nanowrimo oh no!

Like a slow-moving horror, it's coming ...

October is dwindling. November is looming and inching closer and closer. You cannot halt the march of time. All you can do is ...

[insert scream here]

I've decided to do a modified NaNoWriMo with my friend, Les. I've never done NaNoWriMo before. I've never finished a novel before --writing one, I mean. I've read plenty, which is good because it'd be hard to write one if I had no idea what one was! But I digress ...

So here are the fears I think everyone feels immediately before trying something big and new (and --let's face it --public, as everything is nowadays).

What if ...

What if I don't finish? Again, in my case. This is a book that's been in stops and starts for about a year or so.

What if I finish and it's bad?

What if, what if, what if ...

Let's look at these.

What if I don't finish by the end of November? Then I don't finish by the end of November. I can finish --that is in my power. I cannot, however, control time. That is not yet in my skill set.

What if I finish and it's bad? Actually, I'd have a party in this situation --editing is incredibly important, and it's nice to have something to edit.

The point is, it's okay to fail to meet a deadline. This is not the same as saying give up now, and it's not the same as saying lounge around and eat bonbons and hope magical story elves come in the night and write it for you (please tell me someone will write this one day ...). 

The point is, it's okay to write crap. I do. All the time. Crappity-crappity crap. This is not the same as saying don't try for quality at all, but be a realist. If you write something quickly, you cannot expect perfection. If you write something slowly, you can't expect perfection, so why would you expect it if you work quickly, which makes it less likely?

The point is try. The point is give it a shot. Work every day. Gather your resources now --there are still a few days left. Think about what you're doing. If you're prone to depression *raises hand*, focusing on details that have nothing to do with real life and working really hard on something you've always wanted to do is a good way to get outside of your head.

If writing a novel is something you want to try, channel your stress into action. Don't scream, even though November is sneaking up on us. You can do this. We can do this. In the end, November will be done, and we'll still be standing. It's okay.



[I've been taking notes as a means of processing information. I may be posting a couple of these over the next couple days, since I'm all about sharing information. Heads up, if you think they might be helpful. And good luck!]