Looking for NaNo Advice

[garnigal]

To all of those who read my journal, not just those who are doing NaNo or who are writers:

I'm considering dropping NaNo. My reasons are multiple, and are listed below. First, I want to clarify what kind of advice I'm looking for from you.

I'm not looking for blind encouragement (as wonderful as that is). I'm looking for real reasons that I'm not doing as badly as I think I am, that there is some merit in this project despite my misgivings. I suppose I'm looking for some value in my work.

My reasons for considering dropping out:

1) I'm behind. Not seriously behind, but far enough that I'm going to have to work hard to catch up. My current word count is 6,071. If I was on track, I would have 15003.

2) I'm lacking concentration. When I'm writing, I'm thinking about getting ready for my Tae Kwon Do grading; when I'm at TKD, I'm thinking about writing. Neither writing nor TKD is progressing as needed.

3) I'm not loving my story. The concept is lame, the plot is hokey, the characters are one-dimensional. In all of my previous writing, I've been able to see good bits - a great character, some excellent writing, a really good plot. In this, the only good I see is the further development of my outlining process. The new process is good; so good, in fact, that I'd like to move on to something that matters so I can try out the process on that.

So, what do you all think? Is a hokey, completely unpublishable story worth devoting my time to? Should I forget about NaNo and go back to work on one of the original projects that might be publishable, or one of the fanfics that has a readership built in? Am I ignoring/forgetting all the valuable aspects of NaNo simply because I am frustrated and/or lazy?

Looking forward to your comments.

Comments

[rockinkitty.livejournal.com]

First off, I haven't read any other comments yet so forgive me if I'm repeating.

I think, with NaNo, you really have to go back to the basic premise of it. NaNo isn't about writing fantastic prose, it's about setting pen to paper. It's a motivation tool, something tangible that all those "oh I'll write a novel someday" people can hang onto.

NaNo for me, I've decided, is more about being social and trying out something fun rather than as a stepping stone in my literary career. I've come to the conclusion that I write in a journal with some regularity but I don't write fiction throughout the year. I just never have been one to do so, and can't see myself being of that mindset anytime soon. I don't feel guilty about not writing. I don't beat myself up for not coming up with a great plot or decent writing.

I don't think you should stick with NaNo just because you started it. But I do think you should take NaNo in its intended spirit and have some fun with it. Relax about it, sleep on it over night or over the weekend, but don't beat yourself up about it. It's such a rush when you hit the 50k mark, but it isn't the be all and end all.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

I love the social aspect of Nano as well. Unfortunately, I haven't had as many opportunities to indulge in the meet-ups as last year. I think that is a big part of what is getting me down.