Camp NaNoWriMo – Go Big – Day 13

Let’s just make this brief: 7,600 words today. Almost back on track. There’s a better than even chance that I’ll wrap up the whole draft by tomorrow night. Woot.

My creative afterburners are on and I’m quickly approaching what feels like my top writing speed. I can’t remember when I’ve written this fast–the second Pitchfork county book is a close second, but it’s definitely second–and I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be able to do it again.

Let’s dive right into today.

DAY THIRTEEN: No Time to Worry

Part of the reason I’m able to grind out the words this month is because I’m really passionate about this project. It’s going to be a serial–probably a very looooong one–but each piece stands pretty well on its own. When taken in all together, though, they form a much bigger, much more vivid picture.

Because this isn’t one big work, I have the freedom to chase down any trails I want to follow. I keep a notebook at hand as I’m dictating and if there are any ideas I want to follow up on, I scribble ’em in the notebook. Nothing elaborate, just a line or so that will jog my memory when I go back and read them later. I firmly believe that any idea worth pursuing will be hard enough to forget that I’ll only need these little reminders to find the path I’d formerly glimpsed.

Tackling a monster in bite-sized chunks and having the freedom to leave an idea so you can loop around later and give it the treatment it deserves, has been extremely freeing.

I firmly believe that removing the constraints from my creativity has been a huge key to my success with this story. It’s intriguing and scary and I can’t wait to see if this concept will translate well to my other work.

Tomorrow

I hope I’ll wrap up the first draft of Novella #2 tomorrow. It’s flowing very well so I don’t think I’ll have any trouble hitting that goal, provided I can keep myself on task. I become my own worst enemy as I get closer to the end of a project (I say, looking askance at the final few thousand words I still need to write to finish Pitchfork Book #3), and self-sabotage becomes a very real threat the further into the month I go.

Because it’s always easier to quit when you’re near the end and can tell yourself the sweetest lies. “You only have a few thousand more words, you can wrap that up in a couple of hours. Why not play some more Arkham Knight?”

That kind of shit kills, my friends.

Stay vigilant.

Stay busy.