I once did NaNoEdMo, though. I think this was in something like March, which was much better, plus I was editing, not drafting, which is easier for me to make good progress on than is the churning out of actual first draft words. So when I heard from an online friend about Camp NaNo coming up in July -- a chance to do NaNo at a different time of year -- accompanied by the magic words, "You can set your own word count goals," and "Does someone want to do this with me?" and "We could be in the same 'cabin,'" I did a reckless thing: Within the next half hour, I signed up. I say "reckless" because I don't make decisions on the spur of the moment very often. Not to say I didn't hesitate for even a second; I did. I thought July might be too busy, since our family visitors are leaving just before the 4th (so I won't get to start till the 5th) and we have kind of a lot of appointments that month, and I just made the decision to open up to doing paid critiques again. Fortunately, sense smacked me in the brain right fast: "If not now, when? You're waiting for the perfect month? Like you don't know better by now?" So I quickly gave the "no time" excuse the boot. And, seeing as I am right now planning a new book, and should be ready to start writing, oh, long about the beginning of July, the timing was too perfect to ignore. All I needed was a little peer pressure, and the leap was taken. :)
I'm not going to write 50,000 words. Nope, that would just make me freeze and discourage me. I set my goal as 15,000. I'll be thrilled if I can have that many words down by August 1. Plus, I find that setting low-ish goals and trying to beat them works better for me than setting them too high at the start. So -- anybody else want to join? If you want to do Camp NaNo, you can sign up here.
***Edited to add: With what has come onto my plate (lots of goodies) since I made the decision and wrote this post, I considered reconsidering, i.e., dropping out of NaNo. But no. I'm going to stick with it and do what I can. :)
16 comments:
Good for you! I always find I get more done when I have some kind of goal (even though I often find my goals are overly ambitious for the amount of time I have).
Good luck! Make some yummy s'mores to go along with all the writing you're going to get done. =)
"If not now, when?" That is the important thing. So you'll have 3 weeks instead of 4 to complete 15K. I think you can do it. You are so wise to set reasonable goals.
I have never tried Nano, and in the summer, my goals are extremely modest with children at home from school. I'm tackling a revision, writing some shorts, and journaling poolside :)
Andrea -- Lately, I too have been overestimating how much I can get done in a given time. But I'm certain I'll get more done with a goal than I would without.
Leandra -- Hey, that's a great thought for our family visit! I didn't put s'mores fixings on the list, but I should. As for my guilty pleasure, it's ice cream.
Vijaya -- Yup, if not now, when? If there's a good honest answer for "when," then fine, but if not, chances are now's the time.
You're smart and wise, especially about setting your own word count. (This is why the November marathon will never see me)
Good luck. It's good you set a doable goal. I've always wanted to do NaNo.
Mirka -- Yes, if 50,000 words had been the across-the-board goal for everybody, that would have been a deal-breaker.
Medeia -- LOL, I've never wanted to do it. But I'm trying to stretch my speed a little. The past few years, I've done so, and now I'd like to see if I can do it a little more. :)
Normally I don't do these events, but was invited to join the cool girls cabin today. Since I'm working on my first draft (which usually doesn't happen in November), I decided to sign up.
Stina -- That's what did it for me, too -- a cabin invite plus good timing to start a draft. Good luck!
I'll be continuing revisions on my ICL novel, so I'm out for this year. But in the future, July would probably be a much better novel writing month than November. I've done NaNo twice and completed two novels. One of them still needs A LOT of work and languishes in the file cabinet.
Wow! Good for you! I've always done it in November but July really is a better month for me. Can't wait to hear how your month went!
Bish -- I'm impressed with your doing NaNo twice! The fact that I can choose my own word count makes all the difference to me. Best wishes on your revisions!
Christina -- It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind, and I was a little concerned about "missing summer." But it's interesting to see several people say they might prefer July.
All the best with your goal.
Looking forward to read how it went.
Making a smaller goal is much smarter and very doable. I've signed up for the November Nano twice before and it was too overwhelming to catch up if I missed writing even a couple of days.
Good luck to you!
Nas -- Thank you, and thanks for stopping by!
Dawn -- I know; I hate that sensation of having fallen so far behind. Much more sane to chose goals I can keep pace with!
You're being sensible, Marcia. Good luck with this and let us know what happens.
Post a Comment