Why should you finish what you start?
I'll be perfectly frank. I took almost the entire week of Thanksgiving away from #NaNoWriMo. My mother came to visit. We had an entire other family of friends sharing Thanksgiving Day meal, so our home needed lots of "prepping." My oldest daughter was in from Atlanta. I hadn't seen her in months. She brought the significant other, a young man I sincerely hope sticks around for years to come. Despite being on a bit of a NaNoWriMo roll, and managing to exceed my daily word goals almost every day of the challenge, I didn't want to disappear into my office over the holiday to keep the NaNoWriMo bus moving along. I wanted to spend time with the people I love. I needed a break, so I took one.
Needless to say, by Sunday, November 25, I had eaten and socialized my way into a 12,000 word hole. Finishing NaNoWriMo on time, with 50K, wasn't looking so promising.
But I pushed on. Here's why:
1. "Almost" is nice, too. I worked so hard the early part of the month. To give up, with only 12,000 words to go, when I had managed to write over 5,000 words on my best day, seemed like wimping out. I decided it was worth trying, even if I didn't make it. I had written more in three weeks than I usually write in three months. Why give up?
2. Finishing feels like a serious victory. I actually burst into tears of joy when I glanced down at my word count and realized I had jumped right over that 50K mark without even noticing. Goals are not always easy, but getting there is sweet. So, so sweet.
2. The story is worth the time. When I jumped right over 50K (without noticing), I was in the middle of a really tense ending scene. I was in the zone, baby. It was good stuff. It was a story that needed to be told, not just because I wanted to get to a certain word count number, but because the story is solid and worth spending a month to tell.
3. I said I would. Any goal, once it's out there, is a goal to be achieved or tossed away, like so many coins in the fountain. I said I would finish. It took a lot of effort to get even close, so not seeing it through, even from behind and with the likelihood of failure, would have felt like a goal lost for the wrong reasons.
Don't give up. Keep trying. Finish what you start. I'm rooting for you. You've got this.
Write on, my friends.
#NaNoWinner2018 #WIP #SCBWI #writingtip #writers #winner #fiction
I'll be perfectly frank. I took almost the entire week of Thanksgiving away from #NaNoWriMo. My mother came to visit. We had an entire other family of friends sharing Thanksgiving Day meal, so our home needed lots of "prepping." My oldest daughter was in from Atlanta. I hadn't seen her in months. She brought the significant other, a young man I sincerely hope sticks around for years to come. Despite being on a bit of a NaNoWriMo roll, and managing to exceed my daily word goals almost every day of the challenge, I didn't want to disappear into my office over the holiday to keep the NaNoWriMo bus moving along. I wanted to spend time with the people I love. I needed a break, so I took one.
Needless to say, by Sunday, November 25, I had eaten and socialized my way into a 12,000 word hole. Finishing NaNoWriMo on time, with 50K, wasn't looking so promising.
But I pushed on. Here's why:
1. "Almost" is nice, too. I worked so hard the early part of the month. To give up, with only 12,000 words to go, when I had managed to write over 5,000 words on my best day, seemed like wimping out. I decided it was worth trying, even if I didn't make it. I had written more in three weeks than I usually write in three months. Why give up?
2. Finishing feels like a serious victory. I actually burst into tears of joy when I glanced down at my word count and realized I had jumped right over that 50K mark without even noticing. Goals are not always easy, but getting there is sweet. So, so sweet.
2. The story is worth the time. When I jumped right over 50K (without noticing), I was in the middle of a really tense ending scene. I was in the zone, baby. It was good stuff. It was a story that needed to be told, not just because I wanted to get to a certain word count number, but because the story is solid and worth spending a month to tell.
3. I said I would. Any goal, once it's out there, is a goal to be achieved or tossed away, like so many coins in the fountain. I said I would finish. It took a lot of effort to get even close, so not seeing it through, even from behind and with the likelihood of failure, would have felt like a goal lost for the wrong reasons.
Don't give up. Keep trying. Finish what you start. I'm rooting for you. You've got this.
Write on, my friends.
#NaNoWinner2018 #WIP #SCBWI #writingtip #writers #winner #fiction
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