For all you Nanowrimo folks
Nov. 22nd, 2004 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperOkay, y'all, I've seen several of you fretting big time on my Friends list because you are not likely to make the Nanowrimo goal this year of fifty thousand words. And I just want to tell you all something, in the hopes of boosting your spirits, and that is: IT'S OKAY. Really. The Nano page talks a big talk about how its point is to give people a shot at actually writing that novel they claim they'll write someday, and while that's a grand goal, it's only really good up to a point. Because the thing is, very, VERY FEW people can actually pound out 1700 words a day and juggle everything else in their lives as well.
"Anna," I hear you say, "that's real easy for you to say. I mean, hell, YOU did Nanowrimo last year. And you got that 50K."
That's true. But you'll notice I'm not doing it this year, because I don't have the time. And those of you who are on my Writing filter may also notice that I have not been able to maintain a Nanowrimo level of daily word counts, either. I've been doing very well to make my personal daily quota of 500 words a day or otherwise something else related to writing (such as, for example, worldbuilding or working on a story outline or something like that). And for that matter, I frequently don't actually write every day. Sometimes I just can't.
From what I've heard from people who are pursuing professional writing careers, very few folks can manage huge piles of words on a daily basis. One pro I heard talk at Norwescon spoke of how she very specifically set herself a low goal of 200 words a day, so that she could balance that out with everything else in her life and still get the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal. (And half the time, she found, she had energy left over to surpass her daily goal, which gave her extra motivation.)
Nanowrimo is just one means to an end: getting you to write a novel. It's just that it may not be the correct means for everybody. If you really want to write that novel, do what every single pro I've ever heard talk does: find a means that works for you. You may have to try several things before you find something that works, because no two writers work the same way. (One alternative you might consider is a Nanowrimo spinoff called NaNoWriYe--same idea, but it stretches the work out across the year.)
I had to learn this lesson myself--in 2003, before I broke my arm, I tried to set myself a daily goal of a thousand words and started getting really stressed out when I fell behind. I felt like I had to make up the extra words or else I was failing at my goal of being a writer. But after several days in a row of not making words and therefore having my required word count build up to ridiculous levels, and therefore having my stress about it build up with it, I started cluing in that that goal was unrealistic.
But that didn't mean I was a failure. It just meant that I needed to re-evaluate my goals.
And that's the lesson I want to ask you all to learn now. If you don't make Nanowrimo, you're not a failure. There is NO SHAME WHATSOEVER in not writing 1700 words a day if you have other things going on in your life that wind up being higher priority. And remember, even if you don't write 50,000 words in November, your friends and loved ones still love you. I still respect each and every one of you for giving it a shot, just because I love to see you guys talking about your thoughts and plans for the stories you're trying to build. :)
Hugs to the lot of you, and hang in there, y'all. The important thing is not how many words you make in a day. The important thing is that, if you really want to write, that you write.
"Anna," I hear you say, "that's real easy for you to say. I mean, hell, YOU did Nanowrimo last year. And you got that 50K."
That's true. But you'll notice I'm not doing it this year, because I don't have the time. And those of you who are on my Writing filter may also notice that I have not been able to maintain a Nanowrimo level of daily word counts, either. I've been doing very well to make my personal daily quota of 500 words a day or otherwise something else related to writing (such as, for example, worldbuilding or working on a story outline or something like that). And for that matter, I frequently don't actually write every day. Sometimes I just can't.
From what I've heard from people who are pursuing professional writing careers, very few folks can manage huge piles of words on a daily basis. One pro I heard talk at Norwescon spoke of how she very specifically set herself a low goal of 200 words a day, so that she could balance that out with everything else in her life and still get the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal. (And half the time, she found, she had energy left over to surpass her daily goal, which gave her extra motivation.)
Nanowrimo is just one means to an end: getting you to write a novel. It's just that it may not be the correct means for everybody. If you really want to write that novel, do what every single pro I've ever heard talk does: find a means that works for you. You may have to try several things before you find something that works, because no two writers work the same way. (One alternative you might consider is a Nanowrimo spinoff called NaNoWriYe--same idea, but it stretches the work out across the year.)
I had to learn this lesson myself--in 2003, before I broke my arm, I tried to set myself a daily goal of a thousand words and started getting really stressed out when I fell behind. I felt like I had to make up the extra words or else I was failing at my goal of being a writer. But after several days in a row of not making words and therefore having my required word count build up to ridiculous levels, and therefore having my stress about it build up with it, I started cluing in that that goal was unrealistic.
But that didn't mean I was a failure. It just meant that I needed to re-evaluate my goals.
And that's the lesson I want to ask you all to learn now. If you don't make Nanowrimo, you're not a failure. There is NO SHAME WHATSOEVER in not writing 1700 words a day if you have other things going on in your life that wind up being higher priority. And remember, even if you don't write 50,000 words in November, your friends and loved ones still love you. I still respect each and every one of you for giving it a shot, just because I love to see you guys talking about your thoughts and plans for the stories you're trying to build. :)
Hugs to the lot of you, and hang in there, y'all. The important thing is not how many words you make in a day. The important thing is that, if you really want to write, that you write.
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Date: 2004-11-22 06:56 pm (UTC)And yes, sure, I am currently on track to finish: but I was on track on Friday, and I've written a whole 240 words since :)
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Date: 2004-11-23 06:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 09:14 pm (UTC)I may be 2/3 throiugh NaNoWriMo. But I'm damn certain I'm no more than 1/3 through the book. And having got this far, I know I won't stop.
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Date: 2004-11-25 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-24 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-24 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 12:10 am (UTC)See y'all at the end of the challenge! I've less than 10K left to do myself.
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Date: 2004-11-24 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 09:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-24 02:56 am (UTC)