Facing a big challenge starts with the commitment to do what is necessary to succeed, following by the preparations to ensure that the goal is reached. I’ve made the commitment and I’m almost at the end of the preparations. This post is one of the last things on my list before the challenge begins.
November is NaNoWriMo time, also known as National Novel Writing Month. The challenge: 30 days, 50,000 words. I’ve finished it nine times out of ten, and found it to be creative, agonizing, frustrating, and fun. Having to produce an average of 1667 words per day means I get to tell my inner editor to shut up for the month, which makes for some interesting plot twists, especially in the last week as the pressure to hit the goal intensifies.
I’ve been in prep mode for a few months, debating my characters and plot with a writing buddy. I’ve got my elevator pitch (“explain your story in the time it takes an elevator to go 10 floors) and I’m excited about where this novel is going to go. The hard part now is waiting till 12:01 AM on November 1st to start writing.
If you’re inclined to join the madness, you can sign up at nanowrimo.org online. If you just want to watch my progress, use the menu pick “NaNoWriMo 2017” at the top of any page on my website. If all goes well, you’ll see that bar at the bottom fill in day by day, or at least week by week.
The one downside of NaNoWriMo is that I spend most of my writing energy on it and not on lots of blog posts. I will keep up with the Weekly Update, but the rest of the usual post themes (Friday Fun, Sunday Serenity, Travel Tuesday) might be on vacation for a while. It will all come back in December, I promise!
The scariest moment is always just before you start.
Stephen King
Write on! Barb
I read recently that Tom Petty’s song “The Waiting” originally came out of the agony of waiting to go onstage for a concert. At least that is what somebody said HE said in a concert. I am re-finding all of his music lately…
I didn’t know you had done the NANOWRIMO, much less 10 times! Very cool. I’ll miss your thoughts and missives in November, but will look forward to it all in December again.
Good luck in November! I’m glad we will still get a weekly update, will miss you but will look forward to your return in December. Maybe we will read your novel some day!
I’ll miss your posts but look forward to them returning. Have fun writing and keep growing!