If you weren't aware, I'm a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) addict. I did it for the first time in 2007, and I've done and won every year including and since. The funny part is, I don't need to do it anymore. I write 50,000 words in a month on a fairly regular basis. (If you recall my crazy output last year, I wrote ~350,000 new words in 2011, not including revisions and edits.) But I'm still doing it this year.
You see, I love the energy of NaNo. Literally hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing I am in the month of November. They're sitting their butts in their chairs and putting their hands on their keyboards and making magic. Some will be or become publishable magic--most of mine have (after much, much revision--never skip that step)--but that isn't even the point of NaNo. It's all about the words, and that has power in itself.
Writing is a solitary gig. We chat on twitter and some people have live writing groups they meet with every so often, but most of us do this shit mainly solo. But in November, that feeling of aloneness disappears and we become part of something bigger.
It's an awesome feeling.
Now, I know, NaNo is not for everyone. Some people can't turn off their internal editor (or if they leave her on, can't make the word count anyway), others hate the pressure and the deadline, still others have issues with the 50,000 word thing (because outside of small YA books and those for a younger audience, that isn't a whole novel, you know?). And all of that is fine. NaNo doesn't do anything for some people.
But if you're a writer or a wanna-be-writer, it's worth giving it a try at least once. See how much you can accomplish on that next bit of magic in thirty days. And if you hate it... it's only thirty days. Most workout plans expect you to try longer than that. At the very least, the month will get you in the habit of BICHOK (butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard) on a daily basis, which is a good thing for a writer.
As for me, the first words of Kiss of Life will hit my laptop in 48 hours. On the plus side, it's a world I already know, so I don't have to stress too much about prep-work. On the downside, I've been crazy-busy tying up other projects the past few weeks in preparation for NaNo, so I have nothing done on actual book prep-work. It should be a trip.
Either way, I get to see Remy again, and that just makes me happy.
*jittering in my seat* I'm excited to get started in just 1 day and a few hours now! :D I did Nano for the first time last year and was thrilled with the excitement and fun with everyone. I'll admit it was the perfect reason to finish a complete thought, which I did for the first time. My problem was always getting to the end. And it happened last year. Although, yes, LOOOOOADS of editing and re-writing needs done, but I finish it! That's what makes it for me.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to start another idea in just a day. :)
Good luck!