Seems like I'm always writing about the passage of time, but really, November is right around the corner. That means we're only a week away from National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo begins at midnight on November 1st and ends midnight of the 30th. Those daring souls who embark on this adventure write furiously to meet the daunting word count of 50,000 before the deadline. That's 1666 words, or around 10 pages double-spaced, per day. NaNo isn't about polish or beautiful turns of phrase--it's about getting the words onto the page. Editing can come later.
The pressure and accountability from NaNoWriMo might just be my ticket. I've made way too many excuses not to write. But as the last October days drop like flies and the time to register grows nearer, I alternately have imaginations of myself half-asleep and squinting at the manuscript on my computer screen in the silence of 2 and 3 a.m., and a less triumphant version in which I'm shamefacedly writing a post about how I just didn't have the time and..."maybe next year."
I gave myself a test today. I did the writing prompt from a few days ago on The Write Practice, where you lock in and write a complete work in one hour. I ended up with three-fourths of a page of exposition and about a page of outline for a short story. It didn't boost my confidence.
I'm afraid I'll start half-heartedly and not end up doing it. But that'll be a stinky little excuse when December rolls around and Wynna's story is still trapped in my head.
NaNoWriMo begins at midnight on November 1st and ends midnight of the 30th. Those daring souls who embark on this adventure write furiously to meet the daunting word count of 50,000 before the deadline. That's 1666 words, or around 10 pages double-spaced, per day. NaNo isn't about polish or beautiful turns of phrase--it's about getting the words onto the page. Editing can come later.
The pressure and accountability from NaNoWriMo might just be my ticket. I've made way too many excuses not to write. But as the last October days drop like flies and the time to register grows nearer, I alternately have imaginations of myself half-asleep and squinting at the manuscript on my computer screen in the silence of 2 and 3 a.m., and a less triumphant version in which I'm shamefacedly writing a post about how I just didn't have the time and..."maybe next year."
I gave myself a test today. I did the writing prompt from a few days ago on The Write Practice, where you lock in and write a complete work in one hour. I ended up with three-fourths of a page of exposition and about a page of outline for a short story. It didn't boost my confidence.
I'm afraid I'll start half-heartedly and not end up doing it. But that'll be a stinky little excuse when December rolls around and Wynna's story is still trapped in my head.
How do you commit to big endeavors?
With a giant cup of coffee, or tea in hand. And email and FB turned off, behind a "securely locked door" where no-one can bother you unless the world is burning down, or you're finished.
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