The first year I did NaNoWriMo I knew two other people in the world who were trying it, and that was all. I knew no one in real life and I didn't realize they even had meet-ups. It was a little bit lonely.
It's no longer lonely. In the last decade a lot of people I know online and off have started to participate. Others have been at it since before me, and it's great to find out we've had this in common for so long, even if we didn't realize. Some, I've introduced to NaNoWriMo, and that's always interesting: fun and exciting, because I hope they enjoy it, and a little bit nerve-wracking, like when you recommend a book or game that you love. It's not for everyone. I know this.
I also know that sometimes it would be just fine if the person would put their head down and get to it, and if they didn't let themselves get discouraged and distracted. There's a big difference between quitting NaNoWriMo because it's not for you, and quitting because you're giving up.
Always in the past I've held my tongue and murmured sympathy and told whoever it was that it was okay if they had to give up, I understood. Not today! Today I say what I really think in my Write Anything article "Tough Perspective."
Beware: it isn't for the fragile.
Photo: Rocky path by Mary & Dan on flickr
"In the last decade a lot of people I know online and off have started to participate."
ReplyDelete... Hey, you know people offline who aren't online? What a foreign concept! Or do you mean they are friends you knew first 'offline' vs. people you only know online (and never met offline)?
This is a wildly confusing topic for Monday morning. ;)
In fact I *do* know people offline who aren't online! People I knew first offline, as you say. Nobody who also isn't online at all. Er. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI think I was less confused *before* that explanation LOL
ReplyDeleteOops.
ReplyDelete