Happy 11-11-11!

As I write this, I'm sitting at the Mat Su College with a bunch of other crazies doing 11 k on 11-11-11! They're meeting for twelve hours, from 11 am to 11 pm. Wow. I hope someone is able to cross the 11 k line today. I already know I won't be able to, but at the very least I want to catch up to the daily word count today. I've got another thousand to go. So far I've written 2,418.

As I go through Nanowrimo this month, I've noticed that I'm looking at it very differently after almost a year of doing Write 1 Sub 1. I now see the benefits and downfalls of doing Nanowrimo when it comes to my own personal writing. I get into a habit of writing a lot as often as I can. I have things like Nanowrimo Word Sprints on Twitter, and writing meetings that actually have writing happening at them. (The meetings have a tendency to be more social rather than writing, heeheehee.)

But I will say the quality of my writing drops quite a bit. Since it's more about quantity instead of quality, I write things that I normally wouldn't write. I push things along so fast to keep up with the word count, I have a tendency to lose control of where things are going, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Sure, I might stumble upon something good, but I don't really write well that way.

I think I've grown quite a bit while doing short stories for Write 1 Sub 1, and working under deadlines that are a lot shorter than a month. My style has changed. I no longer have the issue of actually sitting down and writing. Nanowrimo served it's purpose for me by getting me to actually write. I don't really have that problem anymore, so now I do it to explore ideas, to hang with my friends, and eat lots of candy. :)

Honestly, I don't see myself using anything I'm writing in this Nanowrimo novel. It needs such a complete overhaul. But I love what I'm learning as I go.

Happy Veterans Day. I appreciate our service men and women and the sacrifices they make in the name of our freedom. Blessings to you all.