Novel ideas
Three Denver writers weigh in on NaNoWriMo
David Wroblewski
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When November rears its ugly head, most people spend their days bitching about the time change and counting the minutes until they get to gorge themselves on Turkey Day. Not so the brave souls of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, a contest that pits would-be novelists against their own procrastination as they attempt to pound out 50,000 words of prose during the month of November. Road to publication or fast track to carpal tunnel surgery? Decider asks three Colorado writers for their take on a, well, novel way to spend the shortening days of autumn.
The Award-Winner
Colorado Book Award-winning author Kim Reid has a personal stake in NaNoWriMo: It launched her most recent book. Reid, who won national accolades last year for her nonfiction work No Place Safe, is currently shopping a literary commercial novel that was born during last year’s NaNoWriMo—and was written primarily at 4:30 each morning before she left for her day job. “I needed the push,” says Reid, who relished the community with other writers and the slap upside her sloth that the contest delivered. “Besides,” she adds, “I’m competitive. Knowing that other writers were producing was all the inspiration I needed.” Reid gave in to a state of existence she calls “book brain”; dug into her trusty jar of Jelly Bellies; and pounded out a book she spent the next five months revising. When asked what advice she’d give a new NaNoer, Reid—who doesn’t believe in writers blocks or muses—has an aptly snappy answer: “Write what you want to read. Anything else is a waste of time.” The worst writing advice she’s ever received? “Call Oprah! She’ll get your book published!”
Colorado Book Award-winning author Kim Reid has a personal stake in NaNoWriMo: It launched her most recent book. Reid, who won national accolades last year for her nonfiction work No Place Safe, is currently shopping a literary commercial novel that was born during last year’s NaNoWriMo—and was written primarily at 4:30 each morning before she left for her day job. “I needed the push,” says Reid, who relished the community with other writers and the slap upside her sloth that the contest delivered. “Besides,” she adds, “I’m competitive. Knowing that other writers were producing was all the inspiration I needed.” Reid gave in to a state of existence she calls “book brain”; dug into her trusty jar of Jelly Bellies; and pounded out a book she spent the next five months revising. When asked what advice she’d give a new NaNoer, Reid—who doesn’t believe in writers blocks or muses—has an aptly snappy answer: “Write what you want to read. Anything else is a waste of time.” The worst writing advice she’s ever received? “Call Oprah! She’ll get your book published!”
The Darling
Someone must have called Oprah for real when Westminster author David Wroblewski’s bestseller hit shelves earlier this year. The self-described “slow, tentative, and halting” writer’s debut novel, The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle, was a recent Oprah’s Book Club pick. Though he’s never participated the contest himself, Wroblewski heralds NaNoWriMo as a chance for writers to dredge up raw material for their books. “You need something to mold and sculpt,” he advises. “As a writer, you don’t have a block of wood or a stone to chip away at. You need to get the first draft out.” Still, getting his own story out wasn’t easy. Wroblewski warns novice writers about a powerful myth: that novels get done in one draft, accompanied by a glorious clacking of keys and epic piles of dead-on prose. “It’s such a misleading and damaging stereotype,” he says. How should NaNoers choose the perfect story to work on throughout November? “If you’ve got a story to tell, you’ll have an intense emotional response to the subject matter alone. Look for that and follow it until you find your book.”
Someone must have called Oprah for real when Westminster author David Wroblewski’s bestseller hit shelves earlier this year. The self-described “slow, tentative, and halting” writer’s debut novel, The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle, was a recent Oprah’s Book Club pick. Though he’s never participated the contest himself, Wroblewski heralds NaNoWriMo as a chance for writers to dredge up raw material for their books. “You need something to mold and sculpt,” he advises. “As a writer, you don’t have a block of wood or a stone to chip away at. You need to get the first draft out.” Still, getting his own story out wasn’t easy. Wroblewski warns novice writers about a powerful myth: that novels get done in one draft, accompanied by a glorious clacking of keys and epic piles of dead-on prose. “It’s such a misleading and damaging stereotype,” he says. How should NaNoers choose the perfect story to work on throughout November? “If you’ve got a story to tell, you’ll have an intense emotional response to the subject matter alone. Look for that and follow it until you find your book.”
The English Teacher
Littleton novelist Paula Reed found the idea for her latest novel in an unlikely locale: the high-school English classroom where she teaches. Her upcoming book Hester picks up where The Scarlet Letter left off—and it just sold to St. Martin’s Press in an impressive hardcover coup. For Reed, writing is a compulsion she just can’t kick, and the write-till-you-drop method has worked for her in the past. Still, Reed encourages amateurs to write for love, not money. “People don’t strap on skis because they want to be professional athletes,” she notes. “You don’t have to aspire to publication in order to call yourself a writer.” Reed recommends that writers read as widely as possible and study other authors: “Have you ever read a book in which the entire life story of the main character was revealed in the first chapter? I didn’t think so. Others have made the same mistakes you have. Learn from them.” Reed may lack superstitions when it comes to the writing process, but what she doesn’t lack is distractions. According to her, “the biggest myth about a writer’s life is that it’s glamorous. I’ve published three books, and I have a fourth coming out, and I still have to do my own laundry.”
Littleton novelist Paula Reed found the idea for her latest novel in an unlikely locale: the high-school English classroom where she teaches. Her upcoming book Hester picks up where The Scarlet Letter left off—and it just sold to St. Martin’s Press in an impressive hardcover coup. For Reed, writing is a compulsion she just can’t kick, and the write-till-you-drop method has worked for her in the past. Still, Reed encourages amateurs to write for love, not money. “People don’t strap on skis because they want to be professional athletes,” she notes. “You don’t have to aspire to publication in order to call yourself a writer.” Reed recommends that writers read as widely as possible and study other authors: “Have you ever read a book in which the entire life story of the main character was revealed in the first chapter? I didn’t think so. Others have made the same mistakes you have. Learn from them.” Reed may lack superstitions when it comes to the writing process, but what she doesn’t lack is distractions. According to her, “the biggest myth about a writer’s life is that it’s glamorous. I’ve published three books, and I have a fourth coming out, and I still have to do my own laundry.”
