“Noveling.”
On the day that I’m writing this, I’ve typed the word novelist several times and it keeps coming out noveling. “I’m a novelist” comes out “I’m noveling.”
Well. There’s something arresting there, especially since I decided long ago to write about “this business of story.”
I love stories. I read stories. I write stories. I live stories, with plot and character conflicts disassembling my tidy life plans every day. I share stories when I go deep in conversation with friends or walk beside them through their dry valleys. The fact is I see bits and pieces of stories flung around my ordinary day.
Dialogue. Humor. Moods. Obstacles. Disappointments. Faith gone dark. Determination. Overcoming. What it is that binds me to story?
My meanderings around this business of story take me to some dead ends and some scary places.
• Can I sell stories? We’ll find out when my contracted books start releasing.
• Can I survive the story of the storytelling industry, which seems to have a new cliffhanger every week?
• Can I shape stories? What am I contributing to the lives of people I care about?
• Can I sustain myself with stories? Can I make a living as writer? Can I carve out the time to feed my soul with the fruit of writing even if I don’t make a penny?
I tend to want to be at the end of stories. As a novelist I want to write stories that keep readers turning pages to get to the end. But I also want to know how things turn out in my own life story. What will be the payoff for my efforts, whether it be in relationships, ministry, or the next manuscript?
Almost every month, though, someone in my book group turns to a page to read aloud a striking passage that stills my hurrying. Mentally my tongue sloshes around trying to slurp up the wisdom and craft dripping from the words I hear. One exquisite paragraph, the precision of one sentence, even just one delicious word—story mingles in the writer’s choices, and zest lingers long after the book is closed. How could I have missed those morsels in my own reading? It’s a reminder to me of the splendor of being on the way somewhere, rather than being at the end of the story.
This business of story is about seeing life through a lens of story. We capture life within the words we wrestle onto the page. The meaning of moments comes into focus when the time is ripe.
As much as I want to understand the business of story to make a living as a storyteller, I want even more to understand the business of living a good story.
So I am “noveling” after all. I may just hang onto that accidental word.
How is your noveling going?
Note: On the day this posts, I’ll be driving across four states to be with extended family on Thanksgiving for the first time in six years. I’ll be on the lookout for free wi-fi along the way to check in with comments. Even if I’m late to the discussion, though, I hope you will find richness in conversation.
WordServe Water Cooler 
I’m asking myself a lot of these same questions, Olivia. Next year will probably answer quite a few of them. 2012 should be very intersting….
Love that word “noveling”! For me the noveling is going quite well. This time of year everything slows down because of holiday joys and busy-ness, but any day or hour I can dedicate to writing is another reason for giving thanks. Safe travels, Olivia!
I think I’ve found a new catch phrase – “I’m noveling” – love it!
Lately, life has interfered with my noveling, but I hear God telling me to slow down a bit and not be so obsessive. You’re right. We do need to LIVE life, rather than live through the lives of those who don’t exist.
Thank you, Olivia. As a brand-new novelist who is finding the noveling process rather daunting, I found encouragement in your words today.
This, Olivia, is really speaking to me this morning: “It’s a reminder to me of the splendor of being on the way somewhere, rather than being at the end of the story.” I am often so focused on the end of the story — in writing and in real life — that I often don’t appreciate the process itself, the beauty and small miracles that are present in everyday living, if only I would stop for a moment and notice. So thank you for reminding me of the importance of that today.
Happy Thanksgiving to you — and safe travels!
I really like the idea of noveling. There’s a sense of whimsy to it, coupled with hope. With the holidays my noveling has been relegated to the back burner, and if I’m not careful it will be off the stove completely. One thing this process has taught me is patience.
Olivia, I love the idea of noveling. As a novelist it captures what I do so much better than the simple word, writing. Many people write. Some even record others’ real life stories in biographies, articles, and non-fiction books. Novelists, however, are a different breed, creating stories from the wonderful, wispy beginnings of ideas that wing their way into our minds and won’t let go until they soar into being as full-fledged novels. I can see a new hashtag on Twitter coming about: #amnoveling. 🙂
After driving across four states I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, Olivia. I liked the way your wrapped your post around the word “novelling”. For me it’s about wrapping my life experiences around the idea of whichever book I’m writing, so the characters are believable and real to me as well as the reader. I’m going to use that new word every time I write now. Thank you.
Patti
Olivia, you summed it up well when you said, “This business of story is about seeing life through a lens of story.” When we cannot see the stories around us, we’ll never be able to translate them to paper. And I love your new word! #amnoveling 🙂
Olivia,
Savoring the new word: noveling.
And just this past week I wrestled with all the questions you asked in this post. The “s” questions: selling, surviving, shaping, sustaining. I think I’ll be asking myself these questions over and over again.
Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to comment on this busy day. I have three states behind me, with one more to conquer tomorrow. I am staying the night with a niece, so this is the first chance I’ve had to check comments. I’m so glad to hear that the post brought encouragement, as well as expanding vocabulary. If you’re on twitter, I’ll see you at #amnoveling. (Thanks, @keligwyn.)
Olivia–I’m teaching a novel-writing course this term at Ball State University in Indiana. I wanted to create a Twitter hashtag so that we could share our experiences with each other and with the world. I was thinking of the way that many writers use #amwriting (which stands for “I am writing”) and did a search for #amnoveling. I was surprised to see it wasn’t being used much, so we started using it and it’s caught on some by people who follow me on Twitter, and used by others I don’t know at all, which is great. I wrote about using social media in my classroom here: http://cathyday.com/2011/08/29/twitter-in-a-creative-writing-class/, and this is the blog my class started, http://iamnoveling.blogspot.com/.
Thanks, Cathy, for explaining the interest in the hashtag. From my accidental brain, to my writer-friend KeliGwyn who started the hashtag, to your students. The original post, which you’ve found, is also aimed at a community of writers. The tag was brand new just a week ago–I thought. Perhaps writing communities will intersect.