NaNo No-No

It's Nano month and I see all the writing tweets & blog posts going around referencing it. But I sit back and watch, for a few reasons. One being that November is a treacherously busy month for me with three separate family Thanksgivings and my kids' birthday (which is sometimes on Thanksgiving). Mostly, though, it's because I have done Nano twice in the past and both times were a huge fail. Not as far as word count goes--that was great--but the aftermath.

I am an edit-as-I-go kind of gal. This isn't because my inner editor is ridiculously anal (though she is). It stems from hatred of deep-editing a final draft--an everything-at-once process sort of thing.

If I leave myself with too rough a first draft I won't go back to it; I'll just toss it to the bottom of the Word pile and start a Shiny New Idea. My process makes drafting longer, and often tedious, but it works for me. So I shall stick with it and skip Nano.

It is nice watching the fun being had by those participating, though. And I wish you all out there Nano-ing a super productive month of magical words.

I am curious--if you are doing NaNo--watchya writin'?

Comments

Lidy said…
For NaNo I'm writing the romance sequel to my 2015 NaNo novel. But I'm beginning to think I'm cursed as I've been having a few troubles with Google docs.
When I first started doing NaNo I used to have trouble controlling my inner editor. Have a better hold on it now so I save my deep editing after November.
November's a busy month for me too, which is why I've never done NaNo. I like the concept though; at the very least, I like the idea of all these people out there, writing, especially in today's world of Tweets and Facebook posts (although I am on FB and Twitter).
I'm just watching as well. Will be gone seeing family the week of Thanksgiving, plus there was sorting the IWSG anthology entries. No way I could do it this month.
Patsy said…
I reckon all novelists should give it a go at least once. It can teach us a lot about which approach to writing suits us and knowing what doesn't work is a potentially valuable lesson.
This reader is watching in awe.
Natalie Aguirre said…
I like to edit as I go too. And I'm too busy to commit to writing so much in November.
Deniz Bevan said…
I really wish I could incorporate more of your process into my pantster style. I've managed it a bit, by finally giving up on drafting on paper, but I still barrel through scenes, excited to find out what happens. I can't edit as I go, otherwise I can't "fall" into the story and keep up the voice. But it would really help, as editing afterwards is such a huge and daunting task.
I envy people who have lots of Shiny New Ideas. I wish I did!
Karen Lange said…
I've never done Nano and I used to feel guilty about that. But I've come to learn that it's not something that suits me and it's okay. Like you, I love to cheer others on. Maybe I'll pick a less busy month and make it my own Nano someday. Happy Holidays! :)