Three times in the past two days someone has asked me about NaNoWriMo 2012. The last time was at 10:30pm last night. (You know who you are.) I’m looking askance at you all right now. All right I’m over it — the moment has passed.
I did NaNoWriMo 2011, loved/hated it, and bonded with some awesome people. Why am I thinking about it now?
Because people are poking me! You know how it goes.
I have The Daemon Whisperer all wrapped up, tidy as a bow. I mean, there are blog posts/tours to do, marketing to hit, ARC’s to pass around, and what not, but it’s put to bed, ready for the 10/1 release.
I’m working on edits on The Dream Sifter, the first in my Sci-Fi series, and hope to have those wrapped and ready for an editor by November.
Which would leave November a grand month to kick butt on The Madness Path, the second book in my Liminals series (while Dream Sifter is off getting edits done). See how I multi-task?
And, of course, I’d get to bond with even more insane, erm, awesome writers. That’s the best part of NaNoWriMo. This is the debate. See, I’m not committed yet, just tossing it around in my brain.
I’m frowning as I remember how my husband laughed when I told him I’d never do that grueling, psychotic, thing called NaNo ever again…
Uh huh.
I’m interested in the social aspects of NaNoWriMo. I thought about doing it last year but went into it cold and realized I wasn’t in the right mental place to do it. That said, even with the right mental place, I feel like I’d want to just hide myself in a dark room in order to keep writing. When do you find time for the social stuff?
NaNoWriMo works best with a bit of prep work. Your story concept in place, your characters fully formed, and your mindset psyched for the ride. But you can’t hide away in a box. That’s the exact opposite of what NaNo requires, oddly enough, because it’s a social experiment. Yes, you spend plenty of time on your own, writing, sure. But you also go to write-in’s once or twice a week with NaNo geeks, were you get the nods and support of your peers at coffee shops, panera breads, libraries, or the like. Also, on a daily basis you check in with others on twitter/fb and get support. It helps A LOT. Beyond that, you go out to dinner with your family (laptop in hand), go to movies during downtime, and hangout with normal friends (although a bit less). Yes, they will laugh at you, perhaps, but they’ll also wonder if you can do it. And the trick is: you can. 😉