i've mentioned elsewhere that i may give up on NaNo this year. i keep digging deeper into the muck on this one and i dunna like what i'm finding down there. the book has gone all wonky and blah blah blah (and mostly blah). i'm giving it through the rest of the week before i bail. i just keep thinking of all the other things i need to/want to do right now. seems like i should
want to write this book (and i do!), but i feel like too much artificial pressure is leaning on its already narrow little windpipe. it's definitely suffering from oxygen deprivation.
i wrote a long thing about the other reasons i think i will give up the NaNo ghost, but deleted it because i didn't want to risk offending any of my NaNoing friends. just because i am jaded and cynical about some things doesn't mean i should crap on it for other people. not all things work for all people. maybe this is the year for me to admit that this doesn't work for me.
that's all.
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Not that NaNo is even working for me this year. Though I think it's mostly lack of motivation on my part. xP I'm just using Nov. 30 as a goal to make sure my Two Students and a Cat story is finished before that date.
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so either i need to change my own parameters or create a new game to get myself motivated.
what do you think is lacking for you to be motivated?
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Part of my lack of motivation may be because I am in hiatus for everything in my life right now ~ school, Americorps, editing, and so forth. The only constant is my job at the library. I think how one feels in real life spills over into one's writing life, and right now I am feeling quite crummy about my life and myself in general. I think this just drags me down, and when I try to write, I lack motivation for it's at a point where I wonder if it's worth it? I don't like feeling directionless and I bet that's effecting my writing. Also I've noticed a severe lack of confidence not only in my writing but in myself in general, which of course is a biggie when it comes to doing anything. It's rather frustrating, for writing and music are my main outlets, and I haven't been able to do anything with music, so writing is really the only outlet I have for such things.
It's not like I have no ideas ~ I have plenty floating around my mind and intruding upon whatever I am doing. The problem lies solely in the motivation to transfer those ideas onto paper (or computer document).
From:
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but if you attach any pressure to it (like making it "good" or meeting some expectation/deadline, it can become as difficult as any other thing you feel tasked with.
you gotta be happy with what you're doing or there's no point doing it ~ and when you're feeling discouraged and unhappy, that's for sure a motivation killer! i wish i had some brilliant advice. sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of your head for a while and do something entirely different and new ~ even if it just means rearranging the furniture.
sometimes that's all you need to feel refreshed and have a new perspective.
~ !
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i ain't discouraged, so much, i promise. i just think there may be better ways of spending my time.
: D
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I'm of two minds about Nano, myself. It gets a lot of people off their buttocks and writing, which is good. For me, the 6000 words I've written are complete and utter slop - so, good use of my time? Probably not.
I'm a place where I'd rather produce clean drafts than just words - just the evolution of things for me, I guess. Who knows if I'll contain to think that?
So, the moral of the story, morning glory, is...do what works for you in the now (imo, of course. Your mileage may vary). Even if you decide to give up the Nano ghost today, you can always pick it up again next week if you change your mind.
*squishes*
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i hope whatever that was that squished wasn't a stewed tomato in your pocket ~ because that's just...ew.
: D
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Nah, no stewed tomatoes. That tends to be messy all 'round...
And, just out of curiosity, how do you know your slop is slop? Maybe you're being too hard on yourself?
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that's how i know the difference ~ hahahaha ~
while i can be as self-denigrating as the next dramaqueen about my work, i know the difference between something that should have never been written and something that is just a diamond (or even cubic zirconia) in the rough.
besides, i have probably a million pages of slop laying around already ~ why add to that pile when i could be digging a pony out of the horseshit instead?
: D
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Err - sorry. I'm easily distracted today :)
And, yeah, I know what you mean about knowing the difference - I wish I could put my finger on it, but yeah...that would summarize my Nano project - destined for the pigs :)
Did you know "boghouse" sent me diving for my dictionary? (It went something like this: "Ooooo! Boghouse! What's a boghouse? Maybe I need to write a story about one!" - see? Easily distracted.....poor small brain...:) )
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i wrote a story about a haunted boghouse for Eleison ~ i don't think that one will ever seen print (then again, you never know!)
and speaking of ponies ~ i'm on the verge of having a bazillion pony questions for you. brace yourself!
: D
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maybe a rabbit will appear out of a hat or something.
hahahaha ~
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When you've already made the decision to write no matter how stupid the world/ your family/ your friends think you are, then nano becomes nothing more than a distraction if you're already working on a project, or an incentive to finish your bloody novel already because, look, everyone else managed to write 50000 words in a month, and that's probably how much you managed in year.
Don't feel guilty about dropping it, you have projects to do, you have words that one day you might look back on and go "Whoah, there's a story here that I *need* to finish." And that's all good.
If I tried to write only perfect prose (this is kinda in response to bachsoprano) then I would never write anything. I need to throw words at the paper until something comes out that I can use. Everyone has a different way of writing. if you need to write dross to find the platinum, that's fine, if you can only write beautiful perfect words otherwise your brain shuts down, that's also fine.
I've decided that the longer I do this, eventually my subconscious will start filtering, and I'll end up with more platinum for my dross as the years go by.
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And, who knows? Tomorrow I might change my mind...:)
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Yeah, as well, tomorrow I may find a new method that works for me. That's part of the fun, right?
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I'm going to conduct a little experiment in the near future that's going to consist of rewriting a scene from one sensual perspective at a time...On paper it sounds all official, but I can't help giggling when I think about how ridiculous the end products will be.
Care to join me? :D
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: D
From:
pffft
Please tell me how to send a message directly to you on this thingamajig, I am totally ignorant.
P.S. - Guess what was on yesterday? Nope, wrong...try again...only one more chance....
Exorcist-The Beginning......and guess whats about to be automatically tuned onto my tele screen at any moment? Exorcist-Dominion. You better believe it. A double whammy, and I have absolutely nothing better to do at all today than watch it.
Expect a full update.
Chim
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Re: pffft
dude. i'm so missing out on the whole hyenas and bad cgi effects! you must watch with fervor by proxy.
how is all the pan dulce and the mother great with child today?
: D