November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and over a quarter million writers participate in this annual project to write a 50,000 word novel
in thirty days. As I understand the objective, writers are to write forward, no
looking back, no using the backspace or delete keys, just keep writing. At the
end of the month, they’ll have a rough draft that they can flesh out, edit,
etc. into a full-length book.
I was tempted to try it this year. I am 25,000 words short
of finishing The Chameleon (the
second book in the Outer Rim series). I want to finish this book for two
reasons. I want to release another book in December and if I complete the book
by November 30th, I’ll qualify for the I Will Write a Book challenge
by my local RWA chapter (Mid-Michigan RWA). It’s a goal setting exercise where
we announce in June that we’ll complete a book by the end of November. I’ve
never had difficulty finishing a book in the allotted time. This year, I had an
event that took precedence—moving to a new house.
In my current rush to finish the book, I’ve let some things
slide. Boxes still line the walls in some rooms—okay, make that most rooms—and laundry
piles up. But my book hasn’t completely taken over my life. On beautiful sunny
days, when Hub says “let’s go for a drive” I go willingly as we explore a new area. Or we go furniture
shopping. After forty-one years, we decided to retire our bedroom set. That and
the uncomfortable (for tall people) couch will find new homes via the Habitat for
Humanity ReStore. Eventually, we need to replace them.
One of the best deterrents to unpacking boxes or writing my
novel is a visit from the grandkiddies. While their mother graded her
students’ portfolios last Saturday, the kiddies spent all day at Nana and Papa’s.
That’s the main reason we moved. To be close enough for visits.
While NaNoWriMo works for many people, I knew it wouldn’t
work for me. I would never be able to keep my fingers off the delete and
backspace keys. I’m too OCD to let typos stay. I have to tweak as I go. But the
main reason is I let life interfere. If you can’t enjoy life, what’s the
purpose? I admire people who hold down full-time jobs, have the
responsibilities of a young family, and produce five to six books a year. That’s
just not me.
However, goal setting does give a sense of purpose. Thanks to a
fellow writer, I found a great program that many NaNoWriMo writers use. It tracks
the number of words I write per day, including a graph with my goal and my
expected and actual progress toward that goal. For those who are interested,
the program is Write Track. http://writetrack.davidsgale.com/
Tracking my progress toward a goal gives me a sense of
accomplishment. Instead of looking at how far I have to go (or how many boxes I
need to unpack), I see how much I’ve done. On this blog, I’ve mentioned that I’m
a list maker and a list crosser-offer (is that a word???). Again, it’s a sense
of accomplishment to see how many items on my to-do list that I’ve done.
I salute those who entered NaNoWriMo this year and wish them
well. As for me, I’ll unpack a box at a time, aim for finishing The Chameleon by the
end of November, play with my grandkids, and try not to neglect my
sweet husband.
How do you stay on track toward your goals?
Thanks for that great site! I'm going to try it out! I have lists upon lists for keeping track of my goals . . . and then I revise them if I go too far off course.
ReplyDeleteMy local writing group meets once a month and we all write our goals down. Then they're shared in our monthly newsletter. At the next month's meeting, we publically share if we met them. It really does keep me on track.
ReplyDeleteI actually like NaNo and its demands. I keep it at 2K a sitting and it lets me let it go after that. Let's see how the rest of the month plays out. =)
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