Jan is Jan Fields, moderator of this interview/workshop, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. While red signals our guest speaker's responses. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked of our speaker.

Jan: I want to welcome Ann Gonzales to the Writer's Retreat for this second Nanoevangelism Workshop. I'm so glad you could come be with us again this year, Ann. You're a fantastic encouragment to us all.

Ann: Thanks so much. It's great to be back here with you craz--*cough,* *cough,* -- I mean, you brave icl writers. I see that several ICLers have stepped in to take on the responsibility of supporting and guiding new nano-writers on the Writers Retreat boards. The torch has been passed. Regardless, ICL is a great forum, with a great group of writers, so if I can still help support and encourage fellow writers...well there's nothing better.

Ann: For those writers who have signed up but are nervous about the time commitment, or what they're going to write, or if they might be insane...you have nothing to worry about. The bottom line is that no matter what, signing up for nanowrimo guarantees you'll write more in November than you would've without signing up. It's free and it's one of the rare times when writing is fun and where 100,000 plus other writers know exactly how crazy difficult writing can be. You won't be alone. There's nothing to lose. I haven't yet won Nanowrimo...meaning I've yet to write 50,000 words, but I still have a blast.

Ann: I'm so happy that many of you that did nanowrimo last year are back for more. I'm sure I shared with you the quote by Dan Zak of the Washington Post. He wrote about the fact that each year more and more writers sign up to do Nanowrimo. What started as 21 writers in 1999, was near to 180,000 last year...here's what he wrote: "If this growth rate is constant and participation is cumulative, then every American will be writing a novel in November 2027. We'll be a country made entirely of boozing tortured authors."

Ann: The way I look at it, it isn't a matter of if you'll write a novel during November, it's a question of when.

Ann: Seriously though, if you're uncertain whether you have the time to do Nanowrimo, or not sure you have an idea for a novel, not clear whether it will work for you...my advice is to just try it. No one has the time to write a novel in 30 days...no one. Yet, some do. And, it's all good. Win or don't win, I guarantee you'll laugh and you'll write...what more can we ask of life? Plus, it's free!

Omalizzie: Remember, only 1,667 words need to be written per day to reach that 50,000 word goal people! ;0)

Jan: So what are your basic suggestions for anyone planning to Nano?

Ann: You've decided to participate in Nanowrimo this year...yay, yay, applause, standing, more applause. Now what?

1. Go to www.nanowrimo.org and give yourself a user name...don't pick something like puzzld as you may want to change it the following year when you're no longer in the dark.

2. Post your user name in the nanowrimo forum below where ICLers are buddying up with each other.

3. Add fellow ICLers to your buddy list. (The buddy list on nanowrimo allows you to see, easily, how your buddies are doing in their word count objectives. It gives you the opportunity to trip those who are far ahead in order to slow them up, and to offer a line of encouragement to those who are behind.)

4. Prepare your family and friends for the fact that you will be distracted and maybe not as available in November as you usually are. Try to get them on your team so they are encouraging you rather than feeling abandoned by you.

5. Make a calendar or a progress bar chart and identify a few rewards that you can give to yourself as you meet certain milestones. (Perhaps a dinner with the aforementioned somewhat abandoned family member.)

6. Have a conversation with your internal editor and critique and reassure him/her/it that you promise, promise, promise that the manuscript will not be submitted to anyone until the critique and editor have a chance to fix it up. Make sure you acknowledge their role in your career and try to get them on your team as well.

7. Clean up, or finish up as many outstanding projects and works in progress as possible. Try to literally and metaphorically clear your desk.

8. Jot down ideas for what you might want to write about and see which main character has the strongest voice and brings the most to the story table.

9. Get plenty of rest. You don't want to go into Nov 1 run down, tired and sick. Writing is taxing work.

And number 10 -- stock up on your writing nutrients -- coffee, chocolate, nuts, whatever it is. You won't be able to make it to the store as often, and you don't want to run out of your nutritional muse.

Loribelle: I wanted to know how much was involved in turning Ann's Nano draft into the novel that was eventually published. How many revisions did you do? How long did it take?

Ann: I used to be a short story writer...flash fiction...and never imagined I'd write a novel. Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, a picture book writer, was a member of the faculty at the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program where I was a student. She told us about Nanowrimo and how "fun" it was. : ) I was as surprised as anyone that I wrote a novel, I didn't believe it was possible.

Ann: Basically I revised Running for My Life three or four times before my agent thought it was ready to send out. Kirby Larson was my thesis advisor and she helped me more than I can ever express. I'm a person who believes that every writer needs feedback on their manuscripts in order to revise them...whether it's a critique group, or a school program like ICL, or a class...we need another person's help (I believe) in knowing where a story works and where it doesn't.

Ann: The other thing about my story that I want to share is that at the residency they had student readings and I read the first chapter at the student reading. An agent was in the audience and she asked to see the whole ms when it was done. I realized then that it's really important to take advantage of the agent and editor meetings and opportunities that are available at conferences and such. Good things can happen as a result of those chance meetings.

