Week One didn't go so well for me. I spent the majority of Sunday and Monday in bed, then just felt drained for a couple days more. This gave me time to reflect on things...and I've decided I'm not going to follow through with NaNoWriMo.
I know what you're thinking,
"Don't give up!"
Or, as my region's liaison wrote,
"First, let's talk about if you're behind schedule. This is absolutely not a reason to give up! Why? Because even if you haven't written a single word, if you start today you will still hit 50K on the 30th if you write 2,083 words a day.
If you've already written some words you'll need even fewer every day to stay on track and win. I bet you'll find that your words-per-day to win are not as heavy a load as you were imagining."
Thing is, I have a few reasons why I'm dropping out:
1
Preparation
In a rookie move, I decided to start literally from scratch on day one. No outline, no notes, no research. Creatively speaking, I should be fine, unfortunately I am too much of a nitpicker (left brain analyst) to let things flow freely. Which leads me to...
2
Stress
Because I've not prepared things to my own standards, my analytical side has red sirens blaring, telling me there's no way I'm gonna get things done. And if the voices in my head say no...well, I can't really argue with them. There's also the guilt factor of...
3
Prior Responsibilities
One of which is my blog. Not that I have a problem with leaving off for a month (as evidenced in September), but I've received a number of books that I've agreed to review, and I feel horrible pushing them off for as long as I have already.
Also, I have a job search to be doing and other family obligations that I cannot push aside for an entire month. And that seems to be the case with the schedule my muse has decided to set...
4
Muse Time Disagreements
For some reason, my muse is MIA during the daylight. I mean, I know I'm a night owl, but she doesn't show up at dusk, or even midnight. No, she decides to show up when I'm trying to fall asleep (3-5 AM) and keep me awake for 2-3 extra hours. Okay, I grant you she is a bit of a demon in nature, and I really shouldn't expect anything less, but it's really bugging me. Don't get me wrong, if that's when she wants to show up, I'm fully willing to submit to her time constraints. Just not when I'm supposed to be alive during the daylight hours.
So, that's where I stand at the moment. My official NaNoWriMo journey is over until further notice. Who knows, I might try to add a bit to my 270 words (after I re-write it because I totally got her voice wrong) and see if I can get my muse to comply to my wishes (she seems to love talking when I'm half-asleep). But I'm not really expecting much.
In better news, I HAVE committed to writing this story.
(I know, a bit of conflicting information, right? Stay with me here.)
I've gone ahead and created my book's cover, as well as a (rough) tagline:
I know, I could've/should've spent the time making this actually writing the story, but I needed something tangible, something I could see. Now I just need to fill the insides with equally amazing words!
I just need to get things in order first. To help me, I've enlisted the help of some (what else) books that I've acquired over the years:
I've read pieces and parts of the first two for classes, and the third looks simply amazing, even though I'm not specifically writing "Fantasy".
To help me out a bit more, I purchased this book earlier this year:
I'd originally planned on using it through NaNoWriMo, but I think I might benefit from its services better at a slower pace.
I'm sorry that this month's plan (or lack of a plan) didn't pan out, but I'm still very excited. Kali's story will be written (else I might not ever sleep again) and she'll be unleashed upon the masses.
If there are any other NaNoWriMo's reading this, or other people who would enjoy a bit of inspiration, here's an amazing song/vid I discovered last week. Best wishes!
I know what you're thinking,
"Don't give up!"
Or, as my region's liaison wrote,
"First, let's talk about if you're behind schedule. This is absolutely not a reason to give up! Why? Because even if you haven't written a single word, if you start today you will still hit 50K on the 30th if you write 2,083 words a day.
If you've already written some words you'll need even fewer every day to stay on track and win. I bet you'll find that your words-per-day to win are not as heavy a load as you were imagining."
Thing is, I have a few reasons why I'm dropping out:
1
Preparation
In a rookie move, I decided to start literally from scratch on day one. No outline, no notes, no research. Creatively speaking, I should be fine, unfortunately I am too much of a nitpicker (left brain analyst) to let things flow freely. Which leads me to...
2
Stress
Because I've not prepared things to my own standards, my analytical side has red sirens blaring, telling me there's no way I'm gonna get things done. And if the voices in my head say no...well, I can't really argue with them. There's also the guilt factor of...
3
Prior Responsibilities
One of which is my blog. Not that I have a problem with leaving off for a month (as evidenced in September), but I've received a number of books that I've agreed to review, and I feel horrible pushing them off for as long as I have already.
Also, I have a job search to be doing and other family obligations that I cannot push aside for an entire month. And that seems to be the case with the schedule my muse has decided to set...
4
Muse Time Disagreements
For some reason, my muse is MIA during the daylight. I mean, I know I'm a night owl, but she doesn't show up at dusk, or even midnight. No, she decides to show up when I'm trying to fall asleep (3-5 AM) and keep me awake for 2-3 extra hours. Okay, I grant you she is a bit of a demon in nature, and I really shouldn't expect anything less, but it's really bugging me. Don't get me wrong, if that's when she wants to show up, I'm fully willing to submit to her time constraints. Just not when I'm supposed to be alive during the daylight hours.
So, that's where I stand at the moment. My official NaNoWriMo journey is over until further notice. Who knows, I might try to add a bit to my 270 words (after I re-write it because I totally got her voice wrong) and see if I can get my muse to comply to my wishes (she seems to love talking when I'm half-asleep). But I'm not really expecting much.
In better news, I HAVE committed to writing this story.
(I know, a bit of conflicting information, right? Stay with me here.)
I've gone ahead and created my book's cover, as well as a (rough) tagline:
 |
| Most people think being fired is the end of the world. For Kali, it's only the beginning... |
I just need to get things in order first. To help me, I've enlisted the help of some (what else) books that I've acquired over the years:
To help me out a bit more, I purchased this book earlier this year:
I'm sorry that this month's plan (or lack of a plan) didn't pan out, but I'm still very excited. Kali's story will be written (else I might not ever sleep again) and she'll be unleashed upon the masses.
If there are any other NaNoWriMo's reading this, or other people who would enjoy a bit of inspiration, here's an amazing song/vid I discovered last week. Best wishes!
Hi Vicki, I just started following you, and can I just say that music video is awesome. I had chills, perfect choice. I think I may have to put it on my own blog. I am doing NaNo and am trying to keep swimming along so to speak. You gotta do what's best for you. Love your blog :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my blog sometime: laughlovewrite.wordpress.com
Hmmm...what great taste you have! Lol. Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
ReplyDelete