Knowing When to Throw in the Towel

Well, I decided not to finish my NaNoWriMo 2010 attempt, and I'm feeling okay with that. I stoppped writing my NaNo novel for a day to see if I missed it enough to forge ahead, but I was actually relieved to be able to spend the time on other things. It is a busy stretch, as I'm getting ready for a birthday bash at our apartment, plus there are other writing projects in the works, like my grad school application essay and catching up on posts for my North Carolina Odyssey Project blog. (I haven't finished either, but have made progress.)

I'm not sure when I'll have another opportunity to do NaNoWriMo, since I hope to be in grad school (on top of working) this time next year. Maybe I needed the practice in "letting go," and setting priorities--for other things I needed (and wanted) to do this time. There will be other years for NaNoWriMo, though. I'll be back!

National Novel Writing Month

I've been thinking lately that I'd try to participate in National Novel Writing Month when it came around after the first of the year, and see what I came up with. NaNoWriMo, as it's known in shorthand, is an annual event where writers and writer-wannabees (that would be me) work to write a 175-page (that's 50,000 words!) book between the first and the end of the month. I thought I remembered it being early this year, and thought it sounded like a neat idea. On vacation a couple weeks ago, I thought, well, maybe I'll try it early next year. Well, I just found the website, and lo and behold, this year's contest started November 1! Ooops! Okay, so I'm a little disappointed that I missed the deadline for starting this year, BUT this will give me a year to think about a plot (amd maybe do a little research) for next year.