Spiritwalker: You mentioned a student reading at a residency, was this at a conference or something?

Ann: It was like a conference. It's the meeting portion of the low-residency MFA program I was enrolled in. However, all writers are welcome to attend the residency, and don't need to be MFA students to do so. So the residency is structured just like a conference. I do highly recommend that writers take advantage of the opportunities presented to them at conferences, ICL, SCBWI -- those chance meetings with authors, editors and agents can lead to something important in your careers.

Yaya: What's an MFA?

Ann: Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Yaya: Sitting requires a LOT of bum-in-chair time and that's kind of a pro'lem. I don't know about anyone else, but I strongly suspect that I'm not the only one who is challenged by this particular situation. Anyway, after sitting for many, many hours, my bumulator begins to hurt like nobody's business. Have you learned any tricks that can keep that part of the anatomy from being the 'butt' of the whole body's pain center? Trust me on this one, Ann; inquiring derrieres wanna' know. We REALLY wanna' know. Wait a minute. That's not to suggest that I'm a'rear's in my behavior... although, I might be, I guess. For self-esteem's sake, I don't think I'll ask.

Ann: My butt cheers you for asking this question. I've gone through more desk chairs than I can count, searching for one that isn't unbearable. This question is one of the reasons I suggested that you all reward yourselves with a massage at 25,000 words...you're going to need it.

Ann: Writers butt is a problem and not one I have an answer for. People do things like write standing up...setup a stack of books or something an put your laptop or keyboard on top of it. Frequent breaks where you get up do 10 jumping jacks, do a fast walk from the front of the house to the back to the front. (My house is small so I do a few laps.) Take breaks, stretch, that's the key. You want to make sure you don't hurt yourself by sitting for too long...it will end up in your nano novel and all your characters will have a variety of bum ailments that will suggest a butt virus infected the town with a pustulant disorder of the rear. (Believe me, no one wants to read that story anymore.) A happy butt, makes for a better story where the tension is more about love, or death, or coming of age, then a healthy colon.

Shauna: I'm in the corporate world where i'm at a computer all day...our ergonomics class (yeah we have to take an online ergonomics class) tells us to get up out of our chair every 30 minutes and stre tch or take a short walk. It's hard to do when your brain is wrapped around something, like uuumm...NaNo! But, it really does help to get up. I know i'll be standing and typing (like Ann said) with my lap top on the kitchen counter at times. Oh, and don't stand on one leg, like a lot of us do...it's poor form and very bad for your back.

Yaya: Thanks for all the tips.

Yaya: I know that NaNoWriMo means National NOVEL Writing Month, but somewhere I was given to understand that for those who don't happen to want to write a novel, its still alright to participate, just as long as you are writing towards that 50,000 word goal. Now, what I'd like to know is if that information is correct or, is this STRICTLY for those who aspire to completing a novel? I'm wondering if it's going to be all right to alternate between projects during NaNo month.

Ann: Well, I don't think it matters whether one is writing a novel, or a memoir, or a non-fiction project (although research might be difficult.) and honestly it's all the honor system and no real awards are given out for winning that would make the veracity of one's victory important. What I mean by that is that winning just means you get to brag that you wrote 50,000 words, so no one is going to challenge you for the fact that you didn't actually write a novel.

Ann: I will say though, that as a teacher of writers, one of the most common struggles I see is writers writing and revising and writing and revising the beginning half or third of their novels. Writing the end, the rising tension, the dark night of the soul part of the novel is very difficult and so many writers find reasons not to do it. The most common reason being they can't write the end until they get the beginning right. The truth is (IMO) you can't revise the beginning until you know how the story ends.

Ann: One of the values of nanowrimo is the "pressure" to write through to the end without revising helps writers to push past that fear of going forward. You might miss out on that benefit if you jump from project to project. It sounds like last year you worked on one novel though, and you don't have the problem of not finishing your projects. So, as long as you know yourself, and what you need to write complete manuscripts...well, I'd do that.

Ann: The support and energy of nanowrimo gives me the courage to write those tense and dramatic climactic chapters. It's much more difficult to write those without 100,000 other writers rooting for me. : p

Laura: Hi Ann--thanks for being here! I've never done NaNoWriMo, as I mostly write picture books and poetry. But I've been wanting to try my hand (again) at an early chapter book (a la Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, Clementine, etc.). These are only about 8-12,000 words total. Any thoughts or advice? Do you know if other people are using this event to write chapter books?

Ann: Good on you for giving nanowrimo a try. I, along with a few other nanowrimo writers, gave a presentation to SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) members and several of them modified the terms of Nanowrimo to meet their needs. Some drew 25 illustrations, some wrote 10 picture books, and I'm sure there were some that attempted to write 2 or 3 chapter books.

