This is my third year participating in NaNoWriMo*, and I've found it to be a good tool as long as that's all you use it as--a tool. My first year it was an obsession. I had to finish. I. Just. Had. To. And I did, and what I finished was a horrible novel that was unsalvageable, although I did spend several months trying. Last year I began anew, only that time I ruled NaNo; I didn't let it rule me. I wrote, yes, and I wrote more often, but I wrote words that mattered, words I could use. The result of that was Blackbird, probably my favorite of all my books. But even with that success I wasn't going to do NaNo this year. I was already 23,000 words into my current WIP, and didn't want to put it aside to start something else. After some thought I realized I didn't have to. All I needed was 50,000 words written in one month, right? So did it matter where I started? I figured it didn't, so start I did. My current work is at 38,000 (or 15,000 NaNo words), which puts me a little behind, but I don't care. I love it--and in the end that's all that matters.
Any one else out there participating in NaNo? What has your experience been?
*For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, NaNoWriMo stands for National November Writing Month where those craziest among us try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. You can find out more at http://www.nanowrimo.org
I have never and will never participate in NaNo, but I know some people love it. I'm nearing the end of a WIP and writing faster than I've ever written but only because my editor wants it yesterday. And that's a good feeling too.
ReplyDeleteI contemplated it, but this year I had so many unseen obstacles in my way I could not participate even if I wanted to. Good luck to you this month. I hope you meet all of your goals and expectations with NaNo- but like you said, the main thing is, YOU love doing it. And that's all that matters, in the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm not participating in NaNo, and I haven't in the past, but I want to try it out some time. Good luck with reaching your goal. I think you have the right idea about how to use NaNo.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter what you are working on, only the total number of words. Keep at it, Melanie!
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't matter where you start. That's wonderful that you are loving the words.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm going to add you as a buddy on NaNo. This is my first year participating in it. I'm behind in the daily word count, but I'm okay with that. I'm getting words down when I can, and I like the story so far. That makes it worth it! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm doing NaNo as well! It's my first year, but I'm liking it. I'm like you, behind on my word count, but I've decided that I'll be fine with wherever I end up as long as I make the effort to write every day. Today, I had grand plans of busting out a lot of writing, but found I really wasn't into it. So...I wound up with a slow day instead. All good. Like you said, if I would've pushed just to get the word count, then I probably would've ended up getting something that didn't work. Good luck to you and have a fun NaNo!
ReplyDeleteEvery Nano so far I've learned a new skill and met the word count. I think winning Nano is about personal bests, and self discovery. The word count is almost incidental. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette