Being the crazy person that I am, I tend to get myself into things that I should probably say 'no' to. Last year I entered the NaNoWriMo challenge, for example. Now, I'd heard of the WriMo challenge before (if you haven't, check out the official site), several times in fact, but because I'm not the most diligent of writers I always said 'Hell, no!' whenever I was asked. Last year, for some bizarre reason, I said 'yes'. Even though I'd literally said 'no' only minutes beforehand.
A bit random of me, don't you think? (Yeah, this is the tenuous link to the 'random' topic of today. *shifty*)
Anyway, I was sort of wondering what other writers thought about the whole NaNoWriMo concept?
NaNo!!!
Yup, there are plenty of NaNoCanDoers out there. Heck, I was one myself for a good few years. I've always thought the idea was a good one, but also always thought that it just wasn't for me. 50,000 words in 30 days? No Sirree, not for me. It's just way too stress-inducing, and I don't do well with stress.
But then I said....
NaYay!!!
Yup, and it was the best thing that I ever did. *nods firmly* For someone who has little to no motivation, is a procrastinator at heart, and is most likely to be found playing Bejeweled Blitz rather than writing (*is shifty again*), agreeing to the challenge was a bit of a shock to say the least. But the feeling of being a part of this great big team was amazing. Everyone was competing against each other in a way, sure, but everyone was also very supportive of everyone else, and we all just wanted everyone to reach their goal. Letting yourself down is one thing, but letting your twenty writer friends down is another.
Anyway, I finished the challenge - by the skin of my teeth - and have never felt so good about myself (when it came to writing stuff, at any rate). And this year I'm probably/more than likely/heck yeah! going to do it again. And to prepare myself I'm blogging every day this month on my own blog for the NaBloWriMo (though I've not officially entered it, I'm just doing it for me).
Of course, I'm already stressed just thinking about it, but it's a nice kind of stress really, and one I can handle.
Is anyone else up for the challenge? Are you going to say NaNo or NaYay?
Image courtesy www.clker.com
10 comments:
I'm still on the fence. I've never bdone more than 1100 words in a day, si if I miss a day, I'm sunk. But a friend is egging me on, so I may just...
Hmmm...I like the IDEA of NaNo much more than the concept. I find the concept hard to wrap my head around and a little stifling. I usually wind up signing up and dropping out. I have my own personal deadline for this year, though, so I might use it--unofficially--to try to finish up the novel.
I love feeding off the creativity and productivity of the writers who participate, but I'm never able to join up, myself--always seems to fall in the middle of another project.
I am planning on doing NaNo again this year (it will be my seventh) but, well, I'm not honestly very excited about it.
The thing is that the only thing I want to work on is the second draft of my WIP. I have already started it (during BuNoWriMo in June) but I completely lost momentum on it over the summer. NaNoWriMo this year is basically my opportunity to actually finish the thing.
So I go into NaNoWriMo already committed to breaking the rules of the event. If I had finished the draft in July as I had intended then I would probably do something entirely new.
... even if that might mean retelling my failed NaNo from 2006.
personally i think november is a crazy busy month with thanksgiving and family and holidays coming up. i'd love it if they changed it to january or february when everyone is bored to tears after the holidays and has cabin fever because of long, gray winters.
yep. they should change it. just. for. me. :)
Yeah, November just sucks (possibly more so for Americans, due to Thanksgiving {at least for those of us who celebrate it as THE major holiday of the year}). I'll be back to form if we do BuNo in June again though. ;-) Meanwhile, I will join the cheering section (as well as the when-are-you-going-to-send-it-to-me pestering section). *snort*
I'm not so sure. I really have a lot on my plate right now and have to take care of myself. It's going to be impossible to juggle family, job, and health. :(
Not even thinking of joining this year. I know I said the same last year, and ended up doing it all the same, but this time I am determined not to because I just can't.
But I will be cheering the rest.
I'll be participating again this year, which will be my third year.
I personally thrive in this type of environment. It suits my style of writing where I tend to average a chapter a night and I don't stop till I'm finsihed with the entire book.
The last time, it was 63,000 words in the BuNoWriMo challenge.
I wonder how I'll do this year...?
HELLOOOOOOOO... who has FOMS? I'm hooked... deeply hooked... I have a whole pile of editing that needs doing, but I also have THREE book ideas nagging at me badly--no clue which I am going to do--probably the YA murder mystery, though part of my really wants to dig in and do the first in a YA series that has been bugging me, and then there is the apocalyptic one... WAIT! I have TWO Apocolyptic ones I've been toying with--one more a dystopian survival take, the other a conspiracy theory one.... EEK GAD! HOW COULD I NOT WRITE!?
*cough* okay. Better now.
[helps that I plotted my deadline to my editor so I hand off the cleanish novel to her before then...]
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