Pep talks are one of my favorite things about NaNo. I love the long, drawn out metaphors and silly, elaborate premises. Chris always does a great job with his, and now we have the added fun of author pep talks. (Coming this week: Jasper Fforde!) As an ML, I get the privilege of writing and sending my own pep talks out to you, Vancouver.
I sent this one out on Saturday night, but due to some server wonkiness, it hasn't made its way into the inboxes yet. Therefore, I'm going to post it here. I'll post the rest here as well, just as a backup.
I was re-watching one of my favorite movies a while back, and suddenly I realized that NaNoWriMo is like The Princess Bride—both are adventures narrated by one very excited participant (you) and derided by one very snide bystander (your Internal Editor).
During the first week of NaNo, you will have all the energy and enthusiasm of the Grandfather. You’ve got a book to offer, and nothing could be better. The Grandson is your Internal Editor, constantly questioning and doubting that your story will be any good. Right from the start, the Grandson is unconvinced of the story’s appeal. “Are there any sports in it?” he asks.
How many of us have heard that little voice asking if we actually have a plot? Was our answer as good as the Grandfather’s? “Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…” Sounds a lot like the NaNo Bingo cards, doesn’t it? And whose story doesn’t include a few of those elements? (I can personally check off fighting, torture, revenge, monsters, escapes, true love, and miracles.)
If you watch The Princess Bride, you learn that the secret to telling a good story lies in ignoring the heckler. He’s barely into his story when the Grandson interrupts: “Hold it, hold it! Are you trying to trick me? Where’s the sports? Is this a kissing book?”
Does the Grandfather put the book down and say, “You’re right, I’m sorry… What was I thinking, imagining I could tell an interesting story? I’ll just go on home now, and you can get back to your game.” No! He tells the kid to sit still and wait! There’s good stuff coming, and he knows it.
Here’s the secret I want you to learn this week. Your Internal Editor does not know your whole story. All it knows is the part you’ve already told, and we all know that the first chapter, or even the first third a book doesn’t show the whole picture. When that little voice starts whining at you, wondering if this is ‘a kissing book,” tell it to be patient. The good stuff is yet to come.
Next Week: The Dread Pirate Roberts
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Name my novel!
29,908 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 13 35
I recieved it about 7 hrs ago. That's strange.
----------Write all day, write all night, write write write, just don't turn out the light!
55,012 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 14 17
I'm not surprised--there is much wonkiness going on. I've seen threads with 0 posts, 2 of which are new. Eh? The email server is so bogged down that some are going through and some aren't, and some are going through for some people but not all. Hooray for a huge surge in members!
----------Name my novel!