Ann: So absolutely you can modify the terms of the program. As I look at it the most important "rule" of nanowrimo is to write through to the end of the story. By writing so quickly one, hopefully, connects with the main character and lets the main character take over narrating the story. That's where the magic happens...when there's a moment when you, as the writer, lose control of the story and the main character takes over. It becomes 100%, undoubtedly a narrative told from the pov of the main character. That's trippy and awesome feeling. (Sometime I feel like I'm pushing a drug on you guys...so let me just say, "no to drugs!")

Laura: Oy. Two or Three chapter books?

Ann: Start with one...write it with the energy as if you needed to write 1667 words a day. If you end up only writing one chapter book by the end of November, then Yahoo! Bravo! You just wrote a chapter book in a month! If you feel the desire to win nanowrimo and so you write another, or another, well Yahoo! Bravo! You just wrote a couple of chapter books in a month. (See my point...there isn't that much difference between winning and not winning...it's the participation that feels great.)

Usagikitti: I have been working on my outline for a book that I have been dinking around with for a couple of years - mainly just tweaking the ideas but never actually getting into it but now that I am taking classes at ICL I have been working on it more. I heard about the Nano-thingy and want to give it a shot and figured if I am going to devote my time writing like a madperson during Nov I could have an idea of how my story is going to go - so I am outlining now. So I guess my question is this, how do you effectively outline? I mean I am just kind of writing ideas down of the direction I am thinking of taking the story but it isn't anything detailed but more of breadcrumbs. How detailed do outlines have to be?

Ann: Usagikitti, I don't use an outline, so I don't think they have to be very detailed. Seriously though, the outline is just to help you when you're stuck. I wouldn't worry too much about sticking to the outline, and focus more on following the character where the character wants the story to go. The whole idea behind nanowrimo is that because of the pressure to write words fast the writer writes from a less mental place and a more intuitive or heart-centered place. The novel becomes less static then, more organic. But, the outline is good to have for those periods of time when you feel stuck...you can refer to the outline and see where it is you thought the story was going to go, and then head in that direction.

Ann: Please, please don't expect to have a finished manuscript, as in revised, done by the end of November. What nanowrimo is about is writing a first draft with the speed and fury of a writer being chased by a cyclone. The expectation or suggestion is to not edit at all...not a word. To just write and write and write. And, as Yaya points out, there's no expectation that you'll post any of your words for anyone else to read. Because, after all, it's a first and very rough draft...no one wants to post our first unedited drafts. In fact, that's part of the fun of Nanowrimo...for maybe the first time we allow ourselves to write without the worry about what others will think of it. It's just for the fun of writing a whole story from beginning to end.

Yaya: What do you think about posting your work online -- letting other people see it?

Ann: I don't recommend posting one's nano novel online mostly because it hasn't been edited yet. If one was going to post it, one would want to revise it and tidy it up...that will take the writer out of the nanowrimo process of writing, and writing, and put them into editorial mode. Also, in this day, if you post your story online it's considered published. So you may be creating "rights" issues if you end up wanting to sell the novel with "first publication rights." It's not a big deal with novels, still...that coupled with the fact that November is about writing without editing, I don't recommend posting your story. If you're in a critique group and you want to get feedback on chapters...that's okay, just put the revision comments aside to be looked at in December.

Mary: I haven't read all the Nano rules yet but if I finished my novel but didn't reach the required word limit, would it count if I wrote a few picture books or started a second novel as long as I had time? Do all the words have to go into the first book to "win" at nano?

Ann: Mary, Nanowrimo is completely an honor system based program. If you write 50,000 words, or a complete novel you're a winner in my eyes...and there's no problem in claiming such. I haven't yet won a nanowrimo...I tend to write first drafts short because it's difficult and painful to write those high tension climactic chapters. They expand on revision. So, even though I haven't won, I'm happy to have written two manuscripts. If you finish a story and then write other things that end up raising your word count to 50,000 I would absolutely view you as a winner. (You could just have your main character write a picture book or a series of short stories after they finished resolving whatever problem they had for 48,000 words.)

ArborVitae: Hi Ann! Thank you for being with us! This is my first time doing Nano and I'm a little intimidated by the 50,000 word count. Are there any ways to "pad" my word count without adding silly or stupid things that I'll just have to edit out later? I don't want to add words just for the sake of adding to my word count- I want them to have meaning in my story. Any tips on useful ways to boost your word count?

Ann: My advice is to not worry about the word count at all. As I've said in other messages, I've yet to win nanowrimo. I've written 36,000 and 43000 but not 50. For me what I'm interested in is writing the whole story...getting past that climatic dark night of the soul part. I'd write the story without padding and then if you really want to win, write something different at the end to build on the word count.

Louisa.M.Alcott: Hiya, Ann! This is my first year doing NaNo and I was wondering, do NaNo participants HAVE to abide by the 50,000 word limit?

Ann: The thing to remember about Nanowrimo is that there's no downside. Having all the iclers supporting and encouraging you guarantees that you'll write more in November than you would with participating. So right away you've won something. As I mentioned...I've never won Nanowrimo. I haven't yet succeeded in writing 50,000 words. So you can participate, have fun, and benefit from Nanowrimo without writing 50,000 words. And, you don't have to stop at 50,000 if you want to write more. One teenage girl wrote 100,000 words during nanowrimo. (Ah, youth.)

