Just Keep Writing

The other day Kim posted about participating in National Novel Writing Month. I'm also setting aside my inner editor for a month and letting the words flow.

Or not.

Some days are easy. There are ideas and it's rainy out and there's nothing else to do anyway, so lots of words get on the page.

Other days are a little tougher. There is some Christmas shopping to do and catching up with an old friend and helping with homework and suddenly it's nine o'clock at night and I haven't written 500 words, much less the recommended 1667.

What to do?

First of all - don't panic. There's always tomorrow to catch up. This is a marathon, not a sprint (which is probably a bad analogy for me to try to work with, because I don't run at all, but we'll go with it.) If you fall a little behind in one mile, you have 26 others in which to make it up in. And if you fall behind in one day, you have the rest of the month.

The important thing is to keep on writing. Can't figure out what to write. Write something anyway. Because even if a lot of those words you write are going to end up being cut, there is probably something there you're going to want to keep. You wouldn't even have that if you were out cleaning your windows or something and not writing. (Though there is something to be said for clean windows.)

I'm on track to "win" NaNoWriMo this year - which means writing 50,000 words in a month. I've done it before, so I know it's possible. Two years ago, the first time I tried, I actually cranked out 50,000 words in two weeks. That novel is still in the revision stage (as they say, it's not the writing, it's the re-writing.) Last year I was not as successful, but I attribute that to having Swine Flu at the beginning of November. I lost momentum I wasn't able to pick up again.

And now I think I better settle myself into my writer cave and get to work!

Happy Writing!