draft. If I worked to make it perfect, I'd never finish a story. Good luck!

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  32. Best of luck with that! I have to edit as I progress so NaNo etc. is never going to work for me.

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  33. Exciting stuff. Wishing you much fun in your upcoming writing adventure.

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