Bad Writing?

I just keep thinking to myself that I'm only writing poorly for one month. I'll have a lifetime to make it presentable.

I also try to keep in mind that right now my job is to simply tell the story, not to tell the story WELL.

I tell myself ahead of time that it will really suck. Still have issues with that, so I keep imagining the feeling of accomplishment when I win at 50,000 words for the first time.

Even if my novel is irredeemable, I'll be a stronger person for finishing this. That, and editing comes later. Sometimes, when I write a really sucky sentence, I fix it. But more often I tell myself to reach 50,000 first, and fix later.

Hey by the time I reach the end, I'll have so much practice under my belt, I'm bound to have better editing ideas than I would at the beginning.

Just tell yourself this over and over.

"There's an old folk saying that goes: Whenever you delete a sentence in your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground.

Where it will likely require medical attention. "

this year is actually better than the last two years. But still REALLY, REALLY bad.

Yeah - i know it's gonna be pretty bad when i sign up. definitely not publishable... or even readable on the first pass.

I don't worry about it.
if you're worrying about how bad it is, you're reading it. you shouldn't be reading it - you should be writing it.

read it in december, one night when the excitement of breakneck noveling has worn off and you're certain your grandmother called you Billy on purpose because you cut your hair REALLY short, not just because she's senile, and you need a laugh. Read it then, write it now.

JK

2007* - "Thailand Shuffle"
2008 - "The Greatest Gifts"

Oh, goodness, I know the feeling. My synopsis is probably one of the better things I've written, but even it is about three times as cheesy as I wanted it to be. Everything else is clumsy and awkward.

I'm definitely not feeling awful about it, because I've been wanting to write this story for a good 10 months and all I really care about is getting the details down. Rewriting/polishing can come later :).

2006: The Sharler Chronicles: Crillya (beginner's luck!)
2007: Heart and Soul (epic fail)
2008: Thoughtstream (slightly less epic fail)
2009: Relife (?)
Anime references: 1 Characters killed: 0 Characters who have changed themselves completely: 1

That is good advice. All of you!! Thank you. Tonight was pretty bad I think, but like you suggested I didn't read it. I like the idea that I need to tell the story, not necessarily tell it well. I am still ahead of where I need to be in word count by just a bit and I need to quit for the night. I need to sleep sometime, I suppose and maybe tomorrow my brain will be alittle less clogged. Night all!

How do you have time to read it?
Don't unless you need to cross-reference information or figure out where you left off.

Of course it sucks. It's a first draft -- Anne Lamott would say a "shitty first draft," because if you try and make it anything else it will just be a constipated first draft.
All you need are words on paper. Don't screw around with the "good" question. Chris Baty said it already -- in November, all words are good.

It really bugs me how my character keeps switching narration style, but I'm just going to ignore that for now. :-P

Read my last line of the night on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuninnHrafn

Destaren- I like the shitty first draft saying! So . .yes my inner crittic may be plugging me up. I stopped last night not knowing where to go next. I am afraid it won't make sense. But tonight will be different!! I am committed to absolute literary diarrhea. Wow, that's kinda gross now aint it?

And yeah, characters do have a way of saying moronic things that no one would ever say in a million years and changing the way they talk every few pages as they are trying to develop a full personity of their own, don't they.

I will chant : I will not read it- I will not read it- Only write,write,write.

That's the way, Macheen. :)

When your novel is done, check out what Anne Lamott has to say about the SFD and the internal editor. It's good good stuff, and she's a very good writer herself.

I know what you mean about characters sorting themselves out. I try to prewrite and freewrite the most random conversations to get them fleshed out, but I try to leave room to be surprised. I like being surprised.

My MC has such ridiculously long internal dialogues with herself (subconscious attempts to increase word count), and an irritating habit of questioning every other action she makes ("Why did I do this?" "Where did I get this cut?" "What did I have for supper, again?"), that I finally got frustrated and made her end one of them with, "Why did I ask myself such long-winded questions all the time? "

Read my last line of the night on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuninnHrafn

I know what you mean by surprises. I had some character descriptions and I intended to make my main character a wisecracking brooder. When I got to writing he turned out to be Awkward McAwkwardson. Which is great. I like this character better. I had this idea that he would call suicide hotlines whenever he felt lonely just to chat with someone. With a depressed wiseass such a thing could be a bit dark. The way he's turning out it's actually hilarious.

I am playing with banners so I don't have to write. My writing was puke tonight and so is my banner art but boy am I having fun! whoa that is one sparkly ass banner. Anyone else making a banner.

Sometimes I can't help but edit, especially if it increases word count.

Recently I wrote the word "BBQ." A few paragraphs later I realized my mistake. I went back and typed "barbecue." Then a few paragraphs later I realized my mistake again and typed "bar-be-cue." Probably not a good use of time, but I couldn't help it.

I know come December, I'm going to look back and cringe at some of this and get out the red pen and it's not going to be pretty.

And then I'm going to pass it over to a couple of friends so they can take the red pen out and that still won't be pretty.

First drafts, I've come to the conclusion, aren't good things. It's only in the subsequent edits that the best parts come out to shine. It's easy to get discouraged when you want to write wonderful, fabulous prose. I'm more and more convinced that it just doesn't happen that way. The first novel I completed had changes in the structure of the universe I was writing in midway through. I still need to go back and fix that, but that's for another time. Like December or January when I'm sick of looking at these characters. :p

Of course, by this point, I'm not following some of the cheating rules of NaNo, so those are less outs for word count. *groan* At least I'm still ahead. (For now.)

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Exit Dusk
NanoWriMo 2009 (48,545/50,000)