Monday, October 22, 2012

Thoughts on NaNoWriMo



I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year.  Last year I didn't enjoy it, not even a little.  I got a migraine the first week, so I got behind schedule.  I tried doubling up the second week and got incredibly burnt out.  I hadn't planned out my novel as well as I should have.  And I shared some chapters that weren't edited with my writing group, and felt miserable about it.  I ended up setting the half-a-novel aside permanently, which is too bad - it could have been a great story.  Now it's just a loathsome symbol of failure. 

So this year, my goal is not necessarily to write a novel (although I'd love to pop out the whole thing - all 75 or 80 thousand words, not just 50).  It's to keep up the pace of writing a chapter or two a day while remaining happy about it. 

I love writing.  My best days are the days when I completed a chapter in the morning.  The rest of the day is always relatively good. 

I refuse to let NaNoWriMo make me miserable this year.  The point (for me at least) is to write in solidarity with a lot of people and get in the habit of writing daily - and to knock out a chunk of a novel I was going to write anyway.

Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with NaNoWriMo?

Off to edit a chapter....

9 comments:

  1. Don't let it get the best of you!
    I like it, but will be busy editing my third book this year.

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  2. Meh. I think Nano's fine if you're a beginner. Someone like me doesn't need to worry about that. I can write 50,000 words in a few days if I feel the need, though I usually don't.

    Anyway, I have something much better than Nano going on, which will be unveiled soon.

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  3. Love your goal with NaNo this year. I'm gearing up to make Nov a productive month as well.

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  4. No NaNo for me, but it does sort of light a competitive fire under me just knowing all my friends are out there churning out so many words in a month.

    Good luck and don't let it kick your butt!!! You got this!

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  5. It's not really my thing. I tend to write about 10,000 words a week anyway and I'm usually in the middle of a project when it rolls around.

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  6. I'm going to be trying it out the first time this November, hope I have a good experience! I'll try to make it fun and not stress much about it.

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  7. I NEVER end up anywhere near the drafting stage in November, but even without having done NaNo, I absolutely agree with your plan for this year. Like you said, it's about churning out a good chunk of your manuscript and doing it in solidarity with an amazing writing community.

    Good luck! :)

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  8. I hope you find the right schedule for you this year. I have a good habit of spending around two hours on my writing during the week, cut up into pieces and lots more hours on weekends. Good luck.

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  9. Hi, Tonja,

    I've got some good books out of NaNo, but in the last two years or so, I haven't been able to finish anything resulting in that feeling of failure you talked about. As much as I'd like to be part of the madness this year, I must sit out this year - no matter that the mad side of my brain is telling me I should do NaNo :)

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