NaNoWriMo Review

 I failed miserably, abyssmally. You get the point. In a contest to write 50,000 words, I didn't quite make it to 2,000 words. Pitiful, embarassing. 

Why did I fail? There are myriad reasons.

1.    I expected to fail. It's hard to psych yourself to work when you start off thinking you won't succeed. 

2.    I was too distracted by research: one example is here. I did use some research that I had previously written about the railroad industry in general, but I'm not sure if I put it in the right place.

3.    I did not prioritize my writing. Actually, I do not priortize my writing. Ding, ding, ding. That's the number one reason, and I guess the only real reason for all of my writing failures. I remember mornings when I'd get up to write only to be distracted by emptying the dishwasher and playing New York Times word games.

At the beginning of the year, I had a goal to write for two hours a day, Yeah well, I fucked that up. Think of all the words I would have now. Isn't that's what writing is, words strung together--hopefully beautifully. 

Finally, it dawned on me: I have to think of writing as my job and plan accordingly. At least I've learned something from my failure.

Another good result from this mess: I'm in Merwinsville mode again. I'm remembering why I'm so fascinated by Sylvanus Merwin and his hotel. I'm imagining his relationship with his wife Flora, wondering about his rivalry with his half-brother Peter Gaylord, visualizing the telegraphic courtship of Helen Merwin and Ed Hurd. 

There's more to learn and much more to write. 

Halfway Through November

If I had been participating properly in NaNoWriMo, I woiuld have written about 26,000 words by now. Spoiler Alert: I wrote just over 1,000.  

With about a half month to go, it's too soon to label myself an abject failure, but I'm well on my way. 

I wrote about my fear of losing Nano: it's not a big deal. I'm going to keep writing. 

Besides my normal problem of not sticking to a writing schedule, the hour-long review of notes on Halloween night wasn't enough prep to get back into the Merwinville concept--I kept referring to notes, handouts, and the Internet. I actually stopped writing a scene to look up if people in Connecticut drank coffee in the 1830s. 

After I finished the first draft of the first chaper, I went back to add details. Later I moved material from Chapter One to Chapter Two. These are all things you're not supposed to do in Nano. The only way to get to 50,000 words in a month is to explicitly not edit anything. Save that for later. That is true of all writing.

Today I wrote a bit about Sylvanus seeing opportunities and then some background about railroad/transportation from 1800-1850. I called the file Pre-Chapter One. As I think about it, it's probably not in the best place, but I'm not going to worry about that now. 

I previously used my Ancestry.com membership to research Sylvanus Merwin's descendants but didn't get very far. I had wanted to cancel my membership because the monthly charges are too high. So I spent several hours of the last few days of access to do more research. I found an interesting connection that may be very important in my book. 

At least I'm learning in my failure.

NaNoWriMo

I had been thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year. I was hesitating; I realize that I was afraid. But of what? I had failed before (failed NaNo twice before) I could fail again. It wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I signed up on Halloween night. Officially NaNoWriMo starts at 12:01 on November 1st. I stayed up and watched The Wolf Man and then started writing at the official time. I wrote until 12:48 (though I may have dozed off a time or two) and wrote 277 words. As I went to bed, I realized that what I had written was useless. It was a recap of what I had read about Sylvanus Merwin. It wouldn't work in a novel. I decided instead that I should start the story with a dialog between Sylvanus and his wife Flora. So, I did the next morning--I wrote 476 words. Then I got up to walk Jace, go to the gym, etc.

Later I realized that I had to help Jeff with a complicated government form, and between that and all of my other chores, etc. I didn't get back to writing. (Still haven't.)

It's still early in the month, so there's hope for me. For now, I need to go to bed and get some rest. 

Work in Progress

I forced myself to go to the gym Wednesday. I was exhausted Tuesday night, but didn't do the practical thing and go to bed early. I was posting and writing until midnight.

It wasn't that I got a late start on Wednesday (I was up by 6:30) but that I got off to a slow start. Before I knew it, it was 9:30. It would have been easy to blow off the gym: I would have done that a few weeks ago.

By the time I got to the gym. it was 10:15. It wasn't a particularly good workout, but it was a workout. I did better on Thursday: I was finished with my workout by 10:15. I also had a good workout today.

I've been prioritizing my workouts, which obviously has made a big difference in my gym attendance. I've also been prioritizing walks with Lola. I'd say our walks average 50-55 minutes. I want to take this time now before winter sets in, and it gets too cold for leisurely walks.

