Comments on: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/ Jeff VanderMeer Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:21:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: kiren http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-20642 kiren Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:36:33 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-20642 encouragement the kind that makes you go damnit! YES LADY! you're absolutely right.. that IS how my mind works!! (and then i promptly take off on my imaginary horse to do a ton of pseudo awesome time limited writing fun... eyeaaahh..) thank you :) encouragement
the kind that makes you go
damnit! YES LADY! you’re absolutely right.. that IS how my mind works!!
(and then i promptly take off on my imaginary horse to do a ton of pseudo awesome time limited writing fun… eyeaaahh..)
thank you :)

]]> By: Wie man schreibt, und zwar schnell | fRemade http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-17992 Wie man schreibt, und zwar schnell | fRemade Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:36:57 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-17992 [...] How to write a novel in 30 daysvon Jeff Vandermeer [...] [...] How to write a novel in 30 daysvon Jeff Vandermeer [...]

]]> By: Go Go Speedwriter « Jennifer Durren http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14916 Go Go Speedwriter « Jennifer Durren Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:14:53 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14916 [...] revision, speedwriting, writing) Some path in my wanderings around the web led me to an article on writing a novel in 30 days. I could have written the first part of this article; so many of my papers in high school and [...] [...] revision, speedwriting, writing) Some path in my wanderings around the web led me to an article on writing a novel in 30 days. I could have written the first part of this article; so many of my papers in high school and [...]

]]> By: Will Humphreys http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14683 Will Humphreys Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:25:14 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14683 Thank you for your fabulous posts at Ecstatic Days. You and Vandermeer may live to regret this, but this entry inspired me to get writing. Two chapters already. There are Ninjas, Nazis and naked mole rats (I didn't listen to the alcohol injuction...). I'll write to you when I'm done. Thank you for your fabulous posts at Ecstatic Days. You and Vandermeer may live to regret this, but this entry inspired me to get writing. Two chapters already. There are Ninjas, Nazis and naked mole rats (I didn’t listen to the alcohol injuction…). I’ll write to you when I’m done.

]]> By: Pete Tzinski http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14673 Pete Tzinski Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:11:33 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14673 Dear Catherynne: If ever we are at a place that sells drinks, let me buy you several. What a great article! Mostly because it describes me to the letter, from my school-day attitude of putting off papers, but still turning them out at the last moment, to putting obstacles in my path. Everything is spot on. Announcing it on blogs and to all my friends and family. Hell, I even have another fast writing, and we duel every weekday we can, to see who can produce the most words that day. It's delightful. We each produce about 6,000 good-words a day. And I agree with your views on NaNo, and have shied away from it because of it. I can't knowingly put down crap. It's got to be the best I can, whether I go fast or slow...it's got to be the best I can do at that moment. It has to matter and excite me. ...I'm not really bringing anything to this discussion, I'm just expressing joy at the article. For whatever reason, speed-writing is what flips my switches. Quality? It mostly takes care of itself, if I work hard and I give the story everything I've got. But quantity...ahh, that's an exciting challenge. (Not least because, I'm not a natural novel-writer, and thus I DO need the speed. Otherwise, it can go stale before I'm done. Or I can change as a writer, and suddenly I have half a novel that doesn't work.) I'm sorry. I'm blithering. but I'm happily blithering, so maybe that's all right. Cheers! Dear Catherynne: If ever we are at a place that sells drinks, let me buy you several.

What a great article! Mostly because it describes me to the letter, from my school-day attitude of putting off papers, but still turning them out at the last moment, to putting obstacles in my path. Everything is spot on. Announcing it on blogs and to all my friends and family. Hell, I even have another fast writing, and we duel every weekday we can, to see who can produce the most words that day. It’s delightful. We each produce about 6,000 good-words a day.

And I agree with your views on NaNo, and have shied away from it because of it. I can’t knowingly put down crap. It’s got to be the best I can, whether I go fast or slow…it’s got to be the best I can do at that moment. It has to matter and excite me.

…I’m not really bringing anything to this discussion, I’m just expressing joy at the article. For whatever reason, speed-writing is what flips my switches. Quality? It mostly takes care of itself, if I work hard and I give the story everything I’ve got. But quantity…ahh, that’s an exciting challenge. (Not least because, I’m not a natural novel-writer, and thus I DO need the speed. Otherwise, it can go stale before I’m done. Or I can change as a writer, and suddenly I have half a novel that doesn’t work.)

