On this Thing Called Writing (#3)

Tonight will be another short post. Mostly because I feel bloated. Also, I procrastinated. Again. With regards to my NaNoWriMo challenge, this week has been a mixed bag. While there have been some disappointing moments, overall, I am happy with my progress. 38,001 words. There are only nine days left, and I believe I am going to make it. Hopefully I do not regret my prediction. We shall see.

(This image is a metaphor for where I am at with my writing goal.)

Until last Sunday, I have been writing daily towards my goal of a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. Basically, all I need to do is find enough time to produce 1700 plus words each day. Well, that Sunday, life got in the way. My daughter had a dinner party and sleepover the night before. That morning, I woke up late, and had to make a special breakfast for her and her friends. Then there was laundry. Cleaning. And my other habit, blogging. I had put that aside the week before in order to focus on my novel. So, I switched things around, and put aside the NaNoWriMo goal.

The next day, I found time to write 2,060 words. Then, on Tuesday, I did 2,014. After that, I reached a new record: 3,317 words. I more than made up for skipping Sunday. However, by Thursday, I hit a bit of a wall. Again, life got in the way. Also, that self-doubt about my writing skills made an appearance again. However, I was not going to surrender: I had come so far. So, I forced myself to write something, and arrived at 1,158.

Sigh. Once again, this thing called life required me to compromise. I put aside my new writing goal, for time with family and friends. I skipped Friday and Saturday. Looking back, I could have pushed something out on Saturday night, but I had enjoyed myself that day, and decided I want to hold on to those good vibes as I headed into bed. And I have no regrets regarding those decisions.

That night I slept very well; therefore, when I woke up around 6 am, I had the energy to accomplish something important. Instead of just lounging around, daydreaming, I immediately did my morning chores. Then I sat down, opened up my laptop, pulled up my novel, and started typing. An hour and a half later, I had 3,001 words. Well, I had 2,998. So I went back and added one more sentence. Unfortunately, it had to be 3 words in stead of 2. Hence the odd number for the day's total.

That many words, so close to waking up, is the habit I want to maintain. Setbacks can strengthen a habit, by forcing you to refocus. While my preference would have been to have written both Friday and Saturday, doing it first thing the next morning, added to my confidence.

Let us see what tomorrow brings...