National Novel Writing Month – Tales of a Survivor

It is time – time to post my recompense for my egregious crime of claiming writerdom, but failing to participate in the mandatory insanity of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the close call originally discussed in the post “NaNoWriMo – Say What?”  As stipulated from lengthy negotiations, the NaNoWriMo police have kept close vigilance over me by tapping directly into my over-enlarged guilt complex.

I was able to actually find somebody who did embark on this adventure, and was willing to share with us her experience.  From all appearances, Hanje Richards appears to be a normal, sane and very nice woman.  She was willing to do this interview after all.  But going in, I must confess, I was screaming “Pod Person!” in my head.  I mean what kind of person voluntarily participates in this kind of self-inflicted torture?  And – she actually had a ‘day job,’ my new hero for that.  Just how did she manage to do this?  Inconceivable.  Well, I discovered that she did it with grace, humor and extraordinary fortitude.  Then I found out she embarked upon this craziness three times … Pod Person!

TRW:  Hi Hanje, thanks for agreeing to do this interview about your experiences with NaNoWriMo.  Let’s start by finding out a little about who you are, maybe shed some light on what type of person actually takes on the NaNoWriMo ordeal!

HR:  I moved to the Central Coast about a year and a half ago.  Prior to that I lived in a really small town in Arizona, and I lived the first 39 years of my life in Minnesota.

I have spent most of my working life in the book business.  I worked in three independent bookstores; two in Minnesota and one in Arizona and I’ve worked for three book distribution companies, two in Minnesota and one in Arizona.  My final job in Arizona was working as a library tech in the public library.  

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=25033&picture=books

TRW:  So books are in your blood.  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

HR:  I have always wanted to write. My mother used to write down poems that I created and little prose pieces in a little red notebook, because I didn’t know how to print yet.  I used to interview my babysitters and have them draw scenes that I described to find out if they might be potential illustrators for my books.

Since I arrived in San Luis Obispo I have been working on writing.  I take a weekly workshop with a local writer and writing teacher, I just finished a writing class at Cuesta College, I go to writers’ conferences, and I have become active in SLO Nightwriters.

TRW:  What are you working on when not imbibing in the NaNoWriMo Kool-Aid – I mean, what other projects do you have going?

HR:  These days I mostly write memoir and personal essay, although I do try my hand at fiction to keep myself moving creatively.

TRW:  Ok, so what in the world possessed you to jump into the NaNoWriMo pot?

HR:  The first time I did NaNoWriMo was four years ago.  It all started with a conversation at church, where two women I knew were talking about their plan to do NaNoWriMo.  I asked them what they were talking about, and in spite of the fact that November 1st was only about a week away, I decided to give it a try.

I won the first time I did NaNoWriMo (winning simply means that you finish 50,000 words by midnight on the 31st of November and send it in to be counted).  I did not follow all of the rules though, because although my intention was to write a novelization of some of the experiences of my life, I ended up writing memoir.  I was okay with that and called myself a winner.

The next year I did it again, this time with the express purpose of finishing the memoir I had started.  I didn’t win that year, as I had surgery scheduled for the last week of November and did not recover as quickly as I thought I would, so ended up with 43,000 words that year.  I did not officially win, but I certainly did not consider myself a loser.

I then skipped a year.

This year was my third try. I decided well in advance that I was going to attempt NaNoWriMo again, and this time I was going to write fiction.  I planned to begin work on a novel that I have had rattling around in my brain for several years.  As this was going to be my first major piece of fiction, I had a sense that working on an outline and characters ahead of time (which is allowed) would be a good idea, but I kept procrastinating.

I wrote on November 1st and I wrote on November 2nd and then I stopped writing.  I didn’t like what I was writing.  I think I had anticipated doing this for so long, and I was so sure that I would be able to win this year, that it came as a real shock that I didn’t like what I was writing and just plain hit a wall.  Every day I told myself I could still catch up if I started back to work the following day, until the 10th of the month, and then I admitted I could not catch up, and after a brief period of self-flagellation and mourning, I let it go.

When I re-read the 3,635 words I wrote the first two days, I actually liked what I had written and was able to use it for an assignment for my writing class.

TRW:  What did you end up liking about the process?  Did it help you in any way?

HR:  The first time I really liked doing NaNoWriMo because I saw that it was doable.  I could not have kept up the pace of 1,667 words a day and continued my job, but for 31 days I was able to do it.  It was a huge sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, getting myself to sit down and write every day is still not easy for me, and I suffer from blocks, but I also know that I can and did write 50,000 words in one month.  I have a sense of pride about that, but as someone who likes to set goals and complete them, I felt discouraged the times I was not able to complete the goal.

TRW:  What was the absolute hardest, most grueling thing about it?

HR:  It just wasn’t sustainable for me with a job - the first two times I was also doing the day job.  I also really fell apart when I started trying to work on rewriting after recovering from November.  I think I would be able to rewrite something now without as much angst.  I have learned a lot about writing over the past few years, and I think I could tackle it without getting bogged down.

TRW:  Did you have to get a divorce in order to do it?  What was the impact on your family / family life?

HR:  I did not have to get a divorce.  My husband has to write a sermon every week.  That is 2000 to 2500 words every week.  I listen to every sermon before he delivers it, and I have been his editor and critic for many years.  I did all my writing very early in the morning, before I went to work.  Before I started I made very clear that when I was wearing my “writing hat,” I was not to be disturbed.  The first morning when my husband woke up I was sitting on the couch with my laptop and a colander on my head.  We had a good laugh out of that, but he respected my writing time as I try to respect his.

TRW:  Are you going to do this again next year?

HR:  I haven’t decided yet.  I am not going to psych myself out again.  If I do it, it will be a last-minute decision.  What would be better for me is to develop the habit of daily writing so that I wouldn’t feel the need for NaNoWriMo.  I am working on that now, instead of thinking about next November.

TRW:  What advice, or words of warning, do you have for our readers?  

HR:  I think NaNoWriMo is a great thing for writers.  I would say, be kind to yourself.  This might not be the time for whatever reason.  I have no regrets about my three attempts, but I liked this last one the least, even though I may have learned the most about myself.   I am a very goal oriented person, and I really hated admitting that I was not going to complete the competition.


Hanje can be reached through her blog:  Hanje Richards at www.hanjerichards.wordpress.com