What I most feared would happen with this NaNoWriMo project happened last Thursday. I woke up, realized I had to write 1,667 words, and dreaded it.
I dreaded writing.
That’s something I never wanted to do, outside of a school situation. I hoped NaNoWriMo wouldn’t remind me of school, but now it does.
As for the writing project itself, in order to meet my quotas, I changed point-of-view and tense mid-stream. It was either try radical changes or give it up completely. Ordinarily, when faced with potential failure, I would take some time to think it through. NaNoWriMo does not give me that time.
Whether I’m easily amused or have a childish appreciation for meaningless validation, I intend to crawl through the finish line next week. I want those badges. The virtual badges may very well be all I leave with–the project itself is a dumpster fire. (Yes, I know “dumpster fire” is an overused metaphor, but my project is so bad, it fits.)
What have I learned so far?
- NaNoWriMo’s method isn’t for me. I suspected it earlier, but now I know. Knowledge is always a good thing.
- Quantity may not necessarily lead to quality. Even with editing, I’m not sure this patient can be resuscitated.
- It’s more than a little disturbing that I’m sticking with something that doesn’t work for this long for virtual badges. I’ve dumped men quicker than this. However, I stayed in a shit career for 29 years and didn’t even get a badge, so maybe the problem is deeper and I should get professional help.
I have 0/1,667 words of today’s word goal. Must get started! Must get the badges!
Great blog! I want to try nanowrimo someday too, or at least I think I do. You deserve a badge for dumping that shit career and trying something new. If your projects are half as witty as this blog well, you got this. Go get your words in. Thanks for being inspiring, and rock on sister!
Thank you! Give NaNoWriMo a shot! It works for almost everyone (just not me). Best of luck to you!