Saturday, November 21, 2015

How Not Finishing NaNoWriMo This Year Is A Good Thing For Me...


...And Shows You How Much NaNo Has Helped Me As A Writing And A Person

     2015 will be the first time in 8 years that I haven't finished NaNoWriMo.
     From 2009 to 2014.
     A lot of words.
     I've written many books during NaNo, Many of which turned into either stuff I've published, plan to publish, or split into short story or micro story series. NaNo has always been so much fun to me, and so much of a learning experience, but before I get to what me not finishing this year means to me I'm going to talk about why I'm stopping my NaNo on Nov. 21st with time still to go.
     Last year I got a new full time job that takes up 10 to 11 hours of my day, That in itself is why I've had to put things like Tin Universe Monthly and Tin Universe Daily on hold until a time when I can get enough things finished and ready to go so there will be no more delays when I restart the series.
    But day job aside I'm also older now, 40, and with age I've found more focus as a writer.
    Also finding more pains all over.
    But that's just old man speak.
    Anyways, Tin Universe Middle Grade Series has become my focus. This series is the most fun I've ever had as a writer and I think the series and my writing is getting better with each book released. That means where in the past I might split my focus along 8 billion projects because frankly I needed that chaos, that release frenzy, now I need something different.
     And that note brings me back to what not finishing NaNo this year means to me. I think artists go through stages in their lives. This is different from person to person but myself as a writer I have went through several.
     From my fan fiction days when I needed to do that to learn how to dive into the water before I even knew how to dog paddle.
    To as I went through my years of learning and trying to get work as a film script writer; which is where I learned that getting on with a story, not getting obsessed with words{especially from someone with my limited brain power}, and thus my way of thinking is born.
     Next came a number of years of depression and fear and during these years I needed to create and release and that is what I hungered for more than anything else. To create and release, to create and release. A lot of people went after me during this period saying I was being lazy or not fulfilling my potential, but it truly saved my life to just create and share.
     Now things have turned around a bit. Now I'm trying to find myself as a writer at 40. And at 40 I can easily say- Ok, wont be able to do NaNo this year but I will be using this month to help drive my fuel on making Tin Universe Middle Grade Series #3 the best book I've ever written. And now that is what I not only want to do, not only what I need to do, but making each story I release the best story I've ever written is something I can do. The journey brought me here and NaNo was a large part of getting to this point.
     Oh, and I'm not going to stop doing NaNo, its just shifted for what it means to me. Go support NaNo: https://store.nanowrimo.org/donations so it can be there for yourself and others in the future.

COMING DECEMBER 22nd, 2015
Written by me and edited by Tina Caceres

(c)System * Publishing
brian c.williams

start at the beginning,
The book that started it all.
It's FREE

Or the first  two Tin Universe Middle Grade books,
$1.00

$1.00

Share/Save/Bookmark

No comments: