NaNo No, Part 2: A Resurgence?

The further the skyship ascended into the stratosphere, the more Cathy was made to regret (that) she hadn’t tied her hair above her head/up. The rain danced/? off the sails with ?/ thrummed/? against the deck. She drew her/a shawl/? closer against/around her neck.

Because that airship in Stardust is gorgeous. 🙂 And a snippet of editing.

Yesterday, I started talking about National Novel Writing Month and its impact on my life – which, in summary, has been substantial, from spurring me to start my first proper novel (as opposed to a ‘novel’ I wrote when I was thirteen that was half the length it ought to have been, industry-standard) to helping me edit and put together what I think has been more significant and elegant writing (but who really knows?).

As I said, it’s November now, and we are seven days into it.  Whilst many if not most of my writer friends are (or have done, in the case of Cait G Drews ) already deep in their plans and their novels and their progress, if I had planned to write for NaNo, I would be seven days behind.

As it is, I have not considered it.

I might have done, might have said to myself what is necessary for me to write a novel or a project this November? Instead, however, it didn’t even cross my mind that I might. Why? Because – as I related in the previous installment – two out of my three NaNo achievements were made during July’s CampNaNo. Ultimately, I’ve made myself associate November with study (in this year’s case: towards my Master’s degree) and July with being able to spread my wings creatively, so to speak, and write.

Nevertheless, with everyone around me gearing into writing mode, it does feel a bit strange not to be writing. Perhaps, even to the point of trying to inspire myself to ‘celebrate’ NaNo in some way, using it to my advantage somehow. With its goal-orientated system of even the smallest encouragement, how could it not be useful to a slow writer and procrastinator like myself?

I think setting myself a task over the course of November would be useful to my editing, to my writing in general, so that it doesn’t seep from my fingers. A paragraph or a page edited a day, instead of my ambitious (on average, my chapters are 2500 words long) goal of a chapter a day. That I only rarely complete.

But I don’t think it’s advantageous. Not to me. I can’t fault that some people with greater workloads than me can deal with university, or work, or a busy home-life, and still pump out 2000 words a day or something similar, but I can’t. I tried. Even when I was a first year, and I did have the social and mental ability and disregard for my studies to stay awake until 3am, I didn’t have the drive then. Now, I have the drive and the want to work and succeed, but I’ve lost the want to stay up after 12 midnight, not least because it’s not good for my mental health the following day.

I admire those who have the ability to make those distinctions and sacrifices for their writing (as well as keeping a healthy reading and blogging schedule, too). It’s not me. I can’t do it. And I have to bow to the fact that, for me, it’s not possible. Maybe next November, yes (not July, as I will be in the middle of my dissertation then), but not this November.

I won’t be setting myself any goals – no matter how I want to – simply because I know I cannot consistently keep to them with my life as changing and in-flux as it currently is.

On the other hand, that doesn’t mean I don’t still hold those who do NaNo in the highest respect. Go them! To write a deal of a novel alone in a month is an achievement that we must not dismiss.

I will just keep thinking to myself – maybe next year. Maybe.