In late January, there was a rare gathering of friends from all across Ontario and Quebec. We managed to squeeze in almost a full 48 hours together before the grown-ups had to return to their jobs and the "adult children at home" had to get back to their fruitless job hunting. It was a magical weekend; we often see one another one-on-one, but for almost the whole gang to be in the same room again was intensely special.
We weren't what I'd call a "dorky" crew during our undergrad days; sure, we did well at school, but we also drank like fish and smoked and passed out in weird places and dated hot heart-breakers. Normal BA stuff.
But as we sat around in my bud's living room, getting progressively drunker on cheap beer and even cheaper wine, the conversation - which had started with normal catching up- quickly took on a literary tone.
It was probably one of the most genuine, enthusiastic talks I've ever had with this group and that's saying something, because this crew consists of some of my very best friends. Everybody- guys and girls- just wanted to talk about what they were reading now, what they'd read back then, which books were going to make great movies, and what they'd write if they had the chance. Keep in mind, only one of us there (me) is a self-identified "writer". We were a motley crew of history majors, education majors, sociology & poli-sci double majors and one long English major. Who woulda thunk we'd come together over books?
Anyway, the drinks kept flowing and some revelations were revealed. Apparently, a lot of us used to write when we were younger. I didn't share with the gang that I had just recently tossed all my high school notebooks, including the 350 hand-written page notebook.
But at some point between the fourth and fifth glasses of Red, one of my adorable teacher friends piped up: "Hey! We should all write novels in February!"
And so a pact was made: we would each shoot for 1,000 words a day, from February 1-28th, resulting in a short novel approximately 28,000 words long. At the end of the month, we'll share our novels with each other. So I should have four novels to read by month's end.
We're now seven days into February and most of us admittedly are rather behind. Personally, I only have about 1,300 words so far. BUT I'm loving actually writing again. My brain is constantly churning, searching for inspiration, filing away ideas for later... it's like a winter miracle. In fact, I'm rushing this post a little so that I can procrastinate on job hunting and get writing again! I might even enter the draft in a contest or something, if it holds up after editing. If not, at least I got my writer's mojo back.
If you want to write a February Novel: it's not too late!
1. Don't waste time comparing ideas, paralyzed by the thought of "choosing the wrong one". Just pick something and go with it. I was afraid to write a cop novel because I thought I was limiting myself with the genre. I was also worried about writing something that the guys wouldn't want to read. That was just an excuse to not get started earlier.
2. Just write; don't edit. Some people are getting bogged down thinking their words are crap-- that's not the point of the exercise. In this case, we really are going for quantity not quality. Because as a writer, you're your own worst enemy.
3. Set a reasonable goal, like say 500 words a day. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day-- and don't stop if you're on a roll!
4. Do it with someone! A lover, a friend, your book club. You'll need someone to hold you accountable, and I am literally SO STOKED to read my friends' novels. This is definitely a project that's meant to be shared.
5. Tweet, instagram, pin and let us know how your own #FebruaryNovel is coming along.
Gotta book it
xox
JEM
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