Tough Perspective
A rocky path, like so many.
Here we are, nearly halfway through November. No matter how the month began, how the first seconds of NaNoWriMo ticked or trickled or rushed on by, things are different after two weeks.
I’ve been involved with NaNoWriMo since 2002, and I’ve spent more than a few Novembers gently nudging people along, helping them see the importance of their goals. I’ve also assured many writers that changing their mind about those goals because it’s too hard or they’re too tired is okay. If they thought NaNoWriMo was the best idea at the end of October, then changed their mind when things got tough, that’s okay. If they initially knew they needed this push to prove to themselves they were serious about their writing, but then decided they knew without writing a word, that’s okay.
You know what? I was lying. It’s not okay. But after two weeks in the thick of things, it’s easy to lose perspective.
Here’s some perspective for you: Many people will tell you that what you’re writing is not a novel, and that even if you finish, 50,000 words is more like a novella. Never mind that it might be the longest thing you’ve written in your life, and amounts to more practice and skill development than all the hand-wringing and star-wishing the wannabes accomplish. Nobody publishes novellas. Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, George Orwell, James Joyce, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman… they’re just freaks.
Not that something you produce in one month is going to be publishable anyway. That’s right: there’s no point in worrying about your first draft until it makes you sick, because for all the time you waste writing, you’re going to waste at least as much editing. Learning to edit. Seeing what works, and what doesn’t. Developing your critical eye. Do you know the effort required to take something raw and ragged and with it produce something finished and beautiful? Something you can be proud of, that you will want to show the world and say I did this, despite all doubts and barriers? Are you sure it’s worth it?
And then there’s the community. Look at the whiners on the NaNoWriMo forums, bleeding their hearts out at each other with mutual encouragement. Whatever. This is not real. For reality, go back to your day job and tell your co-workers what you’re doing. Tell them you’re pouring yourself into this endeavour and watch their little eyes squint as they try to wrap their heads around nonsense. A novel in a month? Seriously? Okay.
Okay.
So there’s your perspective. Is it familiar? Did it hurt? I promise that failure will hurt a lot more. So don’t fail.
Giving into disapproval, buying into negativity, and abandoning your goals—none of that is okay. And depending on your level of self-awareness, you know this already. So don’t give up. It isn’t too hard and you aren’t too tired. You thought it was a good idea at the end of October, and nothing has changed. You wanted to prove to yourself you’re serious. So prove it.
You’re a writer. Your your imagination is wild. Nobody understands, and it doesn’t matter. This isn’t for them, it’s for you.
Write on.
Before I comment — did you change your blog site? I’ll comment anyways.
If it’s anything. I don’t think your perspective is particularly ‘tough’, more so realistic. You don’t want to know my honest perspective on it — especially if someone came whining to me in the coffee room about NaNoWriMo. Because I’m not participating, and never have, I’ve not been hanging around the NaNoWriMo Forums, but it sounds like a place where I’d lose my mind… and my ‘cool’.
A friend’s NaNo manuscript turned into a published novel that won a national award. You just never know…
Great post. Thanks.
Let me just say that I love the Write Anything blog and I’m so glad that they’ve acquired you as a monthly contributer!
Next let me say, “You’re a writer. Your your imagination is wild. Nobody understands, and it doesn’t matter. This isn’t for them, it’s for you.
Write on.”
Hear, hear! That was just what I needed to be reminded of today. Thanks!
I gave up…but then I never really committed to it in the first place and I’ve literally had a lot on my plate lately (as you know). Then again, I’ve spent the end of November gearing up to do another book and I think I wouldn’t have gotten so excited about THAT if I’d been focussed on NaNoWriMo. So it’s ok to give up on NaNo…just don’t give up on writing!