Well, we are thirteen days into November and for anyone who is participating in National Novel Writing Month, known famously as NaNoWriMo 2021, it means we should have 21,671 words written by today’s end. I am behind by about 500 words. I didn’t write for three days in a row. But I am making up for it.
I am a big fan of NaNoWriMo and I like to participate each year because it is good practice to sit myself down and just write every day. This isn’t the time for editing, just writing. The goal is to get words on the page. If you can get the first draft of a book out of by the end of the month, it is time well invested.
I love to challenge myself. And that is part of the allure for me. But honestly, I should be writing more than that every day. If you are reading this, you probably noticed how much time goes between each of my posts. I want to post every single day, unfortunately, that has not been the case. I am hoping that NaNoWriMo will get me back in the habit of daily writing. After all, a writer writes. If she doesn’t write, she isn’t a writer. Doesn’t get simpler than that, does it?
There are just never enough hours in a day for me. There is so much I want to do. And maybe I should focus on only one or two main things. But I just can’t help myself.
Like when I was signing up for classes for my first semester in college, I discovered it cost the same for twelve credits as it did for twenty. I averaged twenty credits per semester. The Dean had to sign off for anything over eighteen, but that was never a problem. I graduated Summa Cum Laud. I was happy. I felt like I really pushed myself and it felt like an achievement.
Deadlines have always been my friend. That is why working at a newspaper made me happy. And that is why I like NaNoWriMo. It has defined deadlines.
And when I had my own business, I was very hard on myself, a slave driver actually. It was a sole proprietorship and when the demand for that type of work dwindled in my area after seven years of nonstop action, I closed up shop.
When I make my own schedule, like I do now, I can be a little overly ambitious. I have to accept the reality that no matter what I do, there are only twenty-four hours in a day … except for that one when we turned the clocks back one hour. That is cool and I love that, sort of like time travel!
With all of this in mind, I will sum up this meandering post by saying if you have never participated in the National Novel Writing Month (in case you forgot what I started writing about in this post) you might want to give it a try. Even if you start late this year, you might find you like it and make it a point to sign up next November.
I am not part of NaNoWriMo, but I am often a participant. And one of these days, I might even publish a book, or at least finish one of the many I have started.
Whatever you write, I wish you luck, inspiration, success, and great satisfaction.
Are you participating? How is it going so far?
Thank you to NaNoWriMo for use of their logo, which is linked to their site, for your convenience.
Until my next post, thanks for stopping by!
Fran
Fran Beally's Blog 