How the 3 Day Novel Contest Time Limit Will Reveal Your Writer-Self

Lessons from the Labor Day contest

Photo by Keren Fedida on Unsplash

I’m thinking that you might want to know about this annual event/contest, and even start preparing for it! You have two months to go…

For more than four decades, people have been writing for 72 hours over Labour Day weekend, taking part in the 3 Day Novel Contest. It began long before NaNoWriMo!

Check out the 3 Day site for this year’s info and dates.

Twice, I have taken part. I did it before I ever published a book, in the time when I was still cutting hair for a living. That was the best part of it: for three solid days, I immersed myself in being the writer I wanted to be. I discovered lessons about my work that would have taken years otherwise.

This year the contest will be managed by Vancouver’s Anvil Press, as has been off and on in past. Back then a neighbor certified that I stayed home and did not hire a troupe of writers to come and pull together a blockbuster of 500 pages. (!) It is an honor system of sorts. (And really, it’s more a novella contest.)

My two different experiences

Year 1

I started with no outline. I did have “somewhere to go” (aka the “end”) in mind, but no idea how I would get there. There were characters in my head, and a bit of research about a couple of points I needed to know more about (and this is allowed). I had my house packed with enough food and cigarettes (yes, this was back in those days!) And I’d notified friends to leave me alone. (Don’t forget that piece.)

Year 2

I outlined. (This is allowed, too.) That was a new process for me, but I worked through the story arc and character arcs, what was going to happen, and when. I affixed these notes to the wall surrounding my desk. I’d also moved to a larger home, and invited a writer-friend to join me, and share cooking.

What I accomplished

Year 1

I wrote 96 pages in long-hand. I had a complete story, beginning, middle, and end. My left hand — writing hand — was throbbing. I felt a breadth of emotions, from fear and deeply questioning self-confidence (who was I to think I could do this?) to exhilaration when coming up with material.

Year 2

I wrote 56 pages with my outline, beginning, middle, and end, typed. It was too short and elliptical. I felt as if I’d been filling in blanks, and developed a restless energy that at points resembled boredom. It was not the nail-biting, anxiety, and excitement-inducing time of the previous year. It was nice to have someone around to discuss ideas and to trade off creating food. (At one point my friend was a bit lost with a plot idea, and we — literally — threw ideas scribbled on bits of paper into a bowl and drew one out. Off he went to write it… )

What I learned

Process

After year one, I determined to learn how to type first drafts. (My handwriting is terrible. If I leave it too long, I cannot decipher it.) From year two, I learned that I am not a writer who can work with “the plan” without constantly going off course; while I do like having an idea of the destination, I need the mystery of exploring the story through the writing process. There is something about pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. That is how I think. (And I discovered that long-hand or typing creates no difference for the most part; if really stuck, I may take up a pen, even now. But not for long.)

Being solitary

I learned that such intense writing means I should probably be alone — though it was fun to work with another human and have someone to talk with. But there was a distraction. My cooking time in year one was thinking time. And I needed to go for walks. I needed showers at weird times of day, that had nothing to do with being clean… just to mull through problems in the work. (And sometimes I went too long without a shower. Another reason to be on my own!) I needed to talk out loud, pace, rant a bit. Sometimes I hear certain pieces of music. Sometimes I needed to pour a glass of wine. I write best alone. I learned that certain times of day were better, how little sleep I need, and the usefulness of naps and a good stretch.

What it takes

I learned that writing drains. I woke up Tuesday morning after year one and headed off to cut hair with a mild headache that grew to migraine proportion by end of the day. It was so bad I couldn’t walk home, and a cab refused to pick me up because I appeared to be so out of it. My vision was blurring from the headache, and I was wobbly.

This was a lesson in itself. I’d had no idea sitting, writing, thinking, could take so much out of me. I was prepared for this, year two, and booked the day off.

I learned that I am a writer

I can stick with the task. I can battle through finding story solutions. I’m not afraid of the blank page or screen… or if I feel that fear, I can work through. I can finish! That was my biggest takeaway, and what I most needed at that point: no matter what, writers have to be able to write. Right to The End.

Post any questions you might have about this!