Here I am, on the other side of another Nano event, this one being April Camp for 2020. And, unsurprisingly for anyone who knows me, I was successful, with a 30K goal and a final count a few hundred above that.
But as of yesterday, I was about 7K short of that goal. And I was right before the death scene mentioned in the last post, and still not any easier to write. And yet, being behind helped.
I do not say this to brag: with the exception of the Camp Nano event that I purposely lost, I have always won. This includes my first regular Nanos where I would get to the end and be twenty to thirty thousand words behind in the last few days, and then grind away at the keyboard to pull of a win at 10 or 11 at night on November 30th. It was this fact, knowing that I was capable of generating large amounts in a short time that pushed me to become an over-achiever, as I’ve done for more than half of the Nano events since.
It’s part procrastination, and part panic that can push me forward and through a difficult process. I’ve learned the hard way that it doesn’t always work to tell the story properly, as I end up chickening out on some plot points when I have larger amounts of words to type in a short amount of time.
But this time around, I think it was perfect. I sat down last night to write the death scene, having a word goal to make today’s resolution easier to generate, and I went for it. And while not entirely how I foresaw in my notes, I’d say I did a fairly good job. Or so I hope. I won’t deny I’m too close to things and hold this literary world in my head and my heart, and so I need less to convey the scene than someone else.
I am rarely a planner. Over time I’ve grown from a pantser to a plantser, combining the two. But when it comes to getting through the rough spots, I think I thrive the best when I have a harder deadline and I worry less about the specifics, going with my gut and the fingers flying across the keyboard. That works for me. Maybe it doesn’t work for you. And even if it does, mileage may vary.
As of now I plan to dip my toes in another big project by participating in Camp Nano in July, and naturally, for the 16th time, regular Nano in November. And I have submissions for my writing group to worry about, too. So even though I’m mostly stuck at home with two kids, a wife and a dog, it’s working out okay.
How goes social distanced writing for those out in the blogosphere? Take care, stay healthy, and keep up the writing.