So yesterday, I went to two kick-off parties (in different states)--one of which I crashed. Everyone was very amiable and interesting and I had a great time. Both MLs urged me to become an ML. I admit that I am curious as to what all the MLs talk about on their secret board (hints of scandal and controversy tempt me badly), but I balked. I'm more than willing to get the word out to others to do Nano, but I like to do that in semi-anonymity. It's like when someone suggested that I apply for membership to a high profile science blogging community (and I probably would have gotten in too) and I balked because I preferred the relative obscurity of my own site. Maybe this is just my weird personality--I prefer to concentrate on the process rather than the extraneous "put yourself all out there" stuff.
But introspection aside, I think there are some reasons why one should try to stay in the background as much as possible. I find myself wondering if I'm doing too much--I've probably been the instigator of about 90% of my Nanomail conversations and sometimes I think I shouldn't be doing this at all. Maybe I'm pestering people too much--a lot of people like to be left alone to do their own thing. And then there was this comment I saw somewhere on the forums about a newbie being annoyed by how into it the alumni seem to be by flaunting their plot planning and writing ambitions.
This is why how some people might find it somewhat disconcerting that I don't talk much in real life yet I'm verbose online. You can say whatever you wish online and people don't have to read you unless they want to. In real life, people can get annoyed really fast if you say something that they don't want to hear. That's why I say very little about what it's like to do Nano multiple years or anything about my writing plans unless I'm directly asked. I find it interesting that my philosophy of Nano is a bit more "purist" than even some MLs, but I don't point that out (aloud that is). My eyes might glaze over from the overabundance of naive enthusiasm, but I don't remark upon that because I was once a naive newbie. I am probably the most experienced Nano-er in the entire state of Idaho, which is probably not saying much, but anyway...nobody cares about that. Nobody should care.
Or maybe this is just me again--shaped by my own Nano experiences. The first year I did Nano, I had no transportation so there was no way to get to the local meet-ups. I told everyone I knew about Nano, yet no one cared enough to join in as well or to even inquire about my progress. I work in a field where any sign of interest outside of the field labels you as a weirdo or a slacker. No one has ever e-mailed me to explicitly ask for advice. After all, what use is my advice anyway if I'm not even a published writer?
I would have to say being published means s**t. Being published doesn't make you a 'good' or 'bad' writer. Look how many god-awful books are out there between two hardcovers? I'd say I have experience yet I'm not published yet. I would think my advice to be very valid even if, like you, no one asks :D
