Monday, November 7, 2011

Nanowrimo Vs. Internet

This month will probably have a lot of Nano themed posts. This one is the big reason I'm having to marathon to keep up my word count. It is the arch nemesis and greatest ally of writers and students alike, with traps to ensnare you like Facebook and Twitter and Wikipedia, yet those can be great resources of community and story ideas.

At the moment, when productivity is crucial for word count, the internet is proving to be the biggest distraction ever (I say this as I'm writing a blog post about this very subject! I feel like I'm in a Christmas Carol). Email, Facebook, Twitter, even school's website are constantly updating with assignments, comments, news. After about an hour or so of checking, it kind of feels like you're plugged into the Matrix and should be declaring you know kung-fu in a matter of minutes. And the worst (and probably best) part of it is the internet is always new! You never run out of something to see or things to do. There's so much out there that you can always find new things to do like read online serials, or webcomics. There's a point where you're just putting off the inevitable and you've already wasted precious words you could have added toward that coveted 50,000.

So, for anyone participating (or delaying anything by goofing around online), and who has this issue, I challenge you to join me and spend at least an hour a day with your wireless connection turned off, your ethernet cord unplugged, and your word processor/notebook open to catch up on any lost words and get ahead for the weeks to come!

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