NicholasDestray
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For those of you who are also interested in writing prose fiction, whether or not you've actually done so, have you heard of or participated in NaNoWriMo?
Although it stands for National Novel Writing Month, it's more of an international endeavor these days. The rules are fairly simple but I won't bother repeating them all here. The gist of it is that you sit down and, sometime between November 1st and November 30th of any particular year, cough up a novel of 50,000 words or more.
For most writers and non-writers alike this sounds like an exercise in pain and futility, and not to put too fine a point on it, yes, it could very well be one. However, it does have some redeeming features. Arguably its main point is that the challenge of writing so much prose fiction in such a short amount of time requires most successful participants to write without self-editing.
What's wrong with self-editing? It's often required for good writing. However, it's also what keeps most aspiring authors stuck in aspiring mode. NaNoWriMo actively promotes a write now/edit later philosophy.
The second major point of NaNoWriMo is that the intentionally artificial time period is in no way selected to be convenient. It's not during summer vacation. In many countries, there are significant holidays in November, such as Thanksgiving. The month's not even 31 days long. There are always obstacles to writing, and so NaNoWriMo is like a writer's obstacle course.
The first two points are challenges. It's why this is a contest of sorts, albeit one that's entirely based on the honor system. The last point, as I see it, is something of an encouragement. A lot of people participate in NaNoWriMo. Hundreds of thousands of people participate, from all around the world. If you do it, you'll be in it together.
Yes, you're responsible for your own novel, but everywhere, every day and every night in November, there will be other people struggling with their novels. Some will be making headway. Many more will be stuck. However well you do, whether you "win" or "lose," there will be others who follow a trajectory close to your own.
NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone, not by a long shot, but I consciously put a positive spin on it in this post because I'm intending to go for it again this year. Most years I fail to accomplish it, but not every year. Right now, I'm curious if anyone's done it before or is planning to do it in November. I'll probably ask again as Halloween comes up, because I'm sure that knowing one or more Brothers of Briar are doing this thing will be an added pick-me-up.
I'm looking forward to tackling this NaNoWriMo with a pipe in hand, for the first time.
(I originally posted this to the Writers thread, but on second thought, I think it's sufficiently tangential to that conversation to warrant its own thread.)
Although it stands for National Novel Writing Month, it's more of an international endeavor these days. The rules are fairly simple but I won't bother repeating them all here. The gist of it is that you sit down and, sometime between November 1st and November 30th of any particular year, cough up a novel of 50,000 words or more.
For most writers and non-writers alike this sounds like an exercise in pain and futility, and not to put too fine a point on it, yes, it could very well be one. However, it does have some redeeming features. Arguably its main point is that the challenge of writing so much prose fiction in such a short amount of time requires most successful participants to write without self-editing.
What's wrong with self-editing? It's often required for good writing. However, it's also what keeps most aspiring authors stuck in aspiring mode. NaNoWriMo actively promotes a write now/edit later philosophy.
The second major point of NaNoWriMo is that the intentionally artificial time period is in no way selected to be convenient. It's not during summer vacation. In many countries, there are significant holidays in November, such as Thanksgiving. The month's not even 31 days long. There are always obstacles to writing, and so NaNoWriMo is like a writer's obstacle course.
The first two points are challenges. It's why this is a contest of sorts, albeit one that's entirely based on the honor system. The last point, as I see it, is something of an encouragement. A lot of people participate in NaNoWriMo. Hundreds of thousands of people participate, from all around the world. If you do it, you'll be in it together.
Yes, you're responsible for your own novel, but everywhere, every day and every night in November, there will be other people struggling with their novels. Some will be making headway. Many more will be stuck. However well you do, whether you "win" or "lose," there will be others who follow a trajectory close to your own.
NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone, not by a long shot, but I consciously put a positive spin on it in this post because I'm intending to go for it again this year. Most years I fail to accomplish it, but not every year. Right now, I'm curious if anyone's done it before or is planning to do it in November. I'll probably ask again as Halloween comes up, because I'm sure that knowing one or more Brothers of Briar are doing this thing will be an added pick-me-up.
I'm looking forward to tackling this NaNoWriMo with a pipe in hand, for the first time.
(I originally posted this to the Writers thread, but on second thought, I think it's sufficiently tangential to that conversation to warrant its own thread.)