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Monday, October 31, 2011

National Novel Writing Month 2011 Starts Tomorrow



And I haven’t decided if I’m going to participate or not this year. Actually, I decided that I’m not going to participate. Then I just clicked over to the website to look around a little. . . 

But, no. I don’t have time to do NaNo this year.

Then I went back to the website and updated my bio and added a picture. In the field asking for information about my novel, I entered my current work in progress. 

What’s the matter with me?

I think what it is, is that I do WANT to do NaNo. I like it. It’s fun. It’s a crazy community. It makes it feel okay to put writing ahead of other stuff for a change. After all, I HAVE to hit my 1667 words every day. Normally, I would do those dishes, but I can’t. It’s NaNo. Sorry.

Last year was the first time I ever ‘won’ NaNo. I know have a much clearer idea of what it takes to keep up that sort of writing pace for a whole month. Right now, I’m just afraid that I don’t have that in me. We moved recently, and I’m nowhere near as unpacked as I should be. I’m starting a couple of great writing projects for work. Projects that are very important to me, and I want to be the very best they can be. I need time to dedicate to them, and there’s a little bit of a learning curve as I’m figuring out some of the technical aspects that are taking me a little longer than I thought it would. 

Last year, I pretty much won by giving up television, gaming, and reading for pleasure. This year, I already do a lot less of those things. I don’t have much I can give up. Maybe I’m just afraid to lose, but I don’t think so. I’m afraid of overloading myself. I’m not good at pacing myself, and only taking on what I can handle. I tend to pile so much on that I freeze and do nothing. 

But I love Nano. What can I say? I’m signed up. I have a novel that needs more words. So I know I’ll pop over to the National Novel Writing Website and enter any progress I make. I’ll be breaking the ‘rules’ by not starting a new novel fresh on November 1st, but no one really cares. I’m going in with the expectation of not hitting 50,000 words this year. That’s okay. I just want to be involved. Make some progress. 

Do you have NaNoWriMo plans? If you’re unsure, why not join me in a half-hearted attempt? Could be fun.