To tell or not to tell
September 11th 2010 22:57
One recommendation on the NaNoWriMo site is that you should tell as many people as possible about your plans for November. If many people know about your writing ambitions, so the reasoning, you'll be more motivated to finish. I don't agree.
I've never told many people and I won every year since I discovered NaNo. I always found that the support from the NaNo community was enough for me to make it through to the end. In my first and second year, I told nobody about it. Since 2004, I let in a handful of selected people in on the secret. They all know that they'll only get bits of the first draft to read if I decide something is worth reading, and they don't demand to see my work. I certainly wouldn't want everybody at work to know about my favourite November activity - none of their business.
That doesn't mean you should not tell your family and friends. But decide for yourself how much you expect to benefit from telling people. And don't let anyone talk you into sharing your work if you don't actually want to share it yet. It's your work, you know best whom to tell about it or when it's ready for other people's eyes.
I've never told many people and I won every year since I discovered NaNo. I always found that the support from the NaNo community was enough for me to make it through to the end. In my first and second year, I told nobody about it. Since 2004, I let in a handful of selected people in on the secret. They all know that they'll only get bits of the first draft to read if I decide something is worth reading, and they don't demand to see my work. I certainly wouldn't want everybody at work to know about my favourite November activity - none of their business.
That doesn't mean you should not tell your family and friends. But decide for yourself how much you expect to benefit from telling people. And don't let anyone talk you into sharing your work if you don't actually want to share it yet. It's your work, you know best whom to tell about it or when it's ready for other people's eyes.
| 65 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
