Monday, October 26, 2015

Getting Back to Writing and NaNoWriMo

As previously mentioned, I have been a bit unmotivated to write since I graduated with my MFA in Creative Writing. Getting a degree in creative writing and then not writing is unfortunate. It somehow makes my degree seem pointless. Because of this I have had some thoughts and ideas, and I made a few decisions.
  1. I seriously considered doing NaNoWriMo. The concept of writing 50,000 words in a month seemed appealing to me, but the panic set in pretty quickly at the thought of it. While I want to start writing again, I'm not sure I want to jump straight into the deep end after such a long time now swimming. The contest would likely influence me to actually write, but I am not sure that it would be worth the downhearted feeling I would get from not completing the full project. This is still an option, and I do have until November 1st to make this decision. 
  2. I have considered seeking out contests on other websites to give me motivation to write. But, I'll be honest. I would probably not write anything new after all. Instead, I would try to find a story or poem I already have that would fit the contest, or I wouldn't participate in the contest at all. I would rather focus on writing something new for the sake of writing, and maybe submit some of my old works to journals now.
  3. I could search the internet or books for writing prompts. Prompts have always helped to influence the formation of ideas, but this still wouldn't really get me writing. Ideas spin around in my head already, and while I jot down ideas, I generally don't write extensively right now. This is still a really good idea for when I start getting motivated to write.
  4. I have considered joining forums or some sort of online community for support. In all honesty I searched for face-to-face meet ups or groups, but the idea of meeting a large (or small) group of strangers face to face terrified me. I have problems connecting with people in my everyday life. The thought of discussing my writing to a real, live person and being able to see their reactions in the flesh was not appealing. Thus, online forums. I am not really sure that this is the proper arena for me either. I think I'm just not really ready to share my projects with anyone. I would be interested in discussing the process of writing, though.
  5. The final, and most likely to succeed, idea that I have sort of stems from the idea of NaNoWriMo. Instead of struggling to write an entire novel in a month (and risking the disappointment at not finishing), I think I will just create a daily writing schedule that I will follow no matter what. This would consist of setting aside a specific time each day (or in my case, night) to write. For example, maybe I could schedule to write at 8 pm every night for an hour. This would be nonstop writing, without revision. This is the same concept that is present in the NaNoWriMo contest, but without all of the added pressure of getting to 50,000 words.  
I really plan on writing at least a little every day throughout November. This seems like the most feasible and appropriate idea for someone who hasn't written much in months. I am still seriously considering signing up for NaNoWriMo for the experience, especially since I researched and discovered that the "novel" doesn't get put on the internet for everyone to see. That privacy aspect is very important to me, at least in the beginning of the writing process. 
Although, I suppose if I am going to participate in a novel writing experiment I should start thinking about what I will write. Ah, now that's the really hard part, isn't it?

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