Always at this time of the year, I have the same fight with myself – do I want to do NaNoWriMo or not? Do I have a story idea that I think I could stretch out to 50,000 words? NaNoWriMo puts so much pressure on you as a writer. But then again, I seem to do better writing when I am under pressure. The other problem with NaNoWriMo is that it drains you as a writer – emotionally and physically. Can I stand up to that? In the last few years I have tried it, I got halfway through the November and had to quit because I just couldn’t stick with it, plus I wasn’t in love with the story I was writing. I guess that’s the problem with NaNoWriMo; you have to love the story to keep going.
I’ve written at least two complete manuscripts this way and several partial ones, but have only committed one to be self-published and that story I loved. It was easy to write and flowed like a river out of me. That was The Peacock’s Tale. I thought all writing would be that way. Surprise! It hasn’t been. It’s hard to write a complete novel. It’s hard to be committed to putting down word after word that makes sense.
I want to give it a try one more time. If I don’t make it through, well. I’ll try again next year, I guess! What about you? Are you going to give it a try?
Comments are welcome!
Chasing The Tale 