Posted on by Sonia Dogra

IWSG – Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo?

It’s uncanny how time continues to dodge us. Six years ago I started this journey of pulling my words out of the closet for the outside world and it’s been a wonderful experience. Of course, with the ups and downs, the praises and the brickbats, the self-assurance and self-doubt! I’ve been inspired tremendously- oh, to read some of the stuff out there and wish to be able to write like that. I guess it’s a never-ending process. And I am also glad for carrying on … despite my years.. and of no longer being afraid of what anyone may have to say about my writing or even bothering about the number of people who read me! I’m not sure if you are interested in the blabber of ‘just another writer’ in this universe but this space is what I have to twitter unapologetically! So, thank you for your patience.

Well, coming to this month’s question in the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, which is an amazing place to learn and take stock of your own writing  journey from time to time, as also to discover a wonderful writing community. If you would like to join, please visit here.

November 2’s optional question – November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

  I’ve experimented a lot in the last six years – majorly written poetry, stories for children, flash fiction, short stories and then, nearly an eighty-thousand-word manuscript. This was last year during NaNoWriMo.

First of all, how did it go?

I enjoyed the whole process of writing 50k words in one month. I was lucky to find a group of like-minded friends from the community (we are still sticking together and it’s encouraging). I talked a lot about NaNoWriMo last year. To the extent that some of my tweets led to being quoted in a daily newspaper. Since I had worked a little on the story beforehand, I did not find it difficult to write the mandatory 1667 words per day. In fact, I reached my target almost seven to eight days prior to the 30th of November and finished the manuscript by writing into the first few days of December. I was quite relaxed all this while and although not all of what I had written is usable, it was enough to guide me into a second round.

Despite all the plusses last year, I’ve given NaNoWriMo a miss this time. Do the constant calls in my inbox give me FOMO? Well, no. It’s difficult for me to put a finger on exactly one thing, but doing NaNo last year changed the way I began to approach writing. Maybe it was the urgency, the fast pace of the whole process or the added pressure of getting that story out once it had been written that made me step back this time. ‘We’re waiting to read’ and ‘So looking forward’ made it seem like a corporate target I was out to achieve. Being one who has always preferred the journey to the destination, I found it hard to deal with the stress. This wasn’t what I had signed for when I took up writing. Often I thought I should have done NaNoWriMo quietly without letting anyone know about it, but would that have absolved me of my own asking about where I was headed? As I said, it’s difficult to put a finger on one thing, but there’s something for sure. I didn’t want to get into the same space again. Hence, I’ve given NaNoWriMo a miss this year.

Does that mean,

  1. I have forgotten about my manuscript? NO, I am working on it. (A writer I follow on Twitter just tweeted about her five-year-old manuscript seeing light of day on Nov 17. I am enthused about my own work).
  2. I will never participate again? As I always say, never say never.
  3. Am I willing to write another story? A big YES!

So, what does it all actually imply?

That I have now chosen to write at my own pace and not work on a deadline fixed by an external agency.

Am I trying to discourage people from participating in NaNoWriMo? Far from it. Only, if you identify with someone like me, it might help you to take a call.

To all those participating, I wish luck. And apologies to my IWSG friends for the very long post today. Thank you for being here.

On the writing front, I have a short story in an anthology this month; a poem that has made it into a peace anthology (to be out in December) and a piece of flash fiction in the Nov issue of online magazine Kitaab.

The awesome co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton!

Do visit them and show some love.

Until next time!

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29 Replies to “IWSG – Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo?”

  1. I had grand plans of writing a new draft this November but a few plot issues in my sequel’s WIP backtracked the whole plan 😦

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  3. I understand your approach. I also don’t like the pressure of writing a certain number of words in so short a time. That’s why I never participated. But I wish luck to those who do.

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  4. Thank you Sonia for your inspiring post on writing and NaNoMo. I agree with you, the journey is the pleasure and reward. Your readers however small their number might seem, are your treasure. Your goals and destination are your own. There is enough competition in day to day life to definitely wish to leave it out of your writing journey. Publication being just a cherry on top, but not the reason, desire or joy of writing. Personally I am convinced you are on a path full of solace and love. Keep treating us.

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  8. That’s exactly what NaNo is all about – finding a way to make writing part of our regular lives! It’s all about finding our own ways. I tend to always have a draft in progress so NaNo often works for me 🙂

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  11. Sometimes it’s better to march to the beat of our own drum than follow an externally imposed schedule. I have “won” NaNo once and haven’t felt the need to do it again, but never say never!

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