Yaya: I'm curious to know if you have a blog or if that is something you have chosen to avoid at all cost? Do you think it is a good way to promote oneself as a writer? Thanks.

Ann: I do have a blog that I have let sit idle for too long. I started to write about political issues and I realized that might alienate some of my readers who have opposing political views. Plus, maintaining a blog is a whole bunch of "extra" writing, beyond my novel and class lessons.

Ann: I don't think writers need to keep blogs, but I do think they should have a web presence. Writers benefit from having web pages in their name...www.anngonzalez.com for example. It's also nice to get a web page with the title of a book once you have a contract and have settled on the title. (I wish I had checked to see that the URL Running for My Life had already been purchased before settling on that as a title for my book.)

Ann: So, if you don't already have one, I suggest every writer purchase the url for your name. You don't need to setup the web page until you have a book coming out, but you want to make sure that no one else grabs your url before you. (More and more people are setting up web pages to promote themselves.)

Ann: I use a program called Sandovox that allows me to design, fairly easily, my own webpage. However, this is one area where hiring a designer might be a good idea. It's important for one's web page to look interesting and somewhat professional.

Ann: To reserve your URL it costs 10 a year or so. To setup the website it costs more like 30 a year...to have a company host the website and forward email and that kind of thing. Most hosts have a rudimentary design application where you can build a basic website, but I recommend hiring a designer or Iweb software or something to create your own site. That can run a few hundred dollars for a designer, or 70 is what I paid for my software.

Shauna: Congrats on Running for My Life! This is my first NaNo, and I’m very excited about getting my story out of my head and onto the screen! When you wrote your story, did you also write notes to your self in parentheses? For example: Willy William Wonka looked up into the huge vat and imagined how much marshmallow it would take to fill it (talk about how the Oompa Loopmas then come into the room and offer a suggestion to him about purple bubble gum for the lining of the vats). Weird example I know, but I hope you understand my question. In my mind, I just increased my word count with that side note to myself. Thanks for your help!

Ann: I did occassionally scrawl notes across the top of pages of my ms like "WHAT TIME OF YEAR IS IT?" because I realized that as I was writing it was bouncing around between hot, and cold and summery and mid-winter. I didn't integrate those questions into the manuscript but it's perfectly allowable to do so. And, yes i'd count those words as well. The word count thing isn't a science and there isn't a court of word lawyers to challenge the actual counts. Writing is writing and it's all good.

Mikki: Is there any record of how many novels actually written during November have been published? I was at a conference recently where one of the men sitting with us at lunch said he had participated in the last 5 NaNoWriMos, and had all 5 books published. I didn't get his name, but just wondered if NaNo keeps track of things like that.

Ann: There is a list of published nanowrimo novels, but I don't think it's complete. It's dependent upon the author letting the nanowrimo office know that they succeeded in publishing their novel.

Ann: Sara Gruen writes all of her novels during November, and I think the same will be true for me. The novel I wrote last November during Nanowrimo is much better than the one I spent a year-and-a-half writing. So, you never know, you may just find out, as I did, that you write with more heart when writing fast. My agent says my nano-novels are much better than the novel I sent her that I spent a year-and-a-half working on. I write with a stronger voice, more heart, and more energy during nanowrimo than I do when that internal editor "helps" me. (She really spends most of the year telling me I'm not very good and that I really should be ashamed to show this to anyone.)

Spiritwalker: I haven't participated yet but I have heard of a write off in either June or July, not sure which, that is like the one in November. I got something over it this last summer but didn't have time to check into it. It would give you another month during the year to produce another book if you have finished the one in November at that time and wanted to work on a second book during the year.

Ann: Yes, I believe some of the kooky ICL members (said with love) have endeavored to write two or three novels a year. A little of a good thing can sometimes be dangerous in a writer's hands. The way I look at it...writing a novel a year is darn good. I spend most of the rest of the year, beginning in January, revising and revising my nano novel. During November you have the wet weather (or snowy,) the support of over 100,000 people and a cultural institution, and t-shirts and other goodies to motivate you. These are the reasons I wait until November to write.

Ann: Plus, it's important to recognize that taking a month to write a novel does impact your relationships...friends and family. It's difficult enough to be the husband, wife, kid or parent of a writer...you don't want to stress them by too many months of writing a year. That's one thing I haven't said yet...but, it's a good idea to prepare your family and friends to the fact that you are participating in Nanowrimo. You want them to be on board and to support you, as opposed to feeling deprived and left out. Family is a bit of a juggling act during November. I also recommend rewarding word count and writing accomplishments with time with the family....movies, a walk, something to keep you connected and your friends and family from resenting nanowrimo.

ArborVitae: First of all, wow! I just noticed that you're first Nano novel was eventually published. Did you plan to write a "publishable" novel ahead of time, or were you pleasantly surprised by your work at the end of Nano and then decided to try for publication? Also, do you have any tips on planning ahead of time (outlining, character profiles, etc.) How do plan for Nano?

