I sincerely hope that all of you out there are too busy working on your NaNoWriMo masterpieces to read this! But if you happen to be looking for a distraction and have found my page, clearly you are not alone in your procrastination so don't feel too bad ;)
Needless to say, NaNoWriMo has been on my mind constantly the last 4-days. Though it's been a rather chaotic 24 hours. I spent last night in the E.R. because my roommate was in a head-on collision and totaled her car. I rode to the hospital in the ambulance with her. She is doing ok, and I have to say that I think it had something to do with the EMT and myself distracting her with the Fireman's calendar. But (thanks to HER SEAT BELT *hint hint*) she got really lucky. No broken bones, just a lot of cuts and bruises.
In other news we recently celebrated Halloween, both Heather Guran's and Josh's birthday, and I met Josh's parents... all last weekend! Everything went really well, and was a lot of fun. On Halloween my two roommates and I dressed up to act in a haunted house from which all the proceeds went to charity. It was a lot of fun, especially the part where I convinced my boyfriend to go through and we got to scare him. Overall, the weekend went really well, in all aspects. Everyone got older as planned ;)
- Bruce and I dressed up for the Ocean Birthday Party, I'm a Narwhale, he is a Cuddle Fish -
Now, down to business as we are nearing the end of day four of NaNoWriMo, though you still have plenty of time to get your daily word count in! Suffering from writers block? After 3 years of participating I have found that the following tips help keep me on track and motivated:
* The daily motivation e-mails are sent for a reason. They have great advice, funny stories, and much more. So take the time to read them and enjoy!
* Don't stress yourself out over this... it's supposed to be fun. So if you find yourself at your computer pulling your hair, take a break! Get out, have some fun, and then come back in and get back to it! If you don't make your word count one day, that's quite all right, tomorrow maybe the inspiration bug will bite you in the butt and you write 3 days worth? Who knows!
* Search around your area for support groups. You'd be surprised at how many other people in your town are working away at that 50,000 word goal. Having a group of people to hang out with while you are working can not only inspire you, but keep you focused. Plus it's a good excuse to order pizza while writing (not that you really need an excuse).
* Find a place that inspires you to work. That could be a desk, a bench at a park, the kitchen table. Whatever works! For me I have discovered that stealing my boyfriends bed while he is grading papers or lesson planning and snuggling up with Bruce, (the cutest dog in the world), and my laptop is what does the trick. I can write for hours that way!
* Set goals/rewards of your own. After so many words go get a pedicure, or buy that sweater you have always wanted. Take yourself to a movie or to dinner, (have someone take you to dinner). Something that inspires you to keep on pecking at those keys!
* Let the people you live with, or your friends or significant others know what you are doing so they can support you. The most helpful thing I have had happen so far is my boyfriend texting me randomly first thing in the morning, "So I divided 50,000 x 30 and it comes up to 1,667 words a day for November. You can do it!!! Love you!" It helps to have people who believe in you!
* Believe in yourself! You CAN do this, one word at a time. Before you know it, December 1st will be here and you will already be counting down the days until next November.
If you are still having trouble with writers block, try writing exercises or free-writing in a journal. Or brainstorming with post-it notes, markers, crayons, and paint. Whatever works!
On that note, I am off to work on my own word count! Good luck to everyone participating and until next time...
Creatively yours,
Kat Callaway
