Well, after yesterday's decision to fight for the finish line, I immediately wrote 745 words -- and then stopped. So I'll leave my insane wishful thinking to other pursuits, such as winning the lottery, and call it a day.
November just isn't a good month for me to try to write a thirty-day novel. Everything about me slows down then, combined with the ramping up of holiday responsibilities. November is when I feel the coming winter and have to fight hibernation tooth and nail. So the fact that I managed 15,000 words this month is astonishing to me.
So I'm a "non-winner" once again. But it wasn't a total loss. I got a good start on my novel, and many magical moments with my Muse. Someone who was supposed to just be a two-dimensional villain has now blossomed in her own right, and I have the entire story structure laid out in an outline -- something I've never done before. In past NaNo projects, I've put the piece of writing away, never again to see the light of day. But with this novel, it's still working away in my brain, with ideas bubbling to the surface. I think it's quite appropriate that it's called Carrying On, because that's exactly what it's doing.
So, NaNoWriMo, the tradition of me going to the TGIO (Thank God It's Over) Party as a "non-winner" continues. But I have learned a great deal about myself, about finally spending time writing as a grown-up instead of a giddy, love-struck teenager, and I have written more this month than I have in years.
And perhaps next April, which is also thirty days long, I'll begin my own version of the contest: "MyNoWriMo." :)
Friday, November 26, 2010
WriMoNoGo -- again.
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5 comments:
Just so its said, Karen, there is nothing wrong with realizing one's limits. The question is what you do with the realization. It seems that you are doing the right thing ... giving up the short term victory for a more long-term progress that will get you doing something you enjoy.
I look forward to reading your novel and meeting your villaness. :)
«It's never too late to give up» LOL
This sounds like a very good decision. You've come much farther then you were before, and I'm sure this will turn out really good without all the stress.
Carry on! :o)
Thanks! I feel relieved to let it go, and yet pleased to have gotten so far with a project I still love!
I think this is the genius of Nanowrimo.
Realistically, who can write a good novel in just thirty days.
Something tells me that it not about being a winner.
Simply a way to motivate people to start writing
I might make it to the finish line this year, but if I do, it'll be against all odds. During November I've been working full-time at a new job that doesn't allow Internet access (which is the only way I managed to get NaNo done in some previous years), I've been slowly moving things from the old apartment to the new one (serious timesuck!), and on top of that I'm still trying to read enough to maintain my book review blog. I've restarted 3 times, and by the third time, I just decided to lump the wordcounts from all three starts together or else I know I wouldn't be nearly as close as I am to the finish line. Some days I think it's a miracle that I made it this far at all.
But don't feel bad about not finishing. The fun is in the process, not the ending. :)
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