I don't know if this has already been posted, but how many of you out there are also married? Are your spouses supportive? (mine just groaned when I said I was doing this again this year) How do you plan to schedule your writing around your...personal time with your spouse? Do you have kids that also need attention? Does Nanowrimo strain your relationship? How do you balance married life with nanowrimo?
I guess I'll start out with my introduction:
I'm Michelle, I'm 20 years old and I got married to my wife when I was 18, so we've been married for two years now. Amy (my wife) is 24 and works full time as an evening shift janitor. We don't have any kids yet because the options available to us as two women are limited and financially draining. As far as potential personal time...well, I'm assuming none of you are sex therapists, so let's just leave it at "She'd rather do it herself, anyway" and forget I brought it up! I'm just hoping that I win this year...it's my third Nanowrimo since we got married and since we had a long-distance marriage the first year, last year's event took a toll on our relationship because Amy didn't realize exactly how much it entailed. If I can finish this year, without getting antsy and severely sleep-deprived, I hope she will understand why it means so much to me to do this. I don't work (Unless you count selling Avon) so this might be the last year I can participate fully and I want to leave Nanowrimo with her feeling like it wasn't a total waste of my time.
----------
41,010 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 20 33
Hi, my name is Jenn and I also got married when I was 18. In fact, our 5th anniversary is this November.
This is my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm hoping that since I'm at home all day while he works, that I can just write then. He knows about NaNoWriMo and is supportive, but I'm sure he thinks it's just another one of my crazy ideas.
I hope everything works out for you. Good luck!
50,000 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 01 06
My partner and I got married last June during the mass rush to California. I'm a San Francisco native so it just seemed like the perfect opportunity.
He's never actually seen me do Nano before. Most of our pre-marriage time was spent long distance (CA-DC then DC-London) so I could just write during the 'off' hours when he was asleep/at work and I was free. Last year I skipped it because I was trying to go back to school and didn't think I could handle the distractions so this is the first year he'll actually have to deal with me being insane for a month.
Luckily, I'm currently on a leave of absence from everything so I have all day to write. Assuming my massive ADHD doesn't prevent me from writing while he's at work all should go pretty well.
Of course, it always seems easier before 1st November...
7,682 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 04 12
I got married when I was 19. We celebrated our 7th anniversary this year. I've done NaNo since about 2005, succeeded in 2007. He's always been supportive and never thinks it's a "crazy idea". To me, that's not really being supportive if it's chalked up to being crazy.
There's no strain at all on our relationship. We're not so attached at the hip that we have to be together 24/7. He watches his movies or reads or plays a game while I do the same thing. We're in the same house and that's all that either of us needs sometimes. Others, we just don't want to stop cuddling on the couch.
He's going to attempt NaNo this year, so we'll be doing it together. Maybe we can make it into a contest to see who reaches it first. As for "personal time"? If you do the basic wordcount, it evens out to almost 3,000 words a day. That's not that much. I never understood why people say it eats up all of their time. It's 3,000 words a day, give or take. That's not that much and you can do 30-15-30-15-30. Write-break-write-break-write and be about done with your goal for the day.
30,076 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 04 24
Hey everyone!
Wow, I feel like the old one in this thread in terms of marriage age! - I'm 21 and my husband and I just got married this May, so we haven't even made it to six months yet (November 30 will be our six month anniversary, so we'll have to do something big to celebrate both that and NaNo, haha!)
My husband does NaNo with me, so we're really looking forward to being able to do it together (not together-together, but in the same household). He did it last year as well, but since we weren't married and living together we didn't spend all that much time writing together (though we did go to the library once - mainly to get out of my house with all my siblings! - and got some writing together there). The only problem I foresee is the only-one-laptop scenario. If we go to any write-ins together, I'm not sure how that's going to work out. I'll probably end up writing by hand. Meh. Other than that, we're looking forward to it and may end up eating a lot of ramen noodles and canned soup during November - whatever is easy!
