Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To NaNo or Not to NaNo

I've been debating a question for a while now.  Whether or not to participate in NaNo this November.  I did it last year and I did Camp NaNo this year.  However, since those events, my son was born.  So the debate is whether or not to try NaNo while taking care of my son - who will be about 2 1/2 months old at the beginning of November.  This debate reminded me of the soliloquy (or is it a monologue?) from Hamlet.  So, using Trifecta's prompt this week and borrowing from Shakespeare, here's my response to the prompt:



To NaNo, or not to NaNo: that is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of uneasy questions,
Or to take arms against a sea of doubts,
And by writing end them?  To write: to NaNo;
No more; and by NaNo to say we create
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That characters are heir to, ‘The End’ is a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d.  To write, to NaNo;
To NaNo: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that NaNo what dreams of publication may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
For the title of author.


Be sure to stop over at Trifecta and check out the other responses to the prompt.

28 comments:

  1. All of our dreams here....To write something worthy of publication? Don't know. We just want to write. We just have to write, right?. Love all your stuff!

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    1. Thanks - this may be a bit exaggerated but it was fun to somewhat plagiarize Shakespeare and play with it a bit. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. I'm as scared of NaNoWriMo as I would be to prepare and run a marathon. I've done neither but it seems like it would be such a major accomplishment. Loved your Shakespearian take.

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    1. Thanks. The first line of that quote ran through my head as I thought about NaNo and decided it'd be fun to play with it. Trifecta's prompt worked well here. I encourage you to try NaNo. It is intense but a great time - even if you don't end up making it. It's an accomplishment just to try.

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  3. I am sure that Shakespeare would be impressed! Loved this--so whimsical...

    I will say that it would be better to try NaNo now, when your son can be placed within eyeshot for a few moments while you type. It will be next to impossible to do anything once he is walking. But that's my two cents

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    1. That's a good point. If anything, I can put him in his Moby and type away around him! Probably won't work so well when he is mobile under his own power...

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  4. Bravo brava!! I never NaNo, I must confess. November is a lonely month for this writer as everybody NaNos along. But have fun if you do shuffle off your mortal coil for the title.

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    1. Then jump in - try NaNo. You can do non-fiction as well, it's not just fiction! It has been a lot of fun the two times I have done it.

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    1. I'm leaning toward at least attempting. Even if I don't make it I can say I tried. It does mean yet another new WIP when I have multiple already...

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  6. The end is a consummation. Neat.

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    1. Thanks! That was a great line I couldn't mess with Shakespeare on there.

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  7. That made me laugh. I've been struggling with that question to, albeit less elegantly!

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    1. I don't know that I'd call it elegant - but I appreciate the compliment. Thanks!

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  8. Always fun to plagiarize the Bard. :-) I'm having the same questions right now. I will say that I once completed NaNo with an 11-month old and a 2 year old. It can be done. Maybe now is your most opportune time? Babies, after all, sometimes take naps. Sometimes.

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    1. And it fit so perfectly! I'm thinking I may be able to attempt it with as much ease as I'm likely to get yet this year with the addition of my son. Once he's mobile, like TMW Hickman pointed out, it gets much more complicated...

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  9. I like your Shakespearean take on the prompt. I've never done NanoWriMo, nor do I plan to, but if it's do-able, I say go for it :) It does get harder when the kiddos are mobile (and verbal!)

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    1. Ooo. Another good point. Verbal. That could definitely add another complexity to things. His occasional crying already does to some extent. Words would make it that much more interesting.

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  10. It might be a good distraction for you. Babies are the best, but days can get monotonous and your brain turns to mush. The worst that happens is you generate something you can work on later? This is coming from someone who isn't doing nano so maybe I'm no one to listen to:)

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    1. That is very true. I do go back to work soon, but that's working with teenagers and that's not always much better.

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  11. This was fun! What dreams of publication may come... I love that. Your new son may become your inspiration. As he sleeps, perchance to dream you might write, soar to new heights!

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    1. Nice, especially seeing as most of my writing would be done while he sleeps! Thanks.

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  12. Do NaNo. 2 1/2 mo is easier than 2 1/2 yrs or 12 1/2 teen dramas! I didn't finish my NaNo last year, but I did the year before. It's good. It's fun. It's hard. It's amazing. Completely worth it.

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    1. I agree - NaNo is great. Intense but great. I'm thinking I'm too tempted to try it to say no.

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  13. Love it! I've had a similar debate over whether to NaNo or not this year as well. I finished last year, but I haven't done anything with the lump of clay I created then. I hate to create another lump of clay unless I've done something with the first.

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    1. Yeah. My NaNo from last year is still in need of editing, though it has gone through some editing already. The one from Camp this spring is about a good as a lump of clay at the moment. I'm still not sure it even makes sense at the moment. That's one reason why I'm hesitating a little. I don't need yet another project part way done.

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