Sunday, October 30, 2011

Maybe No NaNoWriMo?



Yesterday things started looking up.  We cleaned until parts of the house sparkled, all three kids were happy, we got in a little shopping, and I had no aches or pains anywhere.  The day was good.  I planned on spending the evening yesterday and all day today finishing my edits.  I would be ready for NaNoWriMo.  Nothing could stop me.

And then...
  • Babes woke up early this morning with the words, "Mom! I puked!"
  • Husband had work problems and stared at a command prompt while mumbling to himself from 5:00 last night until 3:00 this morning.
  • I got another headache last night, so I didn't edit one word.  And I slept terribly.
I still have no pumpkins or candy.  I have a ton of outside work that should have been done three weeks ago.  The only food in the fridge is leftover Indian from last night, not ideal for a sick preschooler.  The plan had been to run for groceries before the work crisis hit yesterday.  Before the new load of pukey sheets, I had about twelve loads to wash.

As I sat with my little guy this morning, watching Curious George and trying to summon up the energy to start the laundry, it occurred to me that maybe NaNoWriMo is perhaps not realistic for me.  There are too many uncontrollable variables in my life.  Sure, I can write 1000 or more words in an hour, but the idea that I'm going to find 2 hours a day every day for thirty days in a row is perhaps a little bit ludicrous. 

The gods are laughing out loud at me while they conjure up whatever chaos they have planned for me for tomorrow.  I'm starting to see the humor in it too. 

9 comments:

  1. FWIW, I've been there. I realize the worst advice is unsolicited advice, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. I wouldn't give up on Nano. Perhaps you won't make the 1000 word count everyday, but at least you'll have started a draft. I'd recommend doing what you can. Then when the month is over, take a look at what you've got and work from there.

    To me, writing a novel is similar to deciding to start a family. If you wait until the finances are right and the stars are perfectly aligned in the universe, then you'll never have children. Sometimes it's best to just go for it. Things seem to work out in the end. Best of luck.

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  2. Try it anyway. The worst you can do is miss the target but still write a lot more than you would've otherwise.

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  3. Candice - No time for videos here with sick kids and all the housework.

    Andrea - I am sure you're right. Writing something is better than nothing. I just feel odd participating if I have no chance of finishing. I would write either way.

    Alex - I will try to see how it is. Looks like a fun community of writers.

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  4. Awww, man. I know what you mean. Every year, I say next year. I have yet to do it. Really. Something always happens. This year my poor dog and another bout of daughter drama.

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  5. This will be my fifth year and I have yet to even come close to finishing. My goal is one more word than last year. Try it, you'll like it!

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  6. It seems writers always face some sort of problem during Nano, but maybe your lucky. Maybe your distractions will only be in the beginning. So you could still make it. I did Nano in 2009, something came up and I didn't write for 3 days. Thought I was doomed, but I got back on track and finished. So don't give up yet.

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  7. Shelly - It sounds like your dog needs you. I hope he's getting better.

    Blue - That's a good goal actually, self-improvement instead of buying in to someone else's vision of success. Very convincing argument for doing it.

    Cindy - The post I wrote today only took 5 minutes and was about five hundred words. So if I stop blogging and write for 5 minutes 100 times, I win, right? Probably a terrible way to write a novel though. Thanks for the positive energy.

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