I know people who jump into November’s NaNoWriMo with enthusiasm and verve. (For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is an event where people pledge to write a novel—50k words—in the 30 days of November.) I know people who have successfully participated and I am in awe of their accomplishment.
When I write, there comes a point where my brain empties out and becomes blank. I need to stop until it fills up again. To write while empty would leave me with pages of gibberish, a waste of time that would be better spent putting the laundry away.
So how do I benefit from something I don’t do?
It’s simple. For this finite period, Twitter is filled with writers working hard toward their goal. Writers who are sharing the life of writing in concentrated form. Kind of like the difference between tomato paste and tomato sauce. (There are other social media platforms where writers interact, but Twitter is where I’m most active.)
It inspires me in so many ways to ride the wave of those Tweets. The cheerleading and struggle and work of putting words on the page help me as I plow through the final formatting of my book and think ahead to the next story. It’s a sense of solidarity as I follow at my slower-by-far pace.
I love NaNoWriMo.
I’m way behind. Reached 21,440 words on Sunday. That’s okay. If I don’t reach 50k by the end of November, there’s still December. :o) Besides, the story I’m writing is going to be longer than 50k anyway.
To me, that’s way ahead!
An interesting perspective! I would say about half the bloggers I follow are taking part in the event – many on their blogs. It’s easy to get behind. I feel badly but there’s only so much time! And the dishes do not wash themselves!
I’ve been using paper plates and STILL can’t imagine finding the time and energy!