Ann: I didn't believe I could write a novel...so, it was absolutely a surprise. For me, one of the things I like about Nanowrimo is that I don't know where the story is going (I don't plan at all) and I am excited to find out. For me nanowrimo is about letting the character in my head take over the narrative and I serve as more of a transcriber than a writer.

Ann: I believe that people who read know a great deal about what makes a good story. And, Nanowrimo is ,for me, about letting that unconscious part of me take over and write a story without my thinking about it. For me, my novels written in November are much better than ones I plan. (I've learned that by trying to write both ways.)

Ann: Now, not all writers are the same and some really like outlines and character sketches...that's fine. No way is the right way or the wrong way...it's what works for you.

Ann: I spent a year-and-a-half on a ms and my agent said she didn't think it could be salvaged (or something that sounded like that to me.) But the novel I wrote last year, she says is really close. (('m trying to get the final revision off to her by Nov. 1)

Ann: Nanowrimo was such an eye-opener for me and taught me so much about how I write and where my voice comes from...I feel lucky that I gave it a try. And that's why I want to support and encourage all of you. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but I hope people at least try it to find out.

Ann: It's so rare we get to write with so much support and humor and with everyone understanding exactly what we're going through because they're going through it too. I just love that.

Ann: The biggest obstacles in Nanowrimo are ourselves. Time and time again I see writers beating themselves up because they didn't write enough, or it's not good enough, or they can't win nanowrimo. No, no, no, is what I want to say. Nanowrimo is all good...no beating oneself up for anything.

Ann: Think about it...no one in their right mind would be a writer. It's one of the only professions I can think of where 90% of the time you are rejected and critiqued. The pats on the back with a "Nice going" are so rare that we don't believe them when they come our way. The last thing writers need to do is become their own worst critique and haranguer. There are plenty of other people who will take on that role...we need to be nice to ourselves, and encouraging. It's awesome that writers are brave enough to write.

Megz: I told a buddy that I was going to do this, he was just as excited as I was but with one stipulation. He asked me if I was sure I'd be able shut my "inner editor" up for a solid month. I replied that I didn't have a clue but that I was sure going to try!

Ann: oh, oh,...I'm not sure I'd stuff a rag in the editor's mouth. These internal editors are our friends...we need them and love them because they help us revise our writing and make it as best as it can be.

Ann: My recommendation is to sit down with your internal editors and write a contract if they want it on paper, but assure them that they will get the novel to revise and enhance come the first of the year. Acknowledge how important they are in the whole writing process, and that you'd be lost without them...all you're asking is for them to take a break, rest, (because they're going to be needed and they need to be well rested to make sense of the nano-scribbling) and let the character get the rough draft down on paper.

Ann: Explain to your internal editors that you're trying to create job security for them...and give them a whole exciting project to work on. They'll take a rough, rough draft of a novel and make it wonderful.

Ann: If during the month the editor starts saying, "Uh, no, that's not how you write that. And, uh, no, no adverbs. Oh, oh, that's terrible...you're using the passive verb to be again." You again, acknowledge how good you're internal editor is, and how lucky you are to have him/her to lead the way on revision...but, remember, this is rough draft territory and the getting down on paper is what's important.

Ann: Basically, you want to have a positive working and collaborative relationship with your editor. Nanowrimo isn't about getting rid of the editor, it's about asking the editor to step back so that the rough draft can be completed. Those internal editors just want to protect us from putting out writing that could be better.

charmedimsurebl: I know several ways to combat writer's block, but what are some tried-and-true remedies for writer's block that you know of?

Ann: I'm not sure if this is a question for me...but, Nanowrimo is my answer to writer's block. The need to write words, regardless of whether they're good or the right ones, gets me to write through those periods of times when I don't know what happens next. I may have my character sit down and say, "What the heck am I going to do now?"

Ann: If the block is such that I don't even have a character then I use writing prompts to find a voice that has a story to tell. I use the prompt of having a character go into the attic and find a box...what's in it? What does it mean?

charmedimsurebl: And yes, I find the whole spirit of Nano to be an exercise in learning to write more. I found it to be the same last year. Sometimes though, I found I'd written myself into a corner, or I genuinely did not know what to write next, so that's why I wanted to know if you had any tips for that situation.

Ann: No problem. Another thing you can do during nanowrimo, if you've been writing and you end up in a corner, have the character receive a letter or a package from ( a parent, an old friend, the school bully, a stranger, the future version of the character,...) and have the contents of the letter set the character off on a new quest to find out who sent it, why, what it means, etc. And if you're really stuck, let us know...you'll instantly have a 100 possible next steps.