I finally got started on my new ACT manual. I've only had it since the end of August: just another example of me sabotaging myself. I start with a new ACT tutoring student next week; he's already taken an ACT course. That means I need to get my manual updated as well as figuring out additional material to cover with him. I had a similar experience with another student last winter (without a new manual to update) so at least I have some idea what to do.

I've been seriously considering doing nanowrimo this year. I had an idea to write a murder mystery set in a dog park. Now, I don't think it's  a good time for nanowrimo. I've got the ACT manual to do, ongoing major cleaning, organizing, and decluttering, finalizing (I hope) my mother's estate, financial planning, you get the picture. Even as I write this, I wonder if I'm just making excuses. This just might make me crazy.

If I do forgo nanowrimo, I have to do nablopomo, at least. Oh look, there's also a NaNonFiWriMo, National Nonfiction Writing Month. Pressure.

My last WPA mural inspired writing class is November 5. I want to keep writing. I can try for 500 words a day in addition to my blog posting. I failed when I tried to do that a few years ago, but at least it's doable: not as onerous as nanowrimo's 1667 words a day.

Now it's time to work on my story for my WPA mural class on Monday.

November Miscellany

I went to the gym today, which makes me one for one for November, yay me. My goal was 150 visits for the year--the same goal I didn't meet for 2017. At least I beat several previous years' totals.

Today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and National Blog Posting  Month (NaBloPoMo.) In the former participants write a 50,000 word novel in November. In the latter, participants write a blog post every day in November. I've enjoyed writing for my art inspired writing course, but it's unrealistic for me do Nano this year. I wonder if I'm just making excuses, but I have to be realistic. I'll commit to NaBloPoMo.

Last week I finished a minor kitchen project. "Lola" gave us four beagle wine glasses and two beagle themed mugs for our 30th anniversary. Jeff gave me another mug. Jeff wants to keep everything, but we just don't have room. Maybe I'm in the de-cluttering mode because I've doing so much work at my mother's place.

My mother spent a few days in Norwalk Hospital this week. She fell and had hip pain so was sent to the ER. She developed pneumonia, but is back home now.

I recently had another frustration dream. I couldn't get my phone to work again. Funny how I had the dream after a relatively good day. But there's always something.

A Discouraging Word

I get two emails every day with vocabulary words: one from Dictionary.com and one from Wordsmith.org. It started because the SAT had so many vocabulary questions. Actually Wordsmith.org didn't have the best SAT words, but it was still fun anyway to get those daily messages.

Yesterday's Dictionary.com entree was logophobia--an obsessive fear of words. As someone who loves words--this is both inexplicable and frightening to me.

Today is the first day of nanowrimo and nablopomo, National Novel Writing Month and National Blog Posting month respectively.

I briefly considered nanowrimo, but rejected it. I've barely been writing lately--50,000 words was just too much. Can I have an obsessive fear of putting words together? I hope not; I hope it's just a dry spell.

Four of the past six years I've managed more than 30 posts in November.

This is doable; let's go.

Nano Regrets

Today I was thinking that I should have tried nanowrimo this year. I'm in a LinkedIn nano group and have been reading posts. I'm also in a group that receives email  from my local ML's. I don't remember what ML stands for, but a ML is some kind of nano leader/liaison for the region--in this case--Fairfield County, CT. I miss the camaraderie of the nano write-ins.

But I have to face facts. I've barely kept up with the  nablogpomo goal of one post a day. Outside of my posts, I've only written 322 words. The nano write-ins have been held on Saturday and Sunday, when I'm unable to attend because I usually work.

So what do I take from all this? This wouldn't have been a good year for me to nano.The 50K word count would have been too stressful for me. But I like the camaraderie. I need to go to retreats or create my own, as I tried this year, but need to do better.

NaBloPoMo

A friend recently emailed me about nanowrimo. She decided to use nanowrimo to get started writing again, although she wouldn't try to write 50,000 words.

I had come up with my own writing goals for the month. I had attempted, but
failed at  these goals before. I'll write at least one blog post a day (the blogging version  of nanowrimo) plus write an additional 500 words a day. That's nothing compared to the 1667 daily work count to meet the nanowrimo goal, but it's still hard when I've barely written anything.

I wrote 322 words today; I'm forcing myself to write this post although I really want to go to bed. It's a start, anyway.

Mixed Bag

I'm tired and should be in bed, but I'm still winding down and couldn't let the first of November go without some kind of post. I expected to be home around nine tonight, but it was after 10.

I had a mammogram and breast ultrasound today and all was well. I don't worry despite my family history. But I was several months late with these tests and needed to get them done.

Jeff, Spike and I went to probably our last dog park Friday for the year. Next week with the daylight savings fall back, it will be dark by 5 PM. Tonight we had a good turn-out for this time of year: ten people.

