Originally posted just to my NaNoWriMo progress LiveJournal 'blog, but the gist of this applies to all writing. Of late, I've seen authors on Fanfiction.Net who also claim to be simply writing as they go, and that...well...irks me.
Wait, wait, wait-! I know that the spirit of NaNoWriMo is about having fun with writing, not being overly concerned with perfected plot and editing...but are people really just writing as they go, with no plan whatsoever? Just because you can't start writing until November 1 does not mean that you can't be doing research, and character studies, and outlining your plot ideas in the meantime, before the starter's pistol goes off. That's what writers do, folks!
I realize that many of us are in this just for the sprinting feeling of getting those words on the page...but a story still has rules: it is not, contrary to what some might say, just a series of words strung together. There should be conflict, and character development and interaction, and a realized world. There should be a plot and a progression of events that satisfies said plot. There should be emotion (or, alternately, a lack of it, if that is your point). And growth. And a power in your words that will make those letters on the page actually mean something to somebody someday.
I am all for finding the gloriously glee in hitting a benchmark of words - that is a wonderfully fulfilling accomplishment that I know I've felt and hope other people experience, too. But don't mistake a wordcount for a story.
Your characters can lead your story, certainly; it is their story, after all. But you're the writer. You should at least have a general idea of where they're going to go, even if they do hijack you along the way.
11 November 2011
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