Challenges are always tough for me. It has something to do with my need to reach the end. Even in school while a deadline loomed over me, I struggled and stressed out by the fact that this paper needed to be X number of words or Y number of pages. Why couldn’t I say what I wanted to say without forcing myself to bullshit the rest?
I’ve come across NaNoWriMo challenges in the past and met them but not without a lot of strife and turmoil. Having a full time job and wanting to pursue a career as a writer are two halves to two very different puzzles.
During the eight hours I’m at work, I’m all business jargon and data crunching. But then I get home and I have to switch that off entirely so the creative side can come out. The imagination can finally play, but sometimes it feels tough when it stays dormant all day long. It’s like going to workout with cold muscles, it takes a while for your brain to wake up.
So I’ve decided to do something a little radical, yet true to the very nature of NaNoWriMo:
I’m going to pace myself.
Yup, that’s right. I’m going to take my slow ass time writing this book. Why? Because the reality of the world outside of NaNoWriMo is that books take more than 30 days to write. I want to spend my 30 days and even more writing this book, taking my time to develop these characters, research parts, and edit edit edit.
This isn’t an attempt to try and finagle my way out of writing this book. No, I just have a lot on my plate right now. Back when I was a kid, the only things I did all day was write Support emails and then come home. Now, I have to pay bills and buy groceries and go to the gym and basically be an adult.
I can’t do that with a challenge facing me…in the face. I need no boundaries. I only need the motivation to write this novel because it’s something that I want to write and hope people will appreciate.
There are no guarantees that this book will amount to anything aside from space on my hard drive, but I know I’ve got the motivation to write it and I know that it’ll be great even if the only person reading it is my therapist.
How are you getting along with your NaNoWriMo challenges?
Simone and Her Books 