NaNoWriMo or NaNoNoGo?
Originally published at Kimberly Sabatini. You can comment here or there.
For years I’ve been hearing people talk about NaNoWriMo -National Novel Writing Month. From November 1st until November 30th, participants set a goal of writing a 50,000 word novel. I’ll admit it, part of this has always intrigued me, but it has also scared the crap out of me and because of that, I’ve never seriously toyed with the idea of participating. I’ve had a list as long as my arm of reasons I could not participate and this year the excuses have grown with TOUCHING THE SURFACE coming out on October 30th. Just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ll share the highlights from that list with you…
*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!!
*I’m working on revisions for book #2
*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November.
*Thanksgiving
*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts.
*I never get enough sleep.
*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house.
*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly.
*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break.
*I blog.
*I’m a procrastinator.
So, it’s obvious that I’m not going to be able to do NaNoWriMo this year…WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY I REGISTERED ON SATURDAY AND I’M SIGNING UP TODAY!!!!!
Ha! Bet you didn’t see that one coming. *grin* Yes, I know that I’m insane. Now let me tell you why I’m going to be giving this a shot…
*First of all-I’m going to be doing this because the SCBWI-particularly my Hudson Valley Shop Talk Members ROCK! Lisa Koosis, one of my local writer buds gave a guest presentation at my local Shop Talk and she got me sooooo excited to break out of my box and give this a try. She told me a million things to make me want to give it a go, but the three that stuck out the most were…
1. It’s just supposed to be fun.
2. Even if you don’t finish, you’ve probably done more than you would have without participating.
3. You can discover unexpected things about yourself.
As Lisa talked and I got a bunch of fluttery tingles in my belly-usually a sign that I’ve eaten something bad or I’m excited-I started to think about why I might want to participate in this event.
*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!! And as exciting as this is-I’m scared. There I’ve said it. It’s exciting AND scary. (There will be a spin off blog post on this later) But I suddenly realized that it might be a really good thing for me to have a reason to step away from the madness. It’s a full circle thing-when a book is born, perhaps the best way to celebrate is to write something new. So…I think that it might be very healthy to have a reason to unglue my eyes from reviews and Amazon’s Author Central.
*I’m working on revisions for book #2. I love revision-it’s easily one of my favorite parts of the writing process. The story is there, it just has to be manipulated. I don’t know how long that process will take me, but I know that when it’s over, there will be the typical wave of fear and insecurity about having to write another first draft again. What if I can sneak in a part or all of a first draft while I’m revising? This idea intrigues me. I’ve been marinating ideas for book 3 for quite a while, but I don’t feel “ready” to tackle it yet. But what if I trick myself into thinking that NaNoWriMo is nothing more than hard-core stretching and training for the writer in me. What if I give myself permission to take a crack at this rough draft under the guise that it isn’t “real writing”-its an activity, an event, a journey.
*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November. Yeah-and how many hours is that out of my life? Not enough to use it as an excuse. The truth is that I have days when I’m drafting, where I have six hours to sit and write and there are days when I squeeze in 45 minutes while the boys are at jujitsu. Not always, but often, I’ve managed to write the same amount of words on both of those days. Perhaps this is about FOCUS.
*Thanksgiving. I do not host Thanksgiving at my home. I spend the day eating and socializing. I watch the parade and I do kicks in my living room along with the Rockettes on TV. I can squeeze this in or I can double up on another day. Using this excuse makes me a turkey.
*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts. At least this is how I think of myself. I have a system for writing and I like it-it works for me. The only time I really have trouble with it is when the other members of the Wolf Pack whip off manuscripts in sick amounts of time. It makes me queasy and insecure even though intellectually I know better. But what if I can do things a little differently. When I’m investing myself in a book I revert to wanting to attack it in a familiar method-one I’ve had success with. But this is a little like tricking myself into doing something different. What if shouldn’t be the gateway to potential failure-it should be a question that makes us want to try.
*I never get enough sleep. But I watch TV. I mean-not crazy amounts-but I make choices. It’s only for a month, right?
*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house. But I still have a month to put things to rights and realistically, everything I clean is always going to get dirty again…dishes, laundry, kids. By the time I start, I’ll be much more organized than I have been in awhile. So I just have to make that effort to stay on top of daily chores so that I don’t go under physically or emotionally.
*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly. I’m going to have three busy boys from now until forever. I started writing SURFACE when they were 2, 4 and 6 years old. I have no recollection of when I actually did that-but I must have. LOL! Besides, soccer ends mid-month, there is break after the recital and we do have a Thanksgiving break. Plus-they support me. And my lovely hubby has been traveling a lot which means I have no excuses.
*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break. No reason to stop. I write in my head when I run anyway. I let my subconscious take the lead when my feet are in a rhythm. No need to change that-it might help me get my words out faster when I sit down.
*I blog. Ha! I’m sure it’s going to give me lots to blog about.
*I’m a procrastinator. Sometimes, but not always…
Have you ever done NaNoWriMo? Completed it? Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Have you been avoiding it like me? Secretly long to try? Have a great excuse for not playing? Tell how you NaNoWriMo or NaNoNoGo.