20 November 2013

NaNoWriMo, 6798 words, and Progress

Remember how I said I wouldn't win NaNoWriMo? Not only will I not win, but at my current rate, I'll lose at epic proportions.

If I had produced the minimum daily word count of 1667, I would've had 33,333 words by the end of today. As of the writing of this blog post, I have written 6798 words. Yep, just 6798.

Just reading that number makes my chest tighten with anxiety. If I could, I'd ignore everything and just write to catch up. But I can't.

I could list all the reasons and excuses why I haven't been able to keep up for this year's NaNoWriMo. But I won't do that either.

Instead, I'm taking my coach's suggestions and realizing that any progress is, well, progress. Those are 6798 words that move me forward in the story. Those are 6798 words that didn't exist at the beginning of the month. Progress.

Ten more days to go in this year's game. Still time to generate more words. Win or lose, I'll be proud of the story I'm shaping. The story won't stop picking at me, so I'll keep writing into December and beyond to finish it. Along the way, I'll keep in mind +Sylvia van Bruggen's reminder to enjoy the journey. And make Progress.