I was just wondering if Mr. Card had said anything about NaNoWriMo anywhere. I couldn't find anything, but it might still exist.
I just thought that Mr. Card might have some sort of opinion on the matter since he has spent most of his life writing works on fiction. And NaNoWriMo is helping people write a novel in a month when he has spent years working at a novel.
This would probably irritate me. But Mr. Card seems to be a patient and tolerant person, so I didn't know what he might think.
Is there an article about his opinion on the matter somewhere?
Posted by Oliver Dale (Member # 8398) on :
I'm not Card. Let me try, anyway.
Anything that 'helps a writer write is a good thing. (Though an artifice like NaNo doesn't really help, but organize and motivate, often through peer pressure.)
One aspect of NaNo that might be a problem for some people is the concept of reckless writing just to write, with full intentions to go back and perform a hardcore rewrite/revision of the manuscript. Some people prefer a more reserved pace, one that develops a more finished product right away. Scott is like that, for instance (as I recall).
But if you're well-prepared, then a month is probably plenty of time for you to churn out a decent manuscript -- he wrote speaker in a month, didn't he?
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I'm sure I'd have an opinion on it, if I had a clue what you're talking about.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
November is National Novel Writing Month, which is abbreviated as NaNoWriMo.
www.nanowrimo.org is the website. The idea is to write 50,000 words in a month. Outlining can be done beforehand, but everything else must come within the month. The idea, as I'm sure you've inferred, it to cut through all the self-doubt and other mental flotsam that people get caught up in and actually produce something. Even if it stinks.
After all, wasn't it you who said your first few books will stink, so may as well get past them?
Posted by JaimeBenlevy (Member # 6222) on :
We finally found something OSC doesn't have an opinion on...yet. Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Oh. Well, I'll be doing that this month, but only because the novel is due on 1 December.
Usually, though, when I'm writing a novel at all, I write 110,000 words in a month.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Which novel is that, Scott? Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Oh. Well, I'll be doing that this month, but only because the novel is due on 1 December.
Usually, though, when I'm writing a novel at all, I write 110,000 words in a month.
That's the coolest response to hearing about NaNoWriMo I've ever seen.
--Enigmatic
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
I wrote 10000 words in one night at Writers of the Future. You'd think I'd be able to do 50k in one month.
Posted by antichris (Member # 8785) on :
I wrote about 2k lines of code yesterday, does that count? ;)
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I think the difference (not to put down your impressive 110,000 words figure, Mr. Card), is that most people don't write for a living. Writing 50K while working a full-time job, or going to school is pretty good.
I may even get up the nerve to try it myself, in some vauge, distant year. Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Putting it off is like lying to your self and saying, "One day I want to write a novel." When will that day come?
Posted by Omega M. (Member # 7924) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card:
Oh. Well, I'll be doing that this month, but only because the novel is due on 1 December.
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