Tuesday 27 October 2009

NaNoWriMo Write-In

I learned from NaNo official website that my local area has a NaNo write-ins. Writers from Bristol and Bath meet in Bristol on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings during November. Thursday evenings are no-no for me, because travelling by public transport at night is something I totally avoid. But on Sundays I am thinking about going. From the description, I have to say that the whole thing sounds more social than writing, though quite a few people mentioned that they do manage to up their word count by encouraging each other. Since 1st of November is a Sunday, I have decided to go and check it out. While I would really love to meet local writers and see how I get along with them, spending Sundays socialising and just talking about writing, instead of writing, isn't what I want to do. If I want to push for finishing a first draft in November, I really cannot afford to waste weekends. Still, worth experimenting. When I thought of write-ins in my head, I always head this idea of people sitting around, mostly writing, occassionally chatting. I accept that to a lot of people this would sound incredibly boring. Someone might say that we might as well not bother getting together. But having been to one-day workshops where we have done just that, I have to say that I find that totally exciting and appealing. If I am sitting around writing by myself, I am prone to distractions. But if I am sitting around writing at the same time as other people, I don't get distracted. I am focused. I think it's the fact that everyone else is writing, you don't want to be the only one not doing it, or when they end up writing 5000 words, you don't want to be stuck at 500. Okay, I admit, I am competitive. Not insane in I-have-to-win kind of way, but more in a if-you-can-do-it-so-can-I kind of way. I will let you all know how my experience with Bristol write-in goes. But what about you guys? Especially the old NaNoers. Have you been to NaNo write-ins? How did you find it?

12 comments:

  1. Unfortunately I live in a small town and the nearest write-in is about an hour's drive away. So an hour there, an hour back . . . that's two hours out of my writing time and I'm not convinced it would be worth the trouble in the long run. I'll probably just stick to the word wars on AW again this year. They really helped last year!

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  2. Haven't done it yet, but I was invited to one. I don't think I'm going though. Not really my type of thing. I'll be interested to hear how it goes for you :) Have fun!

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  3. C R,
    Word Wars on AW sounds like fun. I will be sure to keep an eye on that.

    Erica,
    I am not sure if it will be my type or thing or not, but I think worth a try anyway. If I don't like it, I can always leave.

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  4. I find it almost impossible to write if there are other people in the room, so a write-in doesn't appeal to me at all. But I'll be back to see what you made of it.

    I can't do Nano-whotsit because I don't have time this november, but I find the idea appealing and might give it a go next year.

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  5. I haven't been to any local write-ins. I'm in the process of moving. Where I live now the location would be a long drive for me. After I move I'll already be in the area so it's something that I'm considering.

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  6. I'm in the same boat of not-knowing. I've never been to a write-in, but I'm curious and I think I'm gonna try at least one this year. I'll be interested to hear how you like it and I'll freely share, as well.

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  7. Thomas, I have written in library and cafes before, and in workshops, though I wouldn't want to write around friends/family. I will let you know how the experiment goes.

    Ofira, hope you enjoy it.

    Kaity, I think it's definitely worth trying once, at least then we can know for sure what works for us.

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  8. Scheduling has always been a problem for me, as I'm very protective of my time. I've been to a kick-off party before, but never a write-in. I'm considering trying one this year, but we'll see. That whole time thing is still kind of a problem...

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  9. My goodness. Some of the things you say make me think I'm a British woman. I have the same distractions when writing alone, and I'm very suspicious of writing groups. Whenever other writers start talking about writing I get pretty bored.

    Hey! I gave you an award on my blog. Check it out.

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  10. Aww Matt, thanks. If it makes you feel any better, I am multinational by my living experience, so you could be part american woman ;) more at home

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  11. Up in the air on this question. I'm tempted to go to a kick-off write-in tomorrow, but I'm not sure of the etiquette.

    I'd *like* to sit among fellow NaNoers and write, but I see that tomorrow's write-in near me features optional games, prods, and so forth. I just want to plug into my iPod and WRITE. Will that be perceived as rude? Still, like everyone else, I have limited time and need to make the most of what I've got.

    Ah well. I guess there's one way to find out: I can go ... and LEAVE if it's not for me. But only after I've met tomorrow's daily minimum so that I don't have to freak out that I've "wasted" my time.

    (Am I overthinking this? lol)

    HD
    www.wordflix.org

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  12. HD,

    I don't think you are over-thinking at all. I wondered the same thing. But at the end of the day, this is supposed to be write-in, so definitely not rude to just get writing.

    I don't really like bars at the best of time, and the venue that our local write-in will be at is cafe/bar, so that instantly puts me off. Still, I will stop by I think, if like you, I get a decent word count completed before 2 tomorrow afternoon.

    Will keep you all posted if I do go.

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