Writing Notes: No NaNoWriMo for Me...

...but not for lack of desire. On the
contrary, after writing at least part of a novel every November for
the last seven years with a bunch of other people all doing the same
thing, believe me, I've twisted my schedule every which way trying
to figure out how to make it work this year. Much like everything
else in life, it's about choices and priorities. Sometimes those
are the hardest choices to make.

Writers who have never participated in
NaNo won't understand what a big deal it is for me to give this up.
NaNo is more than just a writing exercise. It's this amazing,
indescribable community that gives off an energy unmatched by
anything else, where writers all over the world reach for a common
goal together. And unlike a marathon, there's never just one
winner. Everyone has the chance to experience the thrilling high of
finishing 50,000 words in 30 days amidst one of the busiest months of
the year. That's the whole point, of course – learning that no
matter how busy you are, you can still make time to write if you want
it badly enough. That, and learning that you can finish an
entire story.

Sure, there are plenty of people who
modify NaNo to suit their own goals, but I'm a purist. It just
wouldn't be NaNo for me if I were to do anything but try to write a
50k novel from word one on Nov. 1 and ending on Nov. 30th.
That's what I've done for 7 years, and it just wouldn't feel
right to do it differently now. Will I write 50k words in November?
Probably not...my comfortable writing speed is around half of that,
so I normally write around 20-25k per month (and will do that in
November too). And therein lies the rub. In order to do NaNo, I'd
have to put all of my other writing projects on hold for the month,
and focus on just that one story. I'd also have to put a lot of my
business projects on hold because I'd need that extra time to
double my writing output.

Could I do all of that? Sure.

The thing is, my writing career is off
to a good (if somewhat slow) start. I could set that all aside to
write one novel in November (and I'm a better writer now, so I
could conceivably write something near publishable). Or, I could
stick to my current schedule and end the month with:

1 romantic suspense novel revised
and ready for the editor

1 thriller novella edited and
ready for publication in December

1 erotica short/novelette complete
& published

1 erotica short/novelette started
(possibly completed)

1 erotica anthology ready for
publication in December (possibly 2)

2 romantic suspense drafts half
done

1 thriller draft 1/3 done

1 new flash piece published (along
with several other authors)

1 new flash piece written &
another anthology set up for publication in Dec.

So...1 NaNo draft ready for editing vs.
5 stories either publishable or ready for editing, plus good forward
progress on several more.

For me, the choice is clear. If I want
to write full-time someday (and I do), I need to keep moving forward.
I have a bunch of business stuff to attend on the publishing side as
well, and I think letting all that slide would be a huge tactical
error on my part.

Will I ever do NaNo again? It probably
depends on where the writing wind takes me, to be honest. But I owe
Chris Baty (who, ironically retired from his head position with NaNo
this year) and his cohorts a huge thank-you for teaching me how to
finish a novel, and everyone I met on the forums there for helping me
get better every single year by making it this fun, not-too-serious
thing that didn't have to be perfect or even make sense. Most of my
NaNo novels are "trunk novels" (several of them incomplete), but
I learned so much writing those pages that even the worst ones are
invaluable to me.

So to those of you about to embark on
this most excellent adventure, I salute you, and I'll be cheering
you on from the sidelines. Whatever you do, don't forget to add the
Traveling Shovel of Death (visit the forums if you have no idea what
I'm talking about). Even if it has nothing to do with your story.
Because it's fun.

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