Writing Tendencies — Or Why A “Non-Writer” Participates in NaNoWriMo
I have written 7 novels, but I have never reopened the files.
Ok, so that might be a little a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. See, I participate in an annual month long writing challenge called NaNoWriMO pretty much every year, but I do so more as an exercise than to produce an actual novel.
While I consider myself a writer, I am not a novelist. 90% of what I write is non-fiction, like these articles here on Medium. But during the month of November each year, I get to flex my creative writing muscles.
I love the challenge. I love that feeling on November 30th around midnight in my time zone when I submit my novel for verification and get the WINNER! notification.
I also love being able to go through the process of plot development, world design, character building, and all the other parts that go into what makes a story. Due to my schedule, I usually go into the challenge as a pantser with a rough idea of a plot and some notes. At the end of November, I have a rambling, barely readable, pile of crap that I can call the first draft of a novel.
Then I move the file to my Archived NaNoWriMo Novels folder and never look back. There was one story that I attempted to edit so my friends could read at least one part, but all I managed to accomplish was deleting a bunch of words and editing about three sentences.
For me, the fun is in the challenge. It’s the journey. If I never open one of those files or read any of the over 350,000 words that I have written, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Maybe someday I will write something that I really fall in love with and keep going back to work on, but until that happens, I’m going to keep writing and participating in NaNoWriMo my own way.
Want to read more about my NaNoWriMo adventures? You’re in luck!
My NaNoWriMo 2016 Explained Using the Pixar Pitch
