I already mentioned nano in my previous blog post but for all those that do not know what NANO is: The National Novel Writing Month challenges you, each year during November, to write an entire novel - more precisely 50.000 words - in 30 days. There is a huge community for all the participants to encourage and help each other and I have already made some great friends through this site.
It is dark outside and I am sitting in a fast train, heading for a weekend filled with adventure, excitement, culture, and probably no writing at all.
This month has been even busier than the last two and though I started off great I have fallen behind on my Nano-wordcount. 3788 words are still missing, which means I am almost three days behind schedule. I know which days left me without words, days in which I had to work eight hour shifts and then head to swimming practice, making sure none of the children drown and everyone is having fun.
My daily life is time consuming and exhausting, sometimes I wish for nothing more than a good nights sleep.
But when I look at the words I have already written this month, when I remember the days on which I was exhausted but able to motivate myself, sit down in front of my keyboard and let the words flow, though there were a million things I wished to do instead... Then I know that this has already been worth it.
Nano is an interesting project for me, something I want to succeed in, but it has already brought me far. It gave me the motivation to push through, to really work on my novel and I wrote in two weeks more than I wrote in the eight weeks before.
I am therefore determined to get back on track, to keep on writing no matter how many words I fall behind, because at the end of this month it does not matter if I won or lost NANOWRIMO, all that matters is the words I put upon the page.
I know that I am not producing quality work all the time. Sometimes I get up at 4.45 o'clock in the morning to type the first 400 words before heading off to work, and of course these 400 words will need a lot of polishing. I will have to edit all that I wrote during this time, I will have to put even more work into it. But turning a story into a novel happens while you edit it. And if you have nothing written, there is nothing you can edit. This is the first step and I am more than motivated to get through with it.
How do I manage to write so much though my time is so spare? I write on my way to work, I write on the way back, and most importantly I motivate myself. I just sit down and do it. It is the hardest part, the one thing I usually cannot do. To sit down and simply do the thing, even if I don't feel like it. I am hoping that I can keep this attitude after November and maybe once this is done I can finally understand what it is that keeps me motivated.
I hit rock bottom twice this week, thinking my entire story was not good. The plot still has major holes (one could say half of it is nonexistent), the writing is... well I am not that happy with it. And where is the use in continuing if it won't be good in the end?
A constant reminder that editing makes it good, that I need to write it before I can make it good, is what really keeps me going. If you need that, too, write it on a piece of paper, put it on your wall. Put it somewhere where you can see it every day. You are writing for no one else but for yourself. It is good enough. It will be good enough. As long as you keep doing it, as long as you keep working on it and getting better
How is nano going for you? Have you already hit those 25.000 words? Are you on time or terribly behind like I am?
Share your nano ideas and fears, your tips, tricks, and questions in the comments below and we can encourage each other ;)
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