Why I'm Sitting Out #NaNoWriMo #amwriting

NaNoWriMo or November is National Novel Writing Month is a month long online writing party. Writers worldwide sign up at nanowrimo.org and get their badges, clean their laptop keyboards, and join writing teams to cheer each other on. It's a great experience, but last night I finished a 108K first draft for Hidden Under Her Heart. Talk about bad timing... and the reason why I'm not jumping in this year.

I'm going to start PlotWriMo a month early and get my Christmas shopping done.

PlotWriMo is Martha Alderson's creation as an antidote to NaNoWriMo hangover. Having done double NaNo last year I know the feeling well. The adrenaline and caffeinated hormones of whipping words into a word processor result in a writer's high. But once the ticker tape has been cleaned up and the balloons in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade have popped, all that's left is one hot, broken mess:

An oozing warmth permeated the paper towel. How did she get stuck with this? She breathed out with her nose, held the bag at arm’s length, and swept the paper towel into the bag. [Broken Build page 40]

So what does PlotWriMo do for me? It is a month of meditation and reflection, of letting themes emerge and marrying the characters' emotions with mine. It is rest and relaxation, equally as important as work, work, work. As any athlete knows, the resting period is where the muscles grow, the endurance increases and the mind is strengthened.

So while the NaNo ants are toiling, I'll be sipping hot cider and reading Martha's books. Good luck to all the WriMos and may your 50000 words fly off the keys.



The archive to December 2011 PlotWriMo can be found on Jacketflap.com. Martha's videos with friendly backdrops of beautiful Santa Cruz are on her YouTube channel. Happy writing!


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