It’s early November first, which means it’s now NaNoWriMo. Since a few months ago, I’ve been keen on participating. I spent some time in October preparing an outline. Then, on the evening of the 31st, I had a change of heart. Or rather, a moment of clarity.
See, I’ve got a whole bunch of projects and writing pieces in various states of half-completion, including
- A sitcom pilot
- Two new rap songs
- A non-fiction improv book
- A collection of short stories
- A one man show
I realized that adding the first draft of a novel (providing I even managed to complete NaNoWriMo) to this slush pile of half finished products would be in no way helpful to me. It would just be another case of me following a whim, which ultimately would end up in some folder on my computer.
So I decided in the end, not to join NaNoWriMo – instead I will be doing NoNoWriMo, which is not National Novel Writing Month, but is Not Novel Writing Month. A month dedicated to finishing half-completed projects. Anyone who wants to join NoNoWriMo is welcome to do so.
Another plus of this is that I’ve still got novel prep I can continue to tinker with, and I can use the momentum from completed projects to spur me on into tackling a fiction book and, perhaps most importantly, I can still coast in the slipstream of NaNoWriMo, use the spurring on and sense of bonhomie to help me achieve my goals. NaNoWriMo is dead! Long live NaNoWriMo (or NoNoWriMo).
