And then there was four ... Edit. Edit. EDIT!
Well there are only six days left. Those of you who aren’t in denial, feel free to point out that it’s really five days, but be warned, I may stick my tongue out at you. OK, fine. Five more days. Five days to write 35,500 words. Five days to put up with my yearly tradition of not shaving in November.
What? I still have 35,500 words left to go. :$ Yeah, that’s me. I am going to keep this brief, as I really need to write, but let me share a few thoughts with you; thoughts going through my head right now.
I am speaking right now to those of you so far behind that you don’t see a point in writing another word because you will never finish. (yes, I am kinda talking to myself, too). Think about why you signed up to do this crazy dash to write a novel. Was it to write 50,000 words? Or was it to finally get off your behind and finally create that little spark in the back of you mind for most of your life? Think about it for a moment. The whole point of this was to motivate you to write something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do. 50,000 words? Pshaw! you’re writing a novel. Stop counting your words and get to it. Every word you put to paper is one more word you would not have written otherwise.
So here is my piece of advice from now to Dec 1. Stop worrying about your novel and how it’s not turning out the way you wanted it to. Stop worrying about continuity or how it’s not realistic that your characters are in the situation they are in. If you don’t like what you are writing, skip to a different scene.
In fact, think of a movie (or book) that is related to your novel. Now think of a scene in that movie where you though, ‘I could write that better than they did.’ Now skip to a scene in your book and write it the way it should have been done.
If you do it, if you set aside the time to just enjoy what you are writing and you never know, you might surprise yourself and find 50,000 words suddenly appearing on the paper.
Oh, and if you want something to kind of keep you on your toes, try this:
http://writeordie.drwicked.com/ Set it to the hardest settings and it will delete words you wrote if you don’t keep writing. It is wicked and evil and it packs a ton of words out because it forces you to get out of your head and go.
And finally, there is the TGIO party. There is a thread I created to discuss ideas:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3455451
Feel free to comment. Tomorrow evening, unless I hear people vote to the contrary, I plan to reserve a space for 20-25 people at the Tower Inn on Sunday December 6th, from 1:00 – 4:00 PM. EVERYONE is invited. This is a party to celebrate the end of NaNo, the work you may or may not have created and the relationships you have made. 50,000 words is NOT a requirement. Please come out and have fun with the rest of us.
Good luck and happy noveling!
-Eric the fograsher getting ready to stop procrastinating and start writing at the social chaos of a Write In
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