The Importance of Rebellion
rosabelle: Whatcha doin?
Akume: Altering a picture, listening to music, and pondering my novel. Also possibly debating writing an anti-NaNo post.
rosabelle: Anti-NaNo?
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I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I love the *idea* of NaNoWriMo, and the camaraderie, and the enthusiasm and encouragement. But I think they've got everyone going about it the wrong way.
It's all about the word count. '50,000 words in a month! Now you're a novelist!' And I'm realizing ... that's extremely unfair, and actually rather untrue.
I keep seeing posts of 'today's word goal is:' and 'I've got so many words so far!' And while I'm happy for those people, at the same time, it makes me look at it and just think about how far 'behind' I am. Which makes me feel bad, and sometimes like I'm not even a 'real' writer, because I can't do that.
But as rosabelle pointed out to me, there's more than one kind of writer.
I'm the kind of writer who edits as they write. I fuss and go over details constantly. I sort music and make pictures of my characters in Paint Shop Pro, so I can 'get myself in the mood'. I keep multiple files open at a time, often for completely different stories so I can work on whatever comes to mind first, rather than focusing entirely on one thing at a time. I take my time some days, I write pages at a time on others. I fully believe in Writer's Block, and glare at anyone who tries to insist that it's all in my head. Yes, it's in my head. That's the whole damn problem. -Mutters-
I made a point of making a post to myself just to avoid this issue, back when NaNo started.
I think other people feel that they're not 'good enough' for NaNoWriMo sometimes, too. Not everyone can win at NaNo. And while I love the idea, there are so many people pushing for the word count - not the writing. It's not *everyone* that does it, and some of the peptalks have been about just that, but with all the goals and the counters ... it sort of bogs you down after awhile. And you start to forget why you wanted to do this in the first place.
And you also don't think about the fact that for some people, 80% of that 50,000 words is probably crap. There's so much over-description and word padding to reach their goals, they're focusing on the 'goal', instead of the novel. I'm not saying *everyone* is this way. But it's still hard to see that sometimes. You see the numbers they're posting, not the writing.
I just think that there should be more emphasis on encouraging everyone to write, and less 'I've got this much!' You're so worried about being 'behind', you stop thinking about what comes next.
So now I'm realizing that I like the *concept* behind NaNo, but it's making me forget what I wanted to write and why, and then I get frustrated because I'm not 'where I'm supposed to be'.
I want to write a modern re-telling of King Arthur. It deals with heaven and hell, demons, angels, witches, dhamphires, immortals and immortal hunters, and more reincarnation than you can shake a stick at. It's about how history does and doesn't repeat itself. It's about friendship, family, loyalty, and romance. It's about good and evil, and what it really means to choose between the good of the many, and the good of the few.
I have a story I want to tell. And I'm going to tell it.
The point is to *write*.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
rosabelle: You're one of these *grins* http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/nano-rebels/threads/723
Akume: -Giggles- Kinda.
Akume: ... And now I have 'She's a Rebel' stuck in my head. Thanks. :-p
rosabelle: ... screw you
Akume: Did I share? ;;)
rosabelle: I hate you
Akume: Altering a picture, listening to music, and pondering my novel. Also possibly debating writing an anti-NaNo post.
rosabelle: Anti-NaNo?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I love the *idea* of NaNoWriMo, and the camaraderie, and the enthusiasm and encouragement. But I think they've got everyone going about it the wrong way.
It's all about the word count. '50,000 words in a month! Now you're a novelist!' And I'm realizing ... that's extremely unfair, and actually rather untrue.
I keep seeing posts of 'today's word goal is:' and 'I've got so many words so far!' And while I'm happy for those people, at the same time, it makes me look at it and just think about how far 'behind' I am. Which makes me feel bad, and sometimes like I'm not even a 'real' writer, because I can't do that.
But as rosabelle pointed out to me, there's more than one kind of writer.
I'm the kind of writer who edits as they write. I fuss and go over details constantly. I sort music and make pictures of my characters in Paint Shop Pro, so I can 'get myself in the mood'. I keep multiple files open at a time, often for completely different stories so I can work on whatever comes to mind first, rather than focusing entirely on one thing at a time. I take my time some days, I write pages at a time on others. I fully believe in Writer's Block, and glare at anyone who tries to insist that it's all in my head. Yes, it's in my head. That's the whole damn problem. -Mutters-
I made a point of making a post to myself just to avoid this issue, back when NaNo started.
- I realized I don't want to write 50,000 words in a month. (Well, I do, but.) I just want to *write*. I have an awesome story in my head and I want to tell it.
- I signed up because I want to write. I'm not going to win, but I'm going to write. And that's what matters.
- Who cares how many words it is? Some of the most awesome stories I've ever read were a *lot* less than 50,000 words. All that matters is that you have fun writing an awesome story. ♥
I think other people feel that they're not 'good enough' for NaNoWriMo sometimes, too. Not everyone can win at NaNo. And while I love the idea, there are so many people pushing for the word count - not the writing. It's not *everyone* that does it, and some of the peptalks have been about just that, but with all the goals and the counters ... it sort of bogs you down after awhile. And you start to forget why you wanted to do this in the first place.
And you also don't think about the fact that for some people, 80% of that 50,000 words is probably crap. There's so much over-description and word padding to reach their goals, they're focusing on the 'goal', instead of the novel. I'm not saying *everyone* is this way. But it's still hard to see that sometimes. You see the numbers they're posting, not the writing.
I just think that there should be more emphasis on encouraging everyone to write, and less 'I've got this much!' You're so worried about being 'behind', you stop thinking about what comes next.
So now I'm realizing that I like the *concept* behind NaNo, but it's making me forget what I wanted to write and why, and then I get frustrated because I'm not 'where I'm supposed to be'.
I want to write a modern re-telling of King Arthur. It deals with heaven and hell, demons, angels, witches, dhamphires, immortals and immortal hunters, and more reincarnation than you can shake a stick at. It's about how history does and doesn't repeat itself. It's about friendship, family, loyalty, and romance. It's about good and evil, and what it really means to choose between the good of the many, and the good of the few.
I have a story I want to tell. And I'm going to tell it.
The point is to *write*.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
rosabelle: You're one of these *grins* http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/nano-rebels/threads/723
Akume: -Giggles- Kinda.
Akume: ... And now I have 'She's a Rebel' stuck in my head. Thanks. :-p
rosabelle: ... screw you
Akume: Did I share? ;;)
rosabelle: I hate you