To NaNo or not to NaNo...
Debra... that is the question.
I've had a few people ask me if I'm going to participate in this November's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Challenge and up until a few days ago, I was confident I would. Now, I'm not so sure. For those unfamiliar with the challenge, participants are required to write a minimum 50,000-word novel within the thirty days of November. If they do so, and it is validated with the official NaNoWriMo word counter, they are considered a winner and a few prizes and accolades are distributed.
I participated and successfully completed the challenge last year, writing a 52101-word novel within the first 14 days of the month. It was not great fun but it was rewarding in that I accomplished the goal and was able to write The End on something of that magnitude.
The story wasn't particularly enjoyable to me, it was something that had been rattling around in my head for years, so I didn't feel quite so much like I was writing but rather, taking dictation from my brain. It wasn't new, it wasn't exciting and it certainly wasn't something for which I had to struggle. Hence, the 14 day completion time.
This year, if I were to do it again, I would need to start now and begin blocking the plot, interviewing my characters and building the fictional world the story is set in. The process intrigues me but the time commitment doesn't. I have so many personal obligations, classes and trips scheduled between now and the end of the year, I don't know that I want to commit to something that overwhelming right now.
Fiction writing is still important to me but I'm not sure this challenge is, at least not this year. I'm really enjoying my personal life right now and spending that many hours of the few non-working hours I have in a fictional world just doesn't have the appeal it did last year. I'm still mulling it over but I think my decision is quickly being made for me.
Maybe next year?
Reader Comments (4)
Lady, enjoy your life. You are settling into yourself so beautifully these days, there is no reason to place arbitrary time constraints on yourself. If you want to do the writing, then do it. and do it in a way that you enjoy it... not crammed into a month because you feel you have to. Enjoy yourself. That is the important thing. :)
Incoming email, Kellee. :-)
Only do it if it's going to be fun for you. If you think it will end up being a chore, then skip it this year. Writing is, and should be, something you enjoy doing. 8^)
I did Nano three times and each time was different, of course. But I don't think I have it in me to do again. My body can't handle that much caffeine again, ha. I'm with Mary here...if it's a chore, take a pass.