I’ll lay it right on the table – I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year. I can’t. That’s not to say I don’t think it’s a good idea – I do. I “won” in 2008 and 2010, writing my novels for Fowlis Westerby and Vertigo City respectively. Sadly I just don’t have the time this year. Last year I kidded myself that I could do it, and I was going to try to write some of my Parrots & Piracy short stories. I managed 2000 words and gave up because my head just wasn’t in the right place. This year, as much as I want to join in, I just know it’d probably drive me crazy with stress.
NaNoWriMo is a huge undertaking at the best of times but throughout November, I’ll be working on my PhD, two assignments for my teacher training course, and I’ll be prepping and delivering not one but TWO nightclasses on Photoshop and InDesign – that’s in addition to my day job, Friday flashes, edits to make on my horror/fantasy novella, and various blogging commitments. If I try to insert a need to write 1,667 words per day…well I’ll just about break.
Ali Luke has written a fairly comprehensive post about why you should, and shouldn’t, do NaNoWriMo. I’ll just leave you by saying I’m not doing it, but I wish you the best of luck if you decide you want to….
I hear ya. I had signed up for Nano but as today dawns I know I’m going to have to give it a pass. I have so much editing to do on my manuscript that I can’t, in good conscience, start something new when that’s nagging at me in the background.
Maybe next year, right?
Definitely! I think there’s no point in forcing yourself to do it if you have other demands on your time, otherwise you just won’t enjoy it.
Last year, I got one day into it, and then booted. I realized that there was no way that I could do it and the capstone for my literature bachelors at the same time.
I am intending to do it again. Partly because I’m a glutton for punishment, partly because I want to support my kids as they do it again and partly because it is one of the few things that make me write anymore. I haven’t started yet, of course, what with the cleanup from Hurricane Sandy and just now finally getting back online. But I intend to start tonight, even if it is just to get a title written on a file.