NaNoWriMo Week 2
The first week of anything is great, right? When it’s a workout routine that first week makes you feel good, sore but productive, like you’re really taking your life into your hands. When it’s a diet you may be a little hungry but the idea of watching your body change is motivation to push through. If you’re looking to cut back on drinking, how amazing does that first week feel, like the detox is reaching every pore in your body. The first week is just…chef’s kiss.
Let’s talk about the day after the first week, when cooking dinner sounds horrible and delivery pizza kills the diet. You’re too sore to run on those aching muscles so maybe skip it just one day. Those elections were serious crazy shit so ya I’ll drink that bottle of wine.
I don’t think you should punish yourself for falling off of whatever wagon you’ve put yourself on. It is hard to stick to any routine and the worst thing I think we can do is put ourselves down when we slip.
With all that said. Week 2 of NaNoWriMo has gone great! I’m about halfway done with my WIP and it really feels like the story is coming together. Yesterday I drank a bit and wrote only 400 out of the 1,650 words I’d wanted, but today I wrote extra and am back at my goal. Earlier in the week I did pretty much the same. So, after the first week of daily word count hits, I could have cursed myself out about falling a little behind, making it easier to get down on myself the next day, write a little less, and again, until I fade out on the challenge.
I didn’t do that, and honestly, who the hell knows where this first draft will go. I haven’t read back and edited like I usually do when I write, I haven’t followed anything more than a light beat sheet, I’m not playing by formatting rules, it’s all just free writing, free writing a novel.
No matter what happens, I will have completed a month of daily writing with daily goals. At the end of the month I’ll go back and edit and probably shake my damn head at the bat shit words I’ve written. And I’m okay with that, because words written are always better than words not written. I repeat that all the time, to myself and to others. You should repeat it to yourself too, it’ll help with that nagging voice that wants you to skip a day or take a break.