Nov 04 2008
Why Didn’t I Write the Great American Novel?
Why Didn’t I Write the Great American Novel?
Well, perhaps I still have it in me. That must be where it resides, because it surely does not exist on paper anywhere, or in the hard drive of my computer.
I have often wondered what stopped me from pursuing a “serious” writing career. I know that I aspired to write SOMETHING great, if not a novel, since about 7th or 8th grade. I was too lazy when it came to writing stuff out on paper. Why would I try to write MORE when I was too lazy to write the stuff that was “required” in school. I found it much easier to READ novels than to write them.
In later years, I was preoccupied with career and family….so THAT was my excuse. I used that excuse for thirty years at least.
Frankly, I don’t have a real good answer to my header question. Perhaps I was afraid of failure. Perhaps I was afraid of success. Success puts a lot of pressure on you, while failure just means you aren’t much good.
Last year, 2007, I wrote over 50,000 words towards a novel during the National Novel Writing Month, which is November of each year. NaNoWriMo, as it is known, is a terrific organization with lots of support for aspiring writers. My “novel” from last year languishes while I try to figure out how to re-write it into something worthwhile. I plan to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year, and I am already four days behind schedule. (1667 words per day is what it takes.) I read that 125,000 people in the USA and a few foreign countries will be participating this year. I highly recommend it. I know MANY MANY fellow bloggers who are participating.
Perhaps someday I will overcome the fear of failure and actually publish. Someday.
Tomorrow: Why Didn’t I become a Cowboy?
Yesterday: Why Didn’t I Learn to Play a Musical Instrument?
I love NaNoWriMo, even though I haven’t done it the past two years. But my first two novels from NaNoWriMo are still collecting dust in my drawer…maybe I should get them out and revise them.