NaNoWriMo Changed My Life (Or, How Did I Get Into This Mess Again?)

[cybermathwitch]

NaNoWriMo does strange things to the soul.

The first time that I delved into it's exhilarating, frightening, unknown waters (and if you've never done it, it really is a bit like diving off a pier at midnight into a body of water you've never seen) was probably around 2000. I think that I wrote maybe 1000 words, if that much on a very random whim without really understanding a thing about what I was trying to do. At the time, I had no sense of the actual scope of the thing, or of the idea of pacing myself and therefore I also didn't really put myself into it.

In 2003, I revisited the idea, this time with a plot bunny I'd gotten from a friend of mine. By that time, I'd moved on from college and was working at a 40-hour a week job, and was coming down from a several-week-long panic attack (bordering on nervous breakdown). That's the year I really think of as my first foray into the actual heart of the project, and while I made a bunch of the beginner mistakes (like not sticking to a daily word count) I also managed about 40,000 of the cherished 50,000 word goal.

I think in 2004 I suffered from a total lack of any inspiration, and in 2005 I was between jobs, inspiration-less, and in the middle of having problems with mental illness that sapped any creative energy I possessed. But 2006? 2006 was the year I discovered Battlestar Galactica, and had my fandom muses renewed. It was also the first year that I made it to 50,000 words (some of which got written in a fugue state that had me going back later and thinking "when did I write that?!" but in a good way.)

It was still a solitary endeavor (complete with askance looks from friends and family at ever mention of it). In 2007, I managed to coerce kadollan into participating with me, and we both wrote Harry Potter fic. Because the word count goal in and of itself was no longer challenge enough, I decided that I should attempt (for the first time ever in my life) to exert some self-discipline and stick to the daily prescribed word count of 1667 words. I actively bribed myself with the promise of silk yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and kept pictures of both said yarn and Luna Lovegood (my central character and newly discovered muse) on my desktop at work. And you know what? I did it. I absolutely did.

So last year, it was Harry Potter again, only it wasn't at first because the_disco_fairy tried to talk me into original fiction. That failed like a fail-y thing, because I caught kadollan's HP Next-Gen bug, but I tried to do two at once for awhile, because I was unemployed again, and why not? I ended up with an unholy (and really awfully close to cheating) union of the two by the end of things (along with a 60,000+ word count).

So at some point, I got to be the sort of writer who says "15,000 words? That's easy!" and means it. It's a realization I had going into the hermionebigbang this year. The hell? I can see how I got there, but it's still a surprise, kind of.

And all those fics that I've written for NaNo that have never seen the light of day? I'm using the ginnybigbang and harrypotterbang as an excuse to get them finished, edited, and posted.

The startrekbigbang and polybigbang are going to be new endeavors, like the hermionebigbang is. And I think that the hermionebigbang just might be what's leading into this year's NaNo storyline.

Comments

[cybermathwitch.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend picking up "No Plot No Problem" by Chris Baty and reading it either now or at least by October. There's also a "kit" that can be loads of fun, if that kind of thing appeals, but definitely get the book. Also, I've found that sticking with the daily word count is one of my best tools - also writing more the day before taking a day off rather than taking a day off and trying to play catch-up.

But the biggest thing? Recruit friends. Seriously - and preferrably at least a few offline as well as on. Check out any local write-ins that may be scheduled. (They're loads of fun if you've got a good regional liason.) I dragged my best friend in kicking and wibbling and it was really an awesome boost and incentive to get stuff done.

Let me know what your screenname is on NaNo when you sign up and I'll be sure to add you to my buddy list there as well. :)

[terravayne.livejournal.com]

That sounds like very sage advice. I'll have to pick up that book for sure. Haha, yeah, when I sign up, I'll let you know and we can suffer together! ;)

[cybermathwitch.livejournal.com]

Yay! :)