Thursday, July 28, 2011

Turns out I don't need to do both.

Well, I've found something rather interesting lately. After all my concerns about writing and editing at the same time, something occurred to me this morning as I woke up.

I'm studying. And I'm editing. Both take part in the same half of my brain.

So of course I'll struggle with switching over to creativity. Because it's not the way I'm thinking right now. Yes, I could skip back to creativity if I wanted, but do I really have the time to be diverted by my muse? Uhm...

Not while I'm still a week behind due to a webmaster that I will shoot soon.

Instead, my free hours can be spent studying or editing. Who knows? Maybe I'll even be able to finish my edits before my exams.

In the mean time, I'll use any free time I have left after the above to read and refill my creative reservoirs so that I can go mad in November.

I mean, it must mean something that my exam is on 31 October.

Because on 1 November I can join NaNo. ^_^ Maybe this year I might even stand a chance of winning...

Oh yes! And then there's this...

Anyone else found their planning thrown by the actions/cock ups of others? Who else will be joining NaNoWriMo?

25 comments:

  1. The date for your exam does seem rather fortuitous.

    I plan to do NaNoWriMo again this year. I've done it and won for the past two years. Lately, it's the only time I get to sit down and write a novel.

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  2. Great! We'll have to join the same group. You will WIN this year. I will hound you to finish. :)

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  3. Oh yes, my children disrupt my plans frequently. But then I try to remember that they are MY kids and MY responsibility, and that ultimately they're my first priority. Thanks for reminding me.

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  4. I'm doing Nanowrimo too! I love the companionship of the whole thing, not to mention the word wars!

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  5. I can't do both at the same time. My job is analytical, so going into editing mode is pretty easy. I have a ritual to get into creative mode when I'm writing, and it is pretty reliable, but when I've been doing the day job AND editing, it overwhelms... I can't switch over. I set up my calendar year so I have about 4 writing months and the rest as editing months (2 WriMos and another 2 month stretch for a 3rd book--but books written fast need a few rounds for rewrite/edit)--so Yes on NaNoWriMo... (I love writing that way, but I also love it as a deadline for cleaning up something else.)

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  6. This will be my third year doing NaNo! I feel like last year's just happened. I can't believe this year's NaNo is in 3 months already.

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  7. I plan to join NaNo again this year. I already have my story question and main characters and setting, so I may get a whole book out of it this year. :)

    Marian Allen
    Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

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  8. Yo espero que todas tus preocupaciones acerca de la escritura las tengas resueltas lo antes posible.
    es un grato placer pasar por tu casa.
    te deseo una feliz semana.
    un abrazo.

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  9. I'm mulling working on two books at once. One YA and the other Lit Fict. Is that doable? A writing friend says "Absolutely." But what if I have permanent brain melt?

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  10. Nice that you'll be done on October 31!

    I'm not planning on participating in NaNo this year. I've done it the last three years. Two of the years I didn't plan on doing it, and did fantastically. One year I planned on it, and it sucked. So who knows...maybe I'll get sucked into it this year, but at this point, I'm NOT planning to! ;)

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  11. Are you going to be done with uni on October 31st? Cause that would be auspicious, indeed.

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  12. Congrats on the musical, that is amazing! Life has the habit of getting in the way of writing and edits for me. I've pretty much changed around my writing schedule - making more time for edits too. Change is good sometimes, it definitely limits some stress on my part! :)

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  13. Maybe you could stick with the edits for now, like you said, but if you have a free day on the weekend and you're just itching to write something new, go for it! Never hurts to take a break from what you're working on to do something fun for a few hours. :)

    I'm a NaNo addict, so I'll be grinding out a new novel this November too. :)

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  14. I'm not planning on NaNo, but like you I might get sucked into it at some point.

    I usually leave a 24 hour gap between writing and editing. Sometimes what seems like a great piece of writing looks like crap the next morning; sometimes it needs almost no editing. I have to take a break and go back with a fresh eye to actually see what needs to be done.

    I predict you'll join in NaNo ;)

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  15. All the best! You do edit fast.

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  16. I'm so there in November! 2011 marks my second year attempt. My fingers are crossed as well. I'm already researching and planning the mystery novel. What ideas have you come up with?

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  17. Pretty much nothing has gone the way I've planned over the past few months. I'm not even thinking about NaNo. Had to quit last year after 10,000 words. Maybe, I'll finish my NaNo novel from 2009. Hope all goes well with you.

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  18. I wasn't happy with my NaNo experience last year (totally my bad), but I didn't think I'd try again. I've since changed my mind.

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  19. I did NaNo in 2009, and I finished the 50K words in time, but I don't think it was very useful. It wasn't good enough not to need a complete re-write, however, I managed to salvage a few scenes.

    Anyway, I don't mean to sound negative about it, but for this reason I won't do it again.

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  20. I've never done NaNo - I just know I can't work that fast! But the sense of community many writers get from it is invaluable I think, from a motivational point of view.

    I don't think it's surprising that you're not feeling creative with all you have on. Study plus editing equals not much time (or mental energy) for creative endeavours, so I think your plan to keep reading for pleasure and to recharge the creative reservoirs is spot on...

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  21. Every time I've said that I'll do NaNo or similar something has loomed up to prevent me so I'm not committing just yet. Well done for keeping all your projects on the go.

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  22. Good luck with your studying! I'm hoping to join NaNo as well, because - speaking of planning - I might be ready to start work on my shiny new idea by then!

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  23. I'm glad you've got things figured out! And I'll definitely be joining you for NaNoWriMo. I was torn between my current WIP and another story to begin working on last month, and I'm planning on using the story that didn't win out for NaNoWriMo.

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