mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2022-11-03 08:19 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2022-11-03 08:19 pm
NaNoWriMo:
I *did* declare a NaNo project for this year! It took two earlier false starts, but here we are.
After I scrapped working on the Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity fic (RIP), I vaguely settled on a DIFFERENT werewolf story than I did last year. This one was more fantasy genre rather than contemporary, but... eh. There's a LOT I haven't figured out about that story, and have gone back and forth between a few different ideas for, and it's... very not ready.
I picked another story idea, one that's floated around for a while. F/F romance between a grad student and a park ranger. It's got a relatively straightforward plot which I hope will be suitable for NaNo... a couple years I've tried with things that had WAY too much going on, and that tended to get messy.
My biggest concern at the moment is that I don't know if I'll be able to stretch this into 50k words, ha, because it IS pretty straightforward. Then again, my issue is usually that things get longer than intended, and by the end of NaNo I've hit 50k closer to the 2/3 or 3/4 mark of the story.
My second biggest concern is that I historically do not do well at writing when I haven't had a chance to really do much planning/an outline. In NaNo parlance, I am not a "pantser." But this year I decided so late - declaring around 1:00 on the 1st, lol - that I didn't really do any of the earlier planning work. So far that's largely been the difference between years I've "won" and years I haven't - I do well when I've set up a roadmap, and not so much when I just try to launch in. We'll see how it plays out this year!
The best thing about NaNo for me is the productivity - while I know I CAN keep track of daily wordcounts (and do) the rest of the year, it's not the same. The tracking on the site tends to help me stay productive and push me to write even on days I don't feel like it.
The worst thing... is kind of also the productivity, ha. I tend to get SUPER burned out after the month is over. I also feel like to at least some degree, it encourages some worse writing, because it IS so much about quantity over quality. I have largely made peace with the idea and necessity of shitty first drafts, and the adage about how you can't edit a blank page. Rewriting is my favorite part, anyway! But even so, I do cringe a bit when I notice myself writing a weaker, wordier sentence rather than a simpler, punchier one, just because more words is better, haha. I know I can easily go back and fix all of that, and no one else gets to even SEE this draft, and it's fine, but... oof.
-
I know I need to really trim down how much time I spend on other stuff when I get home. By other stuff, I... mostly mean DW, ha. And mindless phone scrolling. Time to try and focus.
After I scrapped working on the Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity fic (RIP), I vaguely settled on a DIFFERENT werewolf story than I did last year. This one was more fantasy genre rather than contemporary, but... eh. There's a LOT I haven't figured out about that story, and have gone back and forth between a few different ideas for, and it's... very not ready.
I picked another story idea, one that's floated around for a while. F/F romance between a grad student and a park ranger. It's got a relatively straightforward plot which I hope will be suitable for NaNo... a couple years I've tried with things that had WAY too much going on, and that tended to get messy.
My biggest concern at the moment is that I don't know if I'll be able to stretch this into 50k words, ha, because it IS pretty straightforward. Then again, my issue is usually that things get longer than intended, and by the end of NaNo I've hit 50k closer to the 2/3 or 3/4 mark of the story.
My second biggest concern is that I historically do not do well at writing when I haven't had a chance to really do much planning/an outline. In NaNo parlance, I am not a "pantser." But this year I decided so late - declaring around 1:00 on the 1st, lol - that I didn't really do any of the earlier planning work. So far that's largely been the difference between years I've "won" and years I haven't - I do well when I've set up a roadmap, and not so much when I just try to launch in. We'll see how it plays out this year!
The best thing about NaNo for me is the productivity - while I know I CAN keep track of daily wordcounts (and do) the rest of the year, it's not the same. The tracking on the site tends to help me stay productive and push me to write even on days I don't feel like it.
The worst thing... is kind of also the productivity, ha. I tend to get SUPER burned out after the month is over. I also feel like to at least some degree, it encourages some worse writing, because it IS so much about quantity over quality. I have largely made peace with the idea and necessity of shitty first drafts, and the adage about how you can't edit a blank page. Rewriting is my favorite part, anyway! But even so, I do cringe a bit when I notice myself writing a weaker, wordier sentence rather than a simpler, punchier one, just because more words is better, haha. I know I can easily go back and fix all of that, and no one else gets to even SEE this draft, and it's fine, but... oof.
-
I know I need to really trim down how much time I spend on other stuff when I get home. By other stuff, I... mostly mean DW, ha. And mindless phone scrolling. Time to try and focus.
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And you aren't *supposed* to use planning/outlining as part of your wordcount... but I definitely did anyway, haha. ^^;
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Going into NaNo with a plan seems like the best way to do it. The only time I was successful with it was in finishing a novel I had already started and knew what was going to happen in each chapter. Well, I also had one year where I wrote 50K starting from the beginning with no plan, but it was absolute drivel and I ended up throwing it out.
I hope it works for at least getting you writing again. It might break through whatever block is troubling you, at least :)
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Same - I think I did once manage to hit the 50k without a plan beyond knowing how I wanted it to end, but it was ALL terrible. I've tried to make peace with the idea of shitty first drafts, and I actually enjoy the rewriting/editing process, but some stuff is just too messy to save, lmao.
And thank you! I do hope that at the very least it gets me back into the habit of writing and the process of generating words!