So we are 8 days into NaNoWriMo 2013, and I’ve only barely broken 10,000 words. Seems a bit discouraging, but not to fear! I’ll get it done…hopefully.
I’m imagining I’m not the only person who’s a little short on word count this year. After all, I started late, and that’s understandable. A little thing called life gets in the way sometimes. In my case, it came in the form of a new kitten (pictured above). However, having this distraction makes me that much more eager to get back to writing, and I appreciate the moments of peace I get (when he’s not attacking my feet as if he were some terrifying beast) even more.
So, when life seems to get in the way of your writing, setting some time aside for yourself becomes even more crucial. A while ago I wrote a post on fighting writer’s block (click here to check it out!). Not only can you use the advice in there to fight writer’s block, but you can also use it to fight laziness and life when they get in the way. I struggle with all three of those on a daily basis. Seriously. If it’s not my kitten bugging me, it’s me bugging my kitten because I’m just looking for an excuse not to work. And writing really is work, no matter what anyone tells you, no matter what your genre is.
Just like most of us get up to go to work 9:00am-5:00pm jobs every day, we need to reach that same discipline in our writing, if that’s not already our profession. That’s not to say to abandon your bread-winning day job, but just to find a set schedule for your writing as well, especially when taking on an ordeal as big as NaNoWriMo. So I hope this post works as a bit of encouragement from a fellow writer. You’re not alone in your distractions and writer’s block! To all NaNoWriMo participants out there: I know we can do it! Even if we don’t make the 50k, we’re writing! And that’s really what it comes down to, isn’t it?
FictionTrials 