J.S.Alleva: My main question concerns the choice of Nano project. I would LOVE to work on my ICL assignment #10 (a middle grade novel), yet I have already written 3 preliminary chapters for that. In the spirit of Nano, I understand it is best to start a completely fresh project. I have a backup concept to use, but am more jazzed to use that 'crazy writing time' to churn out more work on my assignment novel. Would it be acceptable if I simply (or not so simply) produced "50,000 fresh words" on the existing novel? I understand that no one is going to be monitoring me on this, and could basically do as I like, yet I also understand that there may be a very good reason behind the 'fresh start' approach. In your experience and wisdom, what is your advice?

Ann: Congrats on taking the nano-plunge. My advice might be different from the nanowrimo officials, and some nanowrimo purists, but I'd suggest writing the novel that you have the most energy for. The problem with putting aside a novel that you've just begun, is that the main character in that novel will reek havoc on your nanowrimo novel. After all, you'd just started letting him/her tell his/her story and then you switch to another main character. If one is close to finishing a novel, then I recommend putting that one aside and going to another project. In that case you can reassure the character that you'll get back to it after November, and usually there's enough trust between you and the character that it will let you go on to something else. These characters that narrate our stories...they live and breathe (at least in my opinion) and we must be respectful of them.

Ann: In full confession...I started my nanowrimo novel, the one that's published, a little before November because it too was an assignment for school. And, I don't feel guilty about it, (although my friends did call me a cheater for the whole month) nor do I feel like I missed out on the "meaning" of nanowrimo. So, if it's convenient I recommend waiting until Nov 1, just so you can fully participate in the complete craziness of the event. On the other hand though, if you're eager to write this story that you've started, and it's where your heart and energy are...I believe you have to continue on with that story. It would be really rough to try to turn your attention to something else.

Okami: I'm happy to tell you I'm in a much better place than when you were here last. While last year's Nano didn't go well for me, I plan to stick with it this year and do a complete draft of a novel. My skin may not be thicker, but my resolve, ambition, and true love of writing and stories are stronger than they've ever been. I have my instructor at ICL to thank for some of that, as well as the support I've received here, it's truly immeasurable, and my gratitude is impossible to express in words.

Okami: I remember when you were here last you said that the revision process for Running for my Life was traumatic at times, at least at first. Is it less challenging now in the sense that you know the basics of how certain things work that you didn't before when everything's new? Like working with your editor. Plus, Now that Running for my Life's been out awhile, have you heard from readers who went through similar experiences with a mentally ill family member? Is it mostly teens, or do some adults or slightly younger readers write in too?

Ann: I'm so glad that you are going to give nanowrimo another try. Most importantly, remember to always be good to yourself. Writing a novel, or 50,000 words, in a month is a huge undertaking, and whatever we manage makes us winners.

Ann: I'm surprised I said that revision was traumatic...I'm not sure what I meant by that. I did write short, and quickly through the most difficult scenes in Running for My Life, and had to expand and elaborate on those scenes during the revision process. So, it was difficult, but I'm not sure I'd describe it as truamatic...at least not today. (Maybe I'm forgetting how tough it was.) : )

Ann: I haven't heard from many young people talking about similar experiences, although I have heard from young people who enjoyed the book. (Older readers have mentioned that their childhoods were like Andrea's.) I've been worried about how the mentally ill will receive my book as I don't depict the uplifting side of the story for a person diagnosed with schizophrenia. The way I looked at it there are already those books...the Beautiful Mind type stories...there are few told from the perspective of the child of the person with schizophrenia.

Ann: I wrote another novel last November during Nanowrimo...it's called Blindfold and it's about a teenage girl who wears a blindfold all the time as a way to cope with the trauma of being kidnapped by a serial killer and released on the promise that she wouldn't tell anyone what he looked like. (Nanowrimo has shown me that I'm more interested in writing about how characters live after a trauma has occurred then I am about the trauma itself. The kidnapping in my story takes place before the book begins...the story is just about how she copes with what happened to her.)

Ann: Places like ICL, classes or critique groups are essential (IMO) for every writer. We need to have readers who know about craft to give us revision feedback. It sounds like you understand the importance of ICL to your writing...and that's great.

Ann: If you've finished a story and revised it to the best of your ability then send it out and go onto the next project. No work is ever perfect and undoubtedly you'll get revision notes all along the way...so you just revise to the point that you feel done with it. If it isn't accepted at several places, then maybe you want to look at it again. Publishing takes so long to respond, we have to keep ourselves working ahead and to improve with project after project.

Ann: So happy to hear that things are better for you... : ) Happy writing...or is that tension-filled writing?

Yaya: Do you think its alright to pull out an old, old, old project and work on that during NaNo? I woulnd't count the words that have already been written, of course, but count from where I start again. What are your thoughts on that? Its a project that I have wanted to finish and never seem to get myself back over there to conquer the next step.

Ann: I'm going to be writing a project that I had started once before...the character, the setting, the basic issue. I've decided to just start over, knowing that when I revise I may go back and reuse the beginning I've already written. It might be interesting to begin again, just to see what or how it changes this time. Print or save a copy of the orignial version first. : )

Ann: Bruce Holland Rogers, that writer I told you about who writes flash fiction writes a first draft then erases every word and writes it again. He finds that those elements that were the best stay with him and those that didn't workd drop away. I wouldn't do it with a novel...but, it is an interestind concept.

