Today kicks off NaNoWriMo, National
Novel Writing Month, a 30-day challenge to write a book – any kind of book, 50,000
words in length – during the month of November.
It sounds kind of crazy, but it’s
actually genius because it is possible
to write the first draft – we’re not talking final copy here, folks – of a novel
- 50,000 words - in 30 days - if you’re driven enough to tap out the average 1,666
words required per day no matter the cost: lost sleep, missed work, an angry partner,
unwashed children. You get it: this is hard work that takes sacrifice. But it
can be done, and thousands of people do it every year.
I attempted this challenge a couple
of times with great aspirations and elaborate plans. I didn’t get too far, and that’s not because I lost interest, dried up, or gave
up – it was because of Repetitive Strain injuries, RSI’s, a group of ridiculously
painful and difficult to treat maladies that plague writers and other computer
users everywhere.
My RSI’s resulted from an inappropriate
computer work station at my job, leaving me with thoracic outlet syndrome, carpal
tunnel syndrome, a touchy shoulder, and chronic headaches, and included chronic
neck, arm, and hand pain, poor range of motion, and fatigue. It didn’t matter
how driven I was to keep up with the 1,666 word count per day, or how deeply I’d
carved out the precious time each day needed to meet that goal. My body could
not handle it, and so ended my NaNoWriMo challenge each time, not even a week completed.
Yet all was not lost, as I had
experienced that thrill common to all writers of being immersed in the story,
having it pour out of you, knowing you're on the path to something great. It’s
exhilarating. It’s exhausting. And it’s not to be missed. This challenge can pump you up to achieve it. It gave me the motivation to continue on in my own fashion, sometimes putting down 2,000 words, sometimes a couple of hundred, most times none. I ended up with the roots of
a novel – Swim Season - soon to be published.
So, whether or not you think you
can take on or complete a challenge like NaNoWriMo, it’s always important to
simply start. You may surprise yourself and end up with a workable manuscript
that one day may see the light of someone’s Kindle, or you might become infused
with the drive to continue on at whatever pace you can maintain.
To all those embarking on
NaNoWriMo, I’ll think about you every time I sit down at my keyboard and start tapping
out those words.
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