Today is Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 – the first day of National Novel Writing Month, usually referred to NaNoWriMo. If you haven’t heard of this before, NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words by the end of this month. This translates to 1,667 words a day, or anywhere between two and four hours of writing. The very first year I attempted this challenge, I “won” – that is, I completed 50,000 words of a rather stupid novel that I ended up disliking very, very much.
But that’s not the point. I’m not disappointed in myself for writing 50,000 words of garbage. I am PROUD that I was able to accomplish that goal. I attempted it again the following year but only managed about half that many words. I have not attempted it in about six years now.
But this year is different: I have set a goal which aligns with the spirit of NaNoWriMo. Several years ago I wrote a novella of about 80,000 words which covered the adventures of a sentient egg and stain. There is absolutely no market out there for a story this length with main characters such as these, and honestly the story wasn’t that great. It was quite convoluted, and when I recently reread it, I could practically FEEL Old Me jerking the main characters from one scene to the next, and shoving other characters away when they had fulfilled their purpose.
But I’ve never given up on my little stain and egg. I brought the story to a writing group some years ago and someone suggested I rewrite the story as a graphic novel. This struck me as the perfect medium with which to tell my story. Thus my goal for this year’s NaNoWriMo is to not write 50,000 words, but to devote two to four hours a day on this story. I anticipate the rewrites and illustrating will take me about a year to finish. So I hope that by this time in 2024 I will be announcing the publication of my first graphic novel! Do not wish me luck or any such kindnesses. What really motivates me is when people tell me I can’t do something. So if you wish to support me, please comment below with your most sarcastic laughing emoji, or tell me how your little sister wrote her first graphic novel about sentient food and concepts last year and it’s been on the NYT Bestseller list for 36 weeks already and so I shouldn’t even bother trying to compete. I’ll appreciate the inspiration.
Author Billie Bang 