LindaR: I just recently learned about NaNoWriMo and am highly intrigued. Is it terrifying, exhilarating, exhausting, all of the above and more? Is it best to not read what you've written as you go along?

Ann: Terrifying, exhilirating, and exhausting...are you sure you've never done nanowrimo before? Seriously, it is many things as there are days when the writing is inspired and just flows, and others when it feels like you're slogging through mud and want to quit for the fact that you can't see anyway out of the goo. But, what makes it doable is the fact that at any given point in time there are some who are ready to celebrate with you or cry with you and there's always another writer who knows exactly how you feel. So add that to the list...doable. Nanowrimo, writing a novel in a month, is doable.

Ann: You definitely don't want to revise as you go along, so there isn't too much point in rereading what you've written. Generally as I sit down to begin writing the day following a day of writing, I reread the last page of what I wrote to get myself back in the scene and mindspace of the character. That's the only rereading I do.

ArborVitae: Ann- what is your writing schedule like outside of Nano? Do you write full-time now?

Ann: Well, albeit defensively and to not give the wrong impression, when I wrote Running for My Life during nanowrimo, I was in school full-time, working full-time, and, had a house to run, a partner and two cats. (Okay, I'm exaggerating my responsibilities with the house to run, I didn't do much there.)

Ann: Ann: A year later I became quite ill and had to leave my job. So at this point in time (still not 100% well, but much, much, better.) I teach 4 writing classes (2 online, 2 in person at the local college.) and I give presentations at libraries and conferences.

Ann: For me, feeling well and being really busy, helped my nano process. That could be because chronic pain interferes with my ability to sit and to concentrate, so nanowrimo pushes me to my limit.

Ann: Just remember, as long as you can be nice to yourself no matter what, there's nothing to lose by trying. The worst thing that happens if you don't complete your novel is you don't get a piece of paper that says "You're a Winner" on it. And, if that really upsets you, I'm sure a friend here will make one for you. (or you can make it yourself.) Because all those who try are winners, too...as I look at it.

ColoradoKate: I did NaNo last year for the first time, thanks to your encouragement and the encouragement of my friends here, and it was exciting and wonderful and all that... and after 11/30 I didn't write a single thing, nada, not a word, until February. I didn't even edit. Nothing. Really. I did get a book I like out of NaNo, but still....Is that a typical pattern? Any suggestions for avoiding it this year?

Ann: Well, I think taking December off is a really good idea anyways. Whenever you write a novel you should put it away for at least a month before you start to revise it. Plus there are holidays and reacquainting with your family and resting. I mean seriously, you just wrote a novel...and endeavor that people take years to accomplish.

Ann: So I encourage everyone to give yourself a break in December. If you want to write letters or poems or stories...it's fine, but if you don't want to, that's fine too. It's important to recognize what a phenomenal thing you've just done. Come January you may want to do a few fun writing exercises...free writes and prompts and things. just to get your engine started again. I suggest getting a book of writing prompts and just doing those until you're ready (and actually while you're revising your nano novel.)

Ann: It's also a good idea to take a class in January or therabout, to help you with the revision process. Most importantly don't be hard on yourself. You wrote a novel...in thirty days!! That's all good and amazing.

ColoradoKate: Thanks, Ann. Good plan to just wait until January, and I like the idea of looking for a class then... I'm always more productive when I'm taking a class. And switching genres, to poetry or nonfiction, might help, too. I'm not crazy about writing to prompts, but your suggestion reminded me that I love writing to the themes that some magazines put out, so that's another "engine-starting" idea you've pointed me to... thanks!

Ann: Writing to magazine needs is a great idea. The important thing is to not be hard on yourself. Writing is tough -- emotionally and physically tough. Writers are brave and amazing people...and they should be treated as such, even if the writer is you, or me.

Yaya: I seem to recall you saying that you used to write Flash Fiction. Can I presume, then, that you understand something about that genre? If so, and I apologize for stepping out of subject, do you mind attempting to explain Flash Fiction in words I can understand? Thank you, again.

Ann: Flash Fiction is really, really short fiction. (Anywhere from 25 words to 1000...although most commonly around 500.) The stories have a beginning, middle and end, and are considered stories, although the brevity of the story means that they often read like prose poems. Each word does triple-quadruple the work.

Yaya: It doesn't sound as if you were one of the original (26, did you say?) who rolled that first NaNo snowball, but you do seem to be a major player in putting the snowman together. Do you mind sharing with us how that happened? Thanks.

Ann: Ah, you're so funny. No, I'm definitely not one of the original 21, and in fact I'm really late to the game. (and, no I don't have any special in with Chris Baty, although I do support Nanowrimo with donations and they are happy to be acknowledged in my book and to have a copy on their shelf in their office.) As I mentioned elsewhere, the reason I'm such an advocate for Nanowrimo is because I had no idea that I could write a novel. It wasn't at all something I knew or understood about myself. For me, there was something about the process...that writing from the unconscious, writing without doubt and interference from the internal editor...that freed me up to tell a story that I would never have had the courage to tell if I did it from a conscious, deliberate place.

