An Announcement
I'm quitting NaNo.
Well, wait, let me rephrase: I'm stepping back from this year's NaNo. I might decide to try and play next year, but this year just isn't working out for me.
I know this kind of statement gets some people's ire up. "Why not NaNo? What else do you have to do?"
Well, I can't say for other people, but for me, I have a lot of other stuff to do.
1) Revising ACCURSED. Yes, I said this would "count" toward my NaNo goals, but honestly, there are days in the revising process where only about 100 words are new (and many, many more are chopped). And that just isn't conducive to 50k in a month. Hell, it isn't conducive to 30k in a month. And ACCURSED has to come first right now and that's all there is to it.
2) I need a break. I put myself on an insane writing schedule in the last year or so, and, while I'm proud of what I've accomplished, I'm also realizing that continually "swimming faster*" is going to burn me out. I don't want to burn out. I want to be doing this writing thing until I can no longer form coherent sentences-- which, at the rate I'm going, feels like it might be next Tuesday. So. Pushing myself to write 50k this particular month, just because a bunch of other people are? Not the best of plans.
3) Hubby & I are hosting Thanksgiving for my family & his step-dad this year. So. Lots of cleaning, cooking, planning, more cleaning, more cooking... You get the point. I've never understood why November was chosen as the NaNo month.
ETA (for Dawn S-A): 4) I have a ton of crit to catch up on! Two manuscripts, my crit group on Thursday and various bits for Jess... And while it's not my own writing, I find doing critique nearly as useful as my own words, and also, oddly relaxing.
Now. I'm as big on "NO EXCUSES" and "KEEP WRITING" as just about anybody could be (well, maybe not quite as much as Maggie Stiefvater or Lilith Saintcrow-- but close) and I think that's been a bit to my detriment-- I'm having trouble finding the line between "excuse" and "legit reason to not run oneself into the ground writing."
I've taken a hard look at how I've felt lately (craptastic) and how writing as made me feel lately (happy but dissatisfied with my speed) and realized-- I'm freaking insane. I've written so much this year. I finished a draft in 9 months, which I've never done before. I've revised it in 2. I revised another book 2 1/2 times since the end of last year. So.
No more pushing NaNo.
If, after I knock out draft 3 of ACCURSED (I was going to call it Draft 2.2, but there are too many big changes), I go back to Remi's story and I hit 50k this month, I hit 50k. Woohoo! If I don't-- I don't.
And I've got to let myself be OK with that. And not care if other people aren't.
*Thanks to Jess for the Dory-esque image!
Well, wait, let me rephrase: I'm stepping back from this year's NaNo. I might decide to try and play next year, but this year just isn't working out for me.
I know this kind of statement gets some people's ire up. "Why not NaNo? What else do you have to do?"
Well, I can't say for other people, but for me, I have a lot of other stuff to do.
1) Revising ACCURSED. Yes, I said this would "count" toward my NaNo goals, but honestly, there are days in the revising process where only about 100 words are new (and many, many more are chopped). And that just isn't conducive to 50k in a month. Hell, it isn't conducive to 30k in a month. And ACCURSED has to come first right now and that's all there is to it.
2) I need a break. I put myself on an insane writing schedule in the last year or so, and, while I'm proud of what I've accomplished, I'm also realizing that continually "swimming faster*" is going to burn me out. I don't want to burn out. I want to be doing this writing thing until I can no longer form coherent sentences-- which, at the rate I'm going, feels like it might be next Tuesday. So. Pushing myself to write 50k this particular month, just because a bunch of other people are? Not the best of plans.
3) Hubby & I are hosting Thanksgiving for my family & his step-dad this year. So. Lots of cleaning, cooking, planning, more cleaning, more cooking... You get the point. I've never understood why November was chosen as the NaNo month.
ETA (for Dawn S-A): 4) I have a ton of crit to catch up on! Two manuscripts, my crit group on Thursday and various bits for Jess... And while it's not my own writing, I find doing critique nearly as useful as my own words, and also, oddly relaxing.
Now. I'm as big on "NO EXCUSES" and "KEEP WRITING" as just about anybody could be (well, maybe not quite as much as Maggie Stiefvater or Lilith Saintcrow-- but close) and I think that's been a bit to my detriment-- I'm having trouble finding the line between "excuse" and "legit reason to not run oneself into the ground writing."
I've taken a hard look at how I've felt lately (craptastic) and how writing as made me feel lately (happy but dissatisfied with my speed) and realized-- I'm freaking insane. I've written so much this year. I finished a draft in 9 months, which I've never done before. I've revised it in 2. I revised another book 2 1/2 times since the end of last year. So.
No more pushing NaNo.
If, after I knock out draft 3 of ACCURSED (I was going to call it Draft 2.2, but there are too many big changes), I go back to Remi's story and I hit 50k this month, I hit 50k. Woohoo! If I don't-- I don't.
And I've got to let myself be OK with that. And not care if other people aren't.
*Thanks to Jess for the Dory-esque image!