Yesterday kicked off another year of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I’m jealous. I want in on the action. I love the group energy and the idea of vomiting words out on the page, but I have to face reality, this experience may never happen for me.
Some of the reasons have nothing to do with “writing.” I am previously committed to other endeavors that are really important to me. The dance studio where I teach and take class, has its annual recital in November. I’m passionate about dance and love this time of year. I can’t imagine taking something I really love and making it stressful. Also, my sister-in-law and her family live out of town and every other year she’s home for a Thanksgiving/Christmas Festivus in November. I can’t imagine cutting into that special time with family. And then there’s the holidays…I’m not a good elf.
Basically, November is just not an optimal time for me to write a novel. So…if NaNoWriMo was in March–would I do it? I’d be a lot more tempted, but the answer is still–probably not. Why?
Because I’m a crock pot.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good salad bar. But this is about writing, not eating. Although I’m getting hungry right now. But in the context of novels, some people (the salad bar folks) take their ingredients, throw them into a big pile and digest them later. The other group of writers (the crock pot gang) carefully think about how to put their ingredients together ahead of time, then let everything cook slowly so that things can blend together. Both dishes are tasty. Both writing styles have advantages and disadvantages. And ideally, my preference is to have a little of both–for balance.
But at the end of the day, I’m not sure I could JUST be a salad bar. Which means I’m not sure I’ll ever do NaNoWriMo. But hey–you never know. I just might get hungry enough.
Are you a crock pot or a salad bar?
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Crock pot. (I had to double-check to make sure I typed "crock" instead of "crack." *grin*) My stuff needs to simmer to bring out the flavor.
Mmmm we can eat and write together!!!! You always make me smile you crack pot! :o)
I am a crock bar? Or as Linda said – crack pot?
In other words, I'm a bit of both. I did NaNo and the resulting effort just… well, sucks. I've revised it twice now. I like the values it instills – set a word count and commit to it daily and turn off your inner editor. But I also like to simmer over my work and you can't do that on a time table.
I am over-committed this year so no NaNO for me. But I will be applying the lessons I've learned from last year's experience.