----------------
04: Spirograph (won)
05: Becoming (won)
06: Bricks (won)
07: The Mind's Eye (won)
08: Haldereth (won)
09: Inhabited
38,857 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 05 24
I'm 27, and have been married to by husband for just over a year. He's fully supportive of me doing NaNoWriMo, and in fact, when I told him that I'd decided to do it this year (finally!) he decided to sign up as well and work on his own project. Hopefully we'll be supportive of each other without resorting to nagging. :-)
26,230 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 05 58
I'm 26, I got married when I was 21. My hubby is 31 and he's usually pretty good about my writing. Until there's not a lot of food to eat, the sink is full of dishes and he can't find clean socks. lol! It's difficult to get him to lift a finger sometimes to take care of things for himself. He's good with encouraging me to get my word count done though. ("No relaxing and watching TV/Movies until you've got today's word count finished!")
----------29,248 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 06 59
I'm 24, my husband and I got married 2 years ago, but we've known each other forever. My husband was really encouraging me to do NaNo this year, so when he found out I had agreed to, he was really happy for me - it's nice. ^_^ I work from home, so I can write during the day during down times, but he's used to me writing into all hours of the night, or whining about my characters misbehaving themselves.
----------3,232 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 08 04
I don't quite fit on this thread, since I'm not quite married yet, but I'm 26, engaged, living with my fiance, and planning a wedding for next summer. We're both doing NaNo for our second year. Last year was a lot easier. He was unemployed, I was in grad school taking enough credits to keep me busy but not crazy.
This year, however, he's working full time as a teacher in an inner-city school, while also going to grad school. I'm in my internship year of grad school, working with clients all day and going to class in the evening. As it is, we almost never see each other, and it sucks. We agreed that we're going to try to take our NaNo time from other places in our lives, not just from our time together, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it. Anyone have any advice for super-busy couples besides "just accept not talking to each other for a month?"
----------"Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot."-- Neil Gaiman, Sandman
-------------------------
2008: Silence WINNER!
2009: Untitled...?
41,783 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 08 28
Hi there!
My name is Krysten, I'm 26 and have been married to my husband Dustin for just over a year.
Dustin is pretty much supportive of anything I do that makes me happy and he knows that NaNoWriMo, though sometimes stressful, makes me happy. He finds it a little funny when I lock myself in a room with the computer and tell him not to bother me but for the most part he rolls with it.
Because my work schedule jumps around (I work in a coffee shop and my shifts change each other) I just try to schedule my writing during times when I'm home alone. However, sometimes I do have to write when Dustin's home and that's when I'm locked away with my music on.
Last year was my first year with NaNoWriMo and it went really smoothly. I can't imagine it being much different this year. I guess I'm just lucky to be where I'm at in my life and having a husband that supports this.
----------~ 2008 "Soap" (NaNo 50,347 words)
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
- Douglas Adams
50,706 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 11 36
Hello everyone I am 26 and have been married for 2 years, just celebrated our 2 year anniversary Sept. 22nd. He is a Navy Corpsman and I am an unemployed Preschool Teacher. I love to write as well and hope to make my dreams of becoming a published author a reality.
He is very supportive of me as this is being my first year. He always supports me in whatever I do when it comes to my dreams of writing. He loves me and pushes me, wanting me to become a published author as well since that is my dream and my goal. :-)
Anyways again this is my first time and am looking forward to trying my hand at writing a novel in one month. I am also looking for buddies on here to help support me as well as I help support them. :-)
----------As one of my favorite shirts say "Careful, Or You'll End up In my Novel."
8,600 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 12 12
Hi, I'm De Von and, well, I'll turn 20 in November. I've been married for a month (yay!).
Though I did Nano last year, he was working so much that he didn't see how much really went into it.
He's supportive now, but I bet he'll become a little pouty as the month goes on.
my husband works everyday, expect for Mondays.I figured that I would try to stay ahead, so, that when he gets home, I don't feel so bad when he gets me off task.
28,530 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 12 14
I'm Dane, and I'm 24 years old. I have been married to my sweet wife for just over a year now, and we are pregnant (due in April). This will be my first year attempting NaNoWriMo, and I am very thankful that I am in my last semester of college and I don't have any kids yet. Theoretically, I am distraction-free, but that's just impossible.
My wife and I have no idea how I'm going to be during NaNo, so she's supportive. She is a teacher and has a photography business on the side, so she is happy that I am trying to find a good creative outlet for myself.
