NaNo musing

[eirenical]

OK. So, as I said, I'm not really doing NaNo because a) who has time? and b) I'm still afraid of burnout.

But, I think I am going to try something anyway. Lately I keep coming up with all these ideas for LM stories and, much like I once had going for Hair, I have sprawled out into a bunch of WIPs.

...which is highly inconvenient.

They're distracting and I don't have time for them.

SO. I think what I shall do is, in place of "doing" NaNo, I will do my best to finish off these WIPs I have sprawled everywhere. At the very least, I will write every day. Maybe a little. Maybe a lot. But I will write SOMETHING. And hopefully in the middle of all that, I will actually get my exchange stories done. I mean... it's not like one of them isn't due in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. O_o;;; (But I've got a decent start on that one, at least, which is more than I can say for the other two. -.-;;;)

Also, (though I'll probably cave on this one and start counting anyway) I think I'm going to say "Fuck the word count." This isn't about number of words -- I KNOW I can rack that up if I want -- this is about FINISHING THINGS.

So, instead of posting word counts, I will borrow a trick from one of my favorite WIP memes and every day I will post a sentence from whatever writing I did that day.

I think that sounds like more fun. ^_^

So... here's to FiWriThiMo (Finish Writing Things Month)?

Comments

[nightsea]

I think that's a great idea!

When you think about it, the spirit of NaNo is not only to create, but also to complete. I'd wager that people have a harder time with the latter.

Anything that gets the process going is fair game! :)

[eirenical]

IT'S A nightsea!!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDD *POUNCE-GLOMP*

It's been way too long, WE SHOULD TOTALLY TALK.

*coughs* Ahem. But, yes. ^_^ I absolutely agree. The whole "I won/lost Nano" thing really defeats the purpose of the month. It's not to churn out 50,000 words of drek that goes nowhere. It's to turn out a NOVEL. Even if you don't finish it in the month, even if it isn't 50,000 words, the point is to write a (potentially publishable) work of fiction. I think people lose sight of that by focusing so heavily on word count. *nodnod*

Are you doing anything for NaNo month? I have no idea what's even going on with you lately. O_o;;; Did I tell you I'm going to Canada tomorrow? ^_^

SORRY, I AM RANDOM AND PROCRASTINATING AND JUST EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU. ^__________^ *bigbigbig hugs*

[nightsea]

Renee! *hugs!* I imagine you're probably in Canada by now, so I hope you're enjoying your trip!

And yeah, it's been a while since I've been on DW, so I'm sorry about that. I'll try to be better.

As for NaNo.. I've decided to try something entirely different, just to shake things up, and write in first person. It's weird, but I like it! I posted a short bit of my first foray into this adventure here on DW, so you should have access to it. If not, I can change that. But yes, I've decided to start fresh with this new perspective and hope that it can get rid of the stagnant mess that my story and inspiration have become. We'll see what happens!

*hugs*

[eirenical]

I am indeed in Canada ^_^ and having SUCH a good time. ^_^ Have the day off to relax and pretend I'm going to do work before I go see Les Mis again tonight. ^_^

Re: your plans for your writing
Nice! Personally I love writing in first person, so much so that a lot of the time I default to it with new story ideas before I rethink whether or not it's appropriate. It definitely carries its challenges, but overall I may even like it better than regular third person. ^_^ Good luck with it!

I shall hae to wander over to your DW and look for the snippet later! ^_^

*snugs* We should talk when I get home. *nodnod* Also, are you still on AIM? I've recently started using it again, so can "talk" that way, too. ^_~

[zoicite.livejournal.com]

I sort of did a baby-me version of this a few years back where I decided I was going to finish 3 of my WIPs by the end of the year and I did finish them and it felt good, so go you, I say! *pom poms*

[rchan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! ^_^ I'm hoping that by shifting the focus from word count to finishing things and just writing every day that it will help me to maintain drive through the month. Also, I just need to stop letting myself get lazy with my writing. I could devote an hour each day to it if I wanted. It doesn't have to be marathon, 4000 words in a sitting kind of writing. Even if it's only a few hundred words at a time, it will still add up. :) So, yay! Let's see how long I can keep it up!

(And I remember you doing that with the WIP finishing. I was very impressed. ^_^)

[zoicite.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I feel like in this case, focusing on word count won't really mean anything. Who cares if you churn out 50k if it's words just for the sake of getting words down and you don't actually finish anything that you have on your plate, right?

"4000 words in a sitting kind of writing"
at first I thought that was your definition of NOT marathon writing and I was like ......bwaahahahahahahhahaah. ;)

[rchan.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I feel like the focus on word count and on "winning" Nano forces a focus on quantity over quality. And I sit there and think... quantity is not my problem. I can do quantity. I've proved I can do quantity. And I can do quantity in short spans of time. Finishing what I start and being consistent in my ability to sit down and write, inspired or not, are my two major problems. So, that's what I'm going to focus on. *nodnod*

*laughs* No, that is my definition of marathon writing. I wrote all 12,000 words of "Where Do I Go?" in one day, but... yeah. Normally, I don't do that. ^_^