Good Evening, Ladies and Jellybeans!
My name is Charlotte Fraser, and 31 days from right now, I will have finished writing my very first book (50,000+ words).
Yup, I'm a masochist.
I'm a Creative Writing and Religious Studies double-major at Vanderbilt University. I'm a Kappa Kappa Gamma (I'll be finishing this book JUST in time for recruitment! YAY BABIES!), I dabble in writing satire (New Year's Resolution: write for The Slant again), and have a pretty serious work hard/play hard mentality (as every smart, hard-working college student should).
I've known I wanted to be a writer since I was very young--I take that back, actually. I knew I loved stories. I'd be given diaries, and rather than using it as an actual diary, I'd write poems and stories in them. I figured out when I was about 13 that writing was really my forte, and I'd love to someday be a writer. Everyone told me up until junior year, however, that "it's not economical, you'll be broke, blah blah blah, be a lawyer or doctor." Well that's great and good for them, but I'd be a good lawyer only because I'm stubborn, and a decent doctor only because I've been sick so many times that I can tell you what you've got and how to treat it.
So I waved at the people who shook (and still shake) their heads, and walked into Vanderbilt on a full ride, ready to tackle the challenge of learning how to become a writer.
What I didn't realise is that I already knew how to write something. I didn't know how to be an *author*. That takes years, time, and patience. But I'm not gonna wait until I think I might possibly know what it takes to be a full fledged author, because by then I'll be in my fifties or sixties and probably living with my mother. Or in a cardboard box.
I've gotten a pretty good grasp on writing short stories, poetry, and flash fiction. But now I'm tackling the oh so lovely challenge of writing my very first novel.
50,000+ words.
In 30 days.
...I'm a masochist.
So I've created this blog for a few reasons I've listed below.
1) I'm sure there's another college kid who's thinking "Whenever I write that first novel..." but is too scared to actually do it. Well, now you can! I'm living proof!(er, will be.)
2) I'll be able to stay publicly accountable for my daily deadlines. Nothing like public eyes to make you actually get shit done.
3) When I do well, I can get public congratulations. Hey, I wouldn't be whoring myself out over this if I wasn't hoping I'd get some support (and future readers!!!) along the way.
4) When I produce an epic fail, you can (via intarwebz) give me a Gibbs headslap.
5) When I'm wallowing in "Y AM I DOING THIS?!", you can send me happy things. Like bunnies. And sneezing puppies. And laughing babies.
6) Prince Harry might see this and realize I'm his one true love, so when I move to Edinburgh he can come find me and sweep me off my feet.
Hope you're ready to go on this lovely venture with me!
Good luck! I think you've got the right attitude. Patience and "realism" are for doctors and lawyers; writers and authors have to operate on an entirely different set of principles. If you haven't got the guts to give up sleep for a month and run on illogical, emotional ambition, then you haven't got the soul to be a storyteller.
ReplyDeleteI'm not being the least sarcastic here, either. I've been down for a while about how long it's taking me to get through a novel I started a year and a half ago, and you reminded me of the stubbornness I've been lacking these 18 months. So, I'm here with you, and I'm going to enjoy cheering you on for a month.
Polyonymy: YES!! You're so right!! I'm glad there's someone else out there that this blog might do some good for. :D This has been something I've been debating on doing for quite a while, and I've decided this is the month to do it since I'll be on Christmas Break for most of it. I've got a few novels that I've started, but have been too disappointed with to continue. This'll kick my butt into gear and make me actually *finish*. I'm glad you're joining! :D
ReplyDeleteGood luck with it, and don't give up in any case. I did it myself in November just gone. Some of the lessons I learned about writing are things that nobody else can tell you.
ReplyDeleteI kept the Hemmingway quote in my head everytime my hope and optimism decreased a little: "The first draft of anything is shit."
This is going to be so awesome! As a college student in the Greek system, I find it very hard to write for myself. Hopefully, your final project will inspire me to take the leap! I cannot wait for whats to come. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteDavidmccool.com: I actually have that quote written down in a notebook I have for quotes to keep me going. Thanks for reminding me it was there! I'm glad you completed it, and it seems like you really got something out of it.
ReplyDeleteHenryKul: Yay collegiate Greeks!! I'm glad that my doing this will (hopefully) push you in the direction of writing yourself! I'll say this, though--wait till summer break if you aren't planning on doing it all during winter break. You need a month where you aren't doing *anything* (or as very little as possible). Then it won't seem like a burden.