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“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can” — Nikos Kazantzakis
Is it hard yet? For a lot of folks, this week is the easiest because the story you’re working on is fresh and new, which can really help keep a writer moving because there’s a lot to discover, no matter how much you’ve planned before hand. Treasure that feeling and let it help you write like the wind. You’ll be grateful for these days later on.
For others, though, the going’s already gotten a bit rough. Maybe there’s unexpected things going on in your life. Maybe the story just isn’t clicking. Maybe you’re starting to feel as if NaNoWriMo was just one more thing on your plate and that may be one thing too many.
Maybe you went into this thinking you’d try, but pretty convinced you weren’t going to make it because [fill in circumstance/excuse].
Lots of folks are willing to tell you the secret to winning NaNo, the tips and tricks. It’s a great way to drive blog traffic in the days before November 1. I’m not dissing on them because, with a book about NaNoWriMo* to promote, I did some of the those posts myself. Seriously, the traffic for a blog promoted at “5 Tips to Help You Get Ready for NaNo” compared to all my other posts on the subject was rather eye-opening. I firmly believe, though, that it comes down to two simple things that require no advice books and nothing extra to buy:
- Sit your butt in the chair and write.
- Believe that you can do it.
Everything else is time management or managing your story process. This isn’t something you need just for NaNoWriMo, this is something you need to consider the rest of the year as well. But even sitting your butt down in the chair every day is not going to help you get through NaNo if you do not believe that you can do this crazy thing.
We are far too often our own worst enemy. We doubt our talent, our ability to see something through to the end. Even if we’ve succeeded with other things, we’re afraid that we’re going to be unmasked for the phony we are.
One of the purposes of NaNoWriMo is silencing that inner critic, of letting yourself go and believing that you can write. If you have a hard time believing you can do 50,000 words in 30 days, commit to something smaller and more manageable. Commit yourself to writing 1,667 words today. Believe that you can do that.
Tomorrow morning, when you get up, commit yourself once more. 1,667 words. A single day. If you keep doing that, you may be surprised what you end up with. But, first, believe that you can.
Word count goal: 6,668
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