So I’m doing Nanowrimo this year, because the Sekrit Project–which is not so Sekrit anymore, having been outed on FB, so I’ll tell you what it is in a minute here–because the Sekrit Project is due soon and I have this novella to write, and it happens that the approximate number of words that need writing is 50,000, so hey, NNWM it is.
The astute among you will immediately notice that what I am proposing to do is not actually within NNWM guidelines. And I must say, having just been reading the NNWM boards for Dublin…boy, do I think people get too hung up on the rules.
I mean, yes, yes, if you haven’t written 50,000 words at once before, absolutely, the idea of turning off the internal editor and just churning the words out is totally fine. Or if that’s simply what you want to do, great, go for it. But if you want to, say, write another 50K on the book you started during last year’s NNWM, I cannot fathom why this should not be encouraged as well. It’s not like 50K, as a rule, makes a book. In today’s market, it makes anywhere from, what, about 40 to 90 percent of a book.
The thing that I find appealing about NNWM is the hoards getting together to make stories. It’s an inclusive activity. So I utterly don’t get why people jump so damned hard on others who are adapting the rules to better suit them.
I admit a mean little part of me wants to go to the first Dublin meetup and volunteer, before anyone else does, what it is I’ll be doing during NNWM, and just *wait* for them to tell me I’m Doin’ It Rong, so I can be the 900 pound gorilla in the room. (Normally in writing groups I find being the 900 pound gorilla a little uncomfortable, but in this case…)
Thank you! This is exactly what I want to do.
I have just about finished my novel from last NNWM and what to do the sequel for this years have have hit a bit of hazing from my writers group for not following the rules.
But this week two others anounced that they were doing the same thing, so I guess I was just the first out of the gate.