Same as Every Year So Far…

[lavenderbard]

The question seems to be being asked everywhere, but answering it always feels like I’m raining on someone’s parade, so I guess I’ll answer it in my own space instead of theirs: No, I will not be participating in NaNoWriMo.

The only possible benefit I could see it having for me, is that it would prevent me from feeling quite so lonely, when the activity on most of the online communities I participate in goes down to almost nothing for the entire month. That never seems to me like a good enough reason to sign up.

Instead, I’m going to hope that my health will be sufficiently good to allow me to be too busy to care that there’s nobody around to talk to. ::crosses fingers::

Mirrored on My Website.

Comments

[lizvogel]

Having done NaNo last year, I can say it's an interesting experiment, but it's not for everyone. Heck, it's not even for every book by someone it is for.

That said, I'm not doing it either. Perhaps some day I'll get around to posting about why. (The fact that if NaNo's not for you, participating may actually make you feel more lonely is a large part.)

[lavenderbard]

"The fact that if NaNo's not for you, participating may actually make you feel more lonely is a large part."

Although I have not tried NaNoWriMo, ages ago, before NaNoWriMo, I tried similar ad hoc things with various groups of people -- so I'm familiar with how I react to that kind of communal encouragement. If I am healthy, and nothing is wrong with the novel, it's a nice feeling to post my wordcounts, and have other people say "Wow, you're doing so well!". But it doesn't help me with my writing in any way. I would be making those counts whether I had the encouragement or not.

And as soon as my health goes, it just makes things worse to have people theoretically waiting to hear how I'm doing. I don't want sympathy, I want to be writing. I end up avoiding the people I'm supposed to be teaming up with, because reporting my non-progress just makes me more depressed.

Not useful or fun.

[yhlee]

I'm doing it halfheartedly, because I have an actual preexisting thing due; working on this other thing during NaNo is mostly just for fun, and I am not going to finish it (I mean, great if I could, but I won't have the energy). I've attempted NaNos before and the timing has never worked out in my life. Ah well.

[lavenderbard]

I might try it sometime if the timing ever works out, just so I can say 'Yes, I gave it a fair chance.'

But since Across a Jade Sea, even the 'to prove I can' motivation is gone. I wrote Across a Jade Sea longhand, but when I typed it up and could finally get an accurate wordcount, it was pretty obvious I must have written 50K in a month at least once, and probably twice.