Do You Upload Your Story On Nanowrimo

Chris Baty founded NaNoWriMo in order to extend a uncomplicated invitation to people around the world: to write the novel within of them. When he was invited to co-write a story and share information technology as a work-in-progress, he stepped up, just similar you stepped up to our November challenge. Today, he explains why you should consider sharing your novel-in-progress, too:

Last month, I got an email from author Tom Kealey. Tom teaches a NaNoWriMo class for undergrads at Stanford, and he wanted to know if I'd be interested in collaborating on a short story about a happy teen going through life with an arrow sticking out of his head.

These are the emails that every volume nerd dreams of getting. An honour-winning short story author wants me to help him write something involving unsafe projectiles and atypical head wounds?

Finally!

I had assumed that collaborating with Tom would hateful he came upwardly with a rough sense of the story and character arcs, worked out the general tone, and so did all of the actual writing. I would selection out the font, insert the folio numbers, and fly to Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature on our team's behalf.

Merely Tom, sadly, had other ideas.

Tom wanted us to write the entire story in ii weeks using an online collaborative writing tool chosen Ensemble, created by Stanford students Joy Kim and Justin Cheng. Ensemble is built to get reader feedback on works-in-progress. (Eeep.) Tom would post the get-go 500 words on Ensemble, and I'd have a mean solar day to come with the next clamper. Which Tom would then add to the following day. And then on, for 2 weeks. We'd inquire readers to counterbalance in on the tale, and aid us make story decisions.

There wouldn't exist much time to edit. There would barely be fourth dimension to write. Every weekday, we would just post whatever nosotros'd come up with and allow the other person have it from in that location. And let a whole lot of strangers read it forth the fashion.

I've spent the past 15 years embracing the power of imperfect first drafts, but the idea of actually showing those drafts to other people terrifies me. I'one thousand an obsessive editor, and feel most comfy sharing a piece of writing only when I know every sentence has been polished for a decade or and so.

But because I've resolved to do equally many scary things every bit possible this year, I told Tom I was up for all of it. Nosotros started "Arrowhead" last week, and it volition conclude on Oct 31, just in fourth dimension for NaNoWriMo.

I've been loving the story and so far. If you need a break from your NaNo prep, please come up past and meet Caleb, and tell united states what he should practice next!

I've also learned a couple lessons from the whole matter that I wanted to share.

Writing with a partner and posting the story as yous go is nerve-wracking, simply the inflexible deadlines it creates are priceless. Fifty-fifty if your co-author (and readers) don't love what yous come up up with, you lot know you have to give them something. Those expectations accept helped me prioritize writing on days I would otherwise try to weenie out of it.
Having someone reach out and invite you to do something that's exciting and daunting and mayhap a trivial over your caput can totally alter the fashion you see yourself. (Thanks, Tom!) I'm going to send out some invitations of my own this week.

Okay! I need to go cracking on today's installment of the story.

Happy writing, everyone!

Chris

Chris Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo and a maker of fine posters for writers. In the Bay Area? Chris and Tom are doing a free consequence together at Stanford on Monday, Oct 28 at 7:15 PM.

The "Arrowhead" illustration is by Sara Sisun.

Source: https://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/65142278434/posting-your-entire-work-in-progress-the-good-kind-of

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