Why does it feel as if I just wrote last month's post for IWSG? Time keeps flying by. When I was young, I felt as if time just slogged along--unless I was doing something I really liked, of course. These days, it seems as if there's never enough time to do all that I want. I have so many ideas for new books plus several novels that were finished, submitted, and rejected that I like enough to want to do over.
We never know how much time we have. Does that sound morbid? Probably. Last night, I lost another uncle. My dad's generation is quickly passing on. Considering my uncle's age (94), he lived a long life and, until recently, an active life.
About the only thing I can do about my projects is keep writing. Finish a novel, get it published, and move on to the next. This month, many writers are participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to complete 50,000 in 30 days. I give the people who joined (over a quarter million) a lot of credit for attempting such a project. Although I've never tried it (and maybe I should so I can be sure what I'm talking about), I don't think NaNo and I are a good fit. I am so OCD that I can't go forward unless I fix something I previously wrote.
I'll keep plugging along, writing at my own pace, and try not to feel like a slacker as my friends write a full novel.
If you want to see what other writers are insecure about, click on the link below for their links: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html
Hi Diane, glad to know someone feels the same as I do when it comes to writing - I like my stories to evolve as I write and will sometimes get an idea in the middle of the story that I have to go back and rewrite a few things to include the idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks
Connie
I think a writer has to figure out what works best.
DeleteThe NaNoWriMo isn't a good fit for me either. Last year I tried a similar writing challenge and it fizzled. I guess I have my own pace, and though it may seem I move like a snail at times, I do manage to meet a few goals. So yay for that. I also have a hard time just writing without fixing things as I go. Probably accounts for the snail's pace. But I've always believed there is no right nor wrong way, just your way. Good luck to you in achieving more of your goals, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy. Fast or slow, it's the one who actually finishes who wins the race.
DeleteI hear you, Diane! A month ago I was taking stock of my writing because of our own MMRWA Chapter's I Will Write a Book contest and realized that last time I'd turned in a manuscript was in August of 2012! That was over a YEAR ago. I couldn't believe so much time had passed and I had so little to show for it. Nothing like a reality kick in the pants to get the motivation going again.
ReplyDeleteWell, you're one of the friends who kicked my butt. Back at ya!
DeleteI'm still thinking about NaNoWriMo. You can see it's already the 6th and my novel is still blowing through the timbers of my forestry brain.
ReplyDeleteRohn Federbush
LOL, Rohn. What a great image.
DeleteTime is definitely rolling by at a quick pace. As I prepare for the birth of my next child, I feel like I'm running out of time to get ready.
ReplyDeleteIf you're doing the best you can, then you're no slacker.
Thanks, Isis. There's never enough time to get ready for a baby. LOL Best wishes.
DeleteThe older I get, the faster time goes. It's just crazy. But like you, I just have to keep plugging away. There is sometimes an urge to try and do as much as possible with every minute of the day, but too much of that will lead to exhaustion and burn-out! So I guess a good balance of rest with work is what's required. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree about exhaustion & burnout. Finding a balance is the tricky part.
DeleteI'm sorry for your loss, Diane! But you are right; we never really do know how much time we have, so the best thing to do is keep writing and keep trying. I've never participated in NaNoWriMo either, but I might give it a try some year. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chrys.
DeleteI didn't notice how fast time went by until I had a child. Sudden he's five, and I have no idea how that happened!
ReplyDeleteAs far as NaNo goes, I'm one of those crazies, only I set my personal goal at 30k instead of 50k (see small child above).
Wait until your child hits high school. Zoom & they're in college. Good luck with NaNo. You're wise to set your goal at 30 instead of 50.
DeleteNo, not a morbid thought at all. I turned fifty this summer and it really hit me how I need to get my butt in gear and finish this trilogy of mine. I have so many other ideas I want to explore, but I have to finish this project first. But time...it keeps going by.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's hitting those landmark birthdays that make us think about what we still want to accomplish. Good luck.
DeleteI've never joined either. Life is busy enough, so adding that kind of stress will only drive me crazy this year.
ReplyDeleteVery wise!
DeleteI don't know where the time has gone. I'm always trying to push so much into each day that I forget to take time for myself and enjoy life. I hate to think that I will look back and regret all the stress. I'm considering leaving teaching so that I have the time for enjoying life.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned before how my grandkiddies take precedence over everything. I don't want to ever regret not spending time with them.
DeleteI'm with you. I've got so many novels and stories I want to write, I feel like I never can finish. Time does go by faster as we get older. As for Nano, I tried it one year. Very exhilarating and I love what I produced, but it's such a rough draft that needs so much editing that I don't know if I can ever finish it. But the concept is sound.
ReplyDeleteGood luck writing those stories, Nigel.
DeleteI don't think it's morbid. We aren't promised tomorrow, so why wait?
ReplyDeleteOne of these years I would like to try NaNo though.
I agree. Live each day as if it's the last is good advice. I just wish I could follow it.
DeleteIt really isn't morbid death unfortunately is a part of life.
ReplyDeleteI cannot do NaNoWrMo either. I am editing my second book. You are so right I wish I had some of that endless time I had when I was a kid:)
Thanks for stopping by, Doreen, and thanks for friending me on FB.
DeleteA timely post. :-) I remember back when I could write a book in 6 weeks. It's taken me 3 years to write this last one. Just recently I was feeling sad about no longer having the energy I did in my twenties and thirties, then I read about a woman in her 90s who has, in the last 15 years, learned two new languages, taken trapeze lessons, dances the tango, writes poetry and songs, has taken up yoga, and I don't know what else. Maybe our time is limited, but I guess it's up to us to do the most with it. (Shoot, I couldn't even learn one new language in my 20s.)
ReplyDeleteThen there was the 86-yr-old (I think) woman who completed the NYC Marathon, went to her hotel for a nap and never woke. But she died after doing what she wanted to do. That's a good way to go.
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