WriMo

Here’s a timely question I’ve received for the middle of November:

How do you feel, as an editor, about NaNoWriMo and other writing activities that stress quantity of words and sheer output over things like, say, quality, or editing?

The answer is, I’m all for them. (As long as they don’t take away from your time working on the next draft you owe me!)

Anything that hones your skill and makes you more disciplined about writing, is a good thing. Whether it’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), or a workshop, or a blog or story group you contribute to regularly, or even if it’s just writing fanfic for fun, you’re still writing, you’re still practicing your craft and working your creative muscles.

If you end up learning that you can crank out a huge word count in a month, that’s a good thing to know about yourself. If you end up learning that you can’t, then you’ve pushed yourself and you know where your limits are, and you might still have a good start on something you can finish up and polish later.

Additionally, the forums that spring up to support and offer resources for projects like this are often great sources of inspiration, information and networking. They’re worth checking out and keeping up with. You may find something that helps you on your work in progress, an expert you can query, or a writing group that decides to keep the momentum going all year.

So, to those of you slogging toward your 50,000 words, I cheer you on!

(And, my rates are reasonable should you want someone to edit them for you in December.)

Tagged as: writing