Good luck to all of you. If you're looking for another n00b to stay in contact with during NaNo, I'll be your friend. Just send me a NaNoMail.
38,378 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 12 32
Hey folks!
I feel like I've introduced myself a million times by now...but whatever. :)
My name is Kyra, I'm 25 years old and my husband and I have been married for 1 year and a few weeks. We found each other in high school and survived college and grad school together. This is my first Nano and I think my husband is both awed and worried about this. He's studying aerospace engineering, so literature scares him. He'll get over it. I'm not particularly concerned about balancing, I feel like when my husband is playing his video games or doing his homework, I'll be writing.
I'd love to have a cool married writing buddy!
-------------8th Grade U.S. History teacher, wife, southerner stuck in Boston----
Don't mind me if I'm just a little bit crazed.
28,530 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 12 39
Amen to that. We can't have it all I guess. All we can do is appreciate whatever crazy hobby it is that our spouses enjoy, and pray that they understand ours.
2,322 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 13 21
I'm Topper, 28, and celebrated our 7th anniversary back in June. She hasn't been supportive for the past few years, because last year we had an 11 month old, the year before THAT she was 9 months pregnant, and the year before THAT we had a 6 month old, and no-one was really in the mood to care too much about the other person when NaNo came around. This year, she's made a little effort, which is nice ('Should I serve your meals at your laptop this month?' which is funny, since I do the cooking) BUT she does believe I can do it this year.
Go me!
----------51,450 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 13 53
I'm 21 and engaged. We're getting married in May, so next year will be our first NaNo as a married couple. He tried it last year, but didn't stick it out due to lack of prior notice, etc. He plans to try it again this year, but isn't super into it. Maybe when he's actually living with someone who is uber NaNo. He loves going to events, which is great because I'm an ML. The difference between us is that writing is something he sometimes does, for fun. For me, writing is something I want to make into my career, so it ranks higher on my priorities than it does for him. He just wants the experence of doing it, whereas I'm very interested in having an end product that I can edit and seek an agent for.
----------Orange County South ML
----------
10,132 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 15 57
I am 29, my wife and I will have our 5th anniversary in February, and I am super lucky to have her as my partner in life. She is very supportive of my writing and is cheering me on for the month of NaNoWriMo.
It is nothing new in our relationship that I will be spending time writing, as I've been doing an independent comic since before we were married, and have been running a gaming blog and corresponding podcast since January this year.
Even though this project is important to all of us here, make time for your family! You and your spouse (and children where applicable) will be better off for it. I find that I am often refreshed and can get a lot more more done after taking a few minutes now and then to just chill on the couch together.
----------http://WingDamage.com - Editorial Gaming Blog
http://HereThereBeRobots.com - Webcomic
42,463 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 01 07
This will actually be my first attempt at NaNo so neither of us know what we're in for! :) However, he has been extremely supportive during the preparation stage and has already said he'd help me however he could. I'm very thankful for his words! However, we'll see how it goes when it's actually begun, haha.
----------26,478 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 03 30
I'm 25 and we haven't finished our first year together yet.
My husband is very supportive of any of my creative endeavors from NaNo to knitting. :P
We got married the day after Thanksgiving last year (Nov. 28) and I spent the 29th and the 30th writing the remaining 15,000 words on the honeymoon (traveling from NJ to Florida) and uploaded the final count from an internet cafe on a cruise ship. He was far more understanding than my mom was. She FLIPPED whenever she saw me writing because I should have been concentrating on wedding (but we laugh about it now).
----------Municipal Liaison for Central New Jersey
564 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 05 53
I'm 24, married with 2 under 2! This is my first attempt at NaNo so I'm not sure how it will go. My husband usually works pretty late, so I hope to get a bulk of my writing done during the night after the kids are asleep. As long as people are eating and clothes are clean I think everything should go pretty smoothly. I don't think he even knows that I'm doing this....
----------20-something happily-married mother of two!
Wanna-be writer currently obssessed with elipses…
Progressing into what my husband calls a “hippie”.
Bi-Polar 2.
Trying to find my place in the world.
7,763 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 09 46
I'm 21, and I am engaged to married on December 19th, 2009. So technically I don't fit here, but pretty close! It's going to be tough to plan a wedding in the midst of Nano .... not sure if I'm going to manage it, but we'll see.
