Saturday, September 29, 2012

I Think I Can...I Think I Can...I Think I Can

One of my favorite stories to read to my little guy (and each of his siblings before him) is this version of The Little Engine That Could.  You can't really tell, but it's a board book, and the book itself is the shape of the train. 



When I read it to my kids, we repeat the phrases, "I think I can," and "I thought I could," over and over again - way more times that is listed in the book - until we are completely filled with optimism.  The one thing I think makes a difference in any child's life is believing in themselves.  We cannot do anything we don't think we can do.  And we need to acknowledge our successes - even the small ones.

I know I've been whining a lot here about how much I am struggling to find the time to write and to set adequate goals for myself.  I'm sick of it and am ready to just get busy...except I'm still sick.  My doctor thinks I'll be back to normal by Monday.  Fingers crossed.

This morning I came up with a plan that feels good.   I decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo again.  I know I've failed twice and suffered greatly for my failure.  The act of committing to it seems to trigger anvils to fall from the sky.

But the need to clear my plate before the start date is very motivating for me.  Each time I've tried this adventure, I failed at the word count, but I've been successful at finishing other projects before day one.

So this is my plan...

1.  I'm going to complete final (yes, FINAL!) edits to half of my last WIP, One Small Betrayal, by October 31. 

2.  I'm going to write as much as I can of one of my new novels during NaNoWriMo in November.  It's a win even if I don't write 50,000 words because, well, any words are better than no words.  My husband has agreed to bake the turkey and alternate vegetarian meal.

3.  In December, I'm going to cope with the inevitable post-NaNo depression and burn-out by editing the last half of One Small Betrayal and writing query letters.

I've heard it's not a good idea to send out query letters in December because publishers get flooded with submissions from NaNoWriMo, so maybe February 1 is a better date to mail the query letters.


Are you doing NaNoWriMo?  If you want to be my writing buddy (I think they have writing buddies), let me know.  I'm registered as Tonja - lucky for me my first name is spelled weird.  I think the official 2012 NaNoWriMo signup is next week at NaNoWriMo.org.

BTW, I'm still behind on reading posts.  Must nap first.

19 comments:

  1. I like your attitude, Tonja!
    Even if you miss the word count, getting other things done and making a dent on your writing is still awesome.
    Since I'll be getting CassaStorm back from my critique partners by the end of October, I'll be working on revisions at the time.

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    1. Better to be on a slow train than a detrailed one. :) That's awesome you'll be editing in November!

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  2. Oh, yikes. Do people REALLY query agents with the novel they squirted out in 4 weeks -- unrevised, unbeta-tested, un-simmered, and probably unedited? Egads.

    Just FYI -- I queried an agent in December and got an offer of representation within a week, but it wasn't for a NaNo novel. So, it's not impossible. Don't let anything delay you from jumping into the query trenches. It's painful and soul-ripping, yeah, but you got to get in there anyway.

    You can do it!

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    1. Oh, and I'd had scads of other rejections beforehand -- months and months worth. Just didn't want to make it sound like I got an offer on the first try -- just that when the match was a good one, the month didn't matter.

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    2. Thanks, Dianne. I'm glad you added the comment about lots of rejections. :)

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  3. I already have too much going on to do nano. November never fits into my schedule.
    Great classic book for kids with a message for anyone.

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    1. November is not a good month for it with Thanksgiving break in there. We have another version of the story, but this one reads better. And the clown isn't creepy.

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  4. Never done NaNo, but I know what you mean about rushing to get organized and finishing other projects before you jump in. I always thought it would be silly for someone like me to ever hire a maid service, because I would spend two days cleaning my house before they showed up so I wouldn't look like a slob. Same sort of thing with NaNo I think. ;-)

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    1. I hired a cleaning person once - it was someone I knew from work that did that on the side. She put all of the loose stuff in a big plastic bin each time she cleaned. Before I realized it wasn't working for me, I had five big plastic bins of random stuff that still needed to be put away. :)

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  5. I'm joining NaNo this year. I signed up last year, but never did start because things got busy before November ever got started. I thought about joining one of the Camps, but never did. This year though, I'm committed to trying it out.

    Best wishes with your goals. I like making goals, too. Sometimes, they aren't reached, but that's okay because tomorrow starts off with something to do:)

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    1. I am going to commit to 1667 words a day with no excuses except the dreaded migraine I seem to get at the worst possible time. I'm going to try to double up on the word count at the beginning. It would be awesome to write 80K words if that's possible. Good luck to you too. I think we can do it. :)

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  6. Of course you can.

    Hugs and chocolate,
    Shelly

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  7. I am sick again and feel like crap. I think I overdid it yesterday. But I sucked it up and edited chapter 1 (again). Fifty-one to go....

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  8. Not too long ago, a blogger buddy commented that I remind her of The Little Engine That Could... I'm not sure if that's a good/bad thing... *sighs*

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  9. you can do it!
    i did camp nano in aug, my personal life is too busy in november...

    and i just read on alex's blog that you are from ohio. me too! i noticed not a lot of writing support too...i am going to books by the banks 10/20, let me know if you are =)

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    1. Thanks. I thought Books by the Banks was literally by the bank of the river. It's in the Convention Center?

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  10. Good luck and you can do it! :)

    I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year again (it'll be my 4th year). I'm bookworm0753 on there. :)

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