Day #8478 - The Reality of WriMo

I'm just going to tell it to you straight, Internet. We're only nine days into NaNoWriMo and I still don't know what to make of it.

On the one hand, it's going pretty well. I'm finding that the rough outlines I've been making are really helpful in keeping me moving forwards, but not so constricting that I'm afraid of deviating from it if that's where the characters or scene should take me. I'm liking most of my characters (and enjoying disliking the ones I don't want people to like). And more than all of that, I like being disciplined in my writing and doing it every day. Taking it seriously makes me happy. Plus today I crossed over the 20,000 word mark, which feels pretty darn good.

*Insert happy dance here*

But then, there's that pesky other hand.

Because over on the other hand, word count wise that means I'm only a third of the way to my goal. I know it's a marathon and not a sprint (but at the same time, who are we kidding - of course it's a sprint!), but I'm already feeling quite drained and as I've already said, it's only day nine and there are 22 days to go.

I can see what Maggie Stiefvater meant now in her anti-NaNoWriMo blog posts about how the whole concept of the project works very much against people who have families or jobs or other commitments other than writing all of the time...wait a minute...that sounds like pretty much everyone. So this is one of those moments when I'm not complaining but I really am but just a little bit! It's hard for me to get into a writing groove when I get home from a full day at work because I'd love to kick back a little, visit with my family and unwind. If weekends have taught me anything, it's that my best (and usually most productive) writing happens in the middle of the day, but seeing as that is when I am work during the week, that's not really an option. Plus this past week I have been woefully neglectful of my graduate studies.

(But on the plus side, I registered for next semester and will be graduating in May! *insert second happy dance here*)

Perhaps this month I have bitten off a bit more than I can metaphorically chew, but I'm hoping that since I don't have work on Friday due to Veterans Day, the extra time will allow me the chance to get the many writing and book-oriented aspects of my life (which is most of my life) back on track.

So NaNoWriMo, so far I think we're okay, but I'm not so sure I am about making this thing we have a permanent deal. The writing part can stay. The writing a first draft in 30 days thing while also trying to manage the rest of my life and sleep and be a functioning human being? Yeah, I'm not so sure about that one actually happening.