Saturday, November 21, 2009

Day 20, when I'm thinking it's a good thing this race is nearly over -

not that I'm not enjoying it. In fact, I'm loving it. But I'm tired. I suspect that it's the rest of my life that is making me tired, but NaNoWriMo, being the new kid on the block, is a handy scapegoat.  NaNo has, in fact, given me some moments of real, honest-to-god joy this month. Just this morning, I found the latest pep talk in my e-mail. It was written by Kristin Cashore, a best-selling author of YA fantasy novels, whose writing process is so similar to my own that I nodded and said Yes Yes all through the pep talk, then followed the link to her blog, where I found music and inspirational readings and this YouTube video that made me cry while I smiled and vice versa, because it is so full of joy.



You see? NaNo has opened new worlds to me, and I am grateful. I have been having little pep talks of my own, self-directed ones, in which I consider the possibility of doing a mini-NaNo all year, establishing a daily word count goal and sticking to it (except when I fall asleep at the keyboard, as I did last night). Not 2,000 words a day. That's a lot, when you have to do annoying things like go to work, do the laundry, brush your teeth, as well. But 1,000. That is do-able.

But yesterday was another of those days when the honeymoon seemed to be over. I did finally remember what I had planned to write about, and I started writing about that, but I wandered off topic by about twenty years, which was okay too, because it will all be relevant at some point, but (yes, another but!) I would be typing away, seemingly making progress, and then I would realize that I had actually been asleep, sitting up, with my hands resting on the keyboard. Closing my eyes just felt so-o-o-o-o good. I gave up the fight when I had 1,074 words on the page. That brought my total to 41,075, and that would simply have to do.

8 comments:

RLM Cooper said...

You'll make it. Hang in there. I'm being totally lazy about writing my next short story. Did you see that Otin over at http://wizardofotin.blogspot.com/ has showcased my last short story on his blog? That was way nice of him - and I've gotten some good comments there. Maybe there is hope for me yet.

T. said...

Honeymoon. Reality. It all sinks in eventually, doesn't it?

Thanks for that AMAZING video. It had me laughing with joy during breakfast!

(And I'm going to borrow it for my blog.)

shabby girl said...

I'm in awe of anyone that would take on that challenge. I had thought about it, but chickened out.
Hang in there!

Karen said...

I think I've said it before, but I admire your determination! I am interrupted by those annoying things like work, too, but I don't have the drive to write daily. Maybe I need a challenge of my own. I think it would have to be much less challenging than NaNoWriMo. Hang in there!

By the way, love the video!

Sandra Leigh said...

Angel May, did Otin showcase another one of your stories, or was there just the one? I noticed that he had sent a lot of people your way - which is a Very Good Thing. Your stories are excellent, and they deserve to be showcased.

T, I agree about the video. I borrowed it from Kristin Cashore; now you're borrowing it from me. LOL - I wonder if it will ever find its way back home. We should make another video, this one called "Where the Hell is Matt's Video?"

Shabby Girl - you are now on my list of people to be nagged mercilessly about joining up next year! ;>)

Thanks, Karen. I know there's some sort of plan afoot to make NaNo a year-round affair - and I must assume there will be less demanding months on the calendar. I'll keep you posted, if you like.

The Unbreakable Child said...

Yay, you, you're doing great!!!!

Sandra Leigh said...

Thank you, Kimmi. Onward and upward.

Unknown said...

I think that goal of continuing to write a more or less set amount on a daily basis is probably one of the best things a person could take away from the NaNoWriMo experience. Applause!

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