Hello peoples,
It has been one week since I started my own private NaNoWriMo. I made word count! 10,550 = 7 days times 1,500 words.
So, YAY! But also. Wow. Because it wasn’t just work to get this first week done, it was a lot of shortcuts that aren’t sustainable. I pretty much look like a zombie with a frownie face, not-chic pony tail, and burning eyes. Instead of brains, though, I want sleep. I want to sleep so much that my eyes burn when I wake up in the morning and I need two cups of tea before I can even stop yawning long enough to make a third. I’ve been cheating on making my kids’ lunches and telling them to buy instead. I should change the music for my fitness class. My dog is absolutely bored with being walked up and down the street because I haven’t had time to take him to the park. He retaliated by chewing up one of my yoga CDs. I have no social life. I have unreturned text messages, three post-Christmas cards still to send out, and forget seeing any of my friends in person. Overall, there’s no sense of balance. I’m running from one activity to the next, just smearing across the surface instead of really checking things.
So, I need to adjust. I’m leaving for AWP (writing conference held in Washington DC this year) on Friday. I’m setting aside my speed writing until I return on Sunday. That way I can get my household squared away before I leave and, most importantly, I mentally prepare for the conference. There’s no use going if I haven’t looked at the panels, discussions, and activities. I want to go to get energized about writing. I want to learn something new. All I can think about right now is crashing on the hotel bed and sleeping before my roommates get there and potentially try to get me to actually attend the conference.
From Sunday the 12th through Saturday the 18th I will write another 10,500 words.
Anyone else going to AWP? Seen any good panels I should check out? Anyone else sludging through first drafts right now?
Love,
Sherri
Taste of Sherri 
Wow! That kind of output is impressive, but i think even Stephen King would warn you that’s not a sustainable habit. I’m struggling to write regularly now that I’m working full time (although in all honesty i wasn’t any better at it when i was working part-time). Have you tried a smaller word count goal per day? Do you try to make word count in one sitting, or in bits and pieces throughout the day? I have a friend who wrotes during her lunch break at her 9-5 job. I’m working up the courage to try that.
Hi Sarah! Good to hear from you. I do it in one sitting. Even if it means that I’m literally staring at the page, writing a couple words and then deleting. And, at the same time, I’m suppressing the thought, “You’re wasting time, you’re wasting time.” I’m resting until Sunday when I’ll go for 10,500 in a week again. Hopefully spending the weekend at AWP will get me recharged.