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nanowrimo while sahming a 6-month old

post #1 of 16
8/13/08 at 9:01pm
Thread Starter 
Is it possible? Have you done it? I had so much fun lat year, and ideas are swimming in my head already, but I rarely find time to write with a three month old. Am I crazy to think I'll have time in November?

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post #2 of 16
8/13/08 at 9:44pm
My daughter was 5 months old last November and I won at nanowrimo! As long as your LO isn't mobile yet, I think it's doable.
post #3 of 16
8/13/08 at 11:16pm
My baby will be 9 months old then and I'm not doing it, but I also have a 4 yr old and a 9 yr old and am working on other writing things now. I will do Nano again when the baby is a little older. I won it two years in a row and LOVE it. It is a ton of fun and really gave me some great writing habits.

But, I definitely think it's doable. My middle ds was 2 the first year I did it. If I can do it with a VERY active 2 year old, any one can - lol.
post #4 of 16
8/14/08 at 1:13am
I'd like to. My daughter will be 8 months by then (help!), plus I have other writing projects; but I also have a novel which has in theory been on the go since I was... 17? Ish? I have half-chapters written here and there, a synopsis and a shoebox full of notes, but that's it.

So we'll see. If I'm frantically busy (or, hopefully, a successful freelance writer whose spare time is consumed in making large wodges of cash) I won't even attempt it. But it might be a good opportunity to kick me into churning out a complete first draft, at least.

Someone bug me about it when November approaches, please!

ETA: Oh, just looked at the site--apparently you have to start from scratch. Well, I could still cheat and use the basic finish-in-a-month concept, without joining the official site, right?
post #5 of 16
8/14/08 at 2:28am
My dd was 18 months old last Nov., and I did it. I woke up two hours before her and cranked out my 2000 words...if I didn't make it I did it during nap time, and as a last ditch effort, I did it after bedtime. There were only a couple days I didn't write at all. I actually made it to 50K a couple days early.

It is possible, but I did have to plan around my kiddo.
post #6 of 16
8/14/08 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks or the feedback. It sounds possible (though so much harder than last year!). I think I'll go for it but try not to pressure myself to win.
post #7 of 16
8/14/08 at 7:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smokering View Post
ETA: Oh, just looked at the site--apparently you have to start from scratch. Well, I could still cheat and use the basic finish-in-a-month concept, without joining the official site, right?
The reason you aren't supposed to use a previously started project is because if it's really important to you, then it's easy to get stuck on making something sound just perfect. To get 50,000 words out, you really have to just write, and clean up later. That's easiest to do with a brand new story that you aren't attached to yet.
post #8 of 16
8/14/08 at 7:48pm
It depends on how fast you can type.
post #9 of 16
8/14/08 at 8:02pm
Yeah, I read the site--and I agree, in theory. But the state my novel's in now, I'd be happy to just get a first draft done, no matter how lame. Still, in order to not contaminate the talent pool with my rule-breaking, if I do NaNoWriMo I won't officially join up; I'll just do it on my own.

How do you pronounce NaNoWriMo, anyway? DH and I had an argument about it last night.
post #10 of 16
8/15/08 at 2:51pm
I totally would have had no problem doing NaNo when my son was 6 months old. He actually napped during the day back then If you start practicing now, by 6 months you'll be a NAK ninja and you'll be able to meet your daily word counts with no problem.

Man, I am so looking forward to NaNo'ing again this year, it was one of the most fun things I did last year.

ETA: I pronounce it Nah-no-rye-mo. I have no idea if that's right.
post #11 of 16
8/16/08 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smokering View Post
Yeah, I read the site--and I agree, in theory. But the state my novel's in now, I'd be happy to just get a first draft done, no matter how lame. Still, in order to not contaminate the talent pool with my rule-breaking, if I do NaNoWriMo I won't officially join up; I'll just do it on my own.

How do you pronounce NaNoWriMo, anyway? DH and I had an argument about it last night.

Really, I think if you write 50k new words, it's no problem if they're attached to an already-started novel. Sure, it's bending the rules, but I don't see any harm in it.

And I've heard the creator pronounce it on the radio: nano (like nano-technology) RYE (like the grain, emphasis here) mo.
post #12 of 16
8/17/08 at 10:13am
It depends on how regularly your LO naps. 6 months is about when I started to be able to actually write again, and for me, it's easier to write now that she's mobile because she's also better at entertaining herself, and I know better when she's likely to nap. I do not talk to anyone during her naptime, and the only reason I'm online today instead of doing real writing is that I'm slightly ill.

On days when she doesn't nap, I try to get my DH to watch her for an hour or so in the evening so I can go out and get some work done.
post #13 of 16
8/17/08 at 11:58am
I have done it two years in a row and won both years. The first year I had a 1 1/2 year old, and the next year I had a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old. I'm going for it again this year with two young kids!
post #14 of 16
8/27/08 at 8:07am
I'm going to attempt it with a newborn (I'm due the end of Oct.) -I don't expect to win this year but I can at least get started =)
post #15 of 16
8/29/08 at 2:58am
I did it last year while we were staying in Canada. DS was 18mths old and into everything, and I wrote mostly once he was in bed and while he napped. I won, and had hit 50K by the 20th when we packed up everything to move back to SoCal...

This time I will have a nb - I am due first week of Nov but will be very surprised if this one waits that long to put in an appearance, but I am determined to do it. I can manage a laptop and a My Brest Friend And MIL is an author and will be here most of November to help look after DS so I know she'll be supportive.

I'm actually just about done with my first draft of the novel I started for Nano and am sitting at 94K... I took a few months off and barely wrote at all, so now I need to finish this and start thinking about what I plan to write for Nano this year... decisions, decisions!
post #16 of 16
9/1/08 at 2:42pm
I've done it 2 years in a row, and haven't won yet!! 1st year I had only the 4 y.o. Last year I had 5 y.o. and 3 m.o. This year it will be 6 y.o. and 1 y.o.

But, it really wasn't the children that kept me from winning, rather my work (translator), which frustratingly intensified precisely during the one month I was hoping for a slack month. Oh well. I got much farther in year 2 than in year 1. So maybe this year I'll win.

I'm just starting to turn the idea over in my head and heading to the site to see what's going on

Looks like we might have another MDC mutual support group this year!
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