Category Archives: nanowrimo

Not conceding defeat, just being realistic…

Oh November. You are one busy, crazy month, and you are almost half-over. Which means, NaNoWriMo is almost half over.

I have a whopping 3,000 words of the 50,000 needed to win. Things are not looking good.

I am not conceding defeat yet. Even if I don’t make the November 30th deadline, I plan to finish this book. I’m too giddy about it, and I’ve talked about maybe writing it for too long, to not finish. However, reality is setting in quickly. Between birthdays, holidays and anniversaries, the month is just too much already. Add in that I’ve picked up a bunch of extra nights working, and you find yourself with even less time to write. On days I plan to write, I just don’t have the interest.

Take yesterday for example. I had the whole day to myself to write. And I didn’t get a single word written. I had the Word document open! I stared at it. I meant to do it. But the story just would not flow. So I went for a drive. Then I did some laundry. Then I cleaned the kitchen. Then I cooked myself a nice, healthy, huge supper. Then I talked to my Mom. Then I talked to a couple girl friends. Then I talked to my husband. Then I took a super long, hot shower. Then I watched some TV. Then I tinkered on the CD cover project I am working on as well.

Then… well… then it was time to call it a day. In other words, in my writer’s block I found ways to procrastinate. Productive ways! But I didn’t write, nonetheless.

Again, I am not giving up. I fully intend to keep writing. I have a few days coming up that are prime for writing! I may still knock this sucker out after all. But in all reality? In all honesty? Chances of winning this year are getting slimmer by the day.

It is what it is. The book will get finished, and I will feel proud of my success, whether it is November 30th or January 30th. It will be done.

NaNo Update

We’re only three days into NaNoWriMo and I’m already further along than I’ve ever been. That gives me a lot of hope I’m going to pull this off.

I have a lot more dedication this year. I have a solid story to share, and its falling together nicely. I’m finding that writing just before I go to sleep works well. I bring my laptop to bed, and I write until I get sleepy. With my crazy schedule, it is the only time I know I can set aside every day to do it. So I do.

My only fear is making sure it actually reaches 50K words. I’m a huge fan of short stories, which I am finding to be a hurdle to jump as I want to gloss over details that I later find I need to flesh out.

I’m resisting the urge to go back and edit every time I sit down to write. I keep wanting to go back and add details! Partly for story strength. Partly just that fear of not reaching the goal word count.

I won’t let fear hold me back, though. Especially not a fear as dumb as reaching the required word count! I can do this! I AM doing this. In fact, its time to get back to the story…

Word count as of this post: 2248

Words left to go: 47752