Vomit on the Page

Last year, as my freshman Honors English class was beginning an essay, my English teacher warned us against “vomiting on the page.” “Too many students,” she said, “simply write down everything that comes to mind when they’re writing an essay. You just let your thoughts spill out on the page without thinking about how to make your sentences concise and clear. That’s fine for a brainstorm, but not for most other types of writing.”

This was a huge lightbulb moment for me as an essayist. And yet this past month, I have done exactly what my teacher told me not to do: vomit on the page.

The reason for this change was NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month. This is an event where writers of all ages and from all countries agree to try and write an entire novel in the month of November. The standard adult goal is 50,000 words, and the standard Young Writers goal is 30,000. I went somewhere in the middle and chose 40,000 words.

And it has been a rollercoaster ride! From waking up at 5:45 every weekday morning to having to explain to my friends why I was skipping Bible study to write to hitting a block at about the 13th and being unable come up with anything interesting to realizing on about the 17th that my planned plot would fill up about 80,000 words, not just 40....yeah. It’s been a crazy--but awesome!--month.

The point of NaNoWriMo is to learn to shut up your inner editor--that little nagging voice that constantly tells you “not good enough” “lame” “no one wants to read that” or even “what made you think you could write?”

Oh, don’t get me wrong, your inner editor can be used for good--it’s what enables you to revise and grow. But there are times when it needs to be shut down. There are times when you just need to let your creativity flow, gush out on the page.

The best part of NaNoWriMo this year for me? My writer’s block (knock on wood!) is finally broken! I’ve reawakened my love for writing and my creativity. Sometimes just letting yourself go is all it takes.

Now, go and write!

~Hannah