NaNoWriMo meme...

[fajrdrako]

Booking Through Thursday

1. Yesterday, November 1st, began the annual NaNoWriMo challenge--where lots of marginally crazy people try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. What do you think about that idea? Crazy? Inspired? Challenging?

   A year ago, I might have said "inspired" and "challenging". I wanted to do it myself. Next year, perhaps, I said.
   
   Now it's next year and the word that springs to mind is "lemmings" rather than "inspired". Maybe I'm just jealous of the creative energy it seems to have given people, but there's something about the notion that all these people - and so many of my friends - are doing this all at once that I find vaguely terrifing. As if everyone is programmed to write on command, ready, set, go. I think I consider writing an individual activity, for all I do it as a fannish community activity. Suddenly it doesn't look like writing to me, it looks like sport.
   
   Anyway, my reaction this year is: I want to write, I will write, but there is no way in the universe I would participate in NaNoWriMo.

   
   
2. Would you/Have you tried it yourself? In other years? (Or this one, in which case, shouldn't you be writing and not reading blogs?)

   No. I've written novels, but on my own time.

   
   
3. If you took away the time pressure, would you/have you tried writing a novel of your own?

   Oh, yes, and not just tried, I've succeeded, too. Even if you don't count the novels I wrote and trashed. That's not success or failure, that's just practice. I won an award for Forever True, and I'm pretty much more proud of that than anything else I've ever done.
   
   And I intend intend to write more, and better. Just watch me.
   
   But on my own time.

   
   

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Likely, though I still see the value of encouragement with challenges and writing games.

We used to have a local group that got together to watch recorded TV, play writing games, and talk about the fanfic we were writing. The spur to playful creativity was great fun, and I miss it.