No, No, NaNo
Posted by Tricia on 16 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Chit Chat
For the past few years I’ve looked forward to November and to participating in the NaNo (National Novel Writing Month ) experience, but something always transpires to stop me registering – day job commitments, online workshop participation, submission deadlines, visitors. Regardless, I always battle with myself whether or not to register anyway. I’m one of those people who take on too much, never happier than when I’m overwhelmed with things to do - excessive is my middle name.
I’ve just suffered through one of my husband’s regular “you can’t take anymore on right now” speeches (affectionately known in our house as the “talk-downs”). He’s absolutely forbidden me to register for NaNo, which, of course, makes me want to do it even more.
Why do I want to put myself through the NaNo experience anyway? Because I want to try writing a first draft in a month – no editing, no layering, no perfect prose, just a basic first draft of the whole story in a month. I’ve tried doing it on my own but, while I start off with all these wonderful intentions of just writing, it’s not long before the old internal editor jumps on my shoulder and starts cracking her whip.
My internal editor is an old crone – a wise old girl who doesn’t let me get away with much. She tells me I’ve started the story in the wrong place, that the POV is all wrong, that I can’t get away with passive sentence structure and I really should change it right now. This minute. Ignoring her doesn’t work, she just gets more persistent, nastier. She’ll start on the “you can’t write anyway” or “you really haven’t learned a thing in all the years you’ve been writing, have you?” She’ll keep going until I eventually give in and start the editing process just to shut her up - then bang goes all my good intentions.
I figure if I had the support of fellow writers doing the same thing, at the same time, under the banner of NaNo, I’d have some ammunition to use against the old crone when she starts with the “let’s improve this load of junk right now, shall we?” speech. I’d just tell her I’m officially registered to write a load of junk for one month, and she can go take a hike until December.
Ah, well … maybe next year.
it sounds like a great plan-stuff the old crone in the closet for a while!
October 16th, 2007 at 1:43 pmI struggle with busyness disease too. As for the old crone, just tell her you have our permission to write any dang thing you want. Can’t hurt!
October 16th, 2007 at 2:13 pmI signed up for Nano this year, but then realized I couldn’t do it. I have to rewrite this other story and Nano requires a fresh story. So it looks like next year will be my year.
October 17th, 2007 at 5:51 amI think you should embrace the writer you are. It’s silly to expect to change our stripes and “vomit” a first draft (as one friend calls it) if that’s simply not how you write.
I’ve slowly been coming to the conclusion that it’s more stress on us as writers to try to be something we’re not. Of course, nothing wrong with shaking things up once in awhile and trying something new either.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:10 am