30,327 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 10 39
That's my wedding anniversary! Neato!
But I'm 24, been married four years this December, and yes, my hubs is very supportive of me and everything I do. I'm a Taurus, which makes me very stubborn, and so he knows it's best to just let me get it out of my system because no amount of talking on his part will budge me!
We have a 1.5 year old daughter who is deliciously amazing, but she's so good that I have plenty of writing time even while entertaining her! Last year I participated and it didn't go so well, but a six month old baby is a lot more demanding than an eighteen month old! :D
----------NaNo '08 - Untitled Fantasy - 17,827/50,000
NaNo '09 - Darkshine - 21,421/50,000
25,004 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 10 58
Hi there!
This is my first attempt at NaNoWriMo! I'm 25 years old (will turn 26 this November) and have been married for one month and two days. LOL We are the proud parents of a spunky Lab/Beagle puppy named Rocco. I just moved to the US from Canada and while I wait for my immigration paperwork to be processed, I can't work...what better time to spend a month writing! My husband is crazysupportive of anything I'm excited about.
Can't wait for Nov. 1st!
51,532 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 12 39
I'm married, have been since '07. Last year when I did this my hubby was all protective and defensive saying that I was ignoring him and that I couldn't go out to write-ins and stuff because he didn't trust other people. (Nice way of saying he didn't trust me) Now he just jokes about not letting me go anywhere, and just leaves me alone when I'm writing because he knows that I'll tickle the crud out of him later if he breaks my train of thought.
----------http://dragcave.net/user/Unicornsky2982
26,856 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 15 05
We got married in September 2007, and he was supportive of me last year when I was ignoring him a lot. But I've been ignoring him a lot anyway because I've been studying for the GRE. He understand how important this is to me,and as long as I get it done without too much crazyness, I think he'll be okay with me!
----------84,305 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 19 27
I'm 25 and I've been married since May 2007. My husband is already supporting my writing habit full time, so Nanowrimo should theoretically just be another month in the life for us, perhaps just slightly more frantic! He's really supportive of my writing, and gets excited about my word counts every time I hit a new high. I think the only thing he gets dismayed about, in regard to Nano, is my love of the t-shirts.
----------Sometimes I blog.
http://hellia.blogspot.com/
Other times I contribute.
http://www.geekachicas.com/
But I really just want to novel :)
0 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 19 28
This is my first year even attempting NaNo, and I don't think I or my husband really know what we're in for. I'm 25, he's 27, and we've been married for a grand total of three months, although we've lived together for two years now. I'm also a full-time nursing student with two cats and a golden retriever puppy. I don't plan on letting NaNo crowd out the rest of my life to the point where my husband or anything else suffers, and if I don't get 50k, c'est la vie. There will be less busy years in my future. :-)
----------4,530 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 20 17
My name is Erica. I'm 28 and I've been married for a little over 3 years. For the most part my hubby is pretty cool about my writing. He's more optimistic about me finishing a story than I am, lol.
----------http://itsedbeale.com
30,076 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 20 48
I think it's really cool that so many people get support from their significant others! I know that I've gotten a LOT more support from my husband than I ever got from my family. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and being a straight-A student is a result of my parents' effort to teach me well, but they just don't get the whole writing-a-novel-in-a-month thing, and they tended to get very cranky when I hogged the computer/got upset about not being able to get in enough writing. There's so much less stress for me now that I'm out of the house and with my husband (okay, a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that we have two computers here at home and I can hog the computer whenever I want, haha!)
Congrats to all the newlyweds and those celebrating their anniversaries - married life has, so far, been amazing for me, and I'm sure it's going to be just as good throughout November!
----------------
04: Spirograph (won)
05: Becoming (won)
06: Bricks (won)
07: The Mind's Eye (won)
08: Haldereth (won)
09: Inhabited
22,591 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 22 54
I'm 23, and I just got married a few weeks ago - October 12. My husband and I have been together over five years and lived together for three, so honestly I don't feel like much has changed. It's nice to have it be official, though.
As for being supportive, he's actually a writer as well. We even co-write sometimes, when the mood strikes. He'll be doing NaNo right alongside me!
----------