Humans, by there very nature, are storytellers. From the gatherings around campfires and drawings on cave walls, to the modern day novel, people have always told stories. The problem with the modern day novel, however, that like so much of media in our recent history, it is broadcast. The writer sits down, writes the novel, revises then novel, tries to get someone to publish it, and eventually, it is out there in a static form, broadcast to anyone that will read it. There is very little interaction between the writer and the audience, except maybe at a book signing or in random hate mail. At least that is how it has always seemed to me as strictly a consumer of novels.

Now, however, I am making my first attempt at writing a novel. Sometime this weekend, I expect to pass the half way mark. I’m not sure where the point of no return is, but I believe I’ve passed it and now have to finish the novel.

During this experience, I went to a write-in. To people who view writing as a solitary experience, a write-in doesn’t make a lot of sense. I know that I write better when I am alone and not interrupted or distracted. A bunch of writers getting together to write, and chat about their writing and eat curly french fries, well that just seems too distracting, and at my first write in, I only accomplished 800 words. I probably would have done twice that if I stayed at home.

Yet, I’m finding that writing isn’t a solitary experience, or it doesn’t have to be. The municipal liaison for NaNoWriMo in my area sent out an email to all of us, encouraging us on. It had various statistics about the average number of words written by various groups of writers and the writers that attended write-ins were the most prolific.

More significantly, I’ve been speaking with friends about my novel. I’ve sent them sections of my first draft and they’ve provided great suggestions. I’ve worried about whether I’m bugging them too much, but they’ve commented about how much fun they are having watching my novel unfold and making suggestions.

Perhaps this returns the story telling process to a little bit more like the stories told around the campfire. The audience asks questions and the story take shape with their participation. If you are doing NaNoWriMo, I would encourage you to get to write-ins and to talk with trusted friends that can give you good advice. It makes the experience all the more fun.