Friends,
This is my 3rd NaNoWriMo. The past two years, the first day was exhilarating because I had no idea where the month was going to take me. This year, I'm feeling pretty blah. I've written a couple thousand words. I think I have an okay story, and I like my characters. Still, I just sort of want the month to be over so I don't have to think about writing for awhile. I don't write any other time of year, so I shouldn't be burned out. Should this be my last NaNo? I'm starting grad school in January, so the next two Novembers will be much busier. More importantly, I seem to have lost the spark of magic that seemed to be part of past NaNos. Am I doing something wrong? Have any of you gone through this before? Help!
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I will not be declaring war on any regions...much like a flea won't declare war on the dog.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
-J. Lennon
39,606 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 22 02
I go through something similar every year. For at least a few hours, sometimes a few days, I'm not sure I want to go through this again. So to answer the last question, oh yes, the spark certainly isn't always there.
It could be that it isn't just a mood thing. Maybe you really don't care to write right now, or for whatever reason NaNo just isn't exciting anymore (or this year). This is a pretty weird challenge, and a personal one, so it's perfectly fine to decide it ain't happenin'. It sounds like you're sticking with it this year, though (yay!), so I'm very curious to know what you think of the process a week or two from now. In my experience, when we're bored or just slogging along, our brains get starved for entertainment and start pulling out insights and bizarre quirks we weren't aware of before they materialized in the story. It's without a doubt my favorite part of writing, and the pressure of NaNo seems to force it to happen a bit more consistently.
What works well for me is to listen to other writers yammer about their days, or their stories. Since you live with another writer like I do, daily chatter in November can help a lot. Write-ins are great for that, too. I love the pause, when someone stops typing and stares into space, then gets the next bit of inspiration to hit the keyboard again.
I'm guessing just about everybody's familiar with the feeling that writing is a chore. I'd love to know what other people do to kick themselves out of it.
----------Ericka
Co-ML, Indianapolis
Inspired vessel of the Traveling Shovel of Death