I’m sorry. I’m blithering. but I’m happily blithering, so maybe that’s all right. Cheers!

]]> By: Egypt Urnash http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14671 Egypt Urnash Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:50:24 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14671 This sort of thing applies to other media, too. I've been working on a <a href="http://egypt.urnash.com/tarot/" rel="nofollow">crazy sci-fi Tarot deck</a> for most of the past ten months. In February, I went to talk with a local gallery who agreed to show the whole thing at the end of this August. I kept on going for a while at the same on-and-off pace, until the beginning of April when I sat down and calculated that I'd have to generate a finished piece of art <em>every three days</em> to have enough time to print and frame it all. I have not been able to allow myself to think I will fail. I have had to remove distractions - my freelance day job got cut back to a couple days a week, and then to nothing once I'd put the current project there to bed. I have been much scarcer to my boyfriends than I would like. It is alternatively invigorating and awesome, and completely horrible. The horrible mostly comes when my subconscious knows that all the sketches I have right now are wrong, but I haven't let myself admit this and am plowing through trying to make myself take one of them to the finished state anyway. The invigorating and awesome part comes every time I get another one done (after knocking out a revised sketch, if that was a problem) and see that I'm still mostly on schedule. Over the course of four months, I'm only six days behind for having the whole set done, and that is mind-boggling to me. Future projects will benefit from this, even if I try to never do this again. And yeah, I learnt these kinds of fast-work habits the same way: by always being able to sit down and crank out something the teacher would be fine with on the night before. I can't fail about anything I give a shit about. This sort of thing applies to other media, too.

I’ve been working on a crazy sci-fi Tarot deck for most of the past ten months. In February, I went to talk with a local gallery who agreed to show the whole thing at the end of this August. I kept on going for a while at the same on-and-off pace, until the beginning of April when I sat down and calculated that I’d have to generate a finished piece of art every three days to have enough time to print and frame it all.

I have not been able to allow myself to think I will fail. I have had to remove distractions – my freelance day job got cut back to a couple days a week, and then to nothing once I’d put the current project there to bed. I have been much scarcer to my boyfriends than I would like. It is alternatively invigorating and awesome, and completely horrible.

The horrible mostly comes when my subconscious knows that all the sketches I have right now are wrong, but I haven’t let myself admit this and am plowing through trying to make myself take one of them to the finished state anyway. The invigorating and awesome part comes every time I get another one done (after knocking out a revised sketch, if that was a problem) and see that I’m still mostly on schedule. Over the course of four months, I’m only six days behind for having the whole set done, and that is mind-boggling to me. Future projects will benefit from this, even if I try to never do this again.

And yeah, I learnt these kinds of fast-work habits the same way: by always being able to sit down and crank out something the teacher would be fine with on the night before. I can’t fail about anything I give a shit about.

]]> By: Corey Redekop http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14657 Corey Redekop Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:07:04 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14657 I wrote my first novel in 3 days. I put in 3 more years of editing before I published it, but still, impressive, no? I wrote my first novel in 3 days. I put in 3 more years of editing before I published it, but still, impressive, no?

]]> By: How to write a novel in 30 days « lying for a living http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14635 How to write a novel in 30 days « lying for a living Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:43:28 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14635 [...] August 1, 2008 · No Comments Guest-blogging for Jeff VanderMeer, Catherynne M. Valente explains, hilariously, how to write a novel in 30 days. [...] [...] August 1, 2008 · No Comments Guest-blogging for Jeff VanderMeer, Catherynne M. Valente explains, hilariously, how to write a novel in 30 days. [...]

]]> By: Catherynne M. Valente http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14634 Catherynne M. Valente Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:33:34 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14634 Jeff: I can now do the revisions in that time too--speed takes practice and I'm faster now than I ever was. Again--it is incredibly high stress and I didn't write the Orphan's Tales that way, something of that plot complexity I'd find very hard to do in this fashion, but I /can/ do some kinds of work at this speed. Larry: Well, I'm 29 now. Jeff: I can now do the revisions in that time too–speed takes practice and I’m faster now than I ever was. Again–it is incredibly high stress and I didn’t write the Orphan’s Tales that way, something of that plot complexity I’d find very hard to do in this fashion, but I /can/ do some kinds of work at this speed.

Larry: Well, I’m 29 now.

]]> By: ethan http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/07/31/how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/comment-page-1/#comment-14633 ethan Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:02:17 +0000 http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/?p=1412#comment-14633 Pure genius. Thanks! Pure genius. Thanks!

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