{"id":196,"date":"2014-07-09T23:08:29","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T07:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writinghope.com\/?p=196"},"modified":"2018-09-26T10:20:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-26T18:20:30","slug":"make-up-your-mind-nano-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/untanglingtales.com\/WritingHope\/make-up-your-mind-nano-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Up Your Mind ~ Is this a game, or something More?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Other people can help you a bit, but \u00adessentially you\u2019re on your own. \u00adNobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don\u2019t whine. –Margaret Atwood<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement \u2013 if you can\u2019t deal with this you needn\u2019t apply. — Will Self<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Image<\/a>

Image courtesy of Armin Hanisch via www.freeimages.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Five days into NaNoWriMo. I had passed 25,000 words (due to a lot of hours from my husband Jay right before he left the country<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I was about 25% of the way through my story, according to the four-part outline I worked up the month before, and I enjoyed a speed of ~ 1200 words\/hour.<\/p>\n

2,000 to 10K<\/a> is a terrific– and terrifically inexpensive– introduction to the type of prepwork that let me believe this was even possible.<\/p>\n

I have been writing since high school, over 20 years, now. This was the first time I had an entire day for composition, and it was also probably the first time I would have known what to do with it.<\/p>\n

I dove in on day-one and didn’t slow down for five months.<\/p>\n

(Okay, technically I slowed down, but that’s just because of “real life” not from any hesitation or writers’ block. This is my point.)<\/p>\n

By contrast, in my first NaNo endeavor, this five-day mark was the time I wanted to quit. I was making or passing my 1,667-word\/day minimum, but I wasn’t sure I could maintain the pace.<\/p>\n

I wanted to quit before I failed.<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

The idea of really trying and not making it<\/em> terrified me.<\/p>\n

I don’t remember anymore what I expected. Looking at it now, I can see that whatever word-count I got would be more words on a story than I’d had before– but the risk of not making goal seemed to be taunting me.<\/p>\n

It was as though I was afraid that failing would mean I wasn’t cut out for this. This noveling<\/em> thing. And since I knew with a wordless knowing<\/strong> that I had<\/em> to tell this story, the risk of failing felt like the pall of death hanging over all.<\/p>\n

Sticking it out proved some important things to ME.<\/p>\n