Ah, Nanowrimo. There is always the annual debate among amateur writers: to Nano or not to Nano? Some love the idea and some are against it for various reasons.
Personally, I like Nano. I like the energy and even the deadlines that push you to get things done whether you feel like it or not. I’ve done Nano eight years in a row and won seven of them…until this year. This year I’m not doing it and it’s your fault.
Okay, so it’s obviously not your fault. It’s my fault or at least the fault of this blog. My usual modus operandi for novel writing has been to write a novel in November and then spend the next year (and more) editing it. However, since I started this blog, I have done much less novel editing and consequently, I have two novels from past Nanowrimos that are fifty thousand words long, but are still unfinished stories. As much as I would love to do Nano again this year, I don’t need another unfinished rough draft sitting on my hard drive. What I need is to finish the ones I have.
So I’m not doing Nanowrimo this year. Instead, I’m doing Pernofinmo (Personal Novel Finishing Month) and honestly, it’s a lot harder. For one thing, there’s more editing and retooling of things, which is much slower than just pedal-to-the-metal rough draft writing. Plus, the story I am working on has remained unfinished for two years for a reason. The main theme of the novel is that the main characters (and the whole world for that matter) are struggling with a intractable situation with no easy answers. The problem is, that I don’t have any easy answers either and I have spend tons of hours over the last two years trying to figure out how to end it plausibly. I’ve been making progress, but it’s still slow. I don’t know if I’ll actually finish the story in November, but I’ll try. I still have 21 left.
I get the feeling this guy doesn’t like Nanowrimo
Do you do Nanowrimo? Why or why not? I’m just curious.
The Green-Walled Tower 
November 9th, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Yeah, I decided to do NaNo again this year because I could be a ‘rebel’ and use it to finish something I’ve been working on for three years. I got all the outlines down, but not half of the story, so I’m pounding out the end and I’m going to edit starting in January. I like NaNo a lot, and I’m really happy I joined the community again this year, even if I’m not doing the whole “start from scratch” thing. Still great fun!
November 17th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
I hope your story is going well. Good luck!
November 9th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
I know a couple of people doing NaNo, and wish I could join in. However, it would be idiotic to do it at this point in time, where I am already behind with academic work and devoting all my free time to placement applications. I wish you the best of luck with your editing. I finished my Camp NaNo novel, but it still needs to be edited.
November 17th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Having it in November is probably best for a lot of people, but of course, other things have to come first. Maybe eventually you’ll be able to do it.
November 10th, 2013 at 3:52 am
Wow, congrats on eight years of doing it! Amazing. Like you, I want to finish something. Draft 1 really is not as difficult as the editing stage. I haven’t even looked at what I wrote last year in NaNo, to give you an idea. On my hard drive, it’s pretty worthless. Maybe I’ll do NaNo the future, but not this year. Good luck completing your novels/stories. I think you’re making the right move for yourself.
November 17th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Thank you, Amy. You should go back and look at what you wrote. I usually find are much more salvageable than I thought while I was writing them. In nothing else, it’s kind of fun to revisit them. At least that’s my thoughts on it.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:53 am
Good luck with completing those novels, David
November 17th, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Thank you!
November 10th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
Hi David
I would love to try NaNo but can’t devote the time needed at the moment, perhaps next year. Many congrats to you on your eight years and having two novels to work on – amazing. I have been persuaded to do NaBloPoMo – the blogging equivalent – and I’m having probs keeping up with that.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:10 pm
NaBloPoMo, I like that. 🙂 Good luck~
November 12th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
all the best! doing it for seven years takes a lot of dedication and talent! so you deserve a year’s break 🙂
devote the month on your dangling novels!
November 17th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
I’ve been trying, but haven’t got a lot done on it. Oh well, I’ll keep trying. Still half the month left, right?
December 12th, 2013 at 11:44 pm
[…] to end the story for about two years now, without any suitable solution. For those of you who read my optimistic post at the beginning of November, that’s the one I’m talking about. I made a lot of progress […]