I left the dog park because I had an teachers meeting/cocktail party. That was disappointing. The "scrumptious" appetizers promised weren't close to scrumptious in my estimation. More importantly, the 7 PM sharp meeting started at 7:15 and went a half hour later than promised. Many blew off the post meeting get-together at the Southport Brewing Company. Either they had too far to drive or it was too late. At least it was a good idea.

Last month I considered whether I should try National Novel Writing Month again. I decided against it. Instead I'll do National Blog Posting Month. I did well with it last year; I wrote 35 posts for November, though I missed one day by posting at 12:01. I will also do some other writing.  I'm thinking 500 words per day besides the blog. I know I won't make it today and didn't do it last year, but I've got to try.

Writing

Because I've been so bad with my writing goals for 2012 (I didn't even make SMART writing goals) I made a goal of 10,000 words (excluding blogging) for November. It's the 24th and my word count is 667. Oddly enough, that's 1,000 words less than the daily NANO total.

Theoretically, I can make my goal of 10,000 words. Excluding today, I can make the goal by producing 1,555.5 words a day for the rest of the month. Since I won NANO before, I can easily pull that off. I also have the advantage of not limiting myself to one piece. I wrote a bit on Jersey Shore memories and started some sort of story about a woman returning to her home town for Thanksgiving and a family wedding. I wrote a twist that surprised me--I never saw it coming.

If I keep on writing, I may really surprise myself.

Midway Through November

If I were doing Nanowrimo this year, I would be at 25,000 words--assuming I had kept up the 1667 words-a-day pace. I'm glad not to have that goal this month--it's a tough road.

I have good, logical reasons why I didn't attempt Nanowrimo. I won't bother listing them. The main reason was that my heart just wasn't in it; I knew that I wouldn't have a chance to succeed.

One of my writing goals was to blog here daily. For the most part, I did so--although I saved two posts instead of posting them--d'oh!

My other goals were rather vague, so it was easy for me to neglect them. Let's make one reasonable goal for November. I'll watch the recording of "the game" and then do a final edit of my Mets piece. It's time to start selling it.

NaNoWriMo: No

For the past four years, I've participated in National Novel Writing Month http://www.nanowrimo.org/. The goal is to write 50,000 words of a completely new work. If you hit 50K, you're a winner.

My first two attempts were pitiful; I only lasted a few days. In 2008, I made it to 40,000 words. I was proud of myself--it was the longest piece I had ever written. Last year I won. NaNoWriMo showed me that I can write consistently; I can write every day; I can produce output.

NaNoWriMo is about quantity, not quality. Quality is for another draft.

Of my two novels I completed, one is like junk candy. The other has some good features, but not enough to salvage the novel as a whole. It would be more efficient to pull out the good and put it in another work than to try to fix the the novel.

This year, NaNoWriMo is not for me. For one thing, I don't think I can win. I know that's a bad attitude. I know I can learn from failure. I know that I have to be willing do something badly in order to do it well. I know.

Right now my heart isn't in writing a novel. But I want to set some writing goals for the month.

1. I will blog every day this month.
2. I will review and finalize my Mets piece.
3. I will work on my travel memoirs, starting with Russia and Egypt trips.
4. I will make my goal number 3 more concrete (i.e. decide on a word count.)

Let's get it started.

Housework, Houseguests and Deadlines

I am doing my housework
Got no time to fool 'round
I am doing my housework
Cleanin' up and I'm gettin' down

From Housework, The B-52's, Bouncing off the Satelites http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsBBz353UGU

For the next few days, my mother is staying with us for the first time in the 22 years we've lived here. For most of those years, she lived only 20 minutes away so there was no need for her to stay overnight. After she moved to Hilton Head, she'd stay with relatives who have more spacious homes when she'd visit.

Having her stay here meant that I had to clean and organize the guest room, which recently has been functioning more like a storage area.

I'm not big on housework--I tend to let it slide. Plus I'm an inefficient cleaner. I get easily distracted and can take all day to do a simple task. Cleaning is frustrating because I know I'm going to have to do it all over again--it's never really finished.

Having a deadline was crucial for me to finish this job. Otherwise, I would still be saying to myself, I've got to clean and organize the guest room. The whole deadline thing reminds me about the idea behind nanowrimo: if you don't give yourself an artificial deadline, you'll never write a novel.

Thinking about nanowrimo leads me back to something that I've been saying and not doing for months. I need to put myself on a schedule. That sounds boring and pedestrian. Maybe I should say I'll design a vision or a mission for my life and then decide on goals based on them. At least it sounds loftier.

Maybe next week.