Plot-Planning For Memoirists
One week till National Novel Writing Month–regretting your participation yet?
I don’t, despite the insanity, because it’s the one time a year when I get any real work accomplished [or so it seems]. But this year differs because I’ve gone the rebellious route–in lieu of a novel, my 2010 project will link several short memoir pieces under a common theme: Side Effects. It will represent the ripples created throughout my life and how they shape who I’ve become, where I’m headed, etc.
Preparation is hailed as the most important factor in achieving NaNoWriMo success. Not the biggest problem for folks venturing a fictitious realm, but what of us memoir rebels? Memoir is [based on] fact. Tales of a person’s life, told as truthfully as memory allows. Preparation, then, is an effortless task. It’s all stored in the mind for easy access and has limited possibilities.
Wrong.
Preparation for memoir, I find, requires more time than fiction. Fiction opens opportunity to go somewhere unexpected with the story. Non-fiction has its foundation in reality, yet anyone could easily write on forever without a guide. That’s the goal of free-association. But each of my stories should have a purpose. A direction and theme toward which they must drive. That deems it necessary to plan what to include.
So when I sat down [yesterday] to begin my preparation, my first step was relevancy. Would I like to write about how I had a blast getting lost at Blizzard Beach? Of course! So much potential. Is it relevant to my ‘ripples’ theme? Maaaybe if I stretched it far and wide. With 30 days to answer to, I’d rather not waste my time cherishing something that is sure to get cut by the next draft.
The brilliant thing about memoir, though, is if there are tiny bits here and there that fit the larger theme, the Judgment of Creativity law states a writer can merge those ideas into one. Did I have many people throughout my childhood actively supporting my writer-career decision?
…actually, no. 
We’re all equally poor. 
But if I did, I could merge those names into one character, et voilà! Magical miracle: a montage-esque memoir.
Another benefit of the creativity license is changing names, switching traits for certain characters. Simple ways to avoid that always-dreadful comment from rellies–you know, the one that resembles “This is how you think I am?!” and is unfortunately harder to avoid answering excuse in memoir v. fiction.
It’s important to stay true to a story and not fixate on how readers will take it. Some will love it, others resent it. As with everything else in the world.
If you’re like me, you’ll milk creativity dry. It’s memoir, not biography. It’s my POV, no one else’s. I can refer to my characters however I want because it’s my story to tell.
BUT, for sanity’s sake, names will stay as is until after November. No use making a list of changes from [my] reality now, after all. November is challenging enough!
On that note, guess what: We’ve made it! One year of [almost] consistent blogging and still alive. A milestone worthy of celebration, especially given how difficult it is to maintain a routine writing schedule. But where to go from here? With so many ways to handle a blog, I’m only starting to get a feel for what works on my end. One thing I have planned is more analysis-type posts. They’re enjoyable, interactive, and essentially required when studying the craft of writing (regardless of genre).
Send along your ideas, too–what “new” blogging stuff should I venture now that I’ve mastered the art of discipline?
Priorities
Exhaustion over-powers my mind and body. Going on three months of early mornings, recently added [yet another] job to my chaotic schedule, which leaves me with three-to-four hours of “free time” in the evenings. Use for winding down, and writing.
Supposedly.
The past few weeks remind me why it’s best to leave the genie alone and not request a “normal, busy” lifestyle. For a hypersensitive, needing space to relax and be alone is a necessity. Denied that, the soul grows weak. Brain function fails. Eyes droop and drool dribbles down to the desk from which I’m currently typing.
Despite my mood, the moment I get back from work, the one and only thing on my mind is urgency. Not mere desire, but obligation to write/revise at least a few hundred words of “Weekend Funeral” before crashing. No questions, nothing else matters. The day is incomplete without that quota.
Then I wonder:
October awakens and the National Novel Writing Month‘s boards reset for another year. Excitement builds, writer families start their month-long reunions.
Does my sudden motivation steam from the atmosphere? Perhaps. On some level, though, I believe the answer is exhaustion itself. Everyone must work; it’s how bills get paid. True writers get their extra, unpaid work accomplished in the bits of spare time picked up around day jobs. Down time, social lives–wait, what’s that mean?–typically crucial elements of life get put on hold for the sake of revising last week’s chapter, or crossing the 20k line. We all do it as we race against the clock. Sleep waits till December because hell, we have a deadline that MUST be met.
I’m not a slacker. What I seek out, I achieve. I played the quitter card as a child, but I’m over that. Excuses are juvenile in the face of reality. People make time for the things they need. I need writing. Creativity. They’re my blood. The energy that pumps through my veins, fuelling my life.
Is sleep deprivation, then, the secret to NaNoWriMo success? Should it be channelled into a regular routine outside the month of November? At what cost?
Never Say ‘Never’
All it takes to achieve the impossible is determination and a positive attitude.
Here ends this week’s dose of expert advice, brought to you by the proud survivor of Script Frenzy 2010. That’s right, with four short hours to spare, I crossed the finish line and got to sleep early. 
There are still several scenes that need to be added before revisions start, but I’m taking a [short] vacation from PRODIGY to get back to a few projects that were placed on hold for April. The end result is a proud one, though, because this story has found its rightful place in Script after several failed attempts to write it as both Novel and Short Story. It really is more of a visual story anyway, and the musical elements make it a better match where aural elements can be expressed.
