(Today’s post title courtesy of a Depeche Mode song.)
If you expect to get better at writing, you have to put in the time. But that’s not always easy to do, to get your butt in the chair and type (or write long-hand, if that’s your jam). And if you don’t get in the habit, building any momentum can be even more difficult.
That’s one of the reasons I like the various Nano events. Ever since they started awarding badges for various milestones, even though they’re basically meaningless beyond bragging rights, that has helped me to sit down and write at least a little each day for the month in question. The first day of April and today I barely wrote anything, but thanks to my miniscule effort, I’m sitting on a badge saying I’ve updated my word count for 7 days in a row. But thanks also to writing more than the daily requirement for my goal, I’m on pace to win at the end of the month.
Speaking of my goal, I think I’m pretty sure that I set it too low for the month. I thought 10K would wrap things up, but despite having a pretty good outline, early in the month I threw a literal bike accident into the plot to add some excitement and get words on the page, since I was tired and wasn’t inspired to go from where I left off (at the end of November) to where I needed to go next right away. And I realize all the stuff from my outline, the resolution of all the stuff I built up already, will almost certainly require more words.
I can say with almost total certainty that I will up the goal before too long. I just haven’t done so yet, and I’m not sure when that will be. It makes me feel good to know that I’m upping my Camp Nano goal for once after a number of other times when I’ve lowered it so I could still squeeze out a win.
Those doing Camp Nano: how’s it going? Keeping on pace for your goal? Ahead? Behind? Did you outline? Are you off in the forest because you followed a plot bunny trail?
For those not doing Camp: are you working on something else? Taking it easy this month?
Final note: next week’s blog post will purposely be on Thursday to coincide with a special day in my writing timeline.
(or write long-hand, if that’s your jam)
You killed me with that one! Great job on nano and keep up the good work!
Killing with words is far less traceable. Unless you confess it in a comment.
My daughter writes long-hand, as well as a fellow writing community member who I won’t name check because I’m not sure if she’d appreciate it or not. Good for them. It’s just not the buttered scones with my cup of tea.