Trembling like a leaf...

[with-new-eyes.livejournal.com]

... So, this is the first time I've taken NaNoWriMo seriously and I'm pretty freaked out. My biggest fear before Nov. 1st was that I would not even get off the ground without something planned out. NOW, I've done a fairly decent job so far (with nothing to start me off but a random line in my head) but I have new fears. I'm mostly afraid that I will crash and burn, turning my fairly decent novel into crappy crap. I'm writing about cooking (mostly Greek food) and I have a couple Greek characters... I don't know anything about Greeks and next to nothing about restaurant cooking. What if I kill my novel? AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhh! I'm freakin out a bit...
Any thoughts on this phenomenon?

Comments

[direcorrector.livejournal.com]

If you're writing on a topic you don't know much about....make up the details for now so you can increase your word count, and then do the research later. Or if you feel like procrastinating, go on wikipedia and research now!

[agent-tomato.livejournal.com]

Just write. You can go back and revise later. Just write like crazy.

[rhye.livejournal.com]

My advice is just to make it up and pretend that you know it and that there's no possible way anyone would ever be offended by anything you write as it is all clearly 100% correct and very, spectacularly awesome.

Worry about it in December, but don't think about December right now. Maybe it'll never come! Wouldn't that be something? Hehe.

[with-new-eyes.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy this way of looking at it. Thanks for the inspiration!

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

Write and fix it when you're done!

[pinkpolarity.livejournal.com]

For when you get ready to do research into restaurant cooking, read "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. The snarky, acerbic, egotistical memoir of an executive chef, it's readable, interesting, and filled with detail about the restaurant world.

[moonhorse.livejournal.com]

My novel writing motto (has gotten me through one or two books ;D)

"Write shit and be happy. Edit later." I'm thinking if I ever write a memoir this is what it will be titled...

Don't edit while writing and if it is crap, well writing crap lowers the expectations you have for yourself so thus you let yourself do things creatively that you would not have done before. Sometimes to continue onwards you have to write crap.........

[imaginepageant.livejournal.com]

I've been freaking out the exact same way. The advice someone gave me: "DON'T ERASE WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN. Yes, it's probably crap, and yes, you will erase it when you edit, but NaNo is NOT for editing. Just write, fuck. Write your fucking word count and edit in December, goddamnit. Now get off LJ and go write." Harsh, but totally awesome and just what I needed!

[greenpig.livejournal.com]

I had a smiliar experience. I had my story basically planned out however when November 1 dawned, I suddenly felt I needed to write a prologue. At the time, I wasn't entirely sure that prologue I was writing was actually for the story I was planning to write but as it insisted on being written I wrote in anyway and in the ended it has provided a great segue to the first chapter of my novel . So I would say if that is the story that is insisting on being written then run with it and see where it leads you

[slash-dotdash.livejournal.com]

First draft, yes? Well, WHO CARES about the details? My characters have changed their names three times since the start and so did my city... just make it all up now, and edit later!