You get a two for one post today, mostly because I'm awesome like that, and mostly because... reasons. Reasons that are the second part of the title. I really might have to start a campaign about that book and how I want those hours of my life back. The movie isn't much better, but at least now I won't spend money on that. Point being that I didn't spend money in the first place, since I borrowed the book from the library (yay libraries!), but still. I want those hours of my life back and we'll talk about that in just a moment.
So, for the seventh year in a row, I have written 50,000 words in a month. It is a sacred ritual, one that requires months of planning and then replanning and then hoping you've picked the right plot bunny. The wrong ones, as I have discovered in years past, make for horrible experiences. The right ones, as I have discovered since 2008 (jeez, ages ago), make everything bright and sunny and full of rainbows. For, you see, this can only happen one month out of the year, where the stars align and everything is awesome.
If you can't tell, November is also when my sarcasm rises to new heights. Just chuckle and scroll. Just scroll if you don't like the jokes but I can't promise they'll get any better.
Anyways, it doesn't happen just one month out of the year. It's just the one month where everything works out because I've planned for it that way. And, you know what, the entire year could be like that. If I didn't have to edit and finish drafts outside of the one month, but it can be done. Yes, I've done it before, though not in one project, so yes, November is special. November is the one month, out of the entire year, that the focus is just on one project. And that's good, in the end, because it's what's needed. I really doubt that Mystery of the Dark would have gotten a third draft if not for NaNoWriMo this year. It's the kick in the butt near the end of the year that I needed. So, I should be thanking it. I do thank it, all things considered, and hope to continue to win for years to come. However, there's an even bigger milestone.
This is the sixth year that I've done WriYe. WriYe is NaNo on steroids. You write for the entire year, or try to, one this one goal. Mine went from 500,000 to 350,000 because that's the way life goes. But you know what? You still get the same amount of support no matter what you do. You don't get people yelling at you and trying to poke holes in the fact that you can write so much in one day while they're struggling to get a 1,000 words in. And, it is, in the end, something that I will always value more than NaNo. For, while NaNo gives me the one perfect month where the stars are aligned, WriYe shows me that I can write all the other months too.
So, don't feel that you can't be a writer just because you don't have that one perfect month. You can steal the time in other months. You can carve it out of weekends and times where you're on public transportation or even when you're driving. For the last one, I recommend a wireless speaker and some sort of software that will write for you. Do not hand write and drive people. It's up there with the silliness of texting and driving.
Now, for what I began my post with, I'll end with it. Just don't read the book. Go out and write better books. Go out and have a definite ending. It doesn't have to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it has to be better than there being no resolution at all. It has to be better than making the choice that doesn't seem like making a choice in the first place. So, go, be free and write. I'm going to be left here by a book and stew over just how much I really hate it in the end.
