Nano started last night at midnight and I who had woken up at five that morning due to stress still managed to stay up and write till three thirty or something close to that. I had a friend over to do this stressful task with me. We made a day of it. Went to the mall, watched a movie, and ran around with sparklers. To be honest neither of us was prepared.
Those of you who read my previous Nano post know why. *crickets*
The good news is I wrote. I wrote words, actual words I haven't done that since July, so it was a big deal for me. I made the daily goal, and I know a lot of other Nano writers try to do as much as possible on the first day. Which is a good plan that I tried to follow suit. I did end up doubling my word count by the end of the day. I should be happy, it's a decent start for a slower writer like me.
The bad news. It's awful! Those 3,336 words are some of the worst, cliched, and out of character words that I have ever personally compiled and I hate it with a burning passion. I'm not being overly critical or anything it's that bad.
It's like this is what I had in my head.
This is what I wrote.
I have a bit of a dilemma now. I know I can feasibly write 1,667 words a day, thus I'm fairly confident that I can win Nano, but if I do I will absolutely hate the end product. I know that Nano is to help write your first draft and that your not supposed to edit, it's just to get it done. I could go on.
I have never worked like that, I always believed in doing a job right the first time. I can see the positives and negatives of both. So I am currently wrapped up in a blanket questioning my very existence. Don't mind me.
First off, I'd say don't worry about it. But secondly, you do you. If you wanna edit as you go, go for it girl. Cuz you need to enjoy nano. If you're stressing yourself out about something being flat go ahead and rewrite it. No ones gonna come at you with the nano police. It'll be a miserable month of you're fretting over it. You got this.
ReplyDeleteI can always count on you to be the voice of reason in my life Maddie! You also know how to cut straight through my drama and get to the root of the problem. *hugs* I'm so happy I have a friend like you. I am going to try to follow your advice, but seeing how I unnecessarily complicate things I'm not sure how it's going to go. Your absolutely right though.
DeleteYOU GOT THIS!!! I believe in you!!!
ReplyDeleteLilah
THANKS Lilah! I appreciate it!
DeleteYou can do this, Skye!!! Nano doesn't stand a chance against you!!!! <3 ;D
ReplyDeleteI hope so! XD Thanks, I needed the boost! <3
DeleteAwww, Skye! I am so sorry it's starting out rough! *hugs*
ReplyDeleteHey, if NaNo isn't working for you do NOT feel pressured to continue! The point of NaNo is to help us with our writing, but if it's hindering us, there is absolutely no reason to do it. I will say, my first day or two pretty much always starts out with the worst writing EVER, but once I get into the groove of writing and become more familiar with my story, it gets a lot better. BUT, we all write at our own pace, and if you prefer taking your time and producing a smoother draft, there is noooothing wrong with that! Sometimes I feel like I should do that more... In fact, I DID do that with Burning Thorns and though, yes, I've edited it to death, the first draft was so, SO much cleaner and more manageable than my NaNo stories. XD So all that to say, slow and steady is a perfectly great way to go. It's all what feels best for us!
If you want to push on and see what happens, great! But if you feel like NaNo is just hurting you then please be kind to yourself and give yourself permission to step back from it or even set a lower goal than the standard 50k or just WHATEVER helps you. NaNo is literally just for fun and to aid in our writing. There is ZERO pressure to keep at it if it's doing neither of those things for you. You just do whatever you need, okay? I will 10000% be supporting you all the way! <333
Thanks, it's getting a bit better actually! *hugs*
DeleteThis whole comment made me feel so much more relaxed about the whole thing. You have no idea how much it helped. I think I'm going to stick with it for now, just because It's getting me writing again and I needed that. Its nice to know that it gets better. I think my perfectionism is just getting the best of me. If I don't think of it as a draft and more of a guideline I'm making for it. I don't mind it as much then. Oh I love Burning Thorns! At this point I'll probably just end up rewriting it to death which isn't the worst.
I think I will. If I really hate it I will stop doing it. Because your right it's not worth it to do that and it's for fun in the end. I really appreciate the advice! It made me feel so much better about the whole thing You're the best! <333 Couldn't ask for a better friend. I hope your own writing is going well!
I know what you mean, Skye.....the interior editor in me is going bananas because I'm attempting to just draft and not edit. I'm too much of a perfectionist for my own good.
ReplyDeleteBut even if it's totally crap - it can be fixed. A blank page can't be fixed. So just get it down there, broken as it may be.
Catherine
So glad I'm not the only one. Same! I know I'm being a perfectionist, but I can't stop myself.
DeleteThat's true, that's what I'm trying to focus on. Thanks for the encouragement.
Ugh, I hate it when that happens. I hate writing a bunch and then realizing, "none of my characters are acting like themselves, where did the girl with horns come from, and there aren't enough lemon tarts." Or something like that. Usually when a character isn't acting right, I take them aside and interview them. "What was THAT!?" Actually, I legitimately interview them . . . usually.
ReplyDeleteAt least, you did NaNo. I did it once. Failed. And . . . yeah.
It's been happening a lot lately. Exactly! Especially the tart thing. I should probably do that.
DeleteI guess that's true. I failed the first time too.