Does it count as procrastinating if...
Jan. 12th, 2008 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
readingredheadThe past month has really allowed me to realize why National Novel Writing Month works for me. It's not just the deadline: it's the community of people who are running at full speed toward that deadline alongside me.
I've learned this as I try to continue writing the novel I began in November, again with a deadline (because I thought that was all that I would need). Because while I've been keeping up pretty well, or so I suppose, I'm still behind by around 7k, and that's never happened before. I know it's not a lot and if I wrote every day I'd be able to make it up no problem, but that's the thing -- there are a lot more days where I'm not writing. During November, if I wanted to make my goal, I knew that I'd have to write every day, as much as I can. But there was also the aspect of competition -- I was racing against Rebecca, trying to make it there before she did, and that kept me going much faster than I needed to, so that when I did take breaks, it was because I was far enough ahead that I could afford to.
Now, I'm not bored with the story -- I'm realizing, if anything, that this is a story I may never be bored with -- but I'm realizing that such an activity really benefits from a writing community. During November, Rebecca and I would write together almost every night, without fail. We'd sit and type and the only sound would be the laptop keys. Things are easier when you have someone to do them with you, I guess.
Um...not really much else to say. I just had that realization and thought it merited some reflection. I'm still writing the story, and the main characters have recently realized that perhaps they are in love with each other. That being said, there's some heartbreaking that's going to happen very soon, after which the plot will certainly become more interesting. My story has become an amalgam of Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre, and I'm not sure which of those plots to take inspiration from regarding the progression of the storyline...but to figure that out, I just need to write and do something about it.
I've learned this as I try to continue writing the novel I began in November, again with a deadline (because I thought that was all that I would need). Because while I've been keeping up pretty well, or so I suppose, I'm still behind by around 7k, and that's never happened before. I know it's not a lot and if I wrote every day I'd be able to make it up no problem, but that's the thing -- there are a lot more days where I'm not writing. During November, if I wanted to make my goal, I knew that I'd have to write every day, as much as I can. But there was also the aspect of competition -- I was racing against Rebecca, trying to make it there before she did, and that kept me going much faster than I needed to, so that when I did take breaks, it was because I was far enough ahead that I could afford to.
Now, I'm not bored with the story -- I'm realizing, if anything, that this is a story I may never be bored with -- but I'm realizing that such an activity really benefits from a writing community. During November, Rebecca and I would write together almost every night, without fail. We'd sit and type and the only sound would be the laptop keys. Things are easier when you have someone to do them with you, I guess.
Um...not really much else to say. I just had that realization and thought it merited some reflection. I'm still writing the story, and the main characters have recently realized that perhaps they are in love with each other. That being said, there's some heartbreaking that's going to happen very soon, after which the plot will certainly become more interesting. My story has become an amalgam of Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre, and I'm not sure which of those plots to take inspiration from regarding the progression of the storyline...but to figure that out, I just need to write and do something about it.
