It's the first Wednesday in November so it's time for another IWSG post!
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!--from IWSG website
Find us on Twitter at @TheIWSG #IWSG
The optional question of the month is: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?
I did participate several years ago in NaNoWriMo. The daily word count target motivated me to make sure that I sat down and wrote a little bit every day and usually I ended up writing more than the goal! But by the time it got to be the week before Thanksgiving and I was about to have sixteen people at my house I began to panic about the clutter covering my counters and the fact that I hadn't figured out what I would be serving besides turkey and mashed potatoes. For a couple days I dove into cleaning and meal planning and cooking anything I could in advance. I would have to write just before bed. Unfortunately, by that time I was too tired and fell asleep after typing only a few hundred words.
When relatives started showing up on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I decided to stop trying. Not because I had given up but because I wanted to enjoy everyone's company and not feel guilty for either not writing or for running off to a quiet corner to get a few words in.
Even though I didn't officially complete NaNo, I still felt it was a success and a great experience! I had spent several days in a row getting into the habit of writing and I had a great start to a novel! All in all I would recommend trying it if you've never done it before.
This year, I'm going about it a little bit differently. I'm still having a bunch of people over for Thanksgiving but I already have a completed novel that I need to edit. I've decided I will try to edit 3,300 words per day and maybe do a few more at the beginning of the month.
Good luck to all of you who participate this year!
And have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Kathy
