NaNo Fatigue

This is my first year participating in NaNoWriMo, and I gotta say, I was steaming along quite nicely until I remembered breathing is essential in any race, and I’ve been holding mine far too long.

This is the middle of the month. As of tomorrow, you better be at least ½ through your NaNo goal to be considered on track. For those aiming at 50k, that would indicate your current word count should be around 25k, which mine is. And unlike the standard NaNo goal, I’m working specifically on a submission call for one of my publishers, and I didn’t intend for my project to go too far past 25k. I’m looking now at maybe 10-15k more before I can stick a fork in it, and I can tell you, I desperately want this project finished if only to give myself a moment to catch my breath.

For those of you career NaNo writers out there, how do you do this? What techniques do you implement whenever you’re feeling draggy or have reached the incline? I feel like I’m on the business end of a shotgun, walking a mile-long stretch of rising hill with no plateau in sight. Granted, I am pleased with what I’ve written thus far, even if it will need ample revision in the coming weeks before it’s ready to be submitted. I just need to keep the momentum going.

Is the best advice just to keep moving even if your creative muscles are dying for rest? No pain, no gain? Please share your wisdom. I know I won’t be the only one listening.

On your mark, get set, WRITE!

Tomorrow begins National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it’s more commonly called. And for the first time ever, I intend to participate. Why? Well, why not? It’s our month, after all. A month for writers to celebrate the joy that is writing—and get a manuscript ready in what seems to be record time.

During NaNo, the idea is to just write. Get the words on paper. Don’t stop to edit, the only thing you have to beat is the clock. Write until you can’t feel your fingers, and then rest up because tomorrow brings more of the same. The word count goal is 50k, and though my ambitions aren’t quite as high, I’m not cutting myself any slack. 50k/30 days = approx. 1667 words a day. Yes, this is a daunting task…especially to those of us with jobs, children, and other interruptions. However, it is likewise not unattainable, and if you tackle it with the idea of 200-300 words here and there throughout the day, the goal is easy to come by.

Regardless if you participate in NaNo, the principles behind the month-long event are those to keep in check at all times. Writing the novel is key to everything else. Editing comes later. Don’t think. Just do it.