Good day, Wrimos! If you are reading this, that means that you have survived the halfway point of NaNoWriMo with me! Yay! How did you all celebrate being halfway done?
Personally, I had a bit of an unorthodox halfway celebration. I didn’t write at all yesterday. Not one word.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. But, Kate! In your insights, you advised against skipping writing all together. You’re going to get out of your routine and fall victim to laziness and distraction! Well, let me tell you why I took my day off and ignored my own advice.
- Even the most dedicated full-time writers take a day off every now and then.
- I’m well ahead on the word count.
- Even though I wanted to write, I also wanted to spend a day with my family. We went out shopping and to a nice dinner. It was very refreshing to be out in the world again.
- To be entirely honest, even though I did feel the urge to write yesterday, I am in a bit of a tricky spot in my novel. Therefore, I hoped a day off would give my subconscious time to work without me getting in its way. And yes, I realize this is akin to procrastinating, but I simply don’t care. It’s my career, and I wanted a rest.
Okay, now that I’m done defending myself against your imagined criticisms, I’m going to offer up something useful. A pep talk.
So many writers have already quit NaNoWriMo. I really wish they had statistics on this somewhere, because I almost guarantee that over 50% of writers have dropped out by now. The reasons they quit are their own, but if you’re still reading this, I hope that means you haven’t given up. Or, if you have, I hope I can inspire you to pick back up the proverbial pen.
Listen: if you’re super far behind or worn out or tired, just stop trying to meet the NaNoWriMo word count. I’ve said it countless times, and I’ll say it again. If you felt the compulsion to participate in NaNoWriMo, without money or reward or even much acknowledgement of your accomplishment, you must intrinsically want to be a writer or creative. Don’t let someone else’s word count goals keep you from that dream. NaNoWriMo is all about making creativity a priority. Maybe the NaNo formula doesn’t work for you. That’s fine! Figure out what does and keep writing! Even if it’s just 100 words a day, if you want to be a writer, you have to put in the work. Your book isn’t going to write itself! So get out there and do it!
If you need any more enthusiasm, take a look back at my NaNo Prep series.
You can find more (hopefully) helpful tips at the end of each of my daily NaNoWriMo update posts.
Hang in there, Wrimos! We’re on the downhill climb now. Just keep putting those fingers to the keyboard or that pen to the page and write on!
Join me on my NaNoWriMo journey on my NaNoWriMo page or follow me on Twitter @KateMColby for more frequent updates!
Kate M. Colby 
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