Another
NaNo is over. Every year I think to myself that I’m not going to do it, and
every year I end up making at least the attempt. The last couple of years have
been less formal, and I haven’t interacted with anyone in my local rea with the
event. I simply quietly plug along with my own progress, unconcerned about
anyone else.
I guess
this is because, at least in my mind, it’s changed. It’s no longer a community
event to see if I can do it. I
already know I can do it. It’s a question of whether or not I will do it. And I don’t need the
cheerleading aspect of NaNo in order to write. I don’t need word drills and
hanging out in coffee shops with a crowd of people that are, at best, only
semi-serious about writing.
In a highly
informal poll of writer friends, most of them end up moving away from Nano as
well. Oh, they still write. In fact they outpace NaNo writers. The last four
years I’ve done NaNo I’ve haven’t felt any real pressure that I was behind and
couldn’t get it done. Even with attending Crime Bake, which eats up a good
three days of writing I could still get it done without difficulty. Yes, some
of it was down to the wire, but it still got done.
But it is
interesting to see the more serious, and especially the professionally paid,
writers move away from NaNo.