I conquered NanoWrimo!

Boo yeah! Yes I did! 50k words in one month - OWNED!

hahahahahaha

Okay ,,, this study break is brought to you by Pwnage! And now I'm done ... I think ... The point of this post (asides from the jubilant glee that is my cheering myself on!) is to assess NANOWRIMO as a concept and a reality - and see what I have taken out of it this year.

But first! For all those still writing, a little bit of love from Toronto Nanos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLONlaI1k1k&feature=sub

(I really need to learn how to upload vids ...)

Yeah, that made my day, too.

Anyways, for those not in the know, Nanowrimo was established in 1999 as a month-long venture, where aspiring authors would strive to finish an entire novel length piece (that's 50,000 words more or less). Ensure chaos, right? Right. And sort of, wrong. Or maybe all right? The point is this: I have participated now twice running, and finished .... three novels and a short story between the two Novembers.

I kind of got ahead of myself, but what I want to express is that Nanowrimo is a great idea, and a great reality - even if it doesn't turn out my best work. There are many reasons for this: first off, a month is a lot of pressure. For those of us who do well under pressure (thank Goddess, or I would be funked out in law school right now), this may suck - I mean, the BF for all the good he can do, sucks with deadlines. He gets all anxious and OMG-OMFG! like, and then is useless. I, on the otherhand, buckle down, with coffee and lemon pastry to do what needs to be done! (And avoid studying ...)

So for those like me, Nanowrimo is ideal - it's better then a self-imposed deadline (I hate those, I always try to trick myself, it never works). For those like the BF, maybe not so much ....

Or maybe ...

See, here's #2: It forces you to do more then think about a book you want to read. It makes you actually, you know, write it. And there is something to that - even if it is the most craptastic book in the world - there is something about getting it all down that makes sense. And I think that, more then anything is the dealio with this.

Finally, #3 - it's a helluva lot of fun! I mean, you get into competitions with friends and there are videos like the one above from your community - it's just fun! And fun means more work gets done in an enjoyable way!

Now, there are critics of it - namely I have read anti-Nanowrimo from Maggie Stiefvater and Eric Rosenfield - and I encourage you to read and get their POV. I just don't agree with them. In fact, as much as I liked Shiver and Linger, I think as a novelist, Ms. Stiefvater is kind of ... well ... a tad narrow minded / short sighted. Great writer (though a tad too introspective for my tastes) but not such a great ... um ... visionary?

(Please don't pitchfork me ...)

I did like this article here, and I think everyone considering the anti-nanowrimo camp should think more about it, then not.

Besides, who wouldn't want one these beauties?



I know you're interested ...

Well you have 11 months to prepare for the next one! :)