Word Counts and Dedications

WORD COUNTS

Have you been following the forums?  Have you seen how many people have already crossed the 50,000 word mark?  Let me tell you, it's a lot.  And people started crossing the path last week (several in the first week, even).  I've seen people posting of the forums who have over 100,000 words. 

My first instinct is to be jealous of these authors.  My second is to be skeptical.

When I click on the authors information I see that, more often than not, these are people who live and breathe writing.  They are prolific writers and have serious hobbies.  So I'm jealous of the time they have available to write.  This is a generalization here:  I haven't looked at every single profile, but of the ones that I have clicked on; it does turn out that they often have nothing else to do.  No job to go to, no family to cook for or tuck into bed, and sometimes no lover to warm the sheets for them.  I have all of those things which takes up time which I could be writing.  But I wouldn't be happy without them (well, maybe without the job, but who wouldn't be?).

I'm skeptical of their word counts.  Maybe not necessarily the count itself, though early on in the month I certainly was.  I find I'm skeptical of the quality.  Could this really be great writing done so fast.  The answer is yes.  It could absolutely be fantastic writing that I would enjoy reading.  But the chances are it's not.  However, that's true of the novels that are only 15,000 words in as well.  These are still only rough drafts.  And for some of us, these are simply practice.  As Randy Ingermanson said "you get good at writing fiction by writing fiction".   It takes practice.  Going slow or fast does not ensure quality, only quantity. 

So, I guess I have to just learn to ignore those bars that turned green when the author hit 50,000.  There will be more and more of those as the month goes on.  I've just got concentrate on my own writing to make sure it's something I'd read and to hit the 50,000 mark.  This is great practice. 

DEDICATIONS

Are you thinking about putting a dedication in your Nanovel?  I saw the question posed in a forum and was surprised that I hadn't thought of it.  I like to read them in novels.  I love it when they are funny and not just a list of thank yous.  I like to see them in codes that only the recipients of the thank you would understand.  It feels like reading a secret love letter when it's coded. 

The forum had Wrimo's posting their dedications.  Many went to deceased parents and grandparents.  Many went to best friends who had put up with Wrimo's during the month of November craziness.  And some went to spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends who helped with the daily to do list in November. 

I haven't written one (and won't for this month unless I need a short burst of word count to finish, which I don't anticipate).  I know who to thank in the dedication.  I know who my true supporters are.  And I hope that they all already know that I love them and thank them for their valuable time and effort this month and every month.  But the dedication isn't for thanking people for their help on the published book  It is supposed to be a meaningful tribute for someone important.  So I think I'll thank my friends and family personally, and I'll dedicate the book to Mr. Ian Woon.