Ann:

Yaya: How long have you been a participant?

Ann: I've really only been a participant for 2 years. The first year I wrote my book, Running for My Life, and the next year I tried but I was too far into a novel and the character in it wouldn't allow me to write something new. (I didn't get far that year.) That novel that I was already into, I spent a year and a half working on it, sent it to my agent and she pretty much told me it was hopeless. Then I wrote another manuscript last year during nanowrimo and my agent says this one is really close...definitely saleable.

Ann: So, that's how I learned that I'm a nano-novelist. I write with more heart and energy and connection during nanowrimo then I do when I let my internal editor pen the first draft. She's too scared about messing up, and stories need a certain fearlessness to write with power. We know all agree, she should handle the revision process and the characters should write the first draft, and I should be a writhing typist. (oops, I mean a writing typist.)

Yaya: I think I saw in another post that you said you teach writing, is that right? Have you always been a writer?

Ann: I do teach writing for children and teens at a local community college and I teach a nanowrimo class, and a writing for teens and tweens class online. I absolutely love supporting other writers to finish their stories, (that goes back to my previous comment about how so many writers write and revise the beginning, and get caught in a revision loop that prevents them from ever writing through to the end. In my class I sort of won't let students submit the same chapters over and over again, they have to write through to the end of the story before they can revise based on feedback. I actually have allowed some revision, but I do my best to push the writers forward.) amp up the tension, and express those young voices that live in their hearts. (Plus, I want to support them to fulfill their hopes and dreams as writers.)

Ann: It isn't that I've always been a writer though. As I mentioned in the previous post, my mother forbade me from writing and she was certain that if I did I'd destroy the English language. Now, she was mentally ill, and even at a young age I kind of knew she wasn't making sense, but I didn't want to hurt her either. That's one of the hardest things about my having written Running for My Life, a story about a teenage girl with a schizophrenic mother, I know it would hurt my mom if she were still alive. But, what can I do...when I started writing a novel during nanowrimo that was the story that came out. Apparently it was one I needed to write. (For sure my internal editor would never have let me write Running for My Life, and at the end of Nanowrimo I think she, the internal editor, was as surprised as I was at what a compelling story it was, and how brave the narrator was. We were both a little intimidated by our own lack of courage to write such a story.)

Fancy: I'd like to ask Ann about the time commitment for churning out 50k words. I know it will vary for everyone, but is it possible to write a novel in 2 hours a day? 4 hours? 10? Just wondering what her experience is?

Ann: Hi, Fancy...it's interesting that I get this question at every presentation I do. It's a little difficult for me to answer because I think I tend to write in spurts...like 5 hours one day, and none the next. I absolutely believe a person can write 50,000 words by spending 2 hours a day writing. (Although, of course, writing longhand might change things a bit.)

Ann: There's a rule in the nanowrimo organization...the one rule is that you can't quit in week 2. They fully understand that most every participant will want to give up, to quit, at some point during the month. Basically, they try to encourage the writer to wait a week beyond the time she wants to quit, and quit the following week. Why? Because most people end up not quitting...they just hit a wall and if they write through it, then really awesome and interesting things happen with their stories and they become excited and intrigued about what they're writing.

Ann: I don't want anyone to think that writing a novel in a month is all easy, and there's nothing to it. It's really a significant feat. The point I want to communicate is that there's no downside to trying. If the writer acknowledges her effort as a good thing...then some writing will take place, a story will germinate, and connections and goofy times will be had, and one can pat oneself on the back for trying. And, that's worst case. Best case...a novel is completed! (and you get a certificate that says Winner.)

Fancy: Thank you very much Ann - good to know I won't have to quit my "day job" to do this! The more I hear about Nana, the more it sounds like fun.

Ann: It is fun, and it can be quite productive. It's one of the only times in a writer's life that there's a whole world of support coming to bear on the project. And, in case I haven't said it often enough, there's no downside to trying. The worst that happens is you don't write a novel or 50,000 words...but, even then, I guarantee you'll write more in November than you would've otherwise.

Pippi: Thanks so much for this workshop. As a new writer, I hadn't even heard of NaNo until this workshop. You've inspired me to try NaNo next year - I'll definitely sign up! Good luck to you and all of the other NaNoers!

Ann: Pippi, I hadn't heard of Nanowrimo either, until Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, author of several picture books, and the nanowrimo novel The Compound talked about it. Having her mention it, my trying it, and writing a novel for young adults when I had been an author of short stories for adults (not as in xxx rated but as in older.) completely changed my life. I now focus all of my attention on writing for young adults.

Ann: It was a life changing experience for me, and it was just an "oh by the way" announcement that she made. I do hope that you at least give nanowrimo a try at some point...just to find out if it works for you. The experience and the style of writing isn't for every writer, but if it works for you it can change your life. And, there's no harm in giving it a try.