I'm a fan of NaNoWriMo...for other writers. For me it just doesn't work, so I'm not joining in all the fun and games (again) this year.
Why?
Well, I don't like to rush through a first draft. I feel like I lose something if I do. When I write, I nail most of my prose in that initial "telling." The way my main characters express themselves on the page goes a long way to me understanding who they are. I like learning how they see the world, hearing the little stories that have made them who they are. Who they are is what drives the plot. It's slower, but hey, I love doing all the heavy lifting up front.
And I really don't want to lose what--for me--is part of the magic of storytelling.
I can pound out 50,000 words in a month (and more), but they have to come naturally because the story is dragging me there.
So, once again, it's no, no to NaNo. But for those of you doing NaNo this year, good luck. I'll be cheering you all from the sidelines.
(And for the sake of clarity: I love that we each have our different processes. It makes talk about books and writing even more fascinating.)
I agree with your attitude here. I think if I had to write on a deadline to an artificial word count (an unreasonable one for my pace), I would never "discover" the essence of my story and merely get some words down. And not good words, either.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think of NaNo as stunt writing.
That's basically how I feel about it. But I certainly appreciate that it works beautifully for a number of really great writers. Viva le difference, eh?
ReplyDelete