I haven't been blogging, but most certainly I have been writing! I signed up for NaNoWriMo this month. Funky term - what does it mean? National Novel Writing Month! Yes, I intend to finish my novel in a month. Here we go!
Writing can be a very solitary experience. I think that's why I've been drawn to it in the first place. I enjoy being alone at times. I can sit on my computer at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, listening to music, and just express my thoughts without having to bother anyone else. With my cup of coffee and cat at my side, I am perfectly content to ping away at the keyboard with all my words. I don't need to be entertained. I entertain myself.
However, NaNoWriMo has given me a lot so far. There are meet-ups to help you get motivated along with the writing process, meet with other writers, and learn some new techniques as well. The most major one?
Sprint writing.
I am addicted to sprint writing. I set the timer for ten minutes, and just write. Why does it work for me? In ten minutes I have no excuse to get up and do the dishes, change the laundry, or check out the station on Pandora. I have only ten minutes to focus in and challenge myself to up my word count. I usually produce at least 450 words in ten minute intervals - not too shabby. Above all, and this may sound bad, it doesn't give me time to think.
You may be saying, "Isn't that what a writer is suppose to do? Think about her work?"
Yes and no. For me, however, what stuck me on my book for over a year was the over-analyzing of characters, their motives, their futures. Life doesn't move like that. As I've especially learned with twin teens, life sprints. So should my writing. Just get to that keyboard and go! My characters have followed suit. Of course I will go back and edit, and I'm not so vain that I believe I am executing perfect, fine prose this first time around. But I am moving my plot forward.
So each morning and a few times in the afternoon I sprint. Setting the cell phone time for ten minutes, I push my characters further into their abyss with obsessive-compulsive disorder and abusive relationships. But there is a glimmer of hope. There always is, if we look hard enough.
At over 26,000, I've sprinted halfway to the finish line of my goal of 50,000 by November 30th. Throw in school work, household chores, and day to day activities and my head starts to spin, but I know I can do it. It's my outlet. And ten minutes? Bring it! Sprint on!
