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Wednesday, November 2, 2022

#IWSG: To NaNo Or Not to NaNo

 


Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

Lucky me, I'm joining the awesome co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG: Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford,.

November 2's optional question - November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

I say this every November: I admire everyone who does NaNo. It's a fantastic way to write a book. I've never participated. Too much going on in November--birthdays, anniversaries, and Thanksgiving. Plus finish Christmas shopping. 

Another reason--probably the most important one--is that I can't go forward until I fix what I've written. I write, go back and fix/rewrite, write more, go back and fix/rewrite, rinse and repeat. It's how I write. So, knowing myself, I figure I'd defeat the purpose of NaNo. But those of you who want to go for it, do it. A lot of people swear by it.

As I said above, I'm one of the co-hosts this month. It will take me a while to get to those on my list but I will, eventually. I've got the GI bug that's going around plus my husband is in the hospital (again). My kids are wonderful picking up the slack and watching out for their dad.

Hope you have a good writing month.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.


34 comments:

  1. Hi. I love that title of the post. Hope your husband is having a good recovery. Thanks for hosting.

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  2. I hope your husband feels better soon. Thanks for co-hosting. I have a similar writing style to you so NaNo wouldn't be a good fit for me.

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  3. Very sorry your husband is in the hospital and you're not feeling well. Do what you can today and thanks for co-hosting.

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  4. Oh. I hope you feel better and your husband heals. I don't think I'll ever try NaNo, but kudos to those who try. Thank you for co-hosting.

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  5. Hi, I hope you get well soon. I'm sorry about your husband having to go to the hospital again, but it's great that you have kids that are supporting you. As for NaNo, I love it, but I don't do it every year. I do it when it fits my purpose.
    Take care.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

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  6. Thanks for co-hosting, especially in a NaNo November! I'm with you, Di. You know what a team player I am (not). But that said, I plan to make NaNo work for me this year by getting a read thru of my just finished Romantic Suspense done. That's almost 80K of editing. Hugs to the Hubs!

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  7. I hope your husband is out of the hospital soon. No NaNo for me either.

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  8. I hope you all get better soon. Thanks for co-hosting!

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  9. Oh no! I hope you husband is out of the hospital SOON and that you feel better, too.

    I write more like you do. It's a slower process for me.

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  10. I am like you when it comes to writing, but I can barrel through without thinking about commas or rewording a sentence when I set my mind to it. I do dislike having to clean up the mess I made though afterwards! Feel better soon. Thank goodness for those kids. You guys raised them right.

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  11. Thanks for co-hosting this month! I did try it one year but Thanksgiving is a huge holiday for our family so I didn't "win" but it was a good experience.

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  12. I like to fix as I go as well. The works I created during NaNo never were finished. The mess I made was overwhelming. Too much for me... so far at any rate. hehehe

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  13. Hi Diane, for me October-November is a hectic month, Diwali shopping, preparations etc, so I never got the opportunity to do NaNo. This year Diwali got over on 24th October, but life threw many obstacles that never gave me no time to outline my novel. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  14. So sorry to hear your husband's in the hospital, Diane. I'll pray for him and you.

    I've never done NaNo either. I, also, can't go forward until I fix what I've written. Thanks for co-hosting this month. Feel better soon!

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  15. Thanks for hosting Diane. I hope you get feeling better!

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  16. Hi Diane!
    May everyone in your family feel better soon. I agree, NaNo is not for everybody. Such intense motivation can be as disquieting as it is exhilarating ;-) Thank you for co-hosting - and Happy Thanksgiving!

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  17. November does seem like the wrong time for this challenge, doesn't it? I can't imagine signing on to this kind of commitment just before the major holidays. Thanks for co-hosting today.

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  18. I'm a slow, picky first-drafter, too. I posted a link on my blog to a speed writing post that might help. Thanks for co-hosting!

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  19. I hope you and your husband feel better soon! Thanks for co-hosting!

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  20. My last Nano attempt in 2012 was a failure and I haven't tried since. I did complete two Nano events in 2010 & 2011, but I never did anything with those "novels" afterwards.

    This November for me is going to be so busy that there would be no way I could write this much this month. Maybe it will be something for me to consider again in the future, but I think I'd rather be too busy to do it. Those two Novembers that I did do Nano were rather grueling and I don't feel that much like coping with that again.

    Hope everything gets back to the norm for you and your family and have a wonderful holiday season!

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  21. So sorry to hear you caught the bug, but so happy that you're writing again! Happy Writing!

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  22. Sorry the bug has visited your house, but glad to hear that your own writing is going well. @samanthabwriter from
    Balancing Act

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  23. Argh, so many illnesses swirling these days. May you and your husband return to wellness pronto. Good reasons to say NaNoNoNo, just as I do. I participated once, but the re-writing/revising obliterated any progress made... lesson learned.

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  24. Thanks for co-hosting today, Diane! I do hope your husband is doing okay, and I hope you're getting past the GI bug. It's going to take me a few days to make the rounds myself. Happy writing in November!

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  25. I write the same way you do, and like you, I never participated in NaNo. Kindred souls, right? Thanks for co-hosting today.

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  26. Ow! Take care of yourself and your husband! Yes, the NaNo approach isn't for everyone, and the timing is really pretty awful!

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  27. Prayers for you and your family.

    I can relate to the write, edit, rework cycle so much. I'd really like to try that whole streaming and not caring about the grammar and typos and all, but I can't. I think my delete key is always the first to get worn down on my keyboards.

    Thanks for letting me share the co-host spot light with you this month Diane. Truly is an honor to have my name in the same sentence as yours on the other co-hosts.

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  28. I'm concentrating on finishing my sequel for now. Get well soon! I wish you guys a speedy recovery :) Thanks for co-hosting.

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  29. Sorry to hear about all those bugs going around. I suppose the Nano concept suits me because I like to get the whole story out before going through it to find what doesn't work. But then, I'm a pantser anyway! But November? No thanks!

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  30. I hope you feel better quickly and that your husband is doing okay.

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  31. Thank you for hosting, especially with so much going on. I hope you and your husband feel better soon.

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  32. I'm the same with my writing process. I can't move forward with a story unless I feel confident about the stuff I've already written. That means I do a lot of editing, backtracking, and rewriting. Nanowrimo really doesn't work for writers like us, but I'm super excited for other writers who participate. If you're not sure yet what your writing process is, try Nano! And if Nano does suit your process, keep doing it!

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