I wanted to wish everyone the best of luck with NaNoWriMo this year. It has me excited that so many people plan to write their butts off this November.
I toyed around with the idea of participating, but realized that this kind of challenge wouldn't work for me this month. I'm a little lost with my writing lately. I'm losing interest in project after project, abandoning pages and words left and right. So I wouldn't even know where to begin if I did it. And the truth is, I write really slow. Painfully slow. I know the goal of NaNo is to write and not self-edit, but the goal is also to get 50,000 words and I don't feel comfortable forcing myself to get to a word goal when I'm just not ready.
So, instead I'm participating in Melissa's Novel Writing Month, which can also be adapted to Me and My Novel Writing Month.
It goes a little something like this. By December 1st, I plan to accomplish the following goals:
1. Nail down which project I am going to focus on.
2. Come up with a solid concept for that project.
3. Come up with a writing schedule for that project.
4. Begin that project and gooooooo.
5. Submit my short story, "The Symphony" to 1 literary magazine a week for the rest of my life until it gets published.
6. Recap on Dec. 1st on this here blog so that I am held accountable for these goals.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? What are you working on?
Is anyone not quite ready for NaNoWriMo, but ready to focus their writing goals?
If so, I hope you'll join me this month and rock out to Me and My Novel Writing Month. Which basically means, set some personal writing goals that work with who you are and where you are with your writing.
GOOD LUCK to all NaNoWriMo and MeNoWriMo participants! :-)
I really need to participate in 'Melissa's Novel Writing Month', because I started off being disciplined and then it quickly went out of the window! I've got a short story to finish and a children's novel, but I haven't done anything for several weeks.I never like sticking to one thing for too long, so I like to have more than one project on the go, but everything has come to a complete stand still!
ReplyDeleteSo like you, I'll be setting goals and trying to stick to them. Good luck sticking to your goals too.
I'll join you, Melissa! Last week I blogged about my NaChoNegMo (National Chore Neglecting Month). I decided not to do NaNo but to keep the spirit of the month by being more focused on writing - and neglecting chores if I need to.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying, for once, not to be so picky. Maybe I edit too much and I am very slow. This morning I let it all go and managed 1,700 words on my novel so it's working. Only day one so I'm not getting carried away.
Good luck with your projects this month.
Those are excellent goals! Good luck with them!
ReplyDeleteThose are great goals. I guess I'm kind of doing the same thing. I'm not doing Nano but haven't figured out if I'm revising or starting something new.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, good luck!
Great goals. I'll be looking forward to seeing your short story. Not doing NaNoWriMo but managing to write thousands of mostly crummy words a week, waiting for inspiration to hit so I know which ones to keep . . . something good must be in the mess. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have some wonderful ideas, and you're definitely right to do what works for you -- and not try to force yourself into participating in something that you don't see working for yourself right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing NaNoWriMo for the fourth year -- hopefully third year winning! -- and find that it's great for getting me into the practice of writing creatively on a daily basis. I work for several newspapers and am used to writing on deadline, but writing a novel is so different from my 400-word columns!
I'm definitely not doing NaNo this year. But I like your idea. I am really involved with this next novel and I want to get the first draft finished before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you. YOU CAN DO IT! YAY, MeNoWriMo.
Love your MeNoWriMo! That's fabulous! Me, I've joined NaNoWriMo and already pushed out 8K and looking forward to more!
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower and pushed you to 50 FOLLOWERS! Congratulations! Feel free to drop by my neck of the woods :)
I debated doing NaNo, too (never had before), but I just wasn't sure if it was right for me. I'm doing the same sort of thing you are this month instead, with the personal writing goals.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I went so far as to sign up this year (first time ever), but opted out last-minute. It just wouldn't work for me. But I've still got stuff brewing!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with MeNoWriMo! ;) And thanks for your great comment on my birthday post.