Confession: Screnzy was a stressful and difficult pursuit. The beautiful weather made me choose my Bantam bicycle loop over sitting inside in front of a computer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. Sunny skies just always trump rotting inside. The problem is when said decisions hinder the progress of a writer.
It did cross my mind to give up on the venture, fail to achieve a goal set as a way to keep myself out of Lazy-ville and make sure I write every day, as a writer should. Anyhoot, only crazy people attempt to write a 100-page script in 30 days! …though that makes stronger the argument to quit; a way to prove my sanity?
Nah. I enjoy the crazy life too much! Bettina‘s influence and nagging reminded me of my desire to delve further into screenwriting. She also reminded me several times that failing Screnzy after two consecutive NaNo wins was absolutely unacceptable. Once you raise the stakes and succeed, it’s very difficult to take a step back, even temporarily.
But that’s what gives me the motivational push to continue and exceed what I’ve already achieved. Each step is a lesson. A reminder that it is possible to balance life with my source of oxygen (i.e. writing). It’s a reminder we all need when faced with the stress life delivers while attempting a career as a writer.
Next challenge: surviving Screnzy withdrawal. It’s as strong and demanding as NaNo withdrawal, but I’m sure I can channel it into Weekend Funeral and these poem tweaks.
Positive Compulsion
Last night was the ‘Thank God It’s Over’ (TGIO) party for my NaNoWriMo region.
2009 has been the most inspirational year out of the three I’ve participated in thus far. There’s a liveliness and camaraderie I missed before. For the first time probably in my life, I’m with a group of like-minded individuals and I genuinely feel accepted, embraced for all my quirkiness (in this case, the norm).
Our regional leader gave a brief speech that reassures my goals as a writer. She reminded us that the events of November are a fun activity for anyone, but added that those who want to pursue the art of writing need to make a full commitment. Be compulsive! Write every day, regardless of the quality. Make sure thoughts get put on paper (or screen).
Typical pep-talk heard within most writing communities (at least the ones I’ve been around). A mantra that drives me as I grow in my skills and realise it’s the only way to achieve success.
Quality has hindered my progress in the past. For sure, it’s the reason I don’t already have a lot of finished projects. I have NaNo to thank for pulling me out of the quality quicksand. Three years later, I have the confidence to pull ahead and get the words out, leaving the tweaks and revision for later. It’s refreshing to be conscious of progress, though I know there’s still miles of work ahead for me. Despite all that, I look forward to off-season revision meet-ups with my regional mates.
Next year starts my journey into novel publication. It’s something I should’ve started years ago, but life always insists I stay on the opposite shore.
(funny how life enjoys doing that)
No more! say I. It’s time to get my foot in the door and attempt to survive in the world the only way I know how: through my imagination.
Cage That Editor!
National Novel Writing Month. A nation-wide global event that encourages writers (novice, expert, published or not) to complete a novel draft within thirty days.
Alas, I discovered it at the end of November, 2006 but that didn’t deter my enthusiasm. I spent the next year reading up on it. Two years later, I’ve written about 65,000 words for NaNoWriMo, but Bettina still interferes across the other 335 days of the year.
The energy of November is contagious. Everyone taps away at their keyboards, excited to cross the victory line. Each immersed in worlds away from reality. Bills, jobs, non-writely friends disappear (despite their thinking we’ve gone AWOL). Nothing exists but the words on the page, and even those are trivial in meaning. The point is to stash your editor in a dungeon (that’s right–why think small when it’s your imagination?) for a month and focus on quantity rather than quality.
That’s how rough drafts are formed.
Most true writing evolves from re-writing, yet many writers find themselves bogged down by the stress of making everything perfect on the first go.
Bad approach.
Creative freedom only lends itself when the mastermind allows. Let nonsense flow from your fingertips. Let an unrelated scene pour onto your pages. Chances are it won’t make the final cut, but it’s an exploration. That’s how we learn about ourselves. Your novel is the same, learning about itself by testing different possibilities until it finds the one that glues it together.
But how to evade the presence of typical writing problems? Chapter-chronology hasn’t worked, and outlines eat your only free time. So what can you do to ward off the voices until you’re ready for their help?
A different approach birthed for me before midnight struck. A new tactic: The Last Chapter, first.
My golden ticket!
Defeat over writer’s block lies within your method of writing.
I changed it up and now my fingers run on jet fuel. Can I maintain this pace another 27 days? What will happen at December’s sunrise? I want to continue working on my novels because it’s not enough to have ideas floating inside. They must be released to the world–or at least the inside of my filing cabinet–so I can move on and discover new stories.
So how can you fuel this magnitude of progress once November passes its baton?
By keeping NaNoWriMo’s energy in mind. Forget about the quality of initial drafts until you’ve worked through an entire novel. Reward yourself for small victories (every few hundred words, every five pages, every chapter end, etc.) and allow yourself a huuuge prize for the larger victories (laundry and a good night sleep, perhaps?) At the end of a draft, take a week’s holiday–you’ve earned it! Find a peer group–huge help! A buddy-system to keep your discipline in check and assure everyone’s accountable for lack of writing.
Remember: writing is work, like any other job. But it always helps to have a little fun.
