2012 NaNoWriMo

I was not going to participate in National Novel Writing Month this year. The main reason was that, having actually won NaNoWriMo once, I now know exactly what sort of mental energy it takes and I just plain don't have that in me right now.

But. . . .

I am darn close to finishing my work-in-progress (I've stopped calling it my novel since it will be far to short to fit that term). It has many problems and holes that need fixing. I know exactly what and where they are. I've kept a list, but haven't let myself fix them until I finish, since finishing is such a big problem for me.

It is very tempting to get to the end, and immediately start in on the rewrite, but all the advice I've heard says not to fall to that temptation. Instead, I understand it is wise to set the piece aside, give it a little time and distance, then I'll have a better perspective when I dive back in.

The timing seems perfect to let NaNoWriMo be that distance. Now, I'm not doing NaNo for real. I'll be breaking lots of rules. I may not be 100% finished with my WIP by Nov 1st, so I may work on that a few days first until the first draft is done. Also, as I mentioned, I can't cope with 1667 words a day, every day. So my own personal goal will be to just write every day. So I suppose I'm participating more in spirit than as an actual NaNo novelist.

I do have my idea though, and I plan to try to push myself a few hundred words past where I would normally stop writing each day.

So what are you doing for NaNoWriMo this year?