Get Ready… Get Set… NoNoWriMo!

There are a lot of pep talks out there for everyone doing NaNoWriMo this year – the same as any year.  If you need a pep-talk to get you revved up to write 50,000 words in 30 days…

You’ve come to the wrong place.

Instead, today, I want to talk to the NoNoWriMoers.  That’s right: the people who aren’t doing NaNoWriMo.

If you’re a writer, the first few days of the month of November can be a time of anxiety.  It’s like everyone you know is warming up their word processors and shooting out of the gate, ready to write.  It can make you feel like something less than a real writer if you’re not participating.

But the fact is, there are a lot of us writers who aren’t participating.  And you know what?  It’s okay.

Some of us aren’t doing NaNoWriMo because we’re already professional, published writers, and we have our own writing schedules to keep, and abiding by the arbitrary rules of NaNoWriMo doesn’t fit in with our writing work schedule.  Obviously, this group doesn’t include me.  Some of us aren’t doing NaNo because we think the whole thing is really rather a little silly.  This group does not include me either.  Some aren’t doing because, even though we think it sounds like an interesting and fun challenge, there are things in our life that make it more or less impossible to participate.  (I’m in this group.) 

But whatever the reason you’re not participating in NaNo, it’s okay.  You’re not alone.  We are the NoNoWriMoers, and we are legion.

Ultimately, if you’re a writer, you have to write in a way that fits your life, and what works for you.  If that means you can arrange things such that you can set aside a whole month in November to churn out a 50,000-word novel, and if this appeals to you, then that’s awesome for you.  If you prefer to work at a slower steady pace, and the frenetic energy of NaNoWriMo doesn’t sit well with you, then hey, slow-and-steady wins the race.  Go you!  If life has thrown a lot of distractions or troubles or higher-priorities and you have to take care of things right now, and NaNoWriMo is the least of your worries… I feel for you, and so do a lot of other writers.  Some of us have been there.  Some of us are there.

If you’d really like to do NaNoWriMo but for whatever reason you can’t… cheer up.  There’s always next year.  Or the year after.

Myself?  I won’t be doing it next year, either.  I’ll still have a toddler with even more energy than he has now (I think they peak at about 5 or 6, but I’m totally shooting from the hip here) and I’ll have a new infant with an even chance of the new guy still having a highly disruptive sleep schedule.  So if you’re like me… you’ll have to bide your time.

Until then, write whenever, however, and whatever you may.  Just make it work for you.

Now it’s your turn to sound off.  Are you NaNoWriMoing this year?  If not, why not?  Do you hope/plan to try for future years?