NaNoWriMo starts on Sunday. That leaves me only four more days (counting today) to finish prepping for this challenge. I'm getting nervous and I'm not exactly sure why. OK, so I'm afraid of "failing" - not making it to at least 50,000 words. I'm also afraid of getting one-third of the way into the novel and then freezing, having absolutely no idea what should happen next.
I haven't written anything in a really, really long time and I'm worried that I'm going to be rusty. Then I start thinking about all the little details that I still need to figure out. Like what the heck does one of my main characters do for a living? And how much do I need to know about that profession before I start writing? I know it doesn't sound like a bg deal, but it makes a difference. I don't want to be in the middle of this when I decide what his job is and then have no clue about the logistics of it all - what kind of work schedules do they have? How much would he earn (which affects what kind of lifestyle he has)?
I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the details and the very little time I have left. Why the hell did I even agree to try this? What on earth possessed me to try to write a novel in 30 days? How can I get this done while working full-time and dealing with all the other aspects of my regular life?
I want to win the challenge. I'm afraid that if I don't make it to 50,000 I'm just going to give up. This challenge is giving me the opportunity to finish something on that big ol' to-do list of life that some of us have.
Tonight is going to consist of finishing up our Halloween costumes and then I hope to go home and get more work done. I tried last night, but Griffin had other ideas.
Four more days.
2 comments:
I did NaNoWriMo in 2006. I wrote the biggest load of crap and more or less made it up as I went along. Almost no research! I wrote all day one or two weekends and got a stiff back and neck. I cursed the whole enterprise on numerous occasions, but I too was determined to reach the 50,000-word target. And I did! It was mostly great fun and I felt a huge sense of achievement at the end. A friend also did it and we invited lots of people out to the pub to celebrate at the end. It's a great focus and a great excuse to banish your inner critic. I hope you enjoy it.
Nicola x
You can do it. You can. You can. You can. It's in you and it's dying to come out. Let it out. You can do it! I can't wait to read it. Process over Product. Do you want me to do it with you so we can gripe about it together every morning? i've been sitting on the fence. I did print out the whole high school workbook and send it to Jasmine and I told her you turned me on to it. Then, I called Avery's mom and & dad and turned them onto it and when she came over for her piano lesson this week, she was excited to tell me about it. It doesn't have to be perfect. I know that's easier said than done, because I would totally be doing the same thing you are--freaking over details. For me, I don't think it would be the word count that would be daunting seeing as how long my blog posts tend to be anywhere from 2500-3500 words. It would be the details and wondering whether or not I need to have an extensive background knowledge in a lot of what you were mentioning. My innereditor would feel compelled to take over and outline out the whole sordid mess. So all I can say is--Process over product. Just do it. You have it in you. Let it out and have fun!
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