National Novel Editing Month is Upon Us

Each week we feature a blog post by one of our many talented interns here at Superstition Review. This week’s piece comes from Fiction Editor Sarah Murray.

 

Every year, thousands of people participate in what is colloquially called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. This popular event happens throughout November, and the goal is to write at least 50,000 words, or a novel, in a month. Generally, there are no rules. There is only one clear goal: write, and keep writing.

While that’s all well and good—considering that actually writing things down is the most important part of the whole writing process—there is, in fact, a lesser known side to writing. Here’s to the unsung hero of literary bliss: editing.

We’ve all been there. We know what it’s like at half past two in the morning, deliriously typing prose. And then you read it in the morning, and it’s like Texts from Last Night, but worse. You clearly can’t show this to anyone just yet. This is where editing, the writer’s best friend, comes in. And that’s the whole idea behind NaNoEdMo; writers, after giving their new novel some reading space, can dedicate a whole month to revising and layering in edits.

Of course, people aren’t truly expected to write an entire novel in a month. Nor are they expected to be able to polish it off in a month either. The intent is just to get people to write, to sit down and not be afraid of what they can create. And once they’ve created, they can also be empowered with the ability to destroy, to decompose and rebuild. So this time around for NaNoEdMo, don’t be afraid to grab your red, blue, or purple pens (and perhaps a friend who gives good advice) and have at it. I for one will be there right along there with you.

Get your pens ready. NaNoEdMo begins March 1st.

 

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5 thoughts on “National Novel Editing Month is Upon Us

  • February 29, 2012 at 10:34 pm
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    NaNoEdMo is something I always look forward to every March. I’m gonna go get my red pen!

  • March 1, 2012 at 1:27 pm
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    If there is anyone who would like someone to look over/edit there writing, I have been doing editing of things like Fan Fiction and other genre`s for almost 20 years and I would be more than happy to help anyone who would like a second or ever third opinion/look over.  Wedge

  • March 2, 2012 at 9:59 am
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    I need to do NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo this year. I will need to wait for November, though. I have nothing to edit. It’s such a brilliant idea. Every year I tell myself I’m going to do it. Every year I miss it. Happy editing to all you people with 50,000 words to edit =)

  • March 2, 2012 at 10:19 am
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    I was just thinking that I wished it was NaNoWriMo yesterday. I didn’t finish NaNo in 2011 but I did get a big chunk of writing, roughly 35K. The first time I did NaNo in 2010 there were a few nights when I’d be struggling to make word count before midnight and once I typed while actually asleep. I had no recollection of writing. NaNoEdMo is a really good idea and I need to hop on that bandwagon.

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