“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” — George Orwell

Ever have one of those moments when you know what you want to write but the words seem some just out of reach? They’re right there, but…

It’s a frustrating feeling, and one that I often find myself struggling with at this point during NaNo. I know I’m supposed to write fast and not let my internal editor get the better of me, but there are moments, especially as I move beyond the big scenes that inspired the story, where the editor rears their head, making me second guess my word choice, hit the back button too often and decide that, no, the story really needs to go in a new direction that will necessitate throwing out everything that I’ve already written.

That’s what seems so clear and obvious, but what is in front of my nose is that I’m letting myself get distracted. I’m trying to edit the story as I’m telling it. This isn’t about that. I need to let go and just let the words flow. Once the month is done, I can step away for a while, then look at it with an eye toward making sense of the puzzle pieces.

Right now, what I need to focus on is just telling the story however it fails out.