Take that, NaNoWriMo

And with a superhero quality roundhouse kick to the chest, I take out the NaNoWriMo challenge once again. At this point (with one day left to go) I've written around 52,000 words. I failed to write anything at all on three days because I was just too busy, with an average of 2,002 words per day, ranging from 1,165 words to 3,326 words.

But, why?

Why do I do this? My story is incomplete (really, 50,000 words is hardly enough for a full-length novel). I'm probably only three quarters of the way through (maybe even less) largely due to the fact that I've been writing on the fly (i.e. without a plot outline). Writing on the fly is both exciting (you never quite know what's going to happen next) and bad for my writing quality (I've written a disgusting amount of drivel). And wow, does it ever need to be edited (as per the previous remark). I've decided to cut out an entire character. That's probably a waste of 5,000 words right there on someone I'm not going to use, but won't dare to cut out until after Dec 1st so that I have enough words to complete the 50,000 word NaNoWriMo challenge.

Why do I bother to participate in NaNoWriMo when I write almost everyday anyway?

I'm not sure.

Maybe I'm experiencing something similar to mob mentality/lemmingism (I made that word up) that if every one's doing it, than I should do it too. Perhaps that's the reason why I should absolutely not participate in NaNoWriMo--I write almost everyday anyway because that's what makes me happy. I know that one 50,000 word stint for one month does not a writer make, and now half the people I know seem to be 'doing it, man' and that kind of irks me. Now here's a look into my psyche for better or worse...it annoys me that so many people are doing NaNoWriMo (and succeeding) because it makes me feel less special, less unique, and more like I'm just like everyone else. I hate that feeling. Who doesn't, I suppose.

The only good thing I've gotten out of this month is Nora. I love writing her. She's neurotic, yet fun and I think I'll be a bit sad when I finish this manuscript--it's her last story. She's been through a lot since I first introduced her in The Cure, including chasing a thief, loosing a friend, breaking some one's heart, understanding her own heart better, being hit, choked, suffering a dislocated shoulder and nerve damage, moving thousands of miles away from her birth place, meeting her father and finally...well I haven't written that part yet, but finally finding happiness. Now if only I can find an agent and a publisher who believe in her as much as I believe in